Ruby Short Final Tally

The Ruby Shorts Project Grand Total.

    1 Yard Fabric: $4.65
    10 buttons: $4.00 (ouch. This is what I get for being picky)
    Thread: $2.79
     Interfacing: $1.84
     New Camera: Free, but major time deduction.
+  Blood, Sweat and Pain : Free
_______________
Grand Total:  $13.28




Nice. Enough leftover for a cute retro top to match!

The Rubys!

Tada! I'm so happy to get to present these! What is it they say? The victory you work the hardest for tastes the sweetest? And I worked for these photos lemmi tell you. Someday I might tell you about the 3 hour downloading ordeal, but not today. Love my shorts, and sooooo perfect for the beach. Actually Fiance's office is having a fun summer boating trip in August... can you guess what I will be wearing? Loving the fit around the waist and the hips.

 I'm digging these rubies un-folded. I like the longer shorts feel. Yes, big floppy hat is mandatory.

Think they look anything like my 1947 Vinspiration?

They definitely have a good flair out to the sides.

And if I'm not feeling super retro-esque I can wear them the way they're supposed to be worn. Here's the traditional Ruby fold, but as you can see I did not iron these into a crease. Also cute, but not really loving them as much as I do when they are long.

First summer essentials done and posted. Sew-a-long completed. Phew.

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. 

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday Y'all! (I'm marring into a southern family. I have decided that qualifies me to use that word.)

Hoping you all had a great weekend! We finished some painting and attended a fun lunch meeting with friends. We also watched a few hours worth of 1954 Sherlock Holmes TV series featuring Ronald Howard.

I picked the complete series up at Target this past week. Best $5.00 I have ever spent. Besides being incredibly entertaining, there's some really hilarious moments between Watson and a few other characters as they try to describe the eccentric behavior of Mr. Holmes. My favorite line has to be "He was beating a corpse with a stick." To which Dr. Watson replies "I beg your pardon?"

If you're also a fan of the 50s take on Holmes and you don't feel like making the drive to your local Target you are in luck! You don't have to spend $5.00 to enjoy some of these episodes, most are available for free online.

Other freebies this morning include these pictures of some fabulous late 70s-early 80s shoes compliments of my mother.

Modeled by my lovely younger sister Briana. I'm only slightly creeped out by the weird smilie faces painted on her toes. I would feel better about them if they didn't have whites around their eyes.

These were the shoes worn by my Mother when she married my Father in August of 1981. They've lived in her closet ever since and have held up remarkably well. The last time I remember seeing these shoes was when I wore them for some 1970s themed school spirit day back in Jr. High School. I'm thinking I might try to get her to send me these. They just might be able to finally fulfill my lust for white strappy pee-toed shoes for summer. Plus, they're already part of the family. And as we all know, the Rubys fit right in with that 1970s vibe. What do you think? Good frugal find from my stylish Mama or not so much?

Your Friday Vinspiration: 1937

Quick camera update: The cords have been found! And they are on their way down here from New York! Apparently I'm holding up Lisette's big Ruby post, so I hope they come soon. 

Lately I've been on a 1930s kick. More specifically the late 1930s to very early 1940s. The tailored looks, the lowered hemlines, the hats, the furs! There's something about it the glamor of it that just makes a girl swoon. So in honor of that I present to you "A Year in Vinspiration: 1937." No history lesson today, just real people wearing real clothing. Bring back this type of everyday fashion!

March 1937 from the collection of The State Library of New South Wales. It's important to note that this is a high class social event these women are attending. They're enjoying a day at the races. I'm not sure if I love or hate Lady on the Left's suit. That's a lot of print with that matching hat, but the cut of the suit is very fetching. I do love the way the print is worked on the diagonal. I love their gloves and I need Lady on the Right's hat. Need. May have to set about figuring out how to make something like it.

From the same set as above dated March 1937. Still a more formal social outing. I dare any of you to tell me that Lady on the Far Left's outfit isn't the greatest most wonderful piece of fashion EVER. I am so loving the buttons down the front of her dress, her little white gloves and of course that hat. Gentleman in the Center is looking very dapper in his pinstripe suit. I'm a big fan of how far the lapel crosses over in the front, how fitted the jacket is and his pocket square. Gotta love a sharp dressed man.

Teenagers of 1937. This is a 7th grade class from 1937. I noticed some of the boys are wearing pants and some knickers. This is a great snapshot of the halfway point of a major change over in boys clothing. 

This guy was just so cool I couldn't help but put him in my list. This is Dick Mooney of Jamestown, North Dakota, 1937. Honestly if this photo wasn't dated I would have no idea what era he was from, but lucky for me it is! I wouldn't say he was very fashionable per say.... but I love western shirts. I wanted to make one for Fiancé, but the idea was shot down rather quickly. Fiancé is a well dressed Southern Gentleman, not a cowboy. 

