Orange bliss

OK, to make a long story short: I love this dress!
Even when I was trying it on half-way through construction, it never failed to cheer me up. I think it has a lot to do with the colour, a super-bright kind of burnt orange. The fabric, a soft mid-weight fine wale corduroy is also rather nice  to wear. And of course, I love the design.

I loved it on the inspiration picture. This was the kind of thing I started using Pinterest for: So I could remember the great finds in the thick tomes of my vintage magazines. It was already described as a practical-yet-elegant dress, made in brightly coloured in corduroy there and in this case, I saw no reason to try and re-invent the wheel. This dress just looked right for me. And when I found this fabric on the sale table at a market stall a few months ago, I knew it was meant to be. 
This was the dress I kept thinking about while I was working on my 1930's dress...

With just the picture to go on, I drafted what I thought the pattern might look like, with a change of collar, because I like mine better (at least, I thought I did. Half-way I started to doubt, as members of We Sew Retro Sew & Tell may know. But I ended up sticking with my go-to large-ish collar and I'm really happy with it).
The bodice and sleeve are the ones I drafted for my flounce dress. They are comfortable and pretty in that dress and rather look like the inspiration dress: a fitted shirtdress with set-in sleeves.

The skirt was based on my new pencil skirt block. It has no side seams except in the hip-pieces under the pocket and width of the darts is in the short seams which attach the pockets. The pocket flaps were cut separately and I applied fusible cotton to the inside halves, to help them stand out proudly. And of course, pleats were added at two centimeters from center front.

I hit a bit of a snag on Friday, when I thought I could finish the dress and found out that the two kinds of orange buttons in my stash were really no match for this fabric. Luckily, I found two good options at the market on Saturday morning. And yesterday, with the dress itself done, I decided that this was the time to use the one 'cover-a-buckle' kit I've been hoarding for years now. These things are not easy to come by here in the Netherlands. I bought this one at a haberdashery stall at the market. The were going out of business and sold all kinds of odds and ends from their warehouse in the last couple of months. They only had three of these kits, in two sizes and I, stupidly, just bought one. I think it was rather old, the design of the package looked 1970's to me...

And this was definitely the right project for it. The dress didn't look right with my usual belts and I love the look with this matching one.
Now, I just think I should look out for more buckle-kits...

P.S. E thought it would be fun to take pictures with the inspiration casually lying around in the foreground. I thought it would be fun to try and copy the picture. We did both but unfortunately all against the light. 

Let's call it research...

Do you remember my post about this Zara jumpsuit, a little over a month ago? 
Well, a week later I looked at it in the store but it was Saturday afternoon and there was a big queue for the changing rooms, so I didn't try it on. I did find out that the fold was only in the trouser part and that there were hidden buttons to hold the overlap/fold in place.

Yesterday, I was in town and had a bit of time, so I wandered into the store again. With the summer sale already in full swing, I had no idea whether or not the jumpsuit would even still be there.
The white one wasn't. There was, however, a black viscose/rayon  crepe jumpsuit (with FSC logo. I've never seen that on clothing or fabric before but it makes sense because viscose is made from wood pulp). And it was fairly quiet on Wednesday morning...

So, I tried it on. I used to do this kind of 'research' more often. Trying out different styles before committing lots of sewing time some new shape. Seeing what I could learn from how they made things in RTW.
I'm not too keen on the look. I'm over my disappointment about the length. It's fine. And I still really like that fold/overlap trick. The fold is only in that one leg, by the way. There is a waist seam, which is a bit below my natural waist. That makes sense if you're supposed to let it hang like this, or to tie it more closely and let the top blouse over. 
It's just too baggy overall for my taste. I like my clothes to be at least semi-fitted somewhere. If I wasn't so used to making all my own clothes I might have been less critical though.

And this is the bit of 'inside information' I was wondering about: One trouser leg has a bit of overlap cut on and the top attaches to it, like it would in a normal wrap garment. The other leg has the extra space of the fold. The top on that side is the exact mirror image of the other one, so there is a bit in the center of the trousers which has no top attached to it. There are two small buttons with which you can close the overlap/fold. I've seen trousers with this kind of fold closure before (last year, when I was thinking about how to make something like  it, I saw a pair in another RTW store, Cora Kemperman) but not it a jumpsuit. It's a clever design.

