Finished: 1970s impulse sewing knit dress (Simplicity 7575)

So a few nights ago I was on Instagram scrolling through Me-Made-May pix and I saw that really awesome feather-print 70s vintage dress by Cation Designs and then she was saying that Tanit-Isis got her hooked on 1970s dresses and then I was thinking "hey, I have a kinda similar 1970s vintage dress pattern in my stash" and so then I found it and I grabbed some stash fabric and I cut it and I made it and... here it is.

AND it fits! So score. VINTAGE IMPULSE SEWING WIN.

The basics

Pattern: Vintage Simplicity 7575, from 1976, a topstitched raglan-sleeved V-neck knit dress with slightly gathered skirt and attached belt to create underbust shaping. I got my copy from We Sew Retro, but looks like you can still find it on eBay or Etsy pretty easily.

Fabric: Two yards of a wonderful soft medium-weight purple rayon or cotton spandex blend knit with amazing stretch, drape and recovery (and maybe a BIT too much cling). It's been in my stash since before 2010 and my notes say I bought it at "NY Fabrics" but I can't remember where or what that store is in the Garment District.

Notions: Just thread and some fusible webbing tape for taming the belt and facings.

Size: 12 (it's a one-size pattern). The body measurements for this size were about 3-4 inches smaller than mine, but I trusted the power of spandex and negative ease, and made no adjustments except a 1" FBA. The dress actually has quite a bit of ease, as it's the belt that gives it a fitted look.

Inspiration: This dress totally makes me think of my amazing mom Beryl, who was a total 70s girl and loves to sew knit dresses. Here she is with my dad and her parents (both in ensembles sewn by my grandmother) at her wedding in 1973:

It also reminded me of the last vintage 1970s pattern I sewed back when I was super pregnant, which also had a similar attached belt thing going on:

Here's the full envelope art—there are also a tunic and pants pattern included:

Instructions: The instructions were easy to follow, but I have mixed feelings about some of the techniques and construction. I'm not sure a neckline facing is really the best thing for this V-neck—a binding might give a softer effect. And the belt is a SINGLE layer of jersey—which makes it easy to tie, but it's rather flimsy and floppy and there are raw edges visible:

Alterations: Just a 1" FBA, as I thought 5" of negative ease across the bust might be a bit much. Because I hadn't done any raglan FBAs before, I pulled out my copy of Fit For Real People for a little refresher (what would I do without that book?!):

I decided to gather the excess fabric into the side seam instead of creating a dart, and it's a bit bunchy but I'm cool with it:

Construction notes: When my mom was sewing in the 1970s, she didn't have a serger or use a twin needle—it was zig-zag all the way. And in that spirit, I used a narrow zig-zag for all the seams with no seam finishing:

I did most of the top-stitching on the more stable areas with a long straight stitch, but I used a zig-zag again in the stretchier places to prevent seam popping:

And I haven't hemmed it yet. I'm going to let her hang out for a while before I decide if I want to bother.

Yes, I know that's not very modern or ready-to-wear looking... but honestly, I hardly aspire for my garments to have any resemblance to mass-produced fast fashion, and if the zigzag or raw hem is a giveaway that I made it myself—that's just fine with me.

I'm also trying to remove all the barriers—big and little, mental and physical—that have held back my sewing mojo... and proper seam finishes and having to dig out the serger and set it up and thread it are more trouble than they are worth to me at this moment.

Successes: The entire project took just three nights, including the cutting and tracing and altering. And I got lots of compliments at work (especially from sewing and knitting friends). I just LOVE this color and this fabric and the dress is comfy as a nightgown.

Will I make it again? Oh goodness yes, though next time I think I'll make it in a print, like a 70s-style ITY jersey. I love this bright solid but I already have a greasy eczema lotion handprint on the dress bodice from my little girl that I am trying to remove before it sets in. SIGH.

Here's a shot showing how unfitted/bunchy the back is, but that's what makes it comfy:

Wear to: Work or a date with the husband. This fabric is just a little too nice to risk further damage at the playground.

