· Gingham Day! ·

Back in my post about my new gingham dress, I mentioned that my sister and I spent the weekend with Kathryn and Tara so we could officially recognize "Gingham Day".

Because the best holidays are the ones you make up. ;-)

For the occasion, we all dressed in gingham, rounded up the essentials for a typically mid-century picnic, and went off to the park!

Glass coke bottles ensued....

.... And recreating vintage ads....

..... And just generally having a good time with great friends!

In case you missed the posts about my dress and Kathryn's, follow the links! My shoes are currently available on Royal Vintage Shoes!

And what's a picnic without a lot of laughing??

· Photos by Kathryn ·

* Full disclosure- I am happy to be a RV affiliate, so I do earn a small commission on any purchases made through my link. :-)

· Embracing Stereotypes ·

It feels like it's been ages since I shared a recent project with you all, and I have lots of new posts to share. :-)

It feels good to be back!

Kathryn, Tara, my sister, and I all came up with the idea to do themed visits together years ago.  We first started out with the idea to do Decade themed get-togethers, but as of late, we tend to all stick to the 1950s so a new plan was in order!  Two years ago we did our 1950s Polka Dot day, and we were originally going to do a 1950s Gingham Day last year but... ahem, I dropped the ball on that one.  I am nothing if not incredibly indecisive and I could not, for the life of me, decide on the color and scale of gingham I wanted!

Fast forward an entire year, and I finally caught up with everyone. ;-)

What's that advice that your first choice is always correct and second guesses are a bad idea?  I never really appreciated that admonishment (and honestly, it's often untrue for me), but in this case it was absolutely, perfectly spot-on.  One of the first pins I ever found on Pinterest was the iconic 1950s dress that became the primary inspiration for this dress.  After flip-flopping my way through the entire color wheel, I finally settled upon my original idea- the basic, potenially boring, but also completely versatile Black.

So, here's to shameless copying of original garments, embracing 1950s stereotypes, and not feeling obligated to constantly re-invent the wheel! ;-)

I was so pleased to have such a great opportunity to officially debut my Royal Vintage shoes!  If you haven't heard of RV yet, Lauren (of American Duchess fame) started up a vintage shoe shop almost a year ago and it's such a great source to find lots of 1920s-40s appropriate shoe styles at competitive prices.  She also runs a Rewards program which has already resulted in another pair of shoes for me... but those are for another post! ;-)

These are b.a.i.t. Loraines and while I was initially scared of the 4" heels, they were really just the sort of shoe that I was looking for to fill a gap in my wardrobe!  They have a bit of a platform, so the heel is effectively 3.5".  Still about 1/2" higher than my normal, but I've found these to be comfortable and easy to walk in, regardless. :-)  I also kind of really love being 4" taller than normal. ;-D  This color was precisely the shade of red I was needing- it's a very true tomato red without a hint of blue undertones.  Yay!

*disclaimer- I am a brand ambassador and have an affiliate account with RV, so I have received these shoes at a discount and these are affiliate links but rest assured! that hasn't affected my review ;-)*

The first of two changes I intentionally made from the original dress was to continue the contrasting sash through the back of the skirt as well.  I always think it's sad when the backs of dresses get neglected. :-(

The original dress has a full circle skirt, but I get pretty wary of those with our frequently gusty weather... I felt that the skirt decoration really needed a full circle to do it justice though, so fashion trumps practicality, yet again. ;-)

Time will tell how effective it really is, but I'm hoping that the added weight of the contrasting sash will help manage any breeziness.  I also faced the hem with a 2" bias strip since that's my new favorite method of adding a nice weight/body to circle skirts!  I'm sold so far. ;-)

My tried-and-true on-seam pocket.  Couldn't live without these!

The contrast fabric is woven through buttonholes all around the skirt.  I adore the idea of making colored sashes to change out for a completely new look!  First on my list is coral. :-)

The other way I deviated from the original was to substitute a surplice bodice for the original.  I wasn't completely sold on the original look and since it's been a long time since I've used Vogue 1043 (reprint), I felt that it was high time to use it again!  I used that on 2 of my very first vintage dresses back when I started wearing vintage styles exclusively, so it's got a bit of a sentimental draw. ;-) 

I'm not sure what's come over me lately, but I've been on a MAJOR pattern-matching kick lately.  To the point where I was getting (more than usually) obsessive and needed to take a break so I didn't fry my brain. ;-P

I matched the skirt seams of course, but when it came to the bodice, there was just really no way to intentionally match up anything.  I cut the front bodices on the bias as a design decision, but then it made seamless blending at the shoulder and side seams impossible.  The only place I think I *might* have been able to match things is in the underarm gusset.  It does look a bit "off" right now, but as my brain is currently taking a rest, I'm not about ready to jump into that challenge yet. ;-)

· Photos by the ever-delightful Kathryn!  Thanks dear! ·

· A Gingham Dress for Kathryn ·

Fall has officially taken hold here and the trees are starting to get gorgeous!  Consequently, this post is a bit out-of-season now.... so try not to notice that this post is much more suited to summer. ;-)  That's one problem with posting just once a week- sometimes the end of the season comes far too quickly!

For Kathryn's next dress, she wanted a simple gingham dress to go with a "theme day" we had conjured up. (If all goes according to plan, you'll get to see the theme next spring or summer.  If it doesn't, well... Kathryn can just enjoy her dress anyway. ;-))

She wanted a very classic red gingham, in a simple, classic shirtdress style.  We used a 1990s pattern they had languishing in their stash for the bodice (proof that you never know when you'll use those ugly, outdated patterns!).  Since all we wanted was a notched collar and darts, it didn't matter that the rest of the pattern was vastly unsuitable for our desires. ;-)

I was really happy with the skirt from Simplicity 1459 when I made it last- it's gathered and flared, so it seemed perfectly suited to this style of dress. :-)

The dress is made from a 100% cotton gingham and is wonderful! :-)  I was concerned it might wrinkle more than the usual cotton/poly ginghams, but even after wearing for long car trips it looks great!

This dress was a great opportunity for practicing my plaid-matching skills, since it only required matching in a few places and came together smoothly. :-)  The only "failure" of sorts was the collar- I need to have a better plan next time for planning that all out! :-P

Her belt is from a different dress she made years ago- and it matches perfectly! :-)

Oh, and isn't her new haircut adorable?!? :-)

This style is so great- wear it without a crinoline for a perfect Audrey Hepburn/picnic look, or with a petticoat and pearls for a quintessentially 1950s look!  It can be dressed up or down so easily. :-)

I am offically convinced that my Summer 2015 Wardrobe is in dire need of a gingham dress.  Now to choose a color and style that doesn't look like I'm trying to copy Kathryn exactly. ;-)