Above I featured society wear, here is some work wear. This is a photo of female workers at the Elektromekano; Helsingborg, a radio company in 1937. Most of these ladies are wearing smocks, which I love and totally have to have. I'm also smitten with their hairstyles. I love fingerwaves, I'm just incapable of setting them into my own hair. 

I love the shoes. Wow. I'm still completely hooked on white peep-toe summer shoes. I'm not sure what to think about the socks with open toes, but if it's good enough for 1937 it's good enough for me. Lady being Leapfrogged has another example of 1930s swimsuit and I'm thinking that the neck is pretty low. Oh you scandalous 1930ites you! I often wonder how the 50 somethings of the 1930s thought about the 20 somethings. After all when they had been their age beach suits were knee length dresses made of black wool. 

And finally Christmas Eve 1937. I'm digging Lady on the Left's shoes and belted combo. I've seen similar shoes in stores recently. The tweedy tan and black combo has been pretty popular in the last few years. I seem to remember seeing something similar in a Marshall's recently. To note: This is a picture from the Southern Hemisphere so we can all understand the short sleeved dresses. 

Have a good weekend everyone! Stay pumped for the Ruby's come Monday! 

The Camera Saga Continues!

And now for another installment of Nancy's Camera Replacement Saga!

I got my new camera in the mail!! And by new I mean old. This was the digital camera my parents bought me as a Christmas present my senior year of high school. It takes a few seconds to start up and get going, but it works. That's more than I can say for the newer camera and this one was free. Does it get any better than that? No, I don't think so. Well okay... it might have been better if my mother sent my photographer sister's profession camera, but then there might have been some trouble between me and my Maid of Honor you see.

So I charged New Old Camera up and went off to click myself some fine pictures. And click I did. The Rubys (which I have been dying to unveil to you all), the knitting, my ring, all sorts of good stuff. Oh yes, I loaded up that memory card. Then as I went to the computer to upload these pictures I noticed a small problem. You see my camera dock did not work with New Old Camera. Neither I nor my Mother foresaw this problem. Yes, my cords were too small for it. So now I'm waiting for my mother to track down and send the old cords. She's awesome.

Technology and I don't get along well.You may recall the incident where both my sewing machines decided to die at the same time. Isn't that why you have more than one machine? For just such occasions? Not in Nancyland, my friends. In Nancyland you need a minimum of three of any electronic device.

Other than that things are starting to calm down around here. We've finished calling all our friends and we're finally able to enjoy our engagement time together. I guess it's started to sink in just this week. We went to get the ring sized and Fiance had us look at the wedding bands. I finally started to feel like this isn't a dream. This is real. This is happening. I'm marrying the love of my life. I'm definitely a lucky one. (And I have a nice rock too.)

I missed Vinspiration Tuesday so I hope you will all settle for a Vinspiration Friday. I'm still tracking down a few photos. In the meantime I hope you all are well.

Vinspiration Tuesday Goodness and some ARRRG

Vinspiration Tuesday is here again! And today is 1930s Day! In color! There absolutely was color photography in the 1930s. It was primitive and outrageously expensive at the time, but it did exist. The photos I'm sharing today are mostly from Print Ads. I borrowed the images from George Eastman House's online collection. They are all by Nicholas Muray, a great american advertising photographer. These are some of his earlier works. He later goes on to take some AMAZING photographs in the 1940s which I may do a Vinspiration Tuesday on later, but what we're all interested in today is the 1930s fashion! So away we go.

Starting off today we have an image that's just perfect for summer. Yes, yes, smoking in the picture. Just ignore the cigarette. It's the 1930s alright?  Instead enjoy her adorable swim cap. Do you think those leaves and petals are made out of rubber like the cap? Probably. I am also gushing over her cute yellow knit swim suit. I haven't run across many 1930s swim suit photos or patterns so I'm not completely sure what this would look like out of the water, but it's just darling in this photo! The photo was taken in 1936.

Another Camel Ad. Apparently it's from Camel Cigarett's "Magic Campaign, Fun to See - More Fun to Know, 1931" Not quite sure what is going on here other than the fact that there are belly dancers dancing in a box full of broken glass? What? Well, much more interesting than the dancers are the frocks! I love Miss Red Floral Print on the far right with her smart red cardigan. A close second favorite is Miss Green Frock in the back towards the left. She has a fabulous belted minty green print dress with scarf accent. Yummy. And the hats! Wow, those hats just make me swoon all over. Pink hat in the front is my absolute favorite lady's hat, but Miss Haughty Red Scarf to the right has a darling tan hat with dark band. Beau would look fantastic in the men's hat to the far right there, between Miss Red and Miss Haughty.

