Working Class Attire · 1770s Style

OK, I'll be honest.  This was one of my beginner 18th c. outfits, and I was this close to not even bothering with getting photos for the blog.  It's such a simple, boring outfit, and one that I doubted was even worth sharing.

I thought, "Hey, I'll just go ahead and do a post about it, and then sell it in my Etsy shop a month later."  I was tired of it and ready to pass it on.

But then..... Kathryn took pictures.

Seriously, I don't know how she does this!  Every time I'm on the fence about an outfit, she works her photography magic and suddenly I have a renewed zest for said garment!

So.....for those of you who would have purchased this jacket... sorry.  It's no longer for sale. ;-)  I've changed my mind- this is one of my favorite outfits!  I like to think that I'm rather modest and not vain, but I'll admit- I really do love the way these pictures turned out. To the extent that there may or may not have been squealing in public on the streets of Williamsburg when I saw them... ;-)

Part of that is because these pictures were taken in front of my favorite house/wreath combinations in Colonial Williamsburg this past December.  The Sign of the Rhinoceros is always a quaint, off-the-beaten-path house, but the Christmas decor made it more than usually charming, in my opinion. :-)

The jacket is super simple- linen lined with cotton (made back before I knew better....) and machine assembled, hence the lining peeking out at the front edges.  Hand-assembling has the benefit of keeping those pesky linings staying back where they're supposed to be, but I was ignorant of such things when I made this. ;-)

The jacket is made from JP Ryan's jacket pattern, and went together rather well.  This was my second one, so I didn't make any changes to the basic design.  Even though this was one of my first 18th c. endeavors, the fit of the back and sleeves turned out better than most of my more recent projects!  Not sure what that says about my fitting skills trajectory... ;-P

The jacket started out life as a bedgown.  Poor fabric- it's really not worthy of such appalling treatment.  I was so, so pleased with it though, because it was my very first historically-accurate outfit!

I soon found out that I utterly loathe and despise bedgowns, so that was a short-lived incarnation.  I used the pieces and some of the leftover fabric to make this jacket.  Fitted garments make me so much happier!

I was drawing a blank on accessorizing this outfit, mainly due to the fact that I completely forgot to pack our simpler apron for this trip!!  Argh!  I missed it on most days- hopefully now I won't forget it again!  I paired this with one of our block-printed neckerchiefs.  I went on a printed neckerchief spree a couple years ago, and made them out of all the appropriate fabric we had.  This one was barely eked out of the leftover scraps, but we happened to have enough of the border to trim the neck edge! :-)

· Thanks for reconciling me to this jacket, Kathryn! ·

· Vintage Patterns for Sale (Including rare designs and larger sizes!)·

Well, the urge to purge continues.... I just listed quite a few vintage patterns over on eBay!  Some of these are from our estate sale excursions, as well as some from our personal collection.

They're ending next Tuesday evening, so be sure to take a look here soon! :-)

I'll start out with the cream of the crop- mostly because the first picture is the one featured on bloglovin'. ;-)

These early 50s evening gown patterns are very rare AND complete AND in 36-38" bust sizes!

Check them out here: McCalls 8915 · McCalls 8485

These children's dresses are among those I'm selling off.  The one on the left is so sweet with the flower appliques- one made with rows of eyelet trim!  On the right, this tucked dress is perfect for gingham and just screams summer!

Listings here: Simplicity 4878 · Simplicity 6947

Interested in 1970s styles?  These are both in a larger size and so versatile!

Butterick 6992 · Simplicity 6857

I have several sleepwear patterns, each with unique vintage details!  The nightgown and robe on the far left feature smocking (transfers unused and intact!), the robes on the left center are positively oriental (including full sets of monogram transfers!), the (sadly decapitated but otherwise unharmed) pattern on the right center is advertised as being "sleepwear or sportswear"- the cigarette pants are a uniquely vintage addition!, the pattern on the far right also features cigarette pants, a brunch coat, and nightgowns- very versatile!

Simplicity 4690 · McCalls 2334 · Butterick 9212 · Butterick 2198

For 1960s designs, these are some of the dress patterns I have listed- the one on the left is in a larger size 36 bust!

Simplicity 6304 · Simplicity 7982

Remember to check out the rest of the listings here! :-)  Happy shopping!

Re-Fashioning · Pink Sweater

This year we had the most gorgeous spring weather!  Our weather typically varies wildly, but this year we had weeks of the perfect in-between sort of weather.  You know, the kind where you can gently transition from winter wear to winter-with-less-layers wear to summer-with-extra-layers wear before you finally reach full-fledged summer wear.  I was able to get full use of my cardigans this year- yippee!! :-D

When I made my navy polka dot dress last year, I knew it was ripe with the potential for different accessorizing looks!  I didn't venture into as many as I'd hoped for over the summer, but this spring I discovered my very favorite look!

