First Look: Vintage Pattern Lending Library 1932 Ladies Frock

Well Friends, between injuries, holidays and ice storms $25V has not been very active in the new year. There's also some other surprises in the works that you'll have to stay tuned to see. What I can tell you is that $25 Vintage is getting a total makeover in February including a new website design and logo that have been in production here in Haus of Nancy. 

Well, I hope that your weekends went well. Ours was great. For starters we're finally free of our house! Georgia Snowtastrophe 2011 has finally ended! We had 55 degree Saturday which really helped the thaw out all the roads. Looks like life around here is finally getting back to normal. 

The only good part about being iced in is that I was able to get a lot done around the house. I caught up on all the laundry, I reorganized the master bedroom closet, we cleaned out the upstairs office so we can paint and get it ready to become my sewing room, we reserved our church for the wedding, I cleaned all the base boards in my house, I put away the rest of the holiday decorations, we recycled the tree (which was sadder than expected) and we may or may not have had a Robotech marathon on Sunday. I never said we weren't dorks....

But the most exciting news of the weekend? Ta da!

My Vintage Pattern Lending Library Pattern came in the mail! I've never ordered one of her patterns before so I was super excited to open this thing up and take a look. I thought I'd give you all my first impressions of the pattern before I started chopping it up and turning it into January's dress project. Call this a mini-review.

My first impression of the pattern was very good. It was packed very very well. My mail man had forced the shipping envelope into my mailbox and creased the cardboard "do not bend" envelope right down the middle. The outer packaging also tore while I was trying to pry it out of the mailbox. After an angry phone call to the post office I peeled back the shipping envelope and was ecstatic to find that pattern was still in pristine condition. Awesome!

The pattern is packed in a heavy duty plastic zip-top sleeve and printed on good quality paper stock. My favorite part was the actual pattern pieces themselves. They are printed on two large sheets of vellum and are very tear resistant. I tried tearing an empty corner as a test and it took quite a bit of strength to do it. 

She's added seam allowances to the pattern which I really appreciate. She's also added things like tucks and darts in easily readable red ink. That's going to be a major time saver.

I also really appreciate additions like the dotted line above which will save me quite a bit of time on sleeves down the road if I want to make this dress as intended. 

Overall I am really happy with the quality of this pattern. I haven't had a chance to read through the instructions yet, but so far I'm really impressed. She has really added a lot of time saving features to things that always slow me up when working with unprinted patterns. The only down side to the pattern that I see is that it is one size only. She gives fabric recommendations if you do chose to scale up the pattern, but otherwise you're on your own. 

It was a bit more than I like to pay for a pattern, but with all the features VPLL has added I have to say that this dress pattern was a great value. I paid $12.00 for it and I know that the velum pattern pieces are going to stand up to multiple uses. 

Pool Side: 1980s Chic

I've been talking a lot about the 1930s lately so I thought it was time for break. We're fast-forwarding 50 years. Today we're totally going 80s, Dude.

Here in Atlanta we love the 1980s. Why wouldn't you? Modonna, Olivia Newton-John, Bowey, Come on!. We Atlantans love our 80s proms and some of us even host some snazzy 1980s pool parties. Of course going to all these events gets pretty pricey if you're shopping at vintage stores. A vintage bikini can sell for upwards of $50 and I don't know about you, but I get freaked out at the idea of wearing someone's used swimsuit. It's like buying used underwear.

Here at $25V we strive for that vintage look while keeping our wallets (and significant others) happy.  So where to turn? Why, to your local department stores of course! And if that doesn't work do a quick shopping trip around the internet. There is a lot of 1980s style in swim wear right now. Don't you just love cyclic fashion?

I've pulled together some fun 1980s swimsuit looks that we'll give you that vintage look while still looking chic. All $25.00 and under for a 80s pool party near you. Hopefully the party will be in a pool and not a giant mud-hole Encino Man Style.

Dude, I just totally found some rad pottery. Woah. 

The Deep-V

Art Deco Monokini From Forever 21 - $19.80


The Bandeau

Stripe 2 pc. Bikini Swimsuit  from Target - $24.48


The Crazy 80s Print

Dolphin Winner Suit from Swim 2000 - $25.00

The Fringe Bikini

Fringe Top from Venus - $13.00, Rio Bottom from Venus - $6.00


The Baywatch

Lifegaurd Flyback from Swim and Tri - $25.00


The Border Print

Red and Black Floral One Piece from Amiclubwear - 19.00


And now, I leave you with this not quite 80s inspiration. Wig Wam Bam.