This one I picked especially for the Vintage Baroness. How fashionable is this lady? Be still my beating heart! The image's name is "Lucky Strike Girl 1936." (Sensing a theme with these photos yet? I told you the process was expensive and rare.) This dress might be one of the most fabulous 30s outfits of all time. I'm head over heels for the flowy blouse with red triangular detail. Her matching hat and gloves are to die for! I wondered to myself if her outfit might be couture, but after looking at the image further I think she's just highly fashionable... times 3. 

And now we enter the land of "what the heck are you wearing, Joan?" She looks like she should be leaving for marching band practice. Still I suppose that Joan Crawford was a very fashionable lady in 1939 so she must have known what she was doing. Her outfit is another great example of cyclic fashion. Don't you think this would look right at home in a 1970s magazine? Or even a 1980s one with those shoulder pads. So you can probably all look forward to wearing this look in the future.

This is a photo of Bertha Case taken in 1932. I'm not sure if this is the Bertha Case, American artist or just someone named Bertha Case. I was only able to find one photo of the Bertha Case on the internet to compare this with, but that photo had been taken in the 1910s and it was hard to tell. I'm leaning towards this actually being her because it is a color print from the 1930s. I am very much enjoying her elegant gloves with the scalloped edging and her hat. Bows nowadays seem to make hats very childish, but this hat is nothing but tasteful. 

And lastly the beautiful Marlene Dietrich in her wispy evening gown circa 1935. Marlene was just so gorgeous, truely one of the timeless beauties. She always looked a little miffed in her photos, but that was her style. Not my favorite dress of today for sure, but it's certainly interesting and dare I say- racy? I wish I knew what the fabric of that dress was. It reminds me a bit of chalk lines on a paper bag. Anyone else have any ideas?

So there's your Vinspiration for the week and now for the Ruby Shorts and rest of Nancy's life update...

Sooooooo, it is one thing after another around here. Today as I was snapping some pictures of my newly completed right Pink Ruby leg my Point-and-Click camera decided to call it quits. My first thought? Needs new battery, so I popped the battery out and plugged the camera into the wall. This worked for like a second, then the camera took some weird grainy liney pictures and decided to DIE on me. I can't even get it to suck its lense back in...

So instead of showing you my nifty button holes (thanks to my awesome automatic button-hole attachment) you get these grainy cellphone pictures. Enjoy... if you can.

Yes, that is my bathroom. Yes those are my cleaning supplies. Yes those are my panties for all the world wide web to see.

I also had some photos of the nice fit I've somehow managed to achieve despite all the troubles people have been having with the Rubys, but you don't get those. They're on the dead camera. And yes, I am wearing a shirt, I pulled it up to take the photos.

So one leg down, the other should go together fairly quickly now that I know what to expect. I don't think anyone from this sew-a-long (SAL?) has actually finished their shorts.The Rubys are definitely a beast, but I hope well worth it. BurdaStyle seems to like to take the simplest directions and twist them around so it seems insanely difficult. These shorts really are not too bad, once you can translate the pattern. I know Purple Rubys will be a breeze now that I know what the pattern means to say. Lisette has an ongoing translation over at her blog Vintage or Bust.

Weekend update

So this is as far as I got this weekend on the Ruby shorts.

Made some darts and hemmed the pocket. Still have no clue what Ruby wants its pocket seam allowances to be. I went with 3/8 as that seemed to make the pocket the right size. I think on Purple Ruby Shorts #2 I'm going to omit the back pocket. It's cute, but it is detracting from that 40s vintage vibe. Of course, Purple Ruby's fabric colors are already detracting from its vintage vibe. Purple Rubys I think will have much more of a 70-80s look, while Pink Ruby's will have a nice 1940s or 1950s feel to them. I'm already planning to pair Pink Rubys with a white button down blouse, a large brimmed hat and some white vintage sandals. I need to swing by the goodwill and my favorite consignment store before I pick any shoes up on the internet, but these are at the top of my list.

Currently they are $20.00 on etsy. I've been dying for some white vintage shoes since I saw this post by the Vintage Baroness. I, of course, was not willing to pay for any of the shoes she posted despite how glorious they were. I was, however, very inspired and went in search of something a little more reasonable. To me dressing Vintage is about having a vintage look that evokes a certain time period, but is not necessarily accurate.  I suppose you could say I lean towards the Rockabilly side of vintage fashion in that way.

Luckily for me, fashion is cyclic. What was once in style will be again and again and again. The sandals are probably from the 1960s or 1970s. The maker is Corelli. The heel is just perfect for the vintage 40s look. It wasn't very common to see different colored heels at the time. You'd be surprised at how difficult it is to find a pair of white peep toes with a solid white heel these days, but if the white heel isn't important to you etsy has a lot of white 30s and 40s looking strappy shoes from the 1970s and 80s under $20.00.

