Before and After: Vintage Patterns Inspire Student Designer

This "Before and After" is a special one - and so exciting!!

The Trinity Fashion Society (of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) hosted its annual catwalk event on March 19. One of the organizers was a good friend of the sister of Mark McNulty, who is a customer of my Etsy shop. This organizer offered Mark a chance to make some things for the show. So he purchased several patterns from my shop and modified them for the show. Here is his story. To read more about the fashion show (which mentions "design prodigy Mark McNulty who is a secondary school student" - wow!!), check out this University Times story.

Mark says: "I find vintage fashion has always influenced me. For my outfits, I wanted to have vintage silhouettes but with a twist. I wanted to mix the classic retro look with 90s grunge, so I went for sophisticated, sexy, smokey colours.

Pattern: Butterick 7956 (1950s) 

The Result: Dreamy strapless evening gown in soft, warm black velvet.
 

 

Mark says: "I made the skirt bigger than the pattern and added more fabric to the back to give it a small train. The black velvet was difficult to sew as it was so so so stretchy and I used it for a very structured piece. The dress called for thin sewn-in boning, but I made a built-in corset with steel boning to really hold it up and hold the wearer in. A self-drafted petticoat was also made, though I do regret it as I don't particularly like it;  but ah well.  

Pattern: Simplicity 2170 (1940s) 

The Result: A hot little dress with attitude!

Mark says: "For this green dress, I used the ice skater dress pattern. I altered it, making it less broad at the shoulders, took in the sleeves and waist considerably, and then added 2 inches to each gore of the skirt to give it more volume. I chose a crushed bottle green velvet that really brought that rocker touch to the dress. The extra fabric on each gore really added so much oompf to the dress when it was on the catwalk."

Pattern: McCall's 7002 (1960s)

The Result: A sexy, slim sheath - fabulous! It doesn't hurt that Mark's sister is gorgeous. :)

Mark says: "I made this black dress for my sister, using the ends of the fabric from the black formal gown. She wore it to her friend's 21st birthday the other day. Even in this dress you can see the 90s grunge influence, with the dark lips and smokey eyes."

What can I say? Fantastic results and congratulations, Mark!!

Little Red Riding Hood - Then and Now

Halloween is getting very close, so I thought it would be fun to look at how costumes change (or don't!) over the decades. There are perennial favorites, and ones from fairy tales are always winning choices.

Here is a rare and lovely costume from the 1930s that features Little Red Riding Hood and an angel:

From 1996, this pattern features Little Red Riding Hood, too, as well as Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz (or simply a darling country dress with pinafore).

If you are sew quickly (and most costumes are designed to be sewn quickly), there is still time to put together a fine costume!

Spotted in a Shop Window - More Peplums!

Seen in recent walk past Nordstrom's store windows in downtown Seattle are two tops with peplums.

This one has wonderful bias flare:

The slim strapless two-piece dress at left has a sleek flared peplum - such eye-catching style.

In vintage patterns, you can find the peplum in almost any decade, but the peplum was at the height of its popularity in the 1940s. Here are a few examples:

 

 1940s

 

1940s 

1940s

 

1950s

 

1990s