pattern junkie

Party dresses for my alter egos

I guess I've been looking for outside motivation to help me get to the sewing machine lately, because I seem to have gone a little competition-mad.  First I signed up for Pattern Review's Wardrobe Contest (10 coordinating pieces in 2 and a half months), then I jumped on the Wardrobe Refashion bandwagon.

Now Sew Retro has to go and complicate things by announcing their November Party Time Competition.  I won't sign up (repeat to self: "I won't sign up, I won't sign up") because A) I don't think I'll finish the PR contest, as I've only done 2 garments and am in the midst of a big work project and B) I live in Southern California, where wearing anything more formal than lounge pants and flip flops is viewed with suspicion.  I jest -- a little -- but the truth is, I won't be needing loads of flirty dresses for the upcoming party season. 

Still, it's fun to imagine a life that demands a whole fleet of party dresses.  Here are the dresses -- and by extension, the alter egos -- I'm wanting right now: 

Mmm.  Here I'm an absolutely fabulous upper crust fashionista with a dash of bohemian flair.  It's New York in the late 1960s, and I'm dashing across a Central Park West drawing room to deliver a scathing bon mot to Andy Warhol.  Nico and Twiggy may have shorter dresses, but they don't have my wit.

I've had this pattern in my collection for a long time, and I really want to make it -- although it falls squarely into the category of patterns I should avoid at all costs.  I look best in things that emphasize my waist.  Flowy mod 60s-era dresses designed for Twiggy silhouettes generally make me look like a block of cheese.  Witty bon mots generally aren't enough to set off that look.

My next contender would be this one, Vogue 1116:

If I'm Red there, I'm hosting one awesome mid-70s party for the block.  So confident, so assured!  I've whipped up 300 canapes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and styled my hair perfectly, despite having misplaced one of my feet.  Plus, I'm wearing an actual "hostess dress," a concept in dressing that should definitely make a comeback.  (If I'm Blue?  Then I'm in a fern bar, about to give a no-good man a piece of my mind.)

I've had Vogue 1116 for a while and will make it one of these days -- it looks like a blast to wear.  The only thing that scares me?  That's gotta be one monster hem.

Here's another fantasy party dress, Vogue 1227, found on the Vintage Pattern Wiki:

 

Clearly I'm an international superspy, perhaps even James Bond's nemesis.  It's a cocktail party in Monaco, and this slinky little number doesn't have a hiding place for guns and secret documents -- that's what my poufy hair and chignon are for, silly goose.

Finally, here's a pattern from my etsy shop, McCall's 9619:

This pattern fascinates me: it's from 1953, and so different from the big skirted dresses we associate with that time.  Toreador pants, a cummerbund, a ruffled blouse -- what party demands this outfit?  If I'm wearing this, I must be in Pamplona at the running of the bulls -- although with that wasp waist, I'm certainly not eating anything.

What are your fantasy party dresses?

363 Days Until Next Halloween!

Another Halloween.  We've almost finished off the candy 'round these parts, though I'm still trying to figure out how to get the fake bloodstains off of my arms and legs.  Don't mind me while I scrub...just take a look at these truly beautiful and cool costume patterns I found while gathering examples for Costume Countdown week.  After all, it's never too early to start thinking about next Halloween:

Remember when I claimed all clown costumes were scary?  DuBarry 1040B proves me wrong.  If I could look this smashing, I'd dress in a clown costume every day.

There's a Spanish dancer/Carmen Miranda hidden in me somewhere, because I love this pattern in Hey Chica's etsy shop.  It's sized for girls, sadly -- but oh, those ruffles!  I love how the tiny bolero balances out the full skirt.  The triple bow action -- one for the waist, one for the bust, one for the head -- is fun, too.

See?  My Spanish dancer fantasy continues with Hollywood 1426.  I adore the red skirt with the asymmetrical hem.  Of course, the hat with veil, fan and rose in mouth just drive it home.