Navy isn't strictly my best color, but pink is. ;-)  I think the two play off each other beautifully, and the pink helps tone down the navy for me and make it a better look. :-)

This sweater was purchased years ago and I got 3 different colors- so glad I did, as I *love* the style! (you can see my teal one in this post!)

They're rather plain cardigans on their own, and the V-neck isn't actually terribly flattering or inspiring left plain.  However, a bow off to the side changes things dramatically!  I was so fortunate to find that Hobby Lobby was carrying *exactly* the shade of ribbon to be a perfect match! :-D  I looked up some sweater embellishing ideas and fell in love with this modified bow.  I think it's still one of my favorite sweater embellishments, and one of the easiest too. ;-)

When my great-aunt passed away last year, we were able to give several of her things a new home- I wish I would have done a post on some of the things we got from her!  I'm afraid I'll forget too quickly, and it's nice to be able to think of her when I use the items. :-)

The purse is from her, and I absolutely love it!  It's a great size with just the right vintage vibe.  I am absolutely horrible about actually buying purses, so it was wonderful that one dropped on my doorstep that was perfectly ideal!

Oh, and my gingham sandals are still a favorite. ;-)  (Purchased from Land's End clearance 2 years ago)

I haven't been bitten by the bakelite bug yet, which makes bangle-shopping much more pleasing on the pocketbook. ;-)  I loved how I could echo the colors of my outfit with them- completes the look a bit more!

This hat is showing sooo many signs of wear, but it still holds a very dear place in my heart.  It's one of the very first vintage hats we purchased, and the one that suited me best when I first started wearing vintage 6 years ago.

It came un-decorated but due to its asymmetrical nature, it was begging for a little something.  We had lily-of-the-valley floral picks in the stash (because after all, if you find floral picks of your favorite flower on Super Duper Clearance, you are compelled by every rule in the book to buy them- right?), so that was that!  It remains one of my favorite hats due to its super-flattering shape, and well... my name is Lily, after all!

I was going to use this post as a chance to wax eloquent on my hair woes as summer starts... but, well... this outfit makes me too happy to dwell on all the perceived trials and tribulations I'm facing. ;-)

· Photos by Kathryn ·

Estate Saling · Starting the Hobby

This year, my Mom and I have ventured into the realm of Estate Saling.  It has become quite a favorite with us and it's rather addicting!  Consequently I thought it would be fun to chronicle our finds from time-to-time on here. :-)   An added bonus is that I'll be adding things to the Etsy shop as I find suitable items- so stay tuned for those!

One of the first sales of the season was, well, Amazing.  The owner had been part of the local historical society and had a collection of antique clothing and accessories.  Most of them were out of our price range or eras of interest, but we can home with quite a substantial haul none-the-less. ;-)

One of the funnest, most unique finds of the day were these 1930s collar/cuff sets!  How cool are they?!? 

Why yes, that is a feedsack print.  And yes, that is an adorable little gingham-edged organdy.  Complete with hem-stitching.

Polka dots.  Be still my heart.

I'm going to have to work up the courage to use them though.... it's so tempting to hoard things I love so much! ;-)

Plaid isn't my favorite typically, but this cotton print caught my eye immediately!  With accessorizing options of mustard, brown, cherry red, and aqua, this is so versatile!!  When we came home, I found tucked inside the fabric these clippings from the 1950s....

How adorable is that?  Now I know what the original seamstress was planning!

Sadly, there is not nearly enough fabric to make a dress like these (which might explain how it was never sewn), but I find it so fun that these clippings stayed with their inspiration fabric for over 60 years!  It also makes a good impetus to not allow it to languish in the stash for 60 more years- it needs to finally fulfill all the expectations put upon it! ;-)

Another sale we went to was the home of a lawyer and his wife who became tour guides later in life and traveled the world.  They had a fun, eclectic variety of items from all over the world- they seemed like they would have been such fun to know!  Men's English driving caps, Scandinavian ski sweaters, Scottish kilted skirts, Oriental robes, TONS of trunks, and so much more!  After this sale, we discovered that vintage robes are SUCH fun to wear- I was never a big robe-wearer, but when you can wear something this fabulous- you make lifestyle changes accordingly. ;-)

Such fabulous details!  The collar, cuffs, and pockets of the brocade have chevron decorative stitching and the frog closure is made from tubes of the fabric.  The black jacquard is embroidered throughout in a delicate pattern.

And.... just for fun- we couldn't resist the London Tube Map umbrella!  Too, too perfect. ;-)

If I can keep my act together, I'd really like to document the highlights of our shopping trips occasionally- this post has made me remember little details that were almost forgotten, and it will be so nice to have documentation years down the road!

How about you?  Do any of you go estate-saling?  Have you found anything exciting at sales, antique stores, or online lately? :-)