My Own 1940s Simplicity 1587 Dress · Re-vamped

Well, this is technically the second post about this 1940s dress.  I posted back in December about it and, if you'll recall, I gave the impression of being rather underwhelmed by it.  I was.  I wore it a couple times in the fall without a sweater covering up half of it and hated it.  I wore it in the winter with the accessories you can see in the other post and was reasonably pleased with it.  But by the time spring came along and the sweater was pulled off.... I hated it.  It made me feel stupid.

Sigh.  I hate it when that happens.  You try to step outside of your comfort zone... and are rewarded by reminders of why you *have* that comfort zone in the first place! :-P

I tweaked the fit.  Changed the bodice gathers to darts so it was more fitted and a bit closer to my usual styles.  That did nothing.

Eventually I had an epiphany- I hated the sleeves!  I used the short sleeves that came with the pattern because I loved the way they looked on Kathryn and my sister but let me tell you- all sleeves do not flatter all arms.  I substituted the short sleeves from Butterick 5281 and I'm so pleased I did!

I have narrow, sloping shoulders so if you're in the same predicament, I'd highly recommend steering clear of the Simplicity 1587 short sleeves!  Even with shoulder pads, they emphasized my sloping shoulders. :-/  My theory about these new sleeves is that since they don't fit closely at the bottom and they're pretty short, they give more illusion of width at the shoulders- a much needed feature for me!

This dress is still rather atypical for me- shorter skirt, blousy top, and shoulder pads.  I'm reconciled to it, and I *almost* even like it.  I do however have a reputation amongst certain circles of hating the 1940s to maintain, so I won't admit that I'm actually pleased with this dress. ;-)

Keyhole opening in the back- always a great use for those "loner" buttons that seem to be far too common in button collections! ;-)

A vintage buckle from our stash ended up being the perfect shade of berry and even matched the button used for the keyhole opening.  Score!

Here are some fun estate-sale accessory finds!  This bracelet is a major favorite of mine!  And... just happens to match the dress perfectly.  Score!

The clutch doesn't quite match as well, but it was so fabulously fun that I just had to buy it (ok, only being $1.50 helped that decision too....) and had to include it in this shoot. ;-)  It makes me feel like Esther Williams!  Which is about the best feeling ever, in my opinion.

It even has a fun little strap in the back so you can hold it without covering up any of the embroidery!
For photos of this outfit however, it was giving a rather disturbing illusion of a magic trick so I held it like a normal clutch. ;-)

Without a doubt, the turning point to liking this dress was due to a wonderfully fortuitous antique mall find!  This hat (and 2 other 1940s hats!!) were just waiting for me one day at the beginning of spring.  I had just been bemoaning the fact that my one-and-only 1940s hat was felt (black felt, no less) and would be unsuitable for spring attire.  This color goes wonderfully well with the dress!  Ok, that might be a stretch.  But it does coordinate quite nicely, AND it's a good color for me.  So that amounts to the same thing. ;-)

I love this hat SO MUCH.  Basically the dress is just an excuse to wear the hat. ;-)

My first pair of Miss L Fire shoes.  Man, I still love these shoes!!!

We discovered on this shoot (yet again) that I am SO AWKWARD with posing.  Ugh.  I wanted a "1940s girl in the city" kind of look.... and wow, am I ever challenged in the "look natural" department.  These photos are as good as it gets, folks. :-P  I'm glad you all keep coming back despite my awkwardness. ;-)

· Photos by the ever-wonderful Kathryn- thanks, dear! ·