· Art Deco Vibes ·

This post has been long coming, but I think it was well worth the wait! (tough luck if you don't agree, I guess!) I finished the dress over a year ago, but I since I adore the 1930s and Art Deco so much, I knew I needed to make sure the photoshoot did justice to my passion for both. :-)  Art Deco buildings are not as uncommon in my rural area as I initially thought, but the timing just never worked out to get together for photos with Kathryn.  Also, last spring I was in the process of growing my hair out so I could wear it up all summer and I really had my heart set on having a shorter 'do to debut this dress. ;-)

Well, it all worked out wonderfully- I have shorter hair this spring AND I currently live in Chicago and, wouldn't you know, fabulous Art Deco buildings are plentiful here!  My mom and I took an "Art Deco Skyscrapers" architectural tour a few days before this photoshoot and that's how we came across this marvelous location.  The Carbon & Carbide building has been my very, very favorite building since I moved here, but I have to say... the One LaSalle Street Building is quite amazing in its own right!

I can't recommend the tour enough, and it gave me the guts to just walk into all these cool buildings that I've only admired from the outside!  Most are even more stunning in the lobbies (be sure to check out elevators in Art Deco buildings- they are stunning!) and most buildings allow photographs.  When we were wandering about on the day of the photoshoot, we also had several very friendly and informative security guards who were more than happy to tell us more about the buildings!  Score!  I could listen to architectural information all day! :-)

OK, enough of architecture geeking! (although some of you have to be fellow Art Deco enthusiasts, right? give me a shout if you are and share your favorite building!)  On to the reason you most likely are at my blog... the dress!

This rayon print has been in the stash for a while and I've been selfishly earmarking it for years.  I *finally* figured out a perfect dress design that would make me happy!  McCalls came out with a pattern in their "Archive Collection" (7053) that looked really promising- but I'm super wary of every pattern in the Archive Collection.  They're frequently kind of random and questionably authentic, but I've really loved the 6993 skirt (I used it on this 1930s dress last year) and I felt like view A from this blouse pattern had enough 30s influence to make me happy with the outcome.

I do love the finished result, although I'd caution anyone who attempts the pattern- it really didn't look like this fresh out of the envelope!  I fitted the whole bodice quite a lot more than the original and I ended up with much more of a typical kimono sleeve than the almost-dolman sleeve that shows up in the sample garment.

And just look how huge that front drape is!  I love how dramatic the 1930s were.

I originally planned to line this portion so that I wouldn't have to worry about the wrong side showing, but then I felt that it was getting too bulky and I was afraid I might have warping issues.  So single layer it is!  And I think it works quite smashingly after all. :-)

See?? Awesome elevator lobby!
You're forgiven if you're so busy focusing on the architectural details that you don't even notice my dress.

Over the past 2-3 years, I've become more and more obsessed with longer hemlines and this dress is one of my longest 1930s dresses.  I love it!  It feels so elegant, and it really helps with the lengthening illusion so prevalent in the mid 30s.

I made the skirt of the dress from a very basic 6-panel trumpet-ish skirt after seeing lots of similar examples in old catalog pages.  I think I used some old 1980s pattern?  Can't quite remember....

I'm not quite convinced that this sleeve style is a very 30s design... but the overall shape is great and my fabric is pretty forgiving. ;-)

I did love the angled bodice seaming and even if it's not super prominent due to my busy fabric... I love knowing it's there anyway. ;-)  I sewed this seam using my current-favorite lapped seam method.  Gotta love period techniques that simplify things greatly!

OK, one last shot- can you believe this building??!?!  Sooooo cool.  Opulent Art Deco gives me warm fuzzies. ;-)

As always, thanks for stopping by! (and humoring my ramblings!)

· Photos by Kathryn! ·