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Leimomi in the Sky with Diamantes

Sometimes when I look through my photos I think that maybe I should do more gritty urban photoshoots with graffiti and skyscrapers.  Wellington actually has lots of fascinating urban corners: old character buildings, a couple of fabulous high rises (and a lot of really terrible ’80s ones), and AMAZING graffiti.

Every once in a while I do do that kind of photoshoot, but the thing is, I’m all about nature.  By the time I get to a city photoshoot I’m already grumpy because of traffic and attempting to find parking (both of which are actually laughably easy in Wellington, but I’ve gotten spoiled).  Then, when we actually take pictures, I’m just weirded out by people looking at me as I pose.

Take me out of the city to a park or the country and I start frolicking amongst the flowers and gambolling over the grass and climbing trees and generally loving the whole world.  Nature just makes me happy.

Out in the wild  I turn into a cross between a tree goddess  and a six year old.

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

Last weekend was the annual Wellington Sewing Bloggers Christmas picnic.  I love picnics!  Food + nature = yay!

Mr D does not agree.  He doesn’t understand why you would go sit on the ground when you have a perfectly nice set of chairs and couches at home that you could be sitting on.

So the picnic was a great chance to exercise my love of lounging on wool blankets and eating too many strawberries and being outside.  It was also the perfect opportunity to hang out with the awesome WSB ladies, and to show off my latest frock, and get it photographed – because in addition to sewing, the WSB ladies are awesome at appreciative “Oooohs!” and taking pictures.

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

Appreciative “Ooohs” aside, this isn’t the most exciting sew.  It’s another Henrietta Maria frock, and I’ve done quite a few of those, but it is exciting because I love this pattern so much, and it’s really the perfect summer dress.  It’s so comfortable, works for every occasion, and best of all, has pockets!

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

And, because it’s in nature, I’m grinning like a chipmunk in half the pictures!

The dress is sky blue linen with subtle stripes, and it looked perfect with my rainbow belt, so of course I had to wear my most over-the-top diamond-like necklace so that I was Leimomi in the Sky with Diamonds.

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

Sadly, not one of the WSBs got the pun.  Le sigh.

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

That did not stop me having a fabulous time with the ladies.  It was a picnic!  There was nature!  I climbed things!

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

Multiple things!

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

You have to love a dress that you can climb trees and walls in!

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

The dress is one of those things that I just want to wear every day.  I’ve found it also looks good with a braided leather belt and brown shoes – it’s the closest I get to boho chick.

Henrietta Maria in the sky with diamantes thedreamstess.com

Happiness all ’round!

 

Rate the Dress: a field of flowers, 1920s style

Last week I showed you a walking dress in blue cotton, with red accessories and a little twist of the exotic.  While many agreed that the moire yoke was out of place (and then again, some of you loved it), and quite a few of you weren’t sure about the red accessories (but, of course, some of you thought they made it!), the overall reaction was positive but not gushing, scoring the dress a very respectable 8.9 out of 10.

It’s really starting to feel like summer here, so I’m suddenly fixated on light silks, high hems, and florals, hence today’s Rate the Dress pick.

This dress features the very simple silhouette of the early-mid 1920s.  It would be an extremely boring frock, if not for the visual interest of the whimsical embroideries of typical summer flowers: red poppies, blue cornflowers, white daisies, and golden wheat or grass sheaves.

The embroideries are framed with scalloped hems and sleeves, anchoring the patterns with four rows of borderings.

Just for this Rate the Dress, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before, and give our frock an accessory, because  look at this:

Hat, 1920-25, probably French, straw and silk, Metropolitan Museum of Art, C.I.45.114.4

Hat, 1920-25, probably French, straw and silk, Metropolitan Museum of Art, C.I.45.114.4

What do you think?  Is the dress  a good  balance of simplicity and pattern?  Do the embroideries and scallops provide the right amount of detail?  And would the hat be just the thing to wear with it, or is it too much?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

Spring Styles for Blouses & Skirts, Feb 1928

Spring is almost over here in the Southern Hemisphere, and winter is well on the way for you in the Northern Hemisphere, but I’m still in love with these spring styles from the February 1928 issue of The Women’s Magazine.

The Women's Magazine, Feb 1928 thedreamstress.com

This is really the moment when vintage fashions become totally wearable in a modern sense.  You could wear any one of these skirts or blouses to the office in NZ today, and no one would blink an eye.  I’m particularly loving 5007, and 9898, because I have a little obsession with 1910s and 20s waistcoat-blouses.

Also of interest is the fabrics they recommend.  Both ‘Rigosil’ and ‘Delysia’ were early rayon fabrics.