I think the illustration for Butterick 4695 from Selvedge Shop is absolutely amazing!  It's child's play to make a man in a devil's costume look suave, but to pull if off for a guy in a footed penguin suit complete with bill visor and literal "wingtips" that restrict all hand movement?  Genius!  In fact, I suspect that this is an early pattern for an international superspy -- after all, one never knows when espionage might be interrupted by a Halloween night out with the kids!

Last but not least, SImplicity 8330, from runningalarm:

A spider on the head with attached web?  Simply brilliant!  It's a sad commentary on me that if it came down to choosing between being a Spanish dancer or Spider Webhead here, I'd probably go with the latter...

Costume Countdown: Cats, Canes & Clockwork Orange

Peruse vintage costume patterns for just a few moments, and you'll realize that the footed pajama has long been the bedrock of kids' costume patterns.  It beckons from within the illustrations like a shady man on a streetcorner, opening its coat full of watches and whispering to tired moms, "Pssst.  Lady.  I know the sewin's gonna take some time.  You're just makin' pajamas, some mittens and a hood with bunny ears or a spaceman's antenna, see?  Let the kid run around in it for Halloween and ya got jammies for the rest of the year." 

Take McCall's 1485 from 1949.  The panda, in particular, is quite adorable.  (Click on the photo to go to the listing, which is at Midvale Cotttage.)

(As an aside: is the brown bunny moonwalking?  I'm not sure.)

So it's no surprise that McCall's 3355 from 1972 is based on the good ol' footed pajama.  (Thanks to historically patterns at etsy for the photo.)  It's a good pattern:

 

See?  Cute!  Bunny is helping Tiger with makeup and Mouse is hanging out with Cat, who's carrying a cane for some reason.  I feel bad for the little girl who's staying in, but she does have good slippers.  S

Adorable and practical: that's the footed PJ costume.  Timeless, really.  So it's no surprise that McCall's re-issued the same pattern in 1980, this time calling it McCall's 7132 (click on the drawing to go to the listing in tiddleywink's shop.)  Taking recycling to heart, though, the pattern illustrators re-used the same concept -- although I find the update disturbing:

Cat still has a cane, and that gives me pause.  Do cats usually carry canes?  I've always been a dog person, so maybe there's a cat/cane connection I don't know about.  Maybe canes were the height of fashion for cats between 1972 and 1980, and any child dressed for Halloween in footed pajamas, ears and a bow tie but sans cane was mistaken for a marmot.

Then there's Bunny.  Bunny isn't helping with makeup any more, electing instead to tauntingly wave a cottontail at Pajama Girl which, frankly, isn't so nice.  Whatever illness is still keeping Pajama Girl inside this Hallow's Eve has presumable gotten worse.  She's practically quarantined off, though the fever has made her blissfully unaware of it.

Mouse has taken over makeup duty, but I don't like the look on Tiger's face.  Not one bit.  That kid is going to cause some trouble.  Combined with the what must be cruel laughter of Cat, the taunting of Bunny and that inexplicable cane, the whole thing is feeling a little too Clockwork Orange to me.  The "Powers" scrawled next to Trio Taunt doesn't help much either.  (Truth be told, neither does the fact that the hubby and I decided to re-watch some Kubrick films last week, so I've got the Korova Milk Bar on my mind.)  At any rate, I fear for Pajama Girl.  She's not going to be smiling for long.

Costume Countdown: I Hear The Mermaids Singing

Today's costume countdown: questionable children's costume patterns! 

First up: Butterick 5597, issued 1991, photo courtesy Spessarite Sole:

Right.  Creating shell-shaped breast pieces for a prepubescent girl?  Nah, that wouldn't make parent OR child uncomfortable. 

Next up? McCall's 2205 from 1985, again from Spessarite Sole's etsy shop:

I suppose sticking them in the flower pots is the only way to keep them on the ground when the wind picks up.

Last but certainly not least, behold Simplicity 8221 from runningalarm:

Imagine opening the door on this group on Halloween night.

