Farewell to summer

Last year the int the last weekend of august was the last weekend of summer. this year the last weekend of august seemed to be the first weekend of autumn.






I wanted to take a melancholic farewell-to-summer-walk like the year before(see first picture), but the rain kept pouring down so I stayed in and made some photo's of this pretty summerdress.





The dress is not actually that old. It belonged to my grandmother who made it from a cheap coupon. I don't know axactly when it was made but I do know my grandmother wore it on her 25th wedding anniversary in 1978.





This dress is one of my favorite dresses. The fabric is perfect, soft and thin, like fabrics for summerdresses ought to be. I like how the back is cut in a low V shape. Actually I like everything about it but I love the fact that my grandmother has worn and loved this dress before me.





I won't be wearing this dress for more than eight months now and I already miss it. Up next are dark fabrics, thick cottons, velvets and in a few months even wool. I like velvet just as much as I like the fabric of the summerdress but I but I still feel a little sad.



So, my dear light blue summer dress, farewell, see you next summer.

Book market in Bredevoort

On saturday I went to a book market in a little town called Bredevoort. There are many many book shops (almost the only kind of shops there are since Bredevoort is very small). Sometimes they also have book markets in the open air.




In one shop (I always go there and they always have just the kind of books I'm looking for) I found several interesting books. Two of them are by the same author and have wonderfull pictures.





Then there was this book ond clothing rationing during and after the war, and some amazing solutions people found to make clothes without wasting valuable coupons.



I also found a copy of a 1948 'Margriet',a Dutch women's magazine.





I really like the atmosphere in Bredevoort. It is a mixture of 'cute