I'm also on the lookout for a sweet 40s red lipstick shade to go with the look. Besame has some great Vintage Reproduction lip colors. I'm leaning towards Merlot for my 40s look.

What do you think? The 1940s look is characterized with a flat foundation, light eyes, a dark liner over the eye (cat-eye optional), a thin highlight under the eye and a dark lip. I'm worried Merlot might be a little too dark for my pale skin, but maybe not. Here's a cosmetics ad from 1947.

Blue Red is pretty dark as you can see. Besame's Classic Enchanting Lipstick even comes in a vintage styled lipstick tube. How cute! The designer of their lipstick collects vintage lipstick tubes and designed their packaging accordingly.  Besame Classic Enchanting Lipsticks come in a large variety of colors, are quite thick, are highly pigmented and are about as close to the lipstick of the 1940s as you are going to get. The tubes sell for $15.00.

Ruby Shorts update: Welt pocket

So, made my first welt pocket ever today. The results were "meh." I'm going to go ahead and pass the buck here and blame it on the Ruby instructions. I had trouble understanding them as I was going through the process despite the fact that I'd read them five or six times beforehand. It wasn't until after I finished the pocket that I finally understood what the directions were saying, so I figure now that I know what they meant to say Ruby Shorts #2 in fabulous purple should have a better looking welt pocket.  

Above is the welt (or piping as the Ruby pattern calls it, or pleated pocket if you prefer-- Whatever floats your boat) before I sewed the pocket flaps on the back. My basting stitches are are still there, though they weren't really holding anything because I didn't fold the welts back far enough. Oopsie. As you can see I've got some serious puckering going on. I figured out why later. When I cut through the fabric to open a hole for the pocket I should not have pushed the little triangles it leaves on the horizontal sides of the welt in. That should be done last, I did it first. So, I feel like if I don't have to mess around with those things while trying to align my piping next time things will be much smoother.. 

Pocket flaps sewn on, no problem here. 

Inside of the pocket. Looks good. No problems there. 

And the final welt. It's mediocre at best. There's a little too much pucker on the right hand side for my taste, but I suppose it's not horrid for my first welt pocket ever. I'm debating on trashing this piece and skipping the welt all together on the pink Rubys. I have enough fabric to cut myself another front panel. I probably won't though. I want to see how the welt will lay when I actually have the shorts on. If the pocket lays funny I'll know not to add one to the purple Rubys. And I don't really mind the pocket  the way it is since it's small, plus I think little imperfections give it that homemade touch. 

You might also note I finally got around to making a new header graphic for my blog. Looks much better than the fake title I had up there before.  

My fusible interfacing won't stick.

This is about how a feel right now...

I tried to make a pocket this morning. Tried being the key word here. I've never made a pleated pants pocket before and I wrongly assumed it would be no biggy and take me maybe half an hour or so. Apparently I was wrong. The Gods of Sewing were against me once again this week as I tried to fuse my interfacing. It just wasn't happening.

First I tried the old fashioned way: a damp cloth, a steam iron, high heat for 10 seconds. Nothing.

So I tried again with a different piece of the interfacing and some fabric scraps. Still nothing.

I tried sticking the interfacing to a piece of scrap fabric by putting the steam iron directly on it and pressing the steam button about 10 times. Nope.

Next I took some scraps and sprayed water directly on the interfacing and hit them with about 30 seconds of high high heat. Still no stick, but I did manage to melt my fabric scraps a bit. Awesome.

This is the last time I trust the information on the bolt! Fusible interfacing my butt, this stuff wouldn't stick to fabric if I used superglue!

So off to the store I will go after work today. I'm going straight to the notions section and getting that cheap stuff for embroidery. I know that sticks. Don't judge me for buying prepackaged stuff, you'd do it too if you wanted to finish a pair of shorts by the end of the week. At the very least I learned that if these shorts catch on fire while I'm wearing them they will melt to my skin and give me severe burns. I'll have to keep that in mind.

But, I'm still hopeful about my Rubys. I still love them and their buttons. And I also decided to join a summertime sewing project hosted by Ms. Ali.

The plan is to make five summer essentials. The goal is to stock your closet with quality summer basics. Ali has laid out some categories, but the rules are pretty loosy goosey. Just make five(ish) garments by August(ish). Mine will as usual be retro and under $25.00. 

First few items on the menu I've mentioned before.

Item 1, the Rubys. It's not cheating if I haven't finished them before the start of this new sew-a-long... right?

Item 2, 80s Swimsuit.

Still working on what fabric to choose. Pink in the middle is winning, but yellow herringbone is a close second.