Oh, and the slingback pumps are the Miz Mooz Avery—they were the most 70s-looking closed-toed shoes I could find in my closet (no longer available, but these slingbacks have a similar vibe).

*Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks on this site may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (quite likely to be spent on yarn or fabric).

Finished (At Last): Vintage Pattern Illustration Giveaway

Cosmo on her bicycle in a 1960s dress made with a 1970s print and an orange ranunculus flower in her dreads

Eons and ages and eras upon a time ago (otherwise known as June 2012), I hosted a giveaway for a custom illustration of a reader on the vintage pattern envelope of her/his choice. I had originally promised 6-8 weeks for completion...

And then things got a little stressed around here and then much more stressed and me and the little one were sick for eight months and we had hospital trips and I had surgery and... then we got better and I realized I needed to dig up the giveaway art and finally get it done.

Luckily Cosmo, the giveaway winner (who blogs at Just Too Much and Los Angeles Cycle Chic), was very patient and still loved her final artwork, one year plus late as it was!

She had requested a drawing of herself in Simplicity 3471, an early 1960s pattern (which I see you can get on eBay for about $26):

Made up in this wild 70s-esque fabric:

With an orange ranunculus flower pinned in her hair.

I also chose to draw her on her bicycle, as I always love vintage pattern illustrations featuring props and I thought it would suit her style.

Better late than never.

P.S. Meg the Grand, your promised bonus TARDIS giveaway artwork is next even though you told me not to worry about it!

Love Letter to a $4 Vintage Peplum Dress

Dear $4 vintage dress,

We've been through a lot together in the past 12 years and you've always stuck by me. I remember the first time I saw you squeezed on the back of a rack in Cambridge's Garment District thrift store. I was running my hands across the rack looking for something bright and pink or orange, but your soft velvet burnout caught my attention.

And then there was your neat little 80s-does-40s peplum, and your adorable little front bow. And you know I can't resist a sweetheart neckline...

You were the perfect combination of structure and comfort, with your boned front bodice and your super-stretchy elastic shirred back. Really, you're everything I could want in a dress:

Thanks to that shirred back, you've survived many a closet purge over the years. My weight has gone up and down, but you almost ALWAYS fit.

You make me feel glamorous and put together and thrifty all at once. You've accompanied me to many a dance over the years, and even a Zombie Purim party (sorry about the fake blood, but it washed out):

Plus, even though I got you second-hand you were originally union made in the USA (thanks International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union!)

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for coming with me to my college reunion last weekend. It was my 33rd birthday and I was grumpy about spending it back at Harvard and I barely saw anyone I knew (that's what I get for taking a semester off and graduating with the class behind me!) and I soon realized why velvet dresses aren't generally worn on 90-degree summer days ... but I had so much fun getting dressed up and dancing with my husband in his rented tuxedo.

Love and kisses,
Mikhaela

P.S. You are so hard to photograph, dear dress—but that's the black velvet I suppose. Here you are in an overexposed shot for more clarity:

--Black velvet strapless sweetheart peplum dress, vintage--
--Fake pearl necklace my mom and I both wore to our weddings--
--Vaneli silver leather strappy sandals, bought for my wedding in 2007 (similar here)--
--Pleated silvery gray clutch, now covered in cranberry juice stains thanks to a drunken reunion attendee (similarish)--

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the ready-to-wear hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (and quite likely spent on yarn or fabric).

And the vintage pattern illustration giveaway winner(s) are...

If you're wondering why it's taken me so long to announce a winner for my "You on a Vintage Pattern Envelope" giveaway, well... that'll teach me to have a non-random giveaway! I got 17 fabulous, fun and well-thought-out entries, plus lots of sweet comments and birthday love, and I hated having to choose just one!

