A Step Back In Fashion – Time

Entrance to county court house

If you are looking for an interesting and refreshing way to spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s – and not travel far, in miles that is – go back in time, to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.  I have often wanted to see Williamsburg at Christmas — and this year it happened!  What an interesting journey it was.  And, while the originial colonists may not have shared the conveniences we know today, life was still good for those in this “capitol” city. 

Christmas is a special time here.  

Colonial Williamsburg puts out its finery for the holiday season.  How pretty it is with all the different wreaths, decorations and actors in costume.  There is an elegance in the simplicity of that time and this city.  What I think I expected was more of a theme park.  What I found instead was the recreation of a 18th century town in the middle of a modern setting.  This context led to a number of surprises — including the surprise of learning about 18th century fashion!

One of the surprises I found was a little jewel of a museum with a specific fashion exhibit.  The name of the exhibit was titled “Fashion Accessories from Head to Toe”  It was a special treat that the curator was in the department when we visited and was available to answer questions from curious patrons.  This petite, slightly bent, man was a wealth of knowledge about fashion in general and 18th century fashion in particular and personally, he had as interesting a history as the pieces in the exhibit.

The exhibition covered fashion accessories from the Colonial Period – from the 1600′s to about 1840, a span of nearly 250 years.  How wonderful it was to realize that these jewels from the past were actually made by someone and not mass produced by a machine.  As I looked closer and I really began to have a deeper appreciation for the craftmanship in everything from shoes to buckles to embroidery.  And no ladies, no embroidery machines — all this work was done by hand.  Men’s fashion was covered as well and was as colorful as the women’s fashion.  

The most interesting piece of information was the use of the “common pin” or straight pin as we know it.  Zippers had not been invented yet and buttons and buckles were expensive, so women were actually pinned into their clothing!  Ouch!  No wonder the wealthy had servants to help them get dressed.

My favorite  women’s accessories were the fabric shoes like the jacquard bow tied heel — and the fashion “pockets”.  Not a pocket on a jacket or such, the pockets were curious items.  My first impression was that it was an apron.  But, no, that wasn’t quite right either.  A “pocket” is actually a colorfully embroidered, odd shaped rectangle of cloth that was tied around the waist and worn under a skirt.  It was here where women carried their valuables.  So much for hidding things in the cleavage!

Buckles, if you could afford them, were made to be removed.  If you wore shoes that buckled, you could use your buckles to adorn and keep other pairs of shoes closed.  Another adornment was the triangular insert infront of women’s bodices called a stomacher.  Often embellished with beading or embroidery, the stomacher had many functions like holding the tummy in, covering the opening of the bodice and covering the woman’s breast.

There were a number of other interesting facts that I learned.  Did you know that wearing white was a sign  of wealth?   We all know that white is hard to keep pristine.  This was especially true during colonial times when everything had to be hand washed and where it was often very dusty or muddy.  People chose not to wear white because it required so much care, unless of course one had servants to do that work.  Ruffles (on the other hand!), especially on sleeves, were made to be removable so that they could easily be laundered or used on other garments.  After spending time in this exhibit, I must say, I was tempted to try sewing my own costume! 

Finishing at the museum, we continue to strolling back down the main street which had a number of shops as well as residences.  We stopped into a dress makers shop  that was complete with bolts of  fabrics for purchase by the yard and patterns!  Would I really wear such a thing?  Who knows… maybe I will.  We purchased an annual pass and plan to go back again before this year is up, when the weather is milder.  Perhaps I’ll try my hand at it then!  Regardless, I had to share this experience with you.  This is what I call truly “vintage” fashion.

 

The Feeling of Christmas or 10 Things I love about NYC at Christmas

Does it take you a while to get into the Spirit of the Season?  I needed to find my Holiday Spirit this weekend (the weekend before Christmas), so I decided to spend Sunday morning and afternoon in NYC.

I love NYC!  New York City is one of those places that most people either love or stay away from.  For me, it has been a mostly love relationship throughout the years.  On this particular day, I spent the day with eyes and ears wide open and would like to share with you the “Ten Things I Love about NYC — especially on a Sunday!”

1)  The first thing at the top of my list St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church.  The Rector, Bill Tully, always  gives thought provoking, informative sermons relative to life as we know it.   You can check out his Advent series with this link – St. Barts Church.

The building outside may be a bit imposing, but inside they do a nice job being welcoming and they always have beautiful music.

2)  The usual hustle and bustle of Christmas in NYC.  I know, there is always hustle and bustle in NYC, but somehow it seems even more appropriate in December.