MOM AT DOOR:  Look at all you kids!  Jenny, you're such a cute little elf.  I'd better hide the cheese from that mouse --

MOUSE: Squeak!  Squeak!

MOM AT DOOR:  And the pirate and Indian, you're both so scary!  And Timmy...well, uh...

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!

MOM AT DOOR:  You're the what?  I'm sorry, I don't think there is a spirit of --

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!  I HAVE LEAVES ALL OVER MY JUMPSUIT!

PIRATE: Let me put the jack o' lantern over his head.  That helps a little.

MOM AT DOOR: Yes, actually it -- wait a minute.  Timmy, where's your treat bag?  Are those dried leaves in your hands?

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!!  MOM SAYS AUTUMN IS WHEN ALL GOOD THINGS DIE AND THAT IF I WANT CANDY I CAN GO STAY WITH MY DAD AND HIS TARTED-UP HARLOT!

MOM AT DOOR:   ...

TIMMY: I'M THE SPIRIT OF AUTUMN!!!

Costume Countdown: Tears of a Clown

I made a promise to myself when I embarked upon costume countdown week to limit my use of clowns -- believe me, I could feature vintage clown patterns all week.  Each one has a little something special to make it just not right in that way clowns are.  Take, for example, Butterick 3169, a 1964 pattern I found in Midvale Cottage's etsy shop:

Oh, you may think this is just a tableau of frolicking kids -- but take a closer look at the one in the upper right hand corner.  WHY IS THE APPLE FLOATING?!

My personal fave, though, is Advance 701, which appears to be either from the 1940s or early 1950s.  Interestingly, it seems to have been issued with two different illustrations -- perhaps one version one year and one the next?  The illustration style and price suggest too close a date for this to be a case of pattern re-numbering.

Here's illustration one, from the pattern's page on the Vintage Sewing Wiki.  Our happy Halloween couple traises down the block for a Halloween party:

Next, look at the pattern listing over at Spessarite Sole.  I think someone spiked the Pink Zombie Punch with truth serum, because a scene of Who's Afraid of VIrginia Woolf? proportions took place between this illustration and the last one:

Advance consistently had such gorgeous illustrations, and these are both worth framing -- although I think you'd have to give it a title like "From Revelry to the Death of Love." 

Costume Countdown: Strange Bedfellows

I was poking around the Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki today and ran across some truly puzzling costume bedfellows -- or, more accurately, pattern envelope-fellows.  Take, for Exhibit A, McCall's 1890 from 1954:

I can sort of get my head around it: Dad dresses Chinese for Halloween, then gets gussied up as Santa for Christmas.  Or maybe he's Santa for Christmas, and this is an exotic and adventurous family that thrills the block with sweet-and-sour pork for Chinese New Year's.

But then there's Butterick 6343, which, as far as I can tell, contains costumes with no logical connections to one another:

A geisha, a sheik and their little witch offspring?  This, I think, was for the 1950s family that just wanted to be confusing.

Costume Countdown: Pirate Showdown

One of the things I love about collecting vintage patterns is seeing how fashions change.  Take, for example, the pirate costume.  Here's Butterick 6731, copyright 1988, again from etsy seller patternmania.   

Next up is McCall's 4952, from their current collection:

If I had to sum up pirate fashion now vs. then?  Less "Margaritaville", more "faux sinister Johnny Depp."  I know the 80s couple is trying to look sinister, but your average "Pirates of the Caribbean" extra could wipe the floor with them.  Hey, even the little girl in the McCall's photo looks like she's ready to take them on.  So, for those considering the pirate look this Halloween, Pattern Junkie HQ presents:

UPDATING YOUR PIRATE LOOK -- DOS & DON'TS

DO utilize kerchiefs and striped bloomers -- the classics are always on-trend!

DO keep hair slicked back and out of the way.  Unruly locks are easy for swashbucklers to grab!

DON'T veer too far from your basic colors of red, white and black.  You're a pirate, not a fruit stand.

DON'T wear a headband.  'Nuff said!

DO wear a skull and crossbones hat!

