Before and After "Hit Parade" - 1950s Dress with Bonny Details

 The Seamstress: Jennifer Gough
The Pattern: Vintage 1959 McCall's 4951 Misses' Dress with Slim and Full Skirt

Jennifer picked this particularly adorable dress with its wonderful neckline and collar details.

The Result: A fabulous dress with charm to spare! Jennifer chose a beautiful yellow and black tartan to sew the full-skirted version. Jennifer states: "As far as construction; the measurements were pretty spot on, but I added some length to the bodice and I recall that I had to play around with the skirt pleats quite a bit because of the plaid fabric, but since the pattern pieces there were just big rectangles it wasn't a big deal."

Jennifer has since made this pattern up again in the teal with white collar like on the pattern envelope, too, though she doesn't have photos of it on the web. Be sure to check out more photos of this first version of the dress on Jennifer's Photo Bucket album. Wonderful results, Jennifer - the dress and you look so lovely! Winning style, all the way around. :)

By Any Name...

Recently I had listed and sold the following coat (McCall's 4685 from 1958), described as a trapeze coat.

And then I acquired the February 1962 edition of Seventeen magazine, which featured very similar coats.

The cover of the magazine features this beautiful blue coat described as having a "baby-doll look", with empire waist, flared skirt, double-breasted closing, and slender bracelet length sleeves. And that cute hat is a "checked baby cap." ;D

A few page into the magazine is an advertisement for these coats described as having the "new A-line silhouette". :)

So what is the difference? The trapeze silhouette is narrow at the top and wider at the hem, almost triangular in shape. The A-line silhouette is defined as being narrower at the top, flaring gently wider toward the bottom.  The babydoll dress is defined as having an empire waist and loose, A-line skirt.

By whatever name you call it, it's adorable, inspiring fashion!

Before and After "Hit Parade" - Fresh 40s Frocks!

The Seamstress: Elisabeth

Today you get "two-for-one"! My customer Elisabeth sent me great pictures of two dresses she created using patterns from my shop. Both dresses are late 1940s, have such wonderful, graceful style, and Elisabeth's photos are fashion-model fabulous! You can follow Elisabeth's sewing adventures on her blog: Sewing Fairytales.

The Pattern: Vintage 1940s Simplicity 2907 Misses' One-Piece Dress
 

The Result: Isn't the result sunny and adorable?! I love the choice of fabric, it has a very vintage-style motif. And those cute matching shoes are perfect! Elisabeth shortened the dress to a charming just-above-the-knees length. And if you visit Elisabeth's blog, you will see the back of this dress in the blog header image - awesome!

 Here are her comments on the sewing of the dress:

"I loved the pattern as soon as I saw it. The front and the back of this dress are so elegant and feminine. I used a polyester fabric. This was not the best choice, but I loved the print. Sewing the dress was a bit more complicated. The pattern is not so easy, but the fabric added some difficulties as well. But all in all I really like it. I really have to make another one out of some better fabric (maybe in a nice solid color?)."

The Pattern: Vintage 1940s Simplicity 2842 Misses' One-Piece Wrap-Around House Dress and Housecoat
 

 

The Result: Elisabeth sewed this in its original graceful, beautiful tea length, complete with cap sleeves. Even the fabric looks very much like the view on the right (view 2). 

Here are Elisabeth's comments on the sewing of this dress:

"I made this dress out of 40s fabric I got at eBay. Sewing was easy,  except maybe the finishing. The fabric was not the best for the dress, because it is a bit stiff. All in all I am pleased with the dress. Unfortunately it really is better suited as a house dress, because if the wind blows, it´s a bit difficult to wear. Maybe I will sew another one out of another more suitable fabric one day."

Kudos on a lovely pair of dresses, Elisabeth!

In Search of Style - Designer Couture Evening Gown

This search for style begins with an advertisement from the early 70s for a fabulous evening gown from Saks Fifth Avenue. The advert describes their collection and this gown from their designer salon in romantic terms: "A romantic mood pervades. Soft and subtle draping. Slinks or ruffles. Movement from fringes as you float by. Soft clear colors, jerseys, chiffons and more. Here, all ruffled up. A sleeveless dress, close-to-you on top, full and flounced below. Nylon zigaline in white with navy. $425."

A dream of a dress, don't you agree? Our seamstress found a remarkable match for this beauty with a Vogue Americana pattern designed by Oscar de la Renta, pattern 2879. The stunning plunging neckline trimmed with ruffles and full skirt seals the deal!

Before and After "Hit Parade" - 40s Refashionista Beauty

The Seamstress: Vicki Muise
The Pattern: Vintage 1948 McCall 7286 Sewing Pattern Misses' Dress

Vicki chose the view on the right to sew up a graceful late 40s summer dress in a luscious tea length.

The Result: I love this dress - it's garden party-perfect! And the story behind this dress is a delight - a story of  preparing muslin-turned refashionista. :D

Here is Vicki's story of this dress:

"I sewed a muslin from this flowery $1 sheet because I had to make a few routine changes (SBA, increase the waist, shorten the skirt). Then everyone who visited me saw this muslin hanging up in my sewing corner and said that they would wear it as is! I had already cut out some vintage polyester with a nicer drape, to make a final version, but decided to put the finishing touches on the muslin just to see how it would turn out.

I posted the dress on The Sew Weekly and another member wanted to try it as well. Since I had already traced the pattern to make my adjustments, I shared it with her and she will post her version soon too."

Is that not awesome? And that's a self-fabric buckled belt, too! I can't wait to see the other member's version of this dress on The Sew Weekly. This is such a great story, Vicki. Thanks for letting me share your wonderful result. :)

Oh, and you can follow Vicki's sewing experiences on her blog: Another Sewing Scientist.

Before and After "Hit Parade" - Idyllic 50s Dress

The Seamstress: Kellie Falconer
The Pattern: Vintage 1957 McCall's 4251 Sewing Pattern Misses' Dress

The Result: It's dreamy!! Kellie says "I purchased this darling pattern [from Midvale Cottage], and wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying it! I thought you might like to see the first dress I created from the pattern - I am hoping to make a custom listing for it in my Etsy shop." Kellie's shop on Etsy is Kellie Falconer Design. Be sure to check out all her fine creations. This dress is adorable with exquisite details. It's such an inspiring creation, hopefully it will a listing in her shop soon!

 

In Search of Style - An A-line Angle

Occasionally I come across a pattern where the seamstress has tucked in clippings of similar styles. This tells a story we can relate to, where we see a dress in a magazine or newspaper, and search through patterns to look for something as close as possible.

In this example, the seamstress had clipped the following dresses:

From these we can see that she wants an A-line dress with a shaped bodice, maybe some top-stitching, a V-neckline (with a collar? without a collar?), maybe princess seams. The pattern she found that was closest to the looks of these two dresses is Vintage 1972 Butterick 6846 (Misses' Dress, Tunic and Pants):

Pretty close, don't you think?