But as promised, I picked five names at random out of the 17 qualifying entries, tried to evaluate them based on fun/long-time readership/creativity/etc... and totally failed to make a clear decision. In the end I changed the rules and picked one random winner out of the five. The five finalists were:

#1: Alexa, with Simplicity 3868

Source: vintagepatterns.wikia.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Alexa said:

ohh what an awesome giveaway. I have been reading since you had your daughter, who is a little younger than my oldest. I found you through you sewing.patternreview.com after admiring your work.

I sew, but am not at vintage pattern making level yet. So this is just pretend for me. I think Simplicity 6838 is gorgeous. I like version 3 in a jewel tone like deep purple or dark turquoise.

I would print out your illustration, frame it and hang it in my studio (the part of my bedroom where my sewing stuff lives.)

Alexa is right--how awesome is view 3 with those awesome cutouts?

#2: Beata, with a cover from Australian Home Journal

Source: ebay.com.au via Beata on Pinterest

Beata wrote:

Hmmm, would you put me on an "Australian Home Journal" cover? Like this one.

It's not quite a pattern envelope, but pretty close! Otherwise I'll pick a pattern later :)

I'd like to be in the pink dress, but made up in a purple floral, maybe something like this.

I love the shoes she is wearing, but I'd leave off the other accessories...

As for hair, I want big, bouncy curls like the main picture here.

Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

Oh my goodness, I LOVE all three of those dresses... surplice necklines, gathers, scallops, pockets, peplums, directional stripes... all kinds of awesome, really.

#3: The ever-inspiring Laura Mae, with Advance 5470:

Source: lilacsandlace.blogspot.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Laura Mae said:

While I wish I looked like those beautiful vintage pattern envelopes, it just isn’t meant to be. I wonder what their stats are? I would imagine they are at least 6 feet tall with a 20” waist. So maybe that would look rather freakish in real life.

But what pattern to choose? I think I would choose my most recent creation, Advance 5470, which is special in so many ways. First off, the pattern came to me via Mr. Male Pattern Boldness, himself. It doesn’t get much more special than that! The black and white floral fabric is something that I have been saving for quite a while now, earmarked for a Vintage Vogue pattern that I just have not had the proper opportunity/event to cut into the fabric. The huge shawl collar, full skirt, and lantern sleeves may just be the most perfect pattern I have ever come across.

I did not have the perfect hat to top the outfit off when I wore the dress yesterday. In a perfect world, I would have whipped up something, but time ran out, as it often does . . . But with a drawing I can pretend that I finished that exquisite hat and my softly curled hair looked perfect and fabulous even though rain was threatening all day long and the wind was ridiculous! ...

Wishing you a Happy Belated Birthday! And thank you for the opportunity to win such an amazing prize!

Laura Mae is, of course, way too modest, because I do believe she DOES look like she stepped out of a vintage pattern envelope (or at least a vintage fashion magazine) most of the time with her amazing vintage-inspired creations.

#4: Lee, with Simplicity 1668:

Source: vintagepatterns.wikia.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Lee said:

Mikhaela, this is such a cool project and a generous offer. I've been following you since you commented on my blog earlier this year, though I only recently formally subscribed. I like reading because your sensibility and array of projects and thoughtful way of proceeding all appeal to me. You have smart commenters too.

I would love to see myself on a vintage pattern envelope, specifically Simplicity 1668, a 40s dress with scallop details, in bright blue and white polka dot fabric, red shoes, red lipstick, and hair kind of like my own but more 40s-styled, less frizzy and unkempt. I would use the image wherever I could! Definitely I would frame it and display it next to a photograph of my much missed grandmother in a similar dress.

Now that I know Lee in real life through the Brooklyn BurdaStyle Sewing Club (in fact, I saw her there last weekend!), I can easily picture her rocking the dress she describes. Polka dots + scallops... yummy.

And last but not least...

#5: Cosmo, with Simplicity 3471:

Source: vintagepatterns.wikia.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Cosmo wrote:

I love your blog mainly because you are a cool mom vintage sewing knitting graphic designer. You have a perspective similar to mine.