P.S. I felt a bit weird taking photos like this, wondering if I was doing something illegal. However, I know a lot of people shop like that anyway, sharing the choices available with friends or looking for cheaper versions of the items they like. And I even know that some 'designers' buy garments in stores, take them apart and then trace them for patterns. 

Credit where credit is due...

If you have been reading this blog for a while, my strange love of jumpsuits will be known to you... It should also come as no surprise that, with summer on the way, I am thinking about new warm-weather options...

And I don't think anyone has failed to notice the high number of jumpsuits in stores in the past years. They were mostly there in summer and they're back again. Usually, I don't really like the ones on offer in RTW. Too baggy, too boring, relying too much on stretch or some combination of the above.

However, when I walked past Zara this weekend, I saw one I did like. The garment on the right in this picture is a jumpsuit. On the dummy, it looked like a kind of wrap style. With a collar. And three quarter length, lightly tapered legs. With pockets. And a fold in the trouser part which is obviously part of the opening and provides some interest.
Ehm... Check, check and check. Does it come in other colours than white?

It's been a very long time since I have even remotely considered buying something purely for the look and inspired by the window display.
I didn't have time to enter the store and the thing on though.

Today, I thought it would be fun to blog about it so I decided to try and find the item on the Zara website.

I still loved it in the picture shown above, but then, I went to the product information (which also taught me it doesn't come in any other colours). Well... I don't love it anymore. These pictures actually show the construction details a lot better than the window display did. It's not actually a wrapped garment. That belt is a separate piece. The jumpsuit itself is a wide thing, folded to close. It's not clear whether or not that fold is secured by anything else than the belt (if I made this, there would be hidden buttons but if there aren't the garment would be easier to wear for people with different body shapes). Still clever, still interesting but a bit too loose for my taste. And I thought it had sort of calf length legs but this model is 175 cm (it says so in the information), which is substantially taller than I am and it's ankle length on her.
I may still go and try it on, if I can find a good time and opportunity. It would be nice to study the details of the pattern and construction. 

So there you have it. I really started up my computer today with the idea of writing about a great item in RTW but there's just no stopping the picky pattern nerd with the retro-ish tastes ;)

Vintage inspiration for him?

Two years ago, I made this spring/summer jacket for E. Since then, he has worn it about every day when the weather was right for this kind of garment. The buttons holding the long epaulettes came off a couple of times, it faded a bit in the laundry but otherwise, it performed admirably. Until last week, when he got a big tear on one of the sleeves. 

Serious damage to the fabric which compromises the integrity of garment is kind of a damning thing, in my opinion. It's time I made him a new jacket. 

It will be in cotton again but I'll be using the thinner and sturdier stuff which I've used for trousers as well, rather than this twill. It will be black(ish) again. And, knowing how and when he'll wear this jacket, I think I will base the design, again, on the casual jacket block, rather than the more confining (especially at the shoulders and upper arms) formal blazer block.

I used that same block for this winter coat for him, which I made to be sort of semi-fitted.
I've tried a blazer block in the past but I have never been completely satisfied with its fit and I've noticed E prefers the more casual shape for every day wear.

So those are my practical considerations. Now, it's just a question of style. How do I want my man to look? Keeping his usual dress sense in mind, of course.

As you know, I love looking at vintage fashion images for inspiration. And thinking about a jacket for E, I remembered something I thought I had seen in 1930's magazines.
The following images all come from the book "Every day fashions of the thirties, as pictured in Sears Catalogs".

I like the trench coats. I was kind of considering a look like that. I'm not sure about it though. Ironically, considering the background of the garment (the original versions were worn by British army officers in the Great War), I think E might not see it as a contemporary garment for a young(ish) man. After all, we've seen random trench coat interpretations for women all our lives. For men, we only see the occasional, very traditional version. Often in beige and worn by an older gentleman. 
I still think it's a true classic that may be in for another revival soon, but is this something E would wear?

Then, there are the sporty jackets of the 1930's. They're fun, and the back treatment with the pleat is what I was looking for. However, the overall look is clearly not for E. Wearing one of these requires an entire vintage style wardrobe.

These jackets on the right come closest to what I thought I remembered: A fitted blazer with an 'action back', a back pleat to provide ease of movement. I'm sure I've seen more of these on coats and jackets for sports and hunting. This is the most common version, with a center back pleat and a waist seam. Two single pleats further towards the sides is also possible and in classic British hunting attire, you will also see carefully tailored tweed jackets with a pleat in the armscye.
The jackets in this image don't quite have the outdoorsy vintage sportswear look I remembered though. From the front, they look like any other jacket.
Maybe I should search my actual vintage magazines...

