1950s Spanish Rose Outfit

ooohhh...So excited for this ensemble. Living out my Spanish Rose and Carmen vibes and being the closest possible representation of my favourite emoji 💃🏻

I used McCall's pattern 8947. It's an absolutely delicious pattern for all the details it includes.  The pattern has options for a skirt, halter top, shorts and bolero.

I made the bolero, halter top and skirt.  I found this absolutely AMAZING Mexican/Spanish print. It's a bright red with gorgeous flowers and horizontal stripes.  I almost always start with the fabric before I pick the pattern and this fabric told me it wanted to be made into a fabulous circle skirt--that's when I matched it up to the McCall's pattern.

I made the skirt first about 8 years ago. I wore it quite a bit always with a fab red petticoat.  The photo above is from the Day of the Dead two years ago where I thought this skirt was perfect for that!

It took me ages to finish the halter top. I don't know why it sat in my unfinished projects pile for so long. I think it was because I had cut out the fabric in a light blue to match the small amount of light blue in the skirt fabric. And then I had a moment of indecision. What right blue the right colour? Would it clash? And there it sat until I picked it back up recently.

Sewing the halter top was very straight forward. It has some amazing waist dart shaping and a pointed bottom--so it looks like a waistcoat. I also really love that the halter top has an area for the contrast fabric around the collar (it's not a proper collar but more like a trim).  I also used some great vintage buttons I had in my stash on the blouse.

The flatlay photo really shows the shape of the bolero --which I am absolutely in love with. It's brilliantly drafted.  It's one pattern piece and it covers the shoulders and buttons at the neck. It goes perfectly with the shape of the halter. I just love this pattern piece so much.

I was saving up this outfit for a special location. I had a work trip to Mexico and thought that would be the perfect chance--but I didn't actually have any free time to take photos on that trip. So a couple of months later I had the opportunity to go to Spain for a long weekend and it was just perfect. 

This outfit really suits the Spanish Old Town and makes me feel like a Spanish Rose :).

I accessorised with some great hair flowers that I got from Auntie Beanie. They match perfectly.

And of course, I have matching stockings in red from What Kati Did. I do love my colour seamed stockings :) And decided to do yellow shoes with the outfit (so much colour going on! lol) and just love how it looks with these ones that I got from Bait Footwear.

These amazing photos from Spain were taken by Heather (@thatphotofilmgirl on instagram) and my hair was styled by my lovely friend Eva (@evka.allen).

This outfit can also have great Carmen vibes like in the photo above from Veronika Marx!  Most of all, it's fun to twirl with that massive skirt and petticoat!!  I got the petticoat from Vivian of Holloway.

I'm so glad I stuck with the colour combo--I now love it and can't imagine it any other way!  I also really love the pattern and could see having some fun with it in gingham and other fabrics.

What about you? Do you like the Spanish/Mexican fabric prints/styles?

Butterick 6323: The MidCentury Goddess Dress

This dress has unexpectedly stolen my heart. It's not a style that I ever thought I would completely love...but I do!

I used Butterick 6323, a pattern designed by Gertie. I have been following Gertie since the early days as we both started blogging around the same time and I have just LOVED everything she has created.

This was one of the patterns that I saw at the local fabric shop when I was visiting family in the United States. It was a pattern that I bought because I really liked the illustration but I kinda knew I probably wouldn't get to sewing it soon. It's a bit of a departure from my normal 1940s style.

Wow, I couldn't have been more wrong about how much I love this style.  The thing that prompted me to sew it was the unique Nigerian wax print fabric that I got as a present on a recent work trip to Abuja.  I just love Nigerian fabrics and styles but this fabric also had a bit of a midcentury feel with the colours and the circles.  But as you can see from the fabric below, the border print was unique and I wanted a pattern that would really show it off (it's also pictured with some other fabric that I still have yet to sew with.....exciting!).

So I searched and searched through all my patterns for ones that would showcase a border print and up popped Butterick 6323 and I decided to give it a go.

The pattern was brilliant. It was my FIRST time sewing with boning and it was relatively painless after looking up some online tutorials (and having bought the supplies in the US).

I did struggle with getting the bodice to fit tight enough and I was a silly girl and didn't make a muslin of the bodice (I know, I know...). So I ended up with about a 1 inch gap in the bodice front where it was a bit too wide (but just at the front)! So I ended up just taking a tuck under the shoulder bow (you can kind of see it in the photo above, the small gathers under the bow--that's from my 'I should have made a muslin tuck'. hahaha.

I do LOVE the shoulder tie and how it lays...so classy.  In future iterations, I will also take a bit of length off the back and front bodice (not too much though).  You can see some small wrinkles in the back and in the photo below on the bodice front--especially in how it looks without the belt.  But if I stand up straight and wear a belt, it virtually disappears (or maybe the viewer gets distracted? hahaha. I'll take it!)

The photos above were taken in Abuja, Nigeria in their central park area--such a beautiful place.  The photos below were taken at a classic car show in California--for more midcentury vibes!

Overall, I am super pleased with how it turned out--I feel like it really makes the fabric happy :)  And I'm now wanting to try more unique 1950s styles!  This dress makes me feel like a midcentury goddess with the one-shoulder tie!

I definitely want to make more of these and will be on the look out for more fabulous and unique border print fabrics!  What about you? Do you love a good border print as much as me?

Photography: In garden: Godwin Oisi Photography
At classic car show: Spike and the Camera, MUAH: @lizcarrillomua
Shoes for both: Bait Footwear

1950s Inspired Dapper Day Dress

A dream is a wish your heart makes...these awesome photos were taken at Disneyland during 'Dapper Day'--an amazing vintage experience.  For the occasion, I made my fifth iteration of a dress copied off a dress that I got in Florence, Italy (see stripy dress in the photo below--that's the store bought one!).

It's quite a simple design. A v-neck, sleeveless bodice that leads into a pleated skirt (but where the pleats are only tacked down at the top).

The dress zips on the side and for this iteration, I made a matching fabric bow belt:

I like this dress because I can make it in a variety of different cotton weights and it's just perfect for traveling to warm weather places.

Here's some of my previous iterations. This blue version was made using African wax print --which is quite thick cotton:

This one is also a stiffer cotton. You can see both of these hold quite good pleats.

 The one I made in the picture below is the only one that I've made with a super light and soft cotton from Gertie's collection. It is the most comfortable...I just love it.  Really perfect for hot weather.

So I think I've reached my threshold with this dress--I do love the design but am itching to sew other designs.  Do you do this, sew multiple garments from one pattern? Which dress do you like best?

The 'Desert Dreams' Dress

Wow! The Wadi Rum Desert is a dream.  Look at the expansive and beautiful space! The perfect backdrop for my newest 1950s Style Print shirtwaist dress!

I made this teal dress using 'Style Print' number 1283, a pattern that I have used previously to make some of my favourite shirtwaist dresses (including the 'Midcentury Madness' dress, the 'Pumpkin' dress and my recent 'Secret Garden' dress).

The dress features a button-up shirtwaist bodice design (which I used matching 1960s style teal jewel buttons for) and a gathered skirt.  I added pockets to the skirt (yay!).

Oh, and how much does this desert look like it might be the surface of Mars?  It was actually used for filming a few 'space' movies as well as the filming for 'Lawrence of Arabia!'  Next time I visit, I'll try and sew up a space-age mod dress for the landscape as well :)

The back of the dress is straight with some waist darts for shaping.  The dress closes with a side zipper.

Overall, I just love the shape of the 1950s/1960s shirtwaisters--they are so wearable for every occasion!

My friends Zain and Kinda and I took a desert tour--sitting in this lovely vintage 4x4 truck and seeing the expansiveness of this great landscape--it's really overwhelming how beautiful it is!

And Kinda is also an amazing professional photographer and film-maker and took some amazing photos throughout the trip!

Definitely a place and a pattern I will be revisiting again!!

Photography: Kinda Kurdi (@kinda_kurdi)