From the Lord & Taylor window

3)  Lord and Taylor’s shop windows.  NYC retailers still go all out decorating their windows and Lord and Taylor gets my vote almost every year.  I love the doll size people and hydrolic powered movement.  L&T usually decorate around a victorian theme, but this year the windows are more modern.  I love the drawings done by children — especially one that says “Happy Everything”.

4)  The smell of burnt chestnuts.  NYC has street vendors on almost every corner it seems. In the winter – along with selling hot dogs, pretzels and soda — they sell chestnuts. Most of the time they smell just burnt, but having commuted and lived in NYC it is a familiar smell at this time of year. I don’t know about you, but certain smells can take one back to a familiar or exciting place.

5)  The tree of Rockafeller Plaza.  I love Christmas Trees and you can not get much bigger or brighter than the one at Rockafeller Plaza. Oh and if you are lucky you might catch the singing and dancing Salvation Army people staked out near the Tree!

6)  Catching  an inpromptu event.  Well, not inpromptu to New Yorkers , but just visiting for the day it is wonderfully fun to drop into an event.  On my way to a particular shop for a present I found an interesting bookshop that was holding a reading of ”A Christmas Carol.”  Inside the cafe was packed while people listened to a reader from the balcony tell the story.

7)  Doggies dressed up for the cold.  This is the time of the year you will see all colors, shapes and sizes of dogs and doggie fashions for coverups. I don’t see doggies in my neighborhood dressed up against the cold .

Street vendors outside St Barts

8)  Street Vendors.  Some of my favorite scarves have come from street vendors in NYC.  I was recently stopped and asked where my leopard print scarf came from. Of course it was a street vendor in NYC and this year you can find many deals for $5.  Some of the best vendors are outside St. Bartholomew’s at their mini vendor village.  Great deals and nice items as presents.  This is a favorite spot of mine every year!

9)  Street Corner Musicians.  The one I noticed played a decent saxaphone but the best thing was two little boys dancing to his Christmas tunes!

10)  Free chocolate at Godiva!  I stopped by a Godiva shop for a chocolate covered strawberry to go with my tea at Starbucks and signed up for a free membership and a free piece of chocolate.  Who could resist?  I ate the strawberry but took the free chocolate home to my husband after a fun afternoon in NYC!

Of course, there are many, many more things I love about Christmas in NYC, but these are the things that made my top 10 list this year.  I hope your Christmas and New Years are filled with love and wonderful things.  Wishing you all the best in fashion and in life.

JoAnn

“F” is for Fall fashion

Do you love autumn?  I do.

I love when the air is crisp and trees change color.  There is a hint of winter to come, but mother nature has saved the best for last.  It’s a great time to sew and I adore fall fabrics and color choices.  As I have surveyed many of this autumn’s new fabric choices, there are  some exciting choices available.

Adorning Acorns for Fall

It is also exciting to  me to plan my Fall/Winter look.  Any new season offers an opportunity for a fresh start, a chance to begin again.  I don’t know about you, but autumn especially does that for me.  From a fashion context, it can be as simple as a new hair style, new jewelery, an article of clothing that you have not tried before, or maybe something that was tried before and has been forgotten.

One of the fashion trends I’ve been noticing is the look of vintage styles.  I’m not talking about a costume look, rather classic stlying.  And, you don’t have to look far to find this emphasis on vintage styles.  TV shows like Mad Men, Pan Am and others have taken this idea to a new level.  But, as you look at these shows, one of the things that strikes me is the clean and simple elegance of the styles.

Indeed, one such example of this retro trend is a blog named Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing.  She was inspired by the 1952 edition of Vogue’s New Book for Better Sewing.

Fall window at Just Make it Sew. Top pictured here is from Vogue's book

One of the members of the Savvy Sewers mentioned her blog to me.  Of course, I had to check it out.  When I did, I found myself enchanted by the clothing styles.  I was so excited that I tried to find the book thru used booksellers.   I found it – if you wanted to pay $300 for one copy.   That’s when I decided to try libraries instead.  I have had the pleasure of finding the Vogue book in both the libraries of FIT in NYC and Philadelphia University.  There was one pattern in particular I wanted to try and thought would be great for a class at Just Make it Sew.

This would be great… the book has complete instructions on how to sew the garment — if you have the pattern.  The only drawback is that book did not come with patterns, unlike most sewing books that are published today.  Okay, no problem… I’ll just get the pattern and the book’s instructions will guide me.

Oops, the patterns are vintage and also out of print.  But wait, I know how to make a pattern!  So, that is exactly what I am doing.   In my next blog installment, I’ll detail making the pattern and the samples.  With a few easy pieces you can create your own classic fall wardrobe and look like a million without spending lots.  A ”timeless” wardrobe and a chance to begin – again.

