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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

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! ·

29 comments:

  1. I am so glad you were able to redo the dress to suit your taste Lily! I have such a hard time going back and redoing clothing that I don't like, there is just something about it that is just so... uhh... scary, I guess is the word?
    And your accessories, my dear, absolutely MAKE the dress! Your bracelet and hat are particularly enviable. :D

    Blessings,

    Brigid
    the Middle Sister and Singer

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    1. Thanks, Brigid! I'm rather happy with how the whole look came together- a definite improvement on where it was last year. :-)

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  2. I'm glad you were able to save this dress. The print is just darling and the colors are so fun! And yay for finding cute hats while antiquing! Hat's make everything better!

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    1. Thanks, Stephanie! And yes- hats really do add so much!

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  3. Oh, Lily, I LOVE this dress!! You look absolutely lovely in it! I like how you added darts, and the new sleeves are very cute!! They are very flattering. You accessorized this outfit SO perfectly, too, as always.
    Whatever your qualms might be about it, this dress is just gorgeous on you. I love the fabric so much!!
    And just for the record, you pose beautifully. Seriously. I'm an authority on awkward poses, so trust me, you don't do them!! ;)

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    1. Thanks Esther! Haha, I think we are our own worst critics... but I still feel like I'm a wee bit too awkward still. ;-) And actually, you should have seen the ones that got deleted- they were hilariously awful!

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  4. I love how you refashioned this dress pattern. I made this exact dress (minus your fabulous re-fashions) in the summer and loved it. You look absolutely fabulous even if you are not the biggest fan of 40's dresses:)
    -Madison

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  5. I LOVE this outfit! The dress looks great on you, even if it's not your favorite! Your accessorizing is perfect, too. GREAT job!
    Seriously, fantastic.

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    1. Thanks so much, Emileigh! Means a lot coming from someone who is so much more "into" this decade than I've gotten yet! :-)

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  6. This whole outfit looks smashing on you! I am so glad you were able to rescue the dress; I love it when a good alteration comes together!

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    1. Thank you, Piper! I agree- making something is satisfying, but saving something has an extra element of enjoyment to it. :-)

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  7. Lovely dress! And I really like your vintage accessories! You find the neatest vintage treasures! : ) I haven't been to an estate sale in ages, it seems there weren't as many this summer in our area. I have always been a fan of Esther Williams' style too. Her movies with Howard Keel and Van Johnson are some of my favorites!

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    1. Aww, thanks Sarah! So glad I found another Esther fan girl. ;-)

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  8. Your photos are lovely - I don't know what you're talking about, being unnatural! I'm the queen of awkward photos, haha. :) And you did get that 40s girl in the city look right away!
    This dress looks beautiful on you and all your accessories are fabulous. It must be fun to own lots of antique jewellery and purses, and for such a cheap-ish price, too! I have a store near me that sells jewellery from the 1920s-backwards - they have some gorgeous pieces that I'd pick up in a heartbeat, but unfortunately they're all 400 pounds+.

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    1. Thanks, Ellie! :-) Oh, ouch! That is quite pricey! But I bet they're lovely... I've been very fortunate with shopping lately, but in the past, I found that going for modern, vintage-look accessories helps keep the price down, at least until you can happen upon a wonderful find. :-)

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  9. I especially love your hair!!! I just went to my first 1940s WWII event because I bought a 1940s hat at an antique store this summer. Can you do a tutorial for your hair? My hair is quite long and I'm wondering if that is half my battle with it. Love the dress and how your accessories coordinate with the colors of it.

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    1. Thank you so much! My hairstyle here is just a variation on the tutorial I did last summer: http://mode-de-lis.blogspot.com/2014/06/tutorial-rolled-vintage-updo.html Long hair can be more of a struggle, but I have successfully managed the style on all lengths of hair. :-)

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  10. Maybe you're a little awkward sometimes, but you're so cutely awkward... ;-) It took some time but I'm really happy with how these pics came out. Nobody would have to know all the toil we went through to get them, except you said so... hehe!

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    1. Hehe! Thanks for capturing my brief non-awkward moments so well. ;-)

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  11. Gloriously gorgeous outfit! The colours here are so incredibly vibrant, punchy and pretty - as though you captured the rainbow of summertime and turned it into an outfit. Simply stunning!!!

    ♥ Jessica

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  12. Wat een prachtige combinaties. De stof is van goede kwaliteiten, dat kan je zo zien!

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  13. Oh Lily! You don't look awkward in your photos at all! You always look so cute and well put together! I love all the accessories you paired with this dress-- the bracelet, the clutch, that hat!!!! <3 Also such a great thing to have a button and buckle that matched well together and with this dress! So glad you were able to tweak this dress in a way that has you liking it more. It's such a lovely dress!

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  14. You are so darling!! Love the revamped dress and accessories especially the hand bag!!
    Blessings!
    g

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  15. Hello Lily,

    I hope that you don't mind that I linked to your blog about several of your posts including this one and Polka Dot Day on my blog today. I just love everything you have to share here.

    :)Hope

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