1920s Frock

 I had this scrap of fancy fabric, and I wanted to make a basic 1920s dress that would be fancy from the fabric used, not from the pattern.

I used some of the pattern pieces from the Keepers Dolly Duds Nautical Pleats pattern for the bodice and sleeves, and for the length of the dress.

I made my own Peter Pan collar pattern to go with it.

I added a black velvet Peter Pan collar and sleeve cuffs.

I am happy with it. I feel like it's something a girl could reasonably wear to a jazz concert with her parents in the 1920s.

Both Phryne Valancy and Claudie got to try it on.

Who do you think looks better in it?

Rosie the Riveter

I finally finished this project!

I made the QT Pie Painter Pants back in November as part of a larger project, and finally all of the pieces are done!

It's a Rosie the Riveter costume!

Piet Mondrian and Yves Saint Laurent

 Piet Mondrian is a painter who is known for geometric paintings in primary colors.
He is a favorite of mine.

Below is his 1930 painting Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow.

Mondrian's paintings inspired the French couture designer Yves Saint Laurent. He made a collection of dresses based on Mondrian's  work in fall 1965.

One dress in particular from this collection has become a fashion icon and was on the cover of Vogue. One dress like this is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Thimbles and Acorns' Chemise a la Reine: Pattern Review

Today's blog post is brought to you by Marie Antoinette and Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun.

No, seriously.

I became obsessed with the idea of reproducing one of Marie Antoinette's most famous, or infamous gowns, the Chemise a la Reine. This dress was designed by Marie Antoinette's dressmaker, Rose Bertin. It appealed to Marie Antoinette, who was unhappy with the deep formality of the French court. She was painted wearing the dress by Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun.

This dress caused a huge scandal when it was exhibited in the Salon. People thought that the queen had been painted in her underwear. It broke all off the conventions for portraying a French monarch. Vigee Lebrun withdrew the painting from the Salon and replaced it with a more conventional portrait of the queen.

I was inspired in my project by the Thimbles and Acorns Chemise a la Reine pattern.

However, when I downloaded the pattern, I wasn't entirely satisfied with it for my project.  Vigee Lebrun's portrait of Marie Antoinette does not show a split skirt with a colored petticoat underneath, as the pattern has.

Furthermore, the pattern has the dress tie shut in the front. This is historically accurate for some chemise a la reine gowns, but I wasn't convinced that it was accurate for Marie Antoinette's gown. I wanted the gown to close in the back with velcro so a seven year old could take it on and off easily. I also wanted to sew the sash on so it can't get lost, which would not be possible with a  gown that closed in the front.

So I used the Thimbles and Acorn pattern as a base, and changed the pattern so that it could close in the back.

I also altered the sleeves to look more like the portrait.

For the sash, I actually used two ribbons. I found a gold, see through ribbon, which was similar to what Marie Antoinette wore, but it didn't provide much color at the waist. So I used a solid gold ribbon around the waist of the gown, and sewed the see-through ribbon over it, with extra at the back so it can be tied into a bow.

I am really pleased with the finished dress. It is beautiful.

For anyone interested, some of the sources I consulted in making this dress include Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution by Caroline Weber and Mode Historique.

Rebecca's Holiday Frock: Designing My Own Version

I thought I was done making dresses for my friend's daughter Rebecca. "That is enough pink and purple!" I said.

Then I remembered that I had a scrap of blue fabric left over from a quilt my friend made in grad school.

So I decided I wanted to make this into another dress. I didn't want this to be the main color of the dress for two reasons. One, I didn't know how much of this fabric I had- possibly not enough for an entire dress. Two, if this was the one dress the little girl had that was not in her favorite color, she might not like it for that reason. So I decided to make a purple dress  with blue accents.

I looked around at all the 1914-era dress patterns that I had not made yet, and none of them seemed just right. (Okay, too many of them had pleated skirts.)

Then I looked at dresses that American Girl had made for Rebecca.

I decided that I really liked Rebecca's new Beforever Holiday Outfit. It was even almost the same color scheme that I wanted to use.