I am cutting it pretty close on this one because I forgot it was EST midnight not my midnight. I am still not entirely sure that this is the pattern I love the best but Simplicity 3471 is adorable and I would love to have it in a bright Pucci or Marimekko style print. I was also looking at some 70s maxi dresses, but I am really more of an early 60s kind of girl.

I am getting ready to start up a new sewing and fashion blog and would love to use artwork like this. Also I am getting ready to chop several inches off of my locs and would love to have them memorialized this way.

Oh and I would wear a bright pair of wedges and a chunky necklace and my locs in a braid out with one side pinned back with a giant ranunculus.

So yeah. Clearly impossible to make a choice here, so I grabbed the old digital hat and drew a number.

And the winner is...

Cosmo! Congratulations! I'll send you an email--since you already gave me most of the details, the main thing I need is you preferred reference photo of yourself. (Perhaps a bicycle should be involved?)

But you might have noticed I said WINNERS (plural). Did I mention that in my own totally arbitrary way I decided to award a special prize?

The arbitrary because-I-felt-like-it Doctor-Who-Obsessed TARDIS Prize goes to...

Source: shenanagin.deviantart.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Meg the Grand! Meg wrote:

I want this so very badly. So very very badly. I don't suppose you could draw me as a Tardis? An illustration of me as a Tardis would need me in blue, of course, with a light bulb as a little hat, and some rocking blue heels. This would go in the Tardis bedroom, next to my bed, so I could always giggle when I get up in the morning. It would also need to go on my blog somewhere so people know what they are getting into when they click on my page. I have a Doctor Who problem - I'm sure there is counseling for this somewhere.

In my next life, please let me come back as Alex Kingston's duplicate. With her wine colored Louboutin heels.

Seriously, though - this giveaway is truly special. I think any of us who read your blog regularly would be so honored to be drawn by you. I know I am getting misty at the sheer generosity of this!

If I had to pick a vintage pattern, I would pick the Mail Order 9388 that was my Sassy Secretary dress. I would love big hair (I long for big hair in my real life), cobalt blue dress, and then blue heels. I love that outfit. It makes me so happy to put it on, so to immortalize it as one of your drawings would be one of the best things in my life. This would have to go on my blog, and if I ever got around to business cards, it would be there too. It would also get printed and put above my sewing machine so I could always smile when I am seam ripping a zipper.

Now, there are of course several ways to go about this, the main two being either putting Meg in a TARDIS dress, like this awesome one by Tara Reich:

Source: tess-san.deviantart.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Or by drawing her as Idris (when the TARDIS was temporarily in a woman's body in a super-awesome episode called "The Doctor's Wife" penned by Neil Gaiman):

Source: blogtorwho.blogspot.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Congrats to both winners, and guys, I'm so sorry I couldn't draw every one of your awesome vintage envelope ideas!

Polka Dot Birthday Giveaway: You! On a Vintage Pattern Envelope!

Hello dear readers! In honor of reaching 200 followers—well, 226 now!—and my 32nd birthday (that's Friday, June 1st!) I'd like to offer a somewhat unusual sewing giveaway.

The prize: A simple digital color cartoon illustration of YOU, on the vintage sewing pattern envelope of your choice--maybe one you've already sewn, maybe one you want to sew, maybe one you won't ever sew, but just LOVE to fantasize about.

The deadline: entries due by midnight EST on June 6, 2012.

The background: As much as I adore vintage sewing pattern illustrations and their changing styles over time, they're all a bit, well... unrealistically tall and skinny. (Not to mention uniformly white.) I've always had this vague plan for doing a series of "Real People on Vintage Pattern Envelopes," drawings and I started to have a bit of fun with that idea in my 1940s red dress showdown and my header illustration for We Sew Retro:

The qualifications:

• This giveaway is a bit special (estimated value: $125?), so I'd like to reward a loyal blog follower who has come back at least a few times (or who plans to read the blog regularly), as opposed to a random giveaway seeker who is brand-new to the blog.
• I will draw five entries at random, then choose my top favorite based on the items described. Extra points for creativity, style, fun fabric and accessory choices, long-time readership, etc.