Diary of an uncommon wedding dress — Part II

This blog continues the previous entry…

Armed with beautiful fabric and trim I had picked up in NYC, it was time to get going on the dress pattern.  I designed the dress and began planning my work in three main pieces… bodice, skirt and trim.

I kept my dress relatively simple.   I didn’t want to many pieces to have to sew together.  That was due in part because of my desire to have two trims on my dress.  I  needed to have space for the beatiful lace trim purchased in Australia and the leopard print tulle that I have saved for many years.

The bodice was my first challenge.  Inspired by the picture in “The Party Dress,”  I liked the idea of showing some shoulder, but I didn’t want to have a strapless gown.  Unfortunately the pattern I wanted to make — as with so many bridal gowns in stores and shown as patterns — are strapless.  This required that I make my own pattern because the ”look” I was attempting did not exist in a commercial pattern.  The type of shoulder I was looking for was not just a band around the upper arm, but  a short sleeve with the cap taken off.

The Pattern Drafter came to the rescue once again.  I decided to use the Pattern Drafter so that I could make a pattern that would most closely fit me.  Once I drafted my pattern the next step was to make a muslin of the bodice so Rosie could “fit” me.  Using muslin and the Drafter resulted in having a great fit before even cutting the fabric for my wedding dress.  One of the benefits of the particular style I chose for the dress (a retro flavor) was that it was perfect for our square dance later!  Would you believe the shape of my dress was very similar to my Mom’s?

Meanwhile, while I was working on my dress, my dear friend Eileen (also a bridesmaid) was busy sewing pearls and crystals on the lace that will be used to create trim on my dress.  She also beaded more lace to be given to Marie from Virtue to be used in the head piece that she made me.  Rosie gave me much help as well making my crinoline and helping me sew the tulle ruffle around the bottom of  my very full skirt.  I felt like Cinderella with all her helpers!

Grateful for all the help, that left me to make the bodice.  It would have to be lined and boning added to the lining on the sides.  Before the lining could be sewn in I needed to sew the leopard print tulle around the upper edge of the bodice.  Two inch strips of tulle had to be cut and folded in half before hand gathering it while sewing it onto the fabric.  Now I could see things were starting to come together and I really liked the tulle ruffle on the bodice.

A sample of the skirt was made of a green taffeta as show in the previous blog.   Three days before the wedding it was now time to begin putting my dress together and check for fit one more time before the zipper!

I must admit I didn’t care for the foundation piece I purchased.  It was a very hard item to find.  If I had had more time I would have gone to NYC to a specialty boutique, but I only had time for David’s Bridal who only had one style to choose from.  I never felt it fit me well.

As my dress was coming together, so was the head piece that Marie made to go with my dress.  I had given her the beaded lace appliques and leopard print tulle that she then incorporated into a wonderful headpiece called a facinator!  A la the styles just worn in the recent Royal wedding.  How fun.  (I never did envision myself wearing a veil.) While in Australia i had admired the facinators the women wore when they dressed to go to the races and now I had one to sport on my important day!

Thursday, two days before the wedding, all that was left was for me to sew the appliques to the dress.  My closest friends often joked that my dress would be getting hemmed as I walked down the isle.  One even said she would bring needle and thread!  There was no chance of that happening I am happy to say.

While I was making my dress, my bridesmaides were making their own dresses.  And, during this time, Julia and I had been busy working on hers too.  As a last minute decision Julia announced that the purple rose trim would look so much better around her waist and not the bottom of her skirt.  How right she was!  My nieces wore their Easter dresses that had also been made by my sister in law.  What a nice job.  I was so happy that every one had on a home made dress and looked absolutely marvelous!  All the dresses could be worn again.  I did not want to see dresses made or purchased that had no life after the party.

And what a party we had!  With the help of my decorating goddess Camille, we transformed the fellowship hall into a pretty reception and square dancing space.  The space was decorated with wisteria colored tulle bows and purple flowers around the colums that brace the floors.  It was the best party I had ever been to!  What a joy it was as I ate to look up and see everyone having a good time.

Lastly, my tea length wedding dress was perfect to square dance in as I changed into my cowboy boots.  Tables were cleared, and in a few minutes the space was transformed yet again.  Bring on the banjo and fiddle!  So many weddings people do not get up and dance but not this one!  Many people participated and the kids just loved it.  It was the perfect end to the beginning of our new life!

