Friday, September 11, 2020

McCall 3823: The Perfect Staple Dress


I'm absolutely in love with the design of this dress. And the plain navy fabric means this will be a staple in my 1940s wardrobe.


This dress was made using McCall 3823, a pattern from the year 1940. I made an exact copy of view B on the pattern envelope in navy blue.


The dress features a lovely shaped neckline (almost a heart shape but a small one) and a button down bodice. Both the bodice and the skirt are pleated to match each other. This dress has 3/4 length sleeves --or bracelet sleeves as the pattern calls them.


I made this dress from a very lightweight wool that I picked up on holiday in Florence many moons ago. It's so lightweight that it's silky and buttery smooth and a dream to work with. 


The fabric held the pleats beautifully. I first pinned down the bodice pleats and sewed them.


The back has pleats as well and I just love having a plain yoke and then having the pleats. The skirt matches this design as the top part of the skirt is smooth and then it goes into an inset skirt piece with the pleats.


Here is the bodice top coming together:
Sewing the yoke to the pleated section using a lapped seam takes some slow sewing but the fabric helped immensely as it was easy to iron in place prior to sewing:


Yay!!! I paired the dress with some light pink details -- a small light pink belt, vintage navy gloves with little light pink flowers on them and some light pink/nude1940s style shoes from Bait Footwear.


We took these photos in Falkland,-- a small village in the Kingdom of Fife area of Scotland. Some of you may recall that when I first moved to Scotland, I lived for a short time in this picturesque village.


It was so lovely being back. This village is such a gem. It has some incredibly nature walks, a historic palace, cobblestone streets and a proper village square and lots of little nooks and crannies that are so beautiful. And it's small--only about 1,200 residents.


The amazing Darja Bilyk and a lovely friend of mine took these photos and I'm so in love with them. She captured the beauty and mystery of Falkland.


I also had my dear friend Ariana from Vanity Thrills style my hair before this shoot--I just love her 1940s styles: 


This is right on the corner where Vintage Quine is--a lovely vintage store in Falkland. 


This is Falkland Palace in the background...where Mary Queen of Scots and her parents would come for their summer holidays:


Yay! I can't wait to try different ways of styling this dress. 


I might also make another version in a lighter colour so that the details really stand out. What colour do you think I should make?

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2 comments

  1. Beautiful dress! How about a mint green or light lavender for a summery version?

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  2. What a beautiful dress! I am catching up on your blog. I think this dress pattern would look lovely in just about any color, but a light yellow is my suggestion.

    ReplyDelete

I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

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