The Challenge

As I mentioned in the last post. A challenge has been thrown down by my Beau. We were sitting at the dinner table discussing my recently doubled stash of vintage dress patterns. I was talking about fabrics, patterns, and zippers when this question was posed. Is it possible to have a completely vintage wardrobe? And what's more is it possible to do it an affordable cost? Back in the day my Mother and Grandmother made all of their clothing. Fabric was inexpensive and store bought clothing was out of their price range. Now with a yard of cotton sometimes exceeding $10.00 making your own clothing is more a labor of love and a hobby. It really isn't cost efficient with places like Target, Charlotte Russe, and Kohls around.

So it was with this thought that my Beau issued the challenge. My task? To make a vintage inspired wardrobe. This means tops, bottoms, slips, camis and most especially vintage dresses. There are very few rules, but they are going to be very strict.

Rule 1: The total cost of the garment must not exceed $25.00 US Dollars.

This includes fabric, lining fabric, buttons, zippers and anything else that is part of the finished garment. I make this distinction because these are vintage patterns and I'm a bit of a strange size. I may need to do some editing at some point or another. We decided that the muslin or tissue paper needed for this will not count in the final price. Why? Those are sewing notions that are used to produce a finished project. I wouldn't factor in pins and scissors, so muslin will not need to be totaled into the final price.

Rule 2: All dresses must be made from vintage patterns or vintage inspired patterns.

Some patterns will be vintage, some may be reprints. Whatever pattern I choose the dress must be a vintage design. The goal is to end up with a complete vintage wardrobe.


So some changes are going to be made around here. First the title of this blog. I figure it's time to let go of my college blog and move onto the doings of my professional life. I already removed another blog I had attached to this account that displayed parts of my college portfolio. So in with the new out with the old. I want the title to reflect this project since I'm planning to completely convert the focus to my sewing challenge.

A few names I am considering.

"25 Dollar Vintage"
"Sew it for 25"
"The Vintage Wardrobe Challenge"
"Nancy's New Wardrobe"

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Stay tuned for big changes and an exciting new blog name!!!

The woes of vintage patterns.

I love vintage patterns for many reasons.

A. They're cheap.

B. My style tends to lean towards 1940s/1950s glamour with a modern twist.

Here's a picture of me in a typical clubbing outfit in Atlanta sometime during February 2010. Not the best picture, but you get the idea. Cute rockabilly dress from Pinup Girl Clothing with a fabulous matching corset. (Confession time, I am so into this new corset trend! Seriously, who doesn't want to wear something that gives you a tiny waist and great hips?)

C. Most of the time the previous owner has so nicely cut them out for you. If you're really lucky they've cut it out on your size and not chopped them up too much.

D. Making dresses from vintage patterns gives you serious Bad Mamma Jamma points. And of course you get double Mamma Jamma points if you make them on this!

So earlier this week I picked up a few patterns for 50 cents a pop at the antique store just down the way from the office.

Here's a picture of just some of the haul. Then as I said in the last post I found some fabulous Jersey knit at half price. So, what to make? I started with a shirt dress from Simplicity 7450, but as I began unpacking the pattern I realized that the sleeve piece was missing. Lame, but one of the risks of vintage pattern buying. It had all the rest of its pieces however so I'm still planning on making one of those fabulous suit sets to wear to work in the winter time. I'll just have to make the sleeveless version of the dress to go under. No problem there, love that little yellow number there.

I was a bit disappointed by my lack of sleeve, but luckily I'd also purchased 6934 as you can see and view 2 was quite similar. So I checked for pieces, had them all and got cracking. The smallest size on the pattern was a 12. Just a bit big for me, but I decided not to worried as this is a shirt dress after all and isn't designed to be close fitting. The magenta jersey is soooo nice. I'm too much of a jersey fan I think, but it's so darn comfortable. I think this is going to be a great summer dress and it looks like it'll sew up fast. It has a few more seams than 7450, which is a little disappointing (I was more in the mood for a two night project) but it also gives me more places to take in if the dress needs some fitting.

I'll keep you posted on the progress! Tonight I hope to start sewing everything together.

And in more exciting news I have my very first follower! I've never had one before. This is so exciting! I feel so honored!