1950's House Dress

I finished my 1950's House dress.  It's very comfortable, and was easy to make....I seem to be all about comfortable clothing these days.  The older I get, the less uncomfortable I want to be. 

Here's a close up of the neckline detail.  I decided to make it a little different from the original, adding in the pleated ruffles out of the fashion fabric, and some green bias tape trim.  I thought it would jazz the dress up a bit.  I used the same green bias tape to trim the sleeves as well.

I could have made the skirt a little fuller at the hem-line....and probably would have given the chance to do it over again....to give it a bit more flare.  I used the fashion fabric, and some sturdy cotton that I had in my stash, to create a 'quilted' effect on the belt.  I chose to not make the belt too fussy, using only snaps to close it...I wouldn't want to draw unnecessary attention to my not-in-the-least-waspish-waistline.  I'm struggling a little with the whole "Aunt Bea" image in my head.....but, I AM happy with the way it turned out, and so is my husband (he said he likes the silhouette)....so that's all that matters, right?

I don't know if you can see the shoes well, but the heels that I am wearing are one of my favorite pair of shoes.  I bought them almost 15 years ago, in high school, and paid a pretty penny for them at the time.  Because they were so expensive, I remember thinking as a teenager, "I better wear these babies until they rip apart at the seams!"  And....well....I have, only they haven't ripped apart yet.  They are super sturdy!  And cute too...they have sort of that vintage feel to them, almost echo-ing the 'teens' era.  I got them back in the late 90's when "Titanic" was a huge hit, and a lot of the clothes in stores at the time were vaguely reminiscent of that era.  Anyway, they have that classic feel to them, and I hope to get many more years of wear out of them.

Even though this dress is supposed to be a "house dress"....I'm not sure that I'm going to be doing house chores in it.  I'll teach in it, but I can't picture myself dusting, sweeping, cleaning bathrooms, etc in it.  Did they really do all that is such a dress?  Ah, well, I guess they did...the things women do for fashion...at least there's no corset involved!

Comments

Diane Shiffer said…
Oh, I do love this!! You look absolutely adorable.... but hey, don't you be dissin' my fashion maven, Aunt Bee! ;-)
Jenni said…
Persuaded - Thanks a bunch! I had you in mind when I made this dress. All of your adorable vintage summer dresses inspired me! No dissin' here! Honest! I grew up watching reruns of the old Andy Griffith Shows....and grew up in a town everyone nicknamed "Mayberry" ....but I can't quite get past Aunt Bee's high pitched voice..... :0)
Nabila Grace said…
Oh! It turned out so lovely! :o) I love the detail on the neckline...oh and I just bought my FIRST pattern today! *over-excited girlish giggle* ;o)
Jenni said…
Nabila Grace - I am so excited for you! Which pattern did you buy? Will you be blogging about it?
Sarah said…
Jenni, it is *so* perfect! I love it; it looks great on you and the colors and fabric are delightful. The pleated ruffle around the neck is awesome; I love self-fabric trims since they give an added dimension to the finished garment without screaming "HEY LOOK AT ME!" :P

Your waistline looks very pretty and tidy. I think the wasp waist of the 50's was acheivable only for some naturally wasp-waisted persons - nearly all the photos I've seen of real persons in the 50's have a waist that looks normal. :)

It is a darling, flattering style! I love it!
Nabila Grace said…
I bought just a basic skirt pattern :) Something that is "supposed" to only take an hour :oP We will see...I'm thinking about it! I haven't been doing good at posting much recently! Oh I emailed you...did you get it?

Popular Posts