The Making of a Dress

This weekend I decided to tackle my first sewing project outside of class. I went with a pretty simple vintage dress pattern and picked out some inexpensive vintage fabric so I wouldn't be out big bucks if things went terribly wrong. Well, I managed to finish the dress yesterday afternoon, but not without a few set backs. Let's just say the seam ripper and I became very good friends. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I'm chalking it up to a learning experience and I'll definitely be able to make some improvements the next time I tackle that pattern.

So many to choose from!

My final selections from the store all ready to go.


Hard at work on the gathers for the neckline. For some reason attaching the neckband gave me fits. I sewed it on three different times!


Still sewing. There were points that I felt like scrapping the whole thing and starting over.


Here's a shot of the finished piece. I was happy to finish it, but it's not with out its flaws (if you can't see them in the photo, I'm certainly not going to point them out!) It'll be fun to wear it around the house. Maybe the next one I make, I'll actually wear out in public!

Sally Jane Vintage Sneak Peek

Here's a peek at a few of the items that will be going up in the store this week. I've had lots of requests for larger sizes and I was happy to comply, so look for a wider variety of sizes for sale. Check back on Thursday for a full update!

Painfully Hip

A huge thank you to Painfully Hip for featuring me for the second week running in their Thrift Stars of the Week post. If you haven't checked out their blog, what's wrong with you? Seriously. Go. Now! ;)

Los Angeles Street Style ???

As mentioned previously, one of my favorite time wasters at work is perusing the street style blogs that are popping up all over the internet. In all of my searching, what seems sorely lacking is a Los Angeles street style blog. Now, I’ve run across a few attempts here or there, but none that post regularly or have very artfully taken photos. If there’s one out there and I’ve missed it, I’d love to know. While I find that on the whole, Los Angeles as a city lacks the soul necessary to cultivate the creative dressing you see coming out of cities like NY and Paris, I do see quite a few people walking the street with inspirational style. I would love to start incorporating some street style shots into my posts but I haven’t quite figured out how to approach complete strangers and ask to take their photo. I’m afraid they’ll think I’m completely crazy, or worse that they’ll be completely crazy. On the way home from work yesterday, there was a woman at the bus stop that I found had an endearingly crazy-old-lady thing going on and I so wanted to take her photo. Well, I didn’t ask, but I did sneak this one in while she wasn’t looking. I love the yellow beret perched on her head the most.

Wardrobe Remix

dress: vintage

socks: ???

shoes: Payless

glasses & bag: H&M

I love finding vintage dresses that were homemade. I know how attached I get to every piece I sew and I'm sure someone felt that way about this dress at one time.

Vintage Fabrics

Anyone interested in sewing or crafting with vintage fabrics should check out the Repro Depot. They have tons of great vintage cottons for garment sewing and heavier fabrics for decorating and crafts. They also have loads of cute notions. I'm partial to the sci-fi buttons myself. I mean, who doesn't want space men and ray guns decorating their clothes?

Things I Love Today

• This window pane print mini dress on Ebay is currently $24.99 and no bids. Hmmm.
• I've been searching for the perfect brown oxfords.
• Over The Knee socks: I'd like them in grey, please.
• If I can't find a winter cape, this plaid jacket would do.
• The all time greatest accessory? A vintage fedora , of course.
• This Katie Box geranium fabric would be perfect for my next sewing project.