The rules: To enter, please...

• Follow this blog (better yet, already be a follower!).
• Leave a comment describing the vintage pattern you'd choose, in what type of fabric, with what sort of hairstyle and accessories. (For example: A red rayon 1940s dress with peplum, hair in victory rolls and red wedge sandals.)
• Tell me what you'd like to do with the drawing (put it on your business card? post on your blog? print for your mom?)
• Tell me why you like to read my blog.
• Make sure your contact info is obviously available in your Google profile or leave an email address.

Details and disclaimers:

• If you enter, you will have one week to send me a clear full-length photo of yourself, a decent image of the pattern envelope you'd like to be pictured on, and a photo or description of the fabric(s) you'd like it to be made up in, plus inspiration images for accessories and hair. The fabric does not have to be accurate period vintage—it can be as wild or weird as you like..
• You understand that these reference photos may be published on this blog in the giveaway followup post.
• I will provide you both with the pattern envelope art image and a separate image of yourself in the dress, sans envelope, like so:
  
• I estimate I'll have the drawing done in 6-8 weeks (not that the drawing will actually take that long, I just have a ridiculously busy life at the moment).
• Copyright for the standalone drawing stays with me, but you have unlimited usage rights (on your blog, business card, wherever) as long as you attribute it.
• Because the idea is "Real People on Vintage Envelopes" please keep in mind that I am not going to make you look taller, or skinnier, or more or less X, Y, or Z--I will pretty much stick to your actual fabulous outlines as delineated in whatever photo you send me.
• I will send you a rough sketch as part of the process, but reserve the right not to make many/any edits or changes to the sketch or final.

Remember: giveaway entries due by June 6, midnight EST!

And with that, I'm off to ink this Downton Abbey-esque vintage-inspired "pattern envelope" art I'm working on for the Consulting Dressmaker for her Sisters of Edwardia blouse...

Sewing Through the Decades Illustration for We Sew Retro!

Our family is off on another little trip for a few days (to Boston for my grandmother's 90th birthday party and my husband's 39th birthday), but in the meantime, I did finish up one of the sewing illustration commissions I was working on!

It's a timeline cover photo for the We Sew Retro Facebook page. Here's a screenshot of the art in action:

I had so much fun working on this (even though it took me ages longer than I estimated), deciding what outfits to dress each of them in (SO hard to choose) and on their hair and makeup. (Can you tell that 1960s seamstress woman is pregnant? I originally was working on a more rainbow-bright color scheme (1970s seamster dude originally had a bright orange plaid jacket) but it looked like a box of crayons so I muted it down.

More details later! Hope you like it!

OPAT Work Outfit: A Vintage Dash-About Dress

Don't worry--OPAT isn't some awesome blog challenge you haven't yet heard of and need a button and a deadline for RIGHT NOW. In fact, it's the opposite.

OPAT stands for "One Project At a Time", and it's my anti-challenge to myself to relax, stop beating myself up, and just enjoy whatever I want to sew--and can sew--in the time I actually have to sew it. To stop measuring myself against the Sew Weekliers and professional seamstresses and just relax.

Which is what you all have been kindly telling me to do (see "I WANT to Make This; I SHOULD Make That"), and I am now needing to tell myself. Elizabeth kindly reminded me that "should" can be a really painful word. And I especially loved StephC's comment:

When I was a teenager, I had a job pulling coffee at a popular coffee shop.. I'd get so upset on Saturday mornings, the place would be packed with people in need of a caffeine fix, they were usually rude once they got to the counter, and I'd try to make three orders and once and mess them all up...

My boss said to me- "Don't look at the line. Take a breath, make the first drink. Then take another breath, and make the next one. Only look at what's in front of you, keep moving, and you'll get there in the end." Stuck with me, it applies to so many other things...