PS… Want to see my dress?  It will be on display in a window at Just Make It Sew.  Stop by for a chat or to just browse.  I look forward to seeing you.  JoAnn

www.justmakeitsew.com

Diary of an uncommon wedding dress – Part I

Six days before my wedding and my dress is a work in progress.  Am I stressed?  No, I know I can finish it in time for this Saturday’s event!  So in honor of this event I would like to chronicle the birth of my dress. 

June 18th — my wedding day– is a day I had dreamed about when I was younger and had never thought would happen when I was older!  This August I will turn 50 and this is my first and only marriage.  God has truly blest me with my perfect match.

I knew if I ever married, that I would create and sew my dress — and I knew that it would be an uncommon dress.  First, I look awful in white! Second, I also knew that there would have to be traces of my favorite print somewhere – leopard print, that is! If my mom was here, oh the comments she would make.  Alas, that is not the case and so this dress is a reflection of me.

To begin with I must take you back to our time in Australia.  Searching the fabulous fabric shops in Melbourne, I was looking for inspiration.  On one foray I was smitten with an ivory lace that I knew would be perfect for cutting apart and using as applique.  I had to purchase it.  Carefully I chose a quarter of a meter due to its expensive price tag of $225 a meter!  However I envisioned the lace being used in my headpiece and on the dress and thus didn’t need a lot.

So, if the dress were not to be white, what color would I like the dress to be?  Cleg’s in Melbourne had a very pretty blush colored silk, but it was the wrong type of silk.  What I was really looking for was a duppioni, something with more body.  Prices in Melbourne would be at least $30 Australian a meter for the fabric I was looking for, not including lining, etc.  And since I needed 5 meters, I thought I could better in the U.S. than in Australia.  A trip to NYC was in order on my return to the states. 

Even though I had an idea of what fabric I wanted to use, I was still looking for a clearer picture of my dress.  After my return to the States, Rosie brought a book in for me to look thru called “The Party Dress”.  The book had lots of dresses made with multi layers of chiffon and tulle.  I did not see my inspirational dress the first couple of times flipping threw.  The third time was the charm and I spotted the dress I was looking for.  The model even had red hair!  The dress was a lovely tea length, full skirt dress.  The shoulders of the model were framed with an off the shoulder cut and the color was that of a delicious champange.  That was the color that I needed to find.

The Monday after Mother’s day, Julia (one of my flower girls) her mother and grandmother and I, traveled by train the NYC to shop for fabric for our dresses.  Julia already having tackled making her Holy Communion dress was up for the challenge of making her own dress for the wedding as a part of her lessons.

Would you believe we found our fabric in the first shop we explored! And what is even more surprising, I found fabric in the exact color of the dress in the book and it was a silk duppioni.  It was a gorgeous champagne color kissed with a gold luster from silk.  The price you wonder?  In NYC, sometimes you can make deals (at least you think you are).  I felt I made a deal, he lowered his price from $16 to $14.  Julia also found her fabric.  A shiny crinkled lavendar poly with enough weight to it that it would drape very well. Well this was just too easy.

Our trip was not over, this was Julia’s first time in the big apple and she wanted a trim for her dress.  The next stop was 38th street.  This time the second trim shop we explored Julia found the trim she wanted for her dress.  A pretty soutach of roses sewn on a mesh background.  We thought they would look smashing around the bottom of her dress.  Fabric and trims in hand, we returned home to begin the work of putting it all together. 

See Part II of this Blog to see how it all turns out.

Sewista’s in the City

Before we became “The Savvy Sewers,” this group of women wanted to take a road trip to NYC to see where I go for fabrics and trims.  In addition to knowing where I shop when I go to NYC, some of the ladies in this group like to read blogs and a favorite is Lindsey T Sews.  “Lindsey T” works and writes about sewing and shopping in the garment district.  In preparation for our trip, I made my list of places we would visit and after reading Lindsey’s blog, added some shops she suggests to my list for our road trip.

The Monday after Easter we met at the Hamilton Train station and headed to the Big Apple!  Our first destination was The Manhattan Wardrobe Supply shop (MWS).  This was a find courtesy of Lindsey T.  This shop required taking an elevator up several floors.  Once there we found an amazing aray of wardrobe solution supplies.  There was everything from stain removers to shoe polish in a rainbow of colors!  We all found something we wanted to try.

After MWS we walked downtown and explored the area around Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).  FIT’s bookstore is fun and a treasure in itself.  There you can find a wealth of books on design and sewing of every flavour.  If you enjoy sewing and books you could get lost in here for a long time. 

