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.