Getting ready for my son's wedding last month I realized I had nothing appropriate to wear! Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...doesn't everyone say this?! But really, I didn't! I do have several gorgeous warm-weather day dresses but nothing for cold weather. I ended up making do with a sleevless wool dress that I had worn several years earlier to a corporate Christmas party. After the wedding I resolved to find something for my next fancy, cold-weather occassion.
Score! I came across a wonderful Etsy shop, Alice and Clara. Jennie, the shop owner, made me this fabu dress from a 1954 Simplicity pattern - isn't it gorgeous?!
It's a light weight, all-weather, dove grey colored wool - perfect for Florida winters.
Jennie has always loved sewing and was an artist/animator early in her career. As a stay at home mom of five girls (2 sets of twins!), she perfected her sewing and began concentratng on historic and kid costumes and wearable art. As her children grew, Jennie got a job as costumer in a theater that had a museum-quality costume collection that gave her the opportunity to study, alter, remake, repair and recreate every decade of clothes, all the way back to the mid 1800's.
Now that her kids are all grown, Jennie's open for business on Etsy and says, "I gives me fun projects to sew in addition to my first career as a book illustrator."
Jennie altered the pattern to suit my specific requests and updated me with pictures of her progress. She changed the skirt so that it is totally gathered:
And added three-quarter length sleeves (original pattern had capped sleeves):
I nagged her until she relented and sent me a picture of herself:)
(Just as pretty as she is talented!)
Thank you Jennie, I absolutely love my new retro dress!
Several of you have commented about wanting a retro dress in a modern size; well, AliceAndClara is the answer! Contact Jennie and she'll accommodate your requests, keep you updated on specifics and sew you YOUR ultimate, dream retro dress!
Please leave a comment for a chance to win this month's giveaway:
6 comments:
What a great dress!
You look mahvelous!
I can sew for myself and alter as needed but I am not brave enough to do it via "mail order." Jennie is VERY good.
Agreed, LAUREN & BECKY, it's a gorgeous frock and Jennie's immensely talented!
Lovely dress! I'll definitely remember this when I'm ready to dive into vintage clothing (when I've lost weight, lol).
That dress is awesome, but like Becky said, kinda nervous about doing it through mail order. This would be a lovely dress for the holidays for sure! ;p
Janie & Becky - just to clarify...I quickly took a tape measure, measured, sent the numbers to Jennie and viola! She's so expert that my dress fits me perfectly! Not scary AT ALL! In fact, she guarantees her work; doesn't bill you until you're totally satisfied ~ quite amazing:)
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