PS. Camera cable came in the mail this morning. Now I can finish this Ruby business and get back to my sewing business. Expect those photos within the next few days!

Vinspiration Tuesday: Fabric choices

The camera cords have yet to arrive. I was going to snap a few pictures with the cellphone this morning just so I would have something to show, but I decided to be more productive and try to rework the front waistband on my Rubys. I had a serious problem with puckering on the first go around so I did some serious seam-ripping and tried again. The result is something that looks better, but still has too much puckering for my tastes. I'm going to suppose this has something to do with the seam allowances that I used. I went with a 3/8 seam for the entire short, but had to do so serious finagling to get the waistband to line up somewhat properly with the front legs. The Pink Rubys look pretty amateur, but we'll call them the first try. For purple rubies I'll be adding half an inch or so to the front waistband to resolve these puckering problems or simply decrease each front leg width by a quarter of an inch or so.

So I've decided to go in a new direction for Vinspiration today. Picture this: You've got yourself a fabulous 1930s dress pattern, but you're not sure what type of fabric to choose. Fear not, $25V has got you covered. Here are color scans from several different 1930s clothing and pattern magazines to give you some idea of what to look for.

approx 1937, France 

approx 1937, France

approx 1938, France

1930s France. Loving the red and white plaid on the far left. 

1934 Swimsuit, USA, Cosmopolitan Magazine

1930s, USA. I am SO in love with the lace pockets on the dress on the far left. Frugal me says imagine taking a cheap old thrift store lace table cloth and using it for embellishments. 

Spring 1934, USA

Spring 1934, USA, Sears Catalogue

Spring 1934, USA, Sears Catalogue

1937, USA. 

1937, USA

1937, USA

Spring 1938, USA

Spring 1938, USA

For more color magazine scans from the 1930s, check out the Costumers Manifesto. They've got some great stuff over there for historical costume/vintage clothing design. 

Some $25 Dollar Vintage Shoes for you

Well. My back is still out of whack. Darn roller coasters...mutter mutter mutter....


And the magenta dress still remains unfinished. This is about to become my longest sewing project ever. I did manage to finish cutting out all the pieces last night except the detachable collar. I'm holding off on that until I see how the actual collar of the dress itself looks and whether it's really necessary. 

So far I've managed to do the whole dress in under two yards of fabric and the collar would put me over. Why is this important to me you say? Well this jersey came in at $3.99 a yard and I can use a more expensive zipper if I stay under $10 for fabric! Yay!


Alrighty. So in apology for no dress updates here are some real Vintage things for under $25  to add to your own wardrobes!  All in lovely shades of pink for spring!

Shoes! Glorious shoes! These are some very nice vintage 1930s SILK mauve Peau De Soie pumps. I think these are the Cat's Pajamas! I wanted to snatch them up and hoard them all to myself... but then I decided it's always best to share vintage love. These glorious glorious shoes are only $25.00! 

1950s Pink Paradise kitten heel sling backs. Very very cute and only $15.00! 

Vintage cotton apron in Lavender, Lime and Pink. This lady found this lovely piece of history in an abandoned house. She's parting with it for $16.00. As I've said before, one cannot have too many aprons. It's literally impossible.

Hat! Glorious hat!  Cute little vintage cloche for $18.00. This would be cute with a spring day dress. Simplicity 1426 maybe?

And this cute little 1970's cocktail dress for $24.50. 

And then finally something that is not vintage, but very important for that vintage look. 

Some reproduction 1950s fully fashioned nylon stockings. The proper foundation is important to any vintage look. That includes hosiery and unmentionables. What Katie Did has a great selection of vintage unmentionables, shapers and hosiery. Check them out. These stockings sell for 17.50 GBP or 25.85 USD. Yes yes, they are over 25 dollars but they're so close to cost and I just had to sneak these in. I bought a pair of these about a year ago now and they really hold up. You could run a marathon in these things, trip, fall down, get back up and finish. Their longevity is amazing, especially for someone like me who gets runs the first time she wears a pair of stockings. So far I've worn mine probably 12-15 times and they're still going strong. That's under $2.50 a wear, not a bad deal for stockings. Not to mention their amazingly authentic look.