Slipping away

Many years ago, when I was still 'playing dressup' rather than 'costuming' I used to frequent the retro rack of the local second hand shops. One of the things I picked up was a 1950ish slip. It hung around the dressup box for a while until I made a light coloured 40s dress and the slip became part of my everyday wardrobe.

I love wearing my vintage dresses but often find in the air-conditioning at work that I am uncomfortably cold. The slip seemed a good answer for this problem. I didn't want to wear the same slip day in, day out, and perfectly fitted 70-year old clothes seemed a bit much to expect second hand shops to stock on command. So I decided to make my own. The slip I have fits me beautifully so I decided to take a pattern from it.

I wanted a dark colour, because I like dark colours, but no fabric shops had black tricot. Instead I picked up a lovely chocolate brown and a goldflecked lace to go with it.

My pattern worked pretty well straight off. Only the bodice top needed a slight change to the angles. The centre front panel came out a bit weird but I think that had more to do with my confused construction than the pattern itself.

The slip went together in a day (yay!) and fits very well. In fact, I like the fit so much I also made a summer dress from the same pattern. This one took a bit longer as I had to decide how to decorate it and I wanted the decorations to make it look less like a slip and more like a dress. I ended up deciding on a self-ruffle at the hem, trimmed straps and lace appliqués.

To edge the ruffle I brought my overlocker out for the first time in ages and managed to remember how to work it. The wide straps I trimmed with ribbon and beads. The lace appliqués are cut from the leftovers from my Ava Gardner dress and sewn on by hand. I really like the purple and taupe together.

Mum and I had a lot fun doing a photoshoot at the National Botanic Gardens. We were aiming for a fairy kind of look.

Fifties' flounces and feathers

Once I finished fitting the pattern for Butterick 6018, it was time to make it up. I picked up a couple of sateen prints from Spotlight for the purpose. They have a very slight stretch but I don't think it will be enough to be detrimental to the finished product. First to go is the peacock feather print.

Following on from the challenge of fitting, the construction is not especially newsworthy. The pattern went together well. I actually looked at the instructions which turned out to be useful. So, if you want a review, I guess it would be: "5 stars, am currently making two more".

After I started the dress I decided I would like to wear it to a wedding at the end of the week. Because who doesn't love deadlines? I got it all done bar the hems on Thursday which left Friday for the finishing. I started out doing a tiny neat hemming stitch but it soon became clear that if I wanted to sleep at all that night I would need to do something faster. So I tacked it down instead. This worked for the day but I will now hem it properly, at a more relaxed pace.

The dress can be worn with or without a petticoat but I thought it really wanted one so I bought a Hell Bunny long petticoat from Atomic Cherry. It arrived in two days which was impressive. The dress does look rather better with it.

Having an occasion to wear the dress also raised the problem of shoes. I had ordered tan Gibsons from American Duchess some time before that I thought would be perfect but they had only just been shipped and weren't expected to arrive in time. There was much rejoicing when the parcel turned up on the Friday. The shoes fit just right (phew) and I wore them all day Saturday. They were comfortable and even wearing them all day (including lots of standing and walking - without any 'wearing in') caused no ill effects. Review: 10/10, will expect postage miracles again!

With the dress I wore some vintage jewellery that I inherited from my great aunt.

I was really, really pleased with the dress. There's nothing I look at and think 'it'll do but I should to change it for next time' and it didn't take me any time to warm up to liking it.

(This seems to be a post full of reviews. I have received no benefits from Butterick, Hell Bunny, Atomic Cherry or American Duchess. But, like, if you want to send something now, go ahead!)