DON'T be afraid to show off your waist.  Corset it, ladies! 

DON'T use polka dots bigger than a dime.  You're raiding the high seas, not auditioning for the Mouseketeers.

DO lose the parrot.  No one fears a man with a bird on his shoulder.

Costume Countdown: Sci Fi Madness!

With just under a week to go until Halloween (one of my favorite holidays -- I'm still rubbing the blood off my arms from the "Carrie at the prom" costume I wore to a party last night), I'm declaring it "Costume Countdown" week.  I'll be featuring vintage costume patterns every day until Halloween. 

Today: SCI FI MADNESS!

First up, Butterick 6756, which you can find on etsy at the lovely PatternMania's shop.

I love this illustration.  I like to imagine it's actually from a children's book, "The Littlest Spaceman," about an astronaut's son who takes dad's spaceship and lands on the Planet of Animals.  As he shouts "I'm Lord of All I Survey!", Panda and Leopard bow compliantly, while Lion does a welcoming dance.  Sadly, the Littlest Spaceman has led a sheltered life on the space compound, and doesn't realize that Rabbit and Carrot have other opinions.  A coup's a coming, and it's not going to be pretty.

Now, no Sci Fi costume post could be complete without McCall's 8731, which any Star Wars fanatic should grab from PatternPeddler posthaste.  It is -- hold your breath now -- an Ewoks pattern.  OK, so some Star Wars fans may buy the pattern to burn it, but I'll take the cutesy Ewoks over Episode One any day.

I was excited to post this because I thought it gave me a valid reason to link to the Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978, until I remembered that that gem of television history featured Wookies, not Ewoks.  I'm linking to it anyway, because you've never seen such a confused mess in your life.  Poor Harrison Ford.

Finally, why limit Sci Fi wonderfulness to Halloween?  Erin over at Dress A Day finished her Tetris Dress, and it's great!  Here's a pic of the wonderfulness, but go to her blog to get the full story!

In Defense of Vogue 1134

The new Vogues came out a few weeks ago.  For the most part, I...yawn.  Oh, what was I saying?  Yes, the new Vogues.  Ho hum for the most part, with a few standouts and and a few duds.  My favorite head-scratcher was this Chado Ralph Rucci number that one Pattern Review forum member quite accurately pegged as perfect if you needed to outfit your own personal Mini-Me:

One of my personal faves?  Vogue 1134, which got pretty roundly thumbed-downed at Gertie's awesome blog and at the Pattern Review Message Board.  Take a look at it:

Dear God.  What a disaster!  The model looks wide as a truck and rather unhappy about that fact.  The fit around her bust is baggy -- really, it makes her head look sideshow circus small.  And none of this is helped by the fact that someone in the Vogue hierarchy decreed that this dress should be made out of flowered fabric ripped off of a discarded sofa.  Those flowers, I might add, are a specific shade of mustard yellow and green that a high school friend and I termed "puner" for its nausea inducing power.  Note further that the flowers on the fabric run in a pattern as crazymaking as the yellow wallpaper in the Charlotte Perkins Gilman story. 

So how could I like this dress?  It doesn't even touch any of my usual weak spots, like big ol' floppy collars!

Well, take a look at the line drawing for starters:

It's actually pretty, with the gathers and the rounded waistline.  Sort of a 1930s feel to my non-fashion historian mind.  Imagine it cut to the knee and made in a fabric that wasn't a) puner, b) reminiscent of furniture or c) crazymaking -- perhaps an emerald green silk.  

I think this is the ugly duckling with potential -- what do you think?

Kwik Sew Crime Scene

What were the pattern illustrators at Kwik Sew smoking in the 70s?  I'm sorry, but I don't associate women's undergarments in a field with concepts like "fun hobby" and "happy sewing."  I associate them with concepts like "crime scene" and "ritual murder."

And no, the pretty flowers don't make it any better.

P.S.  It's available over at MOMSPatterns.  They're having a sale through October 31 -- just use the code "dressup" to get 15% off.