This SO resonates, because I had a similar job as a teenager, working as an ice cream waitress. And there was one hot July 4th where I stood at the window scooping ice cream cone after ice cream cone for 8 hours straight without stopping whilst wearing a giant straw hat and a plastic lei... and then there was the time I worked at UPS loading giant trucks and one package after another would come shooting down the belt and I had to keep calm and just stack them one at a time and I was wearing steel toe boots and...

OK, not sure where I was going with that.

And so the above outfit--a quite typical Mikhaela work outfit for my awesomely casual nonprofit workplace--contains no actual me-made items. And I'm OK with that, because seriously, people -- this isn't a high-stakes competition. Unless we want it to be, and at this point in my life -- where sewing is what I do to RELAX in the evenings -- I do not.

I'm also ok with the crappy non-natural lighting for the same reasons.

Anyway, the outfit:

• "Dashabout" vintage (1970s?) floral cotton sundress with shirred elastic back, princess seams, half-circle skirt, thrifted for $14 in San Francisco years back. I at first assumed it was homemade due to the unfinished seams, but it has a little label inside reading "Dash-About." It's super-comfy and I've even gone (light) hiking in it. (See also "Some of My Best Dresses.")
• Pink silk tank, ancient Ann Taylor
• Turquoise cardigan, ancient Ann Taylor
• Faux-leather navy belt--required as the dress is a bit big in the waist.
• Turquoise necklace, lent permanently by my mom.
• Print bag that can hold the universe (or a breast pump or books or a large knitting project), Brooklyn Industries, gift from my mom. (discussed here).
• Orange peeptoe heels, Tsubo, a birthday gift from my husband in 2010 (blogged here).

I should note one thing I'm NOT wearing here--makeup, which I rarely wear in real life but almost always wear for photos. I recently had a freakout when I discovered that the FDA found lead in many brands of lipstick, including my beloved Revlon lipsticks, and I started reading up on all my beauty products on the Skin Deep database, and... well... any recommendations for natural toxin-free makeups in cute colors (especially bright red lipstick) but NOT containing sesame or nut oils would be awesome.

Oh, and here's the dress in natural light, shortly after I first bought it seven years ago (that's my sewing cabinet in the corner):

And now another night to relax, knit and watch old Fringe DVDs with the husband. I'll get back to my Mad Men Challenge dress... when I feel like it. And no sooner.

So: what are you doing to be kind to yourself lately?

You Can Sew It—But Can You Accessorize It? (The Joan Accessory Hunt)

Mad Men's Joan Holloway: Not a woman with accessory problems. (And yes, I know she wears pointier shoes than that, but those are shoes I actually own, so: close enough.)

So, tell me: am I the only sewist who is excellent at coordinating colors and textures and prints to produce an adorable outfit... and woefully uninspired when it comes to accessorizing said adorable outfit?

Which is a problem, since accessories can take your look to a whole other level of awesome... or totally destroy it.

Especially with something like my Mad Men challenge dress. Joan is not a slapdash accessorizer--unlike me, she is all about a total, polished look. So the above is a rough sketch of how I plan to achieve...

The classic Joan accessories:

1. A gold-tone pen necklace. Found easily via 1928 jewelry.
2. An elegant gold-tone brooch. I considered one very similar to hers, but this lovely Corocraft double leaf brooch I saw at the Today's Vintage booth at the Brooklyn Flea market yesterday just called out to me. And it was $10. Sold! (And now the first and only brooch I own).
   
3. Elegant earrings. I believe she's wearing pearl studs in the above. I already have a pair (wore them for my wedding and job interviews), so DONE.
4. A classic frame-style handbag. I couldn't find any on Polyvore (and they don't let you clip from Etsy or Flickr), but here's one from Etsy that is very Joan...
   

   Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

   
   ... though I'm not actually going to buy this particular one. I may just go with a structured eggplant-colored leather tote I already own (from DSW clearance years ago) as "close enough."
5. Pointy-toed pumps. Authentic or not, I just do not DO pointy toes or spiky heels. The above shoes--Tsubo Eeini pumps in "nude" with a sturdy low heel--are the closest I get.
6. A self-fabric belt. I'm making a self-fabric bow belt to go with my dress, so DONE. (or will be done).

But anyway: back to my usual accessory struggles. It's really rather sad. I'll spend twenty minutes carefully composing a coordinated clash of dots and stripes... and a moment or less on choosing a scarf or a bag to set it off. I don't even own a properly fitting sunhat (and I'm corpse-pale enough to REALLY REALLY need one). And when it comes to coordinating bags and shoes? And mixing or not mixing black and brown leather and gold and silver tone jewelry or... ARGH.

As Exhibit A, I present...

The boring accessories I wore EVERY DAY in college, even with dresses:

• Earrings: A pair of sterling silver hoop earrings from the ear-piercing store. (I'm still wearing these. Almost every day. Could I have more boring ears?!)
• Necklace: A thin barely noticeable delicate-looking necklace with a charm on it.
• Scarf: None ever. (not counting winter scarves, obviously).
• Belt: Also none ever.
• Shoes: Doc Martens boots. With a steel toe. (I got into this habit while working in a shipping hub at UPS in order to protect my toes. It wasn't until I stopped wearing these constantly that I realized how freaking HEAVY they were. Ouch!)
• Bag: A backpack. The day hiking kind, not the fancy kind.
• Watch: Digital. The running kind. Except I wasn't a runner. (It's hard in steel-toed boots).
• Hats, brooches, pins, hair accessories, other miscellanea: Ha ha ha ha.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are some...

Accessories I totally GET now:

• Glasses. I love my glasses. I have two pairs that fit--one brown, one bright green--and I should probably match them to my outfits better, but whatever. Hurrah for cute spectacles! My current favorites are these cat-eye Bevel brand glasses, mine are bright green:
  

  Source: contactsandspecs.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

• Shoes. Over the past seven years I have carefully curated a very small collection of comfortable yet cute retro-influenced flats, heels, boots and sandals with round toes and sturdy, low heels (if any). Go me! I do need to clean out some shoes I have worn past all repair, but it's generally in good shape. These Miz Mooz lovelies (which I'm wearing today) are a good example:
  
  
  
  Miz Mooz pumps
• Necklaces. The brighter the better:
  

  I keep mine on a set of pegs on the wall and admire them daily. And I'm trying to gradually replace the cheap bright plastic Forever 21 costume jewelry necklaces like the above with equally inexpensive but much fancier looking bright vintage costume jewelry necklaces.

But there are many more...

Accessories on which I continue to be clueless:

• Scarves. Own a bunch, even some vintage silk ones, but no idea when/how to add or how to tie them. I need to play with this. Somehow I always feel like instead of making things more fun, they make me look frumpier/older.
• Belts. Considering how much I love working the whole hourglass silhouette, I own/wear hardly any, mostly the cheapo pleather kind with the big round buckle.
• Hats. I have a huge head and finding hats that fit--never mind hats I actually like--is a challenge. So I have one ugly sunhat that pinches my head. Maybe I could make some (at least the breezy simple cotton kind). The only winter hats I have are self-knit.
• Bags. My husband frequently asks me when I'm going to stop lugging around a gigantic bag that can swallow the universe, because he worries I am hurting my back. He has a point. My mom got me a giant Brooklyn Industries bag--similar to this one:
  

  ...but brighter with a magenta print--when I needed to carry a breast pump to and fro from work. I hung up the pump horns months ago, but I'm still lugging the bag (now with the sweater I'm knitting inside), and I don't have a smaller bag for more casual occasions or running about on the weekends. I literally carry this suitcase-sized bag EVERYWHERE. It makes no sense and I must stop.

