Month: October 2011

Guess What? More 8728!

Erin25 Comments

So, of all the things I love about Vogue 8728, the fact that it works so well with Liberty Tana Lawn is probably the thing I love the most. Here it is in "First Prize": 

Liberty First Prize Vogue 8728

Bodice is ready for close-up:

 

Liberty First Prize Vogue 8728 bodice

And the rear view:

 

Liberty First Prize Vogue 8728 back

I wasn't sure if this pattern would work for fall/autumn/rainy season, but in a dark color it does well, don't you think. I think I can even wear this with boots (nb: I have not tested this hypothesis yet). 

There have been two questions in the comments I haven't answered yet; one is "how does this work for bust(y|ier) people?" That's a good question. I am not sure I would wear this if I were a D cup or bigger, without serious underpinnings (or even with). The gathers do, um, emphasize the region, and part of the charm is that curved waistband. But if you're on the cups-runneth-over side and have made this, please leave a comment! 

The other question was about the depth of the armholes. I think they're okay, myself, but if you have a "no visible bra side panel" policy, this dress is not for you (or you have to tighten up that seam a little). 

The main danger with this dress is that I will never wear anything else. It is that good. So easy to make, so easy to wear …  

8728, Again

Erin7 Comments

gray ghost plaid dress

Another Vogue 8728. This fabric was from FabricMart, and I bought it because broken plaids don't need to be matched.It's a lovely lightweight silk/cotton mix (silk/cotton: I am helpless before it).

 

gray ghost plaid bodice closeup

Not as great a job on the side zipper here. Or on the pressing.

gray ghost dress side view

And the back: 

 

gray ghost plaid dress back

Tune in tomorrow for another exciting installment of "How many copies of Vogue 8728 can Erin make?"

More Vogue 8728

Erin10 Comments

The sharper-eyed among you may have noticed that I had a new dress on in that picture with Justice O'Connor. I did! It's this one: 

I'm pretty obsessed with Vogue 8728 at this point. For one thing, it's incredibly comfortable to wear. The gathers in the bodice and cap sleeves allow for a lot of range of motion in the shoulders — I never feel as if reaching up to grab something is going to result in a big "rriiiiiiipppp". The skirt's easy to wear, too (especially as I have — as is my wont — added ginormous pockets). 

Here's a closer view of the bodice:

 

I know one of you lovely readers gave me the heads-up on this fabric, probably two years ago now. (I bought it on eBay, cue Weird Al.) Was it you? Thank you! (Take credit in the comments!)

Side view: 

 

Back view:

So yeah I've made a few more of these recently. It's my new go-to. Watch for them all this week … 

Never Fails

Erin14 Comments

So, just as things start turning to fall (here in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) I always find one piece of summer fabric that I just HAVE to have: 

Cotton_stripe

This stuff reminds me of those tubes of frozen colored sugar water that every kid under the age of eight loves. Otter Pops? Anyway, there it was at Fabric Mart Fabrics, and I had to have it. I'm sure you all understand. And they have 21 yards left, at this writing … 

Here's a closeup:

Colordot_3

This is going to be … I don't quite know yet. But whatever it's going to be, it's probably not going to be that until next March, at the earliest. Summer fabric is going into hibernation for a few months. 

Twenty (two) Years Later

Erin15 Comments

So a couple of weeks ago I was at the Carmel Authors Festival. It was really lovely — I had a marvelous time and met some really cool folks. 

And I re-met Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who I had met in a scholarship program back in high school (SPOILER: I did not become a public-policy wonk of any flavor, despite what this picture seems to indicate): 

SDOC_Erin_1989

Unfortunately, I couldn't do a Ze Frank "Young Me Now Me" style picture, because I couldn't find a replacement for the platter-collar blouse (because Tweeds — "The Anthropologie of the 1980s" —  went out of business ages ago), but Justice O'Connor was nice enough to take another picture with me: 

 

We meet again

Many thanks to Justice O'Connor, who was kind enough to let me re-live my youth.

(Yes, the dress I'm wearing is Vogue 8728 in an alphabet print. Expect more details shortly. Sorry for the drastic hair differences from the vintage-dress-photo to this one; haircut occured after Carmel trip. I'm totally messing with the timestream!)

rare vintage sighting

Erin10 Comments

It's been a long time since I wore "real" vintage regularly, for a bunch of reasons. One is fit: it's hard to find vintage that fits well without scaffolding-type undergarments. Another is availability: the days of hitting three thrift stores in an afternoon and turning up a Courreges (yes I once found one) and half a dozen fifties frocks are long gone. And a third is that sometimes vintage can feel like costume, especially head-to-toe (and dresses are head-to-toe). But Mr. Dress A Day had a "Gatsby"-themed work thing yesterday, so I dug out a 1930s dress (I don't have any 20s stuff, and besides, Fitzgerald didn't die until 1940, so I figured that gave me an out) and put in my contact lenses (glasses didn't seem very Jazz Age) and off we went:  

 

Vintage_Oct22011

I'm kind of slouching (kind of slouching a lot) and the shoes are wrong (and of course a lady shouldn't wear a watch to an evening event) but hey, vintage! 

I forgot how much I love this dress, even though it has no pockets and is slightly too long in the waist. It has a button front (which you can't really see, as they're black buttons on a black background) and the collar is closed by a little hook and eye. 

The pin was a present from a friend years ago — it's a Lea Stein fox, which I didn't even know was a "thing" until Moya told me about them earlier this year. It looks deco but it's an anachronism as well, of course.

The other hard part about wearing vintage is that each wearing brings a favorite piece a day closer to death. The seams on this dress are awfully fragile, and the fabric's getting thin … it's basically just one ill-advised reach from some unfixable tear. But I have sworn to enjoy it while it lasts …