And, as I mentioned, I know I shouldn't use a fitted blazer block with high sleeve heads.

So far, I think I will fit the casual jacket block a bit closer at the back, make the single pleat action back and style the front of the thing a bit like this:

To be honest, I don't like making cargo pockets or any other style of patch pocket with flap. It's just a lot of work for something so simple. However, for E and for the kind of jacket I'm imagining, it just seems right.
It will be another week or so until I will have the time to start drafting anything like this, so I'll have plenty of time to consider my options. What do you think: Use vintage inspiration, or don't? 1930's or some other era? 

Tiers and stripes

With spring on its way, I just can't help but think about sewing pretty dresses.

These are two 1950's designs I really like. Two designs from different sources which have some things in common.

I've shown you this one before. It was published in the French Elle magazine in the spring of 1955. I think it's great with the unusual skirt design and the clever use of the striped fabric.

This is the other one. From the Dutch magazine Libelle, from the summer of 1956. Isn't that a brilliant skirt?

Both these striped dresses show very original variations of tiered skirts. Versions which should not be too difficult to replicate but still look fresh, original and unexpected.

I'm normally not a particular fan of tiered skirts but I would love either or both of these.

In fact, I consider making one of them my next project.

I don't really have the perfect fabrics in stash but I have options.

Last year, after I saw that first dress for the first time, I bought the orange striped cotton. The size of the stripe should work well for a design like this and the hand is fairly crisp which is necessary for those pleats. I'm not entirely sure about the colour on me though.

The other design looks like it's made for a stripe as well. A bold black-and-white one. Colour might make the end result too cute. I don't have a boldly fabric but I have this finely striped stuff. This cotton is a bit thicker and has a bit more drape. Which is fine for this design. 

However, this is such a fine stripe that the fabric would look plain from a short distance. Which might be rather a waste of those cool spaced gathered bits.

Of course, there is always the option of looking for new fabric but I am still trying to sew from stash as much as possible.

What do you think? Which dress would you like to see, and do you think this fabric is right for it?

Inspiration for wool crepe - 1930's

Warning! This is going to be a picture-heavy post.

All the pictures are from the 1930's and they all come from the magazine La Femme Elegante. If you look closely, you may notice the changing silhouette over the decade. 

I'm going to group the pictures by look category.

First, there were several dresses which tied in with my idea of a cowl neck and raglan sleeves:

Most have gathers or pleats at those raglan seams and there are no collars in sight.

Secondly, there are plenty of imaginative jabots and other drapey collars:

I'm not one for big bows or ruching but I do like these big drapes controlled by buttons.

And then, of course there are many other great designs with draped and/or gathered details:

So many pretty things, but a silhouette that's new to me...

A new obsession

It looks like I'm developing a new obsession this autumn: retro skirt flounces. I blame all those 1950's magazines I've been reading. 
You may be aware of this fashion feature because Peter posted about it last year.

Anyway, it was a bit of a trend in the 1950's and particular popular in 1949 and 1951.
The simplest versions are just shawls or sashes draped over simple dresses:

Usually the sashes in the same fabric as the dress or at least in the same colour and they are often kept in place with a belt.

More complicated versions have integrated draped sashes...

Sometimes tucked through parts of the skirt.

 Then, there are larger separate flounces on the dress.

And even apron-like bits (very popular in 1951), like the ones on the left and right in the picture below.

And draped overskirts, like the picture in the middle.

And then there are the asymmetrically draped skirts...

So many different options but nevertheless a number of similarities as well: Skirt flounces are mostly used on "dressy" day dresses, so the dresses usually don't have a lot of cleavage and they do have sleeves and a collar. The skirt is usually a narrow one, with the flounce just being a decorative element. 
I would really like to incorporate some kind of flounce in a dress of this autumn.  Although the sash option would be easiest, just a wriggle dress with a separate sash on a belt, I don't think I'll do that. I think I'm going to try and tinker a bit, based on the inspiration pictures in this post. I'd like to make the flounce in such a way that it is part of the actual skirt and provides some extra room for movement.
What do you think? Could a skirt flounce work for autumn/winter 2013?