• Earrings. Yeah, still wearing the tiny hoops I got from the ear-piercing studio. In 1990-something. Every day. Ok then!
• Watches. I wear the same casual black leather-strapped watch. Every day. But it least it has a traditional, not digital, face, and nice typography.
• Rings. I wear my wedding ring. That's it!
• Brooches/Hatpins/Hair Accessories/Misc.. Er...

But whatever. There's no time like the present to start playing around with and exploring these things, and this Mad Men challenge is a great opportunity for that!

So, readers: are you an accessorizing superhero, or a accessorizing slacker? Are you better with some items than others? And is all this stressing over accessories just totally unnecessary and far too much work? Please confess!

P.S. Also--what do you think of my Joan accessory plans? Is the pen necklace fun, or too cliched/costume-y/obvious?

Mad Men: Joan Hair How To (+ How Done Up Do You Get for Garment Photos?)

Teased-up 1960s hair: Yay or nay? (P.S. Yes, no amount of bobby pins could keep my hair from escaping this French twist)(P.P.S. No, I didn't sew this--it's just a vaguely 60s-ish contemporary doubleknit dress I thrifted recently)

Fellow sewists, some questions for you:

• Does vintage sewing require vintage hairstyling? Do 60s hair and 60s dresses pair like a fine wine and cheese--or a Halloween costume?
• How done up do you get for finished garment photos? Do you fancy yourself up with coordinating hair, makeup and accessories before staging an elaborate photo shoot on a weather-beaten bridge? Or do you throw your garment on fresh from the sewing table and snap a few quick pix with your camera phone, styling and scenery be damned?
• Can you explain to me why what I thought was quite a chic and sophisticated vintage-style updo caused my husband to burst out laughing and use words like "outdated," "older" and "like my elementary school principal"? [Edited to add: Also, "Marge Simpson."]

Last time I attempted to learn to vintage up my hair, the underwhelming results (see "Wet Set Woes") so traumatized me that it took me two years to get up the courage to try again.

But I have finally regained my hair experimentation bravery, with the help of some of the Youtube video tutorials by Lisa Fremont-Street, Strawberry Koi Vintage and more that my readers so kindly recommended at the time.

I finally achieved curling success with a combo of LottaBody, water and overnight pillow curlers--I styled the results into a 1940s pageboy (which my husband LOVED, fyi) that lasted several days.

But I digress!

OK all you wiggly-dressed Mad Men Challenge-ers, here's...

How to Get a Joan Holloway-ish Updo Look:

The tools

1. Rat-tail comb.
2. Bobby pins in mind-boggling quantities.
3. Hair pins—a lifetime's supply.
4. Hair spray with a death grip hold.

The steps

1. Use rat-tail comb to tease all hair from ends to roots, starting at the crown of the head, and working in small sections--result should resemble demented hair haystack.
2. Smooth outside layer and begin shaping, pulling over to side back of head and securing with---
3. Oh who am I kidding?
4. Cry in frustration because you have no idea what you're doing, give up and ask an expert hairstylist for help.

Anyway, yeah. This was way beyond my rudimentary skill level. So I went to see Ricky at Avalon Salon on 112 Christopher St. He's awesome, and has been doing my hair (when I remember to drag myself into the salon every 3-4 months) since 2004.

He did show me how to do it step by step, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it right when I complete my dress.

As for me, re: getting done up or fancy.. I started out photographing my sewing projects for Pattern Review bathroom-mirror style, as you can see with this lovely wool skirt circa 2005...

And now I have a tripod and self-timer, and try to at least brush my hair and put on makeup and cute shoes and cheap costume jewelry. I'll admit that the exciting photographic antics of the Sew Weekly crowd (I'm looking at you, Oona and Kazzthespazz) sometimes make me feel ashamed of my boring apartment wall backgrounds.

But in my defense--I've got a toddler who can't be trusted not to run amuck while I'm messing with a tripod in a park.

So--what's your take? 60s hair yay or nay? Basic garment pix or fancy photo shoots?

P.S. To recap--here's the sketch: