30 Carats

I did eventually wear my gold 30s dress to my friend's 30th birthday party, and again to our Christmas eve church service, because at Christmas it just seems right to dress a bit fancier. This post will mostly be photos, with the odd note. Construction details are here and here.

I experimented with creating a set for the photoshoot, rather than trying to find a spot in my house, and it worked so well – much more conducive to creativity. The portrait on the wall is of my grandmother as a child in the 30s.

I think I got pretty close to my original design, but it wouldn't hurt if the hip ruching stood out a little more.

For going out, I wore the dress with a white velour coat I made, maybe 10 years ago. It is not at all historical, but the shape and general impression were inspired by a coat in a Lucille Ball movie. I had used pearl clip-on earrings as a fake clasp and found that I could also use them to clip the coat to my neckline, so it would stay where it was most flattering.

Given the timey times we live in, a matching mask is a must for any fashionable outfit. I adapted my standard mask pattern to have ruching to match the dress.