Celebrating in the 1950s Style!

1950s Dress

My mommy made me this lovely dress from the 50s.  It is made out of cotton.  The jacket, which is reversible, is made out of Tropical Breeze fabric.  If you aren't familiar with Tropical Breeze, let me introduce you.  It is the easiest fabric to care for.  Just wash and wear; no ironing.  The colors do not fade much even after many washes.  Back to the dress fabric...it has lovely white flowers trimmed in a light lavender color with green leaves and a black background.  

My mom added 2 inches to the bottom of the skirt and shortened the waist by one inch.

The dress is made with New Look pattern 6723 and the balero is made using ASimplicity 3921, figure C.  

I love this dress!  I think it's now my overall favorite!

Check back here this week.  I'm going to do a fabulous GIVEAWAY again!!!!!

Are you praying for your future husband?

You can enlarge this by clicking on it.  If you like it, I can email the jpeg to you in a larger format.

The early 1800s or the 1970s----What do you think?

Now this dress was originally made with the Regency Era in mind--early 1800s.  However, when I wore it, someone told me it looked like a hippy style from the 1970s.  This was definitely not what I had in mind when I made it. 

This is an extremely easy pattern to make--Simplicity #9716.  I was not sure of the fabric print at first but when it was done I really thought it looked pretty.  The material is 100% cotton.  The pattern features an elastic waist hidden behind the belt.  It is loose-fitting and very comfortable to wear. The dress is tea-length and has long bell sleeves.  Next time I make this, I may try another sleeve variation.  This sleeve tends to get in the way of doing anything productive.

If you are new to sewing, this would be an excellent dress to start with.  I'd really like to hear your thoughts as to what time period you think this dress fits into.  :0)



And the winner is.....

Early 20th Century Business/Travel Suit

This outfit was used as a business/travel suit in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. I used Simplicity pattern #4954.


The army-green shell of the two piece outfit is a denim/cotton blend. The jacket is very elegant and is form fitting. It is trimmed with cream-colored lace around the collar and sleeves. I lined the entire jacket with sage satin. It was difficult and took awhile to make but my grammy was helpful and we got the job done. The two flaps on the bottom front are held up with two small brass-dotted buttons. The back bottom features a pleated fan at the center. The floral weaving on the fabric is slightly raised and adds to the elegance of the outfit.


The skirt fabric is basically the same with the exception that it has lines rather than floral weaving. It is very full and has a fitted waistband. The skirt is floor-length. When I wear this skirt, I wear my mom's bridal gown slip under it to give it the period appearance.


This was a costly vintage adventure although it is my most elegant outfit so far.

CELEBRATION GIVEAWAY!

I am celebrating the beginning of this blog by doing a GIVEAWAY DRAWING!

I found the adorable idea for an Iota YoYo Pillow in a Modern Crafter book. The black geometric floral material is made with leftover fabric from a dress that I made for my sister. The yo-yos are made out of a lovely pink on pink floral cotton fabric. I accented a few of the yo-yos with black satin roses. In the center of the pillow is a vintage mother-of-pearl button surrounded by glass chips. Charming is the word I chose to describe this pillow.

To enter the drawing for the pillow, you need to enter the following in the comment section below....

1. Become a follower of Garments of Grace or tell me if you already are a follower.

2. To have your name entered twice, you can tweet, blog or Facebook about this giveaway. Please leave the link in the comment below.

The giveaway will end next Friday, January 14th. The winner will be announced on January 15th! Enjoy!

The Regency Era Gown

This was the second vintage garment I made. The gown is a replica from the Regency Era which was from about 1790 to 1820. Depending on the fabric of the dress, it could be worn as an everyday dress or a ball gown.

I used cotton fabrics featuring a very tiny floral print. The flowers are pink and tan with dark green leaves and a nice dark brown background. For the sash, I used a medium to dark green. This particular dress pattern, Simplicity #4055, is loose-fitting as well as floor-length with a slight train.

The neckline needed to be altered as it was rather immodest. My grandmother helped me alter this by using a partial blouse pattern that replicates an undergarment from the Regency Era. We took cream-colored material, cut out the top half of the pattern and then attached that to the top of the dress. We then accented it with white pearl-finished buttons on the back. It looks like the pattern was created that way.

Something to remember...always wash cotton fabric prior to using it. Unfortunately, I did not do that and the dress shrunk significantly the first time it was washed. Needless to say, it didn't fit me.

While the Titanic dress was my favorite style, this gown is my next favorite.