All posts filed under: What I wear

Wearing History's Nanette Blouse thedreamstress.com

The Wearing History Nanette Blouse

Published by The Dreamstress

I was super excited when Wearing History announced the 1930s Nanette Blouse Pattern, because: 1) it’s adorable, and; 2) I’ve been looking for a ‘girlie’ take on a formal shirt to wear with tails (well, waistcoat and trousers, I usually abandon the tails after 3 minutes), for AGES, and the Nanette Blouse was the perfect design. I was even more excited when Lauren offered me a review copy.  Yay!  Free vintage pattern goodness! So I got the pattern for free.  However my opinions on the pattern are totally my own, and not influenced by the free-ness of the pattern. The Fabric: My sewing goal was for my blouse to be ultra-feminine, but also to clearly reference the idea of a formal shirt. I  absolutely love the white blouse shown on the cover of the pattern.  I wanted to replicate its sheer-sleeve and opaque body effect. A rummage in my fabric stash unearthed a white silk tissue with a slightly crepe thread, and a subtle stripe effect.  It wasn’t an absolutely ideal fabric, but it was …

Barcode Shirt & Smaug Shorts thedreamstress.com

Dinosaur Eggs & Dragon Shorts

Published by The Dreamstress

Last year summer in Wellington was a non-starter.  I barely made a summer wardrobe, and didn’t get to wear the few pieces I did make.  This year Wellington is making up for lost sunshine with a vengeance.  It’s been SUNNY and STICKY.  Mr D & I have been spending lots of time outside, gardening and going for walks, which means lots of shorts & T-shirts. Luckily I found the perfect shorts fabric over winter.  Isn’t it wonderful when you find a fabric and it tells you exactly what it wants to be?  Down to the last detail!  So often I know what I want to make, but can’t find the right fabric, or find gorgeous fabric, and have a good general idea of what it should be, but figuring out the design details takes more time than making the actual thing… Last winter Made Marion Craft got in this fabulous linen blend with a little triangular pattern in yellow & black: It immediately said two things to me: shorts, and Smaug. Smaug? Yep! Think of …

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com04

Watteau in (almost) Paradise: a vintage 1960s dress

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve blogged about almost everything I wore to Costume College this year, except one: the one thing that was actually on-theme (1960s), and that I didn’t make. I thought I’d give myself a break from corsets on Sunday, and wear a nice loose, flowing dress. Something that was both 1960s, AND fit the class I was teaching on Sunday: Tapa Cloth & Tiki Attire: the Pacific Influence on Fashion. This was the dress! Ironically, despite choosing it for comfort, this dress was the most least comfortable thing I wore all Costume College. Every commercially made Watteau-backed Hawaiian dress that I find seems to have been cut for someone who was 5’3″.  The bust is too high, and the waist is too high.  The armholes dig into my underarms and force my shoulders back to a really unnatural angle. This one is no exception.  🙁 If you’re thinking that ‘vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian dress’ is a very specific description, it is, but they were a ‘thing’ from the late 60s to the early 70s.  I collect …