1940s purple cotton dress

Back on the blog with some exciting things to talk about! My last entry has been in May and many projects developed since then. I'm not going to talk about them in chronological order. 

Let's start! 

I'm very, very excited about this one. It has been a work of research, growing passion and vintage shopping. It took me weeks (or months) to collect all the accessories for this project - you know, pattern and fabrics often come last. I always loved WW2 fashion but never thought I would have been interested in making, or wearing, a dress from that decade. Too modern for my tastes as I didn't consider post-WW1 fashion with a critique eye for ages. 

Then, growing up, some things started to change. I decided to try vintage styles for the first time and it has been amazing! During 40s women were more active, worked, left the house more often and their dresses had to be practical but also feminine (the androgynous figure of the 20s was no longer in fashion...) and this afflicted the way clothing was designed. The 40s woman has a hourglass figure with square shoulders given by shoulder pads, A- line knee-length skirts, medium-long hair and make up. Something I could relate to. 

To make my dress I decided to use materials from stash. Being my first attempt at a vintage design I didn't want to invest money in fabrics. I didn't know how I could look with a dress from that era, plus my stash really needs to be cleaned. I had some remnants of purple cotton which were enough for the dress, alas in a shorter length. I don't have what you can call beautiful legs and I don't like to show my knees but I couldn't do otherwise. Also, the dress called for a back zipper... exposed. Omg. 

The construction was really straightforward and the dress came together in just two days (you can read my detailed review here), including hemming and attaching the zipper by hand. Yes. By hand, using a prick stitch as in 18th century gowns. The sweetheart neckline pulls a little due to the weight of the interfacing but it's not a problem. 

I wore it over a slip and modern underwear as I'm not going to reenact with it. 

Now the best part, the accessories! 

The veil is authentic italian vintage and I absolutely love how it falls. The spots are very wide and may hurt the sight after a long time but if worn by the hour it's truly acceptable. The straw hat also comes from an italian vintage market, same the brooch. The gloves are vintage (unsure about their real age) and were purchased from abroad at a very ridiculous price. Also the hair net comes from the UK and it saved my look since my hair are too long to be styled in 1940s style. 

Now the best pieces. The bag is original from the 40s and was found in a market while looking for vintage/used lace veils! The suitcase was found in a corner of a thrift shop for just 2€. The external surface has scratches but inside it's immaculate. The shoes were found at the same market. They fit perfectly but I didn't realize the bottom part of the heels was damaged and needed to be replaced (this costed me more than the shoes themselves...)  

And that's all! I'm very pleased with this project. The pattern is very versatile I already made another version from it with longer sleeves.