If I were The Doctor's Companion (a dream of mine, as you know-- well, okay, only if The Doctor were still David Tennant. But seriously, if they picked Catherine Tate, why not me? I'm not as funny as she is--no one is!-- but still....Le sigh.)... anyway, if I were The Doctor's Companion, I would insist that the TARDIS take us to 1950s Earth.
Because, of course, of the clothes.
In my teens, I was all about the mid-60s: does anyone remember my white lipstick phase? My black cigarette pants? Or the fantastic pink ones with the amazing little floral blouse, both of which I purchased for a total of $6.00 in a general store somewhere near Minden while on a day off work with my visiting dad?
(They still had their original price tags on them from the 60s-- the pants were $3.00 and the top was $1.47 or something crazy. WHY did I get rid of them???)
Anyway, now that I am une femme d'un certaine age, I prefer the looks of the 50s and all their accompanying structure (and their longer skirts-- I do not have LHR's legs!). I was always a fan of the big, crinoline-filled skirts and tiny waists, but it is only recently, in viewing old footage & new on youtube that I realize that, in part, the secret to those tiny waists WAS the crinoline! (The other part of the secret was, of course, the armour-like undergarments. Oh, I long for the days of corsetry and girdles, girls!)
I also love the wiggle dress and can't believe I ever got rid of the black and orange silk one I used to wear under a gigantic, black men's sweater.... Oh, dear.
Two more (the final two) of my vintage 50s sewing patterns arrived on Friday, care of my wonderful Pattern Mule (who is not amused when girly-looking packages arrive on his desk at work-- the mailroom is beginning to wonder about him...). I had forgotten there were still two to come; I had thought there was only one more, so I was delighted to see two! I had, upon ordering the patterns, grand designs to mix and match bodices and skirts, but I will first have to make each dress on its own to be sure I know what I am doing.
This time, I will make notes about any alterations I make.
One of the patterns is not a printed pattern. This means that, instead of nice, easy-to-follow printed outlines of each pattern piece, there is a complicated series of holes punched in the paper and I will have to learn to read those holes before I do anything else. Thankfully, the kind woman who sold me the pattern also sent me a link to some instructions for using unprinted patterns.
Still, it's all a bit nerve-wracking.
I will, of course, post about the process, but in the meantime, enjoy
(despite the malapostrophication in "1950's"--- WHY do people DO that? )
this little number I found in the sidebar over at Queens of Vintage.
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