All posts filed under: 20th Century

The ‘Who cares about Bulls & Bears when you can have Bunnies’ Dress

And we’re off! My first HSF ’14 challenge of the year is done! This is the 1929 “Bulls, Bears & Bunnies’ dress, and the ‘Economic Sunrise’ hat. (The belt doesn’t get a name. It’s just a belt.) I actually finished the dress on Boxing Day, but I only managed to finish the hat and belt this week. The dress is named for the exceedingly un-bullish economic crisis of 1929-32, which perfectly covers the dates of the dress, and for the fabric: bunny patterned rayon! I found the fabric at Arthur Toye’s in Wellington during the CBD Craft Crawl. Well, I say ‘I’ found the fabric, but really I was looking at all the rayons for something to make another version of the Garden Party dress out of, and Juliet noticed this and said “Oooh, bunnies!” and I pounced on it and said “That’s perfect!”. Uh-oh. So we had the polite argument about who saw it first/wanted it more, because of course there was only 3m left in the shop, but Juliet very nicely let …

Rate the Dress: Holiday florals in the 1940s

Published by The Dreamstress

Ah, Maria Christina. That was quite a lot of ensemble last week! There was actually quite a lot of love for the dress itself, once you found it under all the STUFF. And most of you recognised that for an 18th and early 19th century monarch, in the days before Queen Victoria’s middle-class monarchy, overkill was probably exactly what was desired! So you gave MC and her mass of jewels and lace a 7.8 out of 10, which is a pretty decent nod of approval for an ensemble from the usually un-loved 1830s. (I think we can all agree that the necklace needed to go though!) I generally do a Christmas-y/holiday-y themed frock for the Rate the Dress closest to Christmas: something in festive red velvet, or sumptuous white fur. A sparkling gala gown, a skating costume or a snuggly jacket with muff. But those are really an unrealistic depiction of the holiday around me. It’s summer in NZ – the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it’s time …

The 1930s Bad Plaid Celebration Dress

Published by The Dreamstress

Hurrah! I have made it through the Historical Sew Fortnightly! I’ve managed to make at least one item for all 26 challenges! Some were late, some took some time, but I did it! And here, of course, is my item for Challenge #26: Celebration: I’m calling it the ‘Bad Plaid’ dress, because the fabric is so awful it’s awesome, and because, well… I whinged about the pattern a lot as I sewed it up. The pattern is Decades of Style #3007: The 1930s Button Dress. Now, I’ll admit right away that half of the problems with the dress were my fault, at least in that I knew going in that the pattern wasn’t the most flattering style for my shape, and that I wasn’t using the best fabric for the pattern. I’m small busted, with a largish-rectangular ribcage, a sway back, and a full bottom. I look great in empire waistlines, regular waistlines, and dropped waist – but the 1930s halfway-down-the-ribcage waistline? Not my friend. So that was the pattern problem. And this dress needs …