Near FIT is True Mart Fabrics, a shop on my list and also mentioned by Lindsey T.  True Mart is a small shop on the corner of west 25th on 7th.  It’s a little hard to walk around and see the fabric as much of the fabric is standing up leaning against shelving units that have – more fabric.  What is remarkable is that they have quite a few cute prints and — of course – more fabric!  Their prices are low and some of us purchased “finds”.  I found a pretty print for summer that I plan to sew into a dress.

Soon it was time for lunch and our reservations at “Rare.”  Margie (one of the traveling sewistas) raved about this restaurant for its french fries (“chips” if you are in Australia) and dip.  When you order the french fries as an appetizer they are brought out on a stand with different sauces underneath.  The most unusual dip tasted like maple syrup.  Personnally, I prefered the BBQ sauce.  The burgers are wonderful and totally fresh –no premade patties here. 

After lunch, we still had the actual garment district to explore before departing for NJ.  Our first stop was Prime Fabrics.  PF  is larger than True Mart, however I found their prices to be higher.  Prime Fabrics location is removed from most of the shops I usually check out but worth visiting.   They have some pretty fabrics like an orange eyelit and novelties such as  soutache roses on linen.

Still heading uptown but on a side track over to  38th Street near 5th Ave, I wanted to show these sewista’s a couple of amazing trim shops.  Tinsel Traders and Hyman Hendler & Sons’s have an aray of ribbons in the most unusual colors.  Hyman Hendler has many ribbons from France that are beautifully made.  Martha Stewart likes to use ribbons from these two shops for photo’s in her magazine.

Running short on time we footed it over to 38th between 7th and 8th to our next stop – Panda International Trading.  This is my favorite stop for notions and zippers.  Here, they will cut a zip to any size you would like and they have a wonderful selection of stlyes and colors.  They also carry my newest favorite notion – japanese pins.  Japanese pins are great for working with knitted or delicate fabrics like silk.  I’m using them as I make my wedding dress from a yummy dupioni gold silk!  Panda is also great for rulers, pins, needles, pattern paper, etc.

SIL Thread is only a half block away from Panda Notions.  We stopped here to pick up trims, buttons, buckles, purse handles and much, much  more.  If you haven’t picked up on it yet, every store in the garment district has a specific sales focus.

One more store to visit.  We have just enough time to check out Mood!  A quick turn into a connecting building whose coridor leads to the elevators that deliver you to Mood.  Who says sewing is a dying art?  By all appearances it is very much alive and exciting!  For those who do not know, Mood is the store the designers use on Project Runway.  Mood is remarkable for its large selection of fabric in every color and style. 

It is now late in the afternoon and we have just enough time to catch the train and arrive back in Burlington, NJ by six pm.  Did we see everything on my list?  Sadly, no.  We have another road trip in our future – that’s for sure! 

We will be taking another trip and if you happen to be near Burlington, New Jersey make plans now to join the Traveling Sewistas.  Can’t make it on a trip?  Check out the Just Make It Sew website for a great selection of fabrics with “Mood” quality.  Either way, you can have a taste of the Big Apple! 

Cheers!

Savvy Sewers Meet

I’d like to introduce you to ”The Savvy Sewers”.  Our first meeting was at the shop, Just Make It…Sew in Burlington.  We started with a group of six women with a passion for sewing and an interest in continuing to learn about sewing.  We enjoyed the evening so much we will meet again on a Wed evening next month (keep an eye out for the date on the shop website).   We even decided on the topics we would cover for the next three months. 

The format is an open discussion with a main topic and time for everyone to share their knowledge and ideas.  Some meetings will include demonstrations and fun exercises like making a life-size drawing of your body to help analyse fit.  Interested?  (Feel free to call me for more information).  Many of these same women accompanied me on a road trip to NYC a few weeks ago (more on this in my next blog).  The passion that this group has is contagious and the knowledge within the group is very exciting!

An example of this passion is that in our first meeting we began by discussing the FBA or Full Bust Ajustment — a “problem” area for many women with standard patterns.  There will be a class given on how to make this adjustment at Just Make It…Sew in June. 

Why would you need to know how to do this?  If you are a healthy busted woman you may find patterns do not have enough room for your bust or worse a gaping armhole area. That is when an FBA is needed.  Margie, one of the participants, brought some books in from her personal library for our discussion. 

We also shared interesing blog sites and talked about current projects.  One current find is that Butterick patterns has some new and fashionable patterns that are worth checking out for Spring/Summer!  Interested in sewing clothes that look great and fit?  Stop in to find out more or come and join The Savy Sewers!

Stay tuned for my next blog on our adventures in the Big City!  We are already talking about our next road trip!  Interested?  Register by calling me or sending an email to:  justmakeitsew@justmakeitsew.com.

Happy Sewing!