Butterick 5814: The Draped Wiggle Dress

Now that my coat is finished, I'm embarking on a new project: sewing up my other new Butterick pattern for myself! (It's Butterick 5814, and it's currently on sale for $3.99 online.) While I don't quite have the stamina to do an official sew-along for this one, I will be doing a series of detailed posts on its fit and construction. Like I did with the coat pattern, I wanted to start with a post on the design and its inspiration.

From the beginning (when I proposed this design to Butterick), I've always called this "The Draped Wiggle Dress." When I think of the classic wiggle dress, I usually think of something in wool, with sleeves and a higher neck. (Like the one in my book!) But then there's also the cocktail-style wiggle dress, in a fancier fabric. The genesis for this one was the green dress Joan wears in a Mad Men poster.

I loved the side drape on the dress she wears here. From this point, I started looking at other designer dresses from the era, particularly the work of Peggy Wood. It was her use of little raglan sleeves and bodice draping that inspired by own bodice design. Here's an example of a typical Peggy Wood bodice:

{source}

So now you can see how my own design was born; it's a mish-mash of a couple favorite styles.

It's certainly an interesting way to design. It's obviously nothing original, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its challenges. While working on a pattern like this, things constantly need to be tweaked and re-imagined. Taking cues from photos is one thing, but then the process of putting those details into an original pattern can be quite time-consuming and difficult.

Tomorrow I'll write about the construction of this dress. While it looks drapey and soft, it has a serious inner structure, including steel boning, underlining, and a grosgrain waist stay!

Friday Open Thread!

I figured it was high time we had one of these, readers. Topics may include--but are certainly not limited to:

• Everyone's favorite: whatcha sewing this weekend? I'm working on my white eyelet sundress. I'm temporarily sewing at the dining room table, since I'm still painting the floor in my sewing room! I have the base coats down, now for the lace stencil. 
• I'm also craving an eyelet shell with hot pink cigarette pants, as in the new Banana Republic Mad Men campaign.
• Speaking of Mad Men. Are you watching the new season? What did you think of Betty's weight gain storyline? I kind of loved it. Betty is the last character we would expect to "let herself go" (I hate that phrase) and it provides a new twist for a character who wants to be perceived as perfect. 

• Also, that rose print silk blouse she's wearing in the photo above? I have some of that fabric! In pink! I got it at Mood last year. 
• Seasonal sewing. Are you just starting your summer sewing (or winter, depending on your hemisphere), or are you one of those clever people who plans way ahead?
• Fabric Softener. Do you use it? Since I now have a washer and dryer (hallelujah!), these are the kinds of things I think about. I don't really like dryer sheets since they leave a greasy residue sometimes. But I hate static cling, so I don't want to go without. I'm now using liquid stuff for the first time--Mrs. Meyer's lavender scent (which smells amazing, even Jeff thinks so). I'm still noticing a bit of static sometimes though. 
• Pre-washing. I've been on a mission to pre-wash every cotton in my stash (no small feat) and it's become a sort of obsession (apparently I love doing laundry). Do you pre-wash when you buy your fabric, or right before you use it? 

Okay, party time!

Finished Rose Applique Dress

It's done! The Joan Holloway-inspired dress I blogged about last week is now complete, thanks to an old tablecloth and a little crafty thinking. (A big thanks to those who gave me applique tips in the comments; I took note for next time!) It seems pretty appropriate to post on Valentine's Day, doesn't it?

The pattern is this one that I draped last year, and am still perfecting the fit on. (I wear my green polka dot version all the time, and get so many nice compliments on it.) And yes, it's more of the pinky-red merino I made that little suit out of. And I still have some left! I must have bought out the entire stock of that stuff. What can I say? It's my color.

It has a centered, lapped zipper, just like Joan's would have. (I also have a classy Joan-esque chignon, thanks to the multi-talented Fleur!)

It's lined in bright red silk Habutai, and the midriff section is interfaced to keep it smooth. 

An applique close-up:

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I've gotten a little applique-happy. There's a vintage lobster tablecloth coming my way in the mail. (Lobsters!) And then all the products I have to look into: stabilizers, interfacings, threads . . .  Watch out, world!

In Progress: The Joan Rose Applique Dress

I realized that I don't do a lot of posts as I'm working on a project lately. Being a drama queen, I'm all about the "big reveal." But I feel like there's something useful in watching the progression of a project, right? So I thought I'd do a little post about what's in my sewing machine right now.

So, you all realize I'm obsessed with Joan from Mad Men, right? I know I'm not unique in this obsession. But I do feel a personal connection to that character. It has nothing to do with her personality, it has to do with her hips. That's right, hips.

I know lots of us find it refreshing to see Christina Hendricks's body type on a current program. And for me, it's become almost therapeutic. You know those "OMG my hips are huuuuge!" moments? When that happens, I say two words to myself: Joan Holloway. ( I refuse to call her Joan Harris, it's true.) And it actually works! Instant therapy. Actually, it only works in conjunction with a mental image like this one:

So, long story short. I think about Joan a lot. I also think about her dresses a lot. And one of my favorites is the rose applique dress she wore on what I call the "accordion dinner party episode."

I recently had the idea to copy this style by taking vintage rose fabric and using it for appliques. I found this tablecloth:

source

It has many large stains on it, so I didn't feel bad about cutting it up. (I don't think I could bring myself to cut a usable vintage tablecloth!) The background matches the pinky-red merino wool I have. So I started cutting out individual roses, leaving 1/4" around them. I experimented with appliqueing them by hand, but found I preferred the polished look of machine applique instead.

I assembled the bodice of my dress and arranged my roses around the neckline, pinning them in place.

This took a lot of playing around and squinting at it. I even had to sleep on it one night, and come back to it fresh the next day. When I was happy with the arrangement, I glue-basted the roses in place.

Next, I began machine appliqueing them in place, using a narrow zig zag on a very short stitch length. I did a couple samples to get the setting I liked best.

And here's where I am! It needs a little work cleaning up the edges of the appliques, but you get the idea.

More to come!

The Daily Dress: Giambattista Valli Floral Silk

Oh, readers. Have you ever seen such loveliness? I was poking around the interwebs, looking for a modern-day kimono sleeve to show you to go along with today's Style Dictionary post. I saw this Giambattista Valli number, and well, it was love at first Google Image result.

The description calls this a kimono sleeve dress, though it has more of a "batwing" shape than we're used to seeing in vintage dresses and patterns. However, this dress has vintage flair written all over it. The tapered skirt, the lovely floral, the matching belt!

I especially like the way the gathered bodice transitions to the sleek wiggle skirt.

Can't you just see Mrs. Harris wearing something like this? It hearkens back a bit to her Season One wardrobe. A classic!

New York Times Discovers Existence of Repro Vintage

Repro Dress from Stop Staring!

Peter sent me this fascinating article yesterday, with strict orders that I must blog about it. Your wish is my command, captain!

"This Old Thing? Actually, It's New" takes a look a various women who love retro style but tend to wear more current reproduction pieces rather than vintage. This revelation comes as no surprise to me, since I'm a retro-lover who's only owned a few pieces of true vintage clothing. Before I started sewing my clothes, I would rely on retro-fied styles at chains like Anthropologie and Banana Republic to fake a vintage look, along with a healthy topping of actual vintage costume jewelry. Why? One word: fit. Vintage clothes are generally tiny enough that it makes the shopping experience frustrating rather than enjoyable to me. The NYT article acknowledges this challenge as a reason to seek out repro pieces, as well as several others: musty smells, weird holes and stains, and other "charms" of vintage clothing. (Sadly, it doesn't make the leap that some women may choose to sew their own vintage styles as an alternative.)

On the other side of the coin, the article looks at the vintage snob: she who turns her nose up at reproduction clothing. ("Some purists sniff, if not sneer, at the trend.") I think anyone who loves retro is surely familiar with this particular brand of pretension.

But what really interested me was the tone of the piece. The writer sets up repro vintage as a current trend, while interviewing the proprietress of Stop Staring!, who's been selling it for 13 years. They also interview a woman who asks if vintage call really be a trend, since the point is to look timeless. (I'm sure we could go around and around in circles on that discussion!)

The article also briefly dips into the territory of gender relations and retro clothing (which I've discussed here as well):

Ms. von Firley’s hair is cut in a 1920s style Dutch bob, and she is rarely seen in an outfit that isn’t vintage or reproduction vintage. “Men treat me differently when I wear vintage or something that looks vintage,” she said. “I’ve noticed that they open doors and even apologize when they swear, which is so not the case when I’m wearing regular clothes like pants and a sweater.”

Others who wear reproduction fashions said they had similarly enjoyed increased chivalry.

Overall, the article is a bit all over the place, as it frenetically tries to decide whether it's a trend piece or a bit of social commentary. Perhaps a more telling slant would have been what, if any, changes are made in the reproduction process. Are the pieces inspired by actual vintage finds? I find it fascinating that repro vintage can start to take on a look of its own, one that's pure mash-up rather than true homage.

Anyway, it's quite an interesting topic to retro-loving seamstresses, I think. After all, we specialize in reproduction! I'm sure some of us would qualify as purists (those who use vintage everything, right down to their notions), while others of us (myself included) make use of vintage patterns, but are more about using contemporary materials to get a retro look.

What is your take on vintage reproduction: old news or a timely trend? Do you consider yourself a purist or a reproducer? Or perhaps something else all together?

Has Mad Men Really Changed the Way We Dress?

Isn't it interesting how Mad Men has become synonymous with retro fashion? Anything from sheath dresses to skinny ties to regular old pencil skirts are now described as having "Mad Men style." I'm a huge fan of the show, and the fashion is undeniably one of the main attractions. It's given us a language for clothes, in a way. I look at vintage sewing patterns (or even things on ModCloth) now and think, "Oh, that's totally a Joan dress" or "Peggy would so wear that." And the show has definitely put early 60s fashion—which can become a gray area between poodle skirts and love beads in the cultural lexicon—on the map.

But perhaps the descriptor has become a little broad. I've seen patterns from the 40s marketed as "Mad Men style" (huh?) and chain stores like Banana Republic have gotten in on the action to push what looked like pretty straightforward business casual to me.

Banana Republic window display

And it's not as though retro was not a trend before four years ago. But there is something undeniable about the way the show has touched a sartorial nerve. Perhaps the stage had been set—after all, companies like Stop Staring had been making reproduction wiggle dresses long before a certain curvaceous redhead graced our screens. Is it possible that Mad Men came along at the perfect time in the zeitgeist and helped us put a name to something that was already building? Or do we really dress differently because of Mad Men? Perhaps a little of both. One thing is for sure: we can probably never  look at a red wiggle dress the same way again.

What do you think? Has Mad Men changed the way you dress?

Gertie, Girl Reporter {3.20.10}

Surprise! It's Girl Reporter Friday - on a Saturday! Just keeping you readers on your toes. I took the day off yesterday, but I was way too preoccupied with Jeff's book auction to blog. Thank you all for your congratulations . . . I'm happy to report that he landed a fantastic two-book deal with a top publishing house. Woo hoo! Anyway, on to this week's stories - this week we have more ugly shoes, the brilliant rise of Betty White, Lady Gaga in Diet Coke can curlers . . . and more!

A Little Sunday Domesticity

Just call me Betty Draper. Yesterday, I took some time out from the sheath dress and Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing for a little home decor sewing, and it gave me a lot of think about in terms of sewing and "homemaking," I suppose we'll call it.

You see, this weekend both my parents and my in-laws are coming to visit and my husband didn't want them to see that we live like savage exhibitionists with no curtains. So off I went! I started these yesterday afternoon, and had them done in the evening - after a little Mad Men break, of course. I used this fantastic tutorial as my guide. I absolutely adore this fabric, and I wish I had enough left to make a dress so that I could match my curtains!

Anyway, there's not much interesting to say about making curtains. But I did have an ironic, contemplative moment while finishing them up. Jeff and I had just finished watching last night's Mad Men, which was so much about Peggy: her confusing status as both single girl who wants to be desired - and conversely, as a budding feminist and the one voice of women's perspectives in an "old boys' club" office.

As I sat at my sewing machine, Jeff had gotten out the tool kit and was puttering around, getting the curtain rod put up. Weren't we the perfect picture of 1963 domesticity! It's funny how sewing, while being creative and resourceful, can also be a symbol of the ideal housewife. Just look at this Elna ad from 1955:


Look at the happy homemaker, hanging her curtains! This ad really highlights that sewing at this time wasn't thought of as a hobby, but as a vital part of home economics for a wife. Even my mom said in this interview that my dad bought her a sewing machine when they first got married 40 years ago so that she could repair his clothes. (Very romantic, Dad!)

And, of course, home sewing is a money-saving, ecologically responsible, and fun activity. I actually starting sewing again a year and a half ago after being horrified by the selection of window treatments in my price range. (Hello, polyester!) But I do think it's crucial to remember the roots of this feminine activity, just as it's crucial to remember the historical/political implications of what we wear.

Whew! I guess I had more to say about curtains than I thought.

P.S. The young gentleman in the first picture is my beloved kitty, Henry Higgins. He bids you ladies a good day.

A Tour of the Mad Men Costume Shop!

In celebration of the return of Mad Men tonight, I thought I'd post this awesome video. It's a tour of the Mad Men costume shop with designer Janie Bryant.

This is a great look at the designer's perspective on the period, especially when she said this was a time when "people weren't afraid to dress." I love that idea! It seems maybe we do have a fear of dressing today, maybe due to our uber-casual era that we talked about in this post. I think it also directly relates to some of the excellent points brought up in the feminism comment thread: perhaps this was a period of greater respect for our bodies and our appearances.

Some other great moments include Bryant showing off a gorgeous green and blue printed chiffon dress, a fabric that she notes as being "so popular for this period." She also mentions a donation that they received of loads of vintage fabric and patterns.

I also loved the peek into the tailor's shop, where the cutter is constructing a beautiful green dress. I wonder if it's for Joan!

Bryant hints at the costumes for the upcoming season, which is set in 1963, with lots of "dramatic shapes and colors."

Squeee! Will you be watching tonight?

The Joan Holloway Dress: Take Two

Sometimes after I finish I project, I can't stop thinking about how to improve it. Especially the fit. I usually continue to obsess about it until the only option is to immediately make the project again. It's very exhausting to be me sometimes. (It also requires a lot of fabric.)


As I wrote about earlier, my first stab at Simplicity 3673, a reissued vintage pattern, involved a lot of fitting around the waist and bottom hem. As I wore the dress (twice in two days!), I found I was also unhappy with the bodice fit. It kept gaping around the front and back neckline, the armholes, and a deep wrinkle formed around the bust. Here's how I altered the pattern. While wearing the dress, I pinned out the extra fabric. Here's a couple views of the tucks I took out:

Then I measured the depth of the tucks and transferred them to the pattern. You have to slash and overlap the amount of the tucks, like I did in this sba tutorial.

So I made this again with my altered pattern, in a nice red double knit from Gorgeous Fabrics (it's on sale now!). The alterations on the bodice made the neckline a little higher, but I think it's a nice alternative to the original look. It's possible I got a little overzealous with tucking out fabric, because now the under-bust seam keeps riding up. See, this is why I should really always make a muslin after major alterations to a pattern. Live and learn, right?

I'd never worked with double knit before, and I liked it, but I think the wool crepe is a better choice for this dress.

I've been getting really into Ambiance Bemberg lining (I buy mine at B&J in the Garment District, but you can buy it online here), and I used a coral color to line just the bodice in this version. I like how it creates a rich monochromatic color scheme.

Whew. I think I can lay this pattern to rest now. On to the next VoNBSS project!

Channeling Joan Holloway

I am a huge Mad Men fan. When I first saw this emerald green wool crepe at Paron Fabrics, I thought "Joan would look fantastic in that color!" Alas, Joan is a fictional character, so I had to buy it for myself instead. I think she'd approve though.

I made this little sheath dress from a vintage reissue pattern from Simplicity.

This was my first time using a reissued vintage pattern, and I have to say it was a little disappointing. I made my usual size (14), and when I put it on, it looked like a sack. Perhaps I should have gone down a size, but then the fit probably would have been off in the hips. I really had to do a lot of finessing to get the hourglass look of the original pattern illustration. I took it in about three inches at the waist, and reduced the hem circumference by four inches (to get that nipped in look at the knee).

It seems like one of the major things pattern companies do to modernize a vintage pattern is to give it much more ease for a "contemporary" look. This seems kind of counterproductive to me. If I wanted a contemporary fit, I'd just buy a contemporary pattern design. The envelope photographs probably should have clued me in. Look how baggy the gray version is in the skirt!

But anyway, once I got the fit I wanted, I was pretty happy with this pattern. I especially like how the bodice is lined to the edges rather than using facings. I like the full-skirted view as well, so I might give that a go at some point.

What have your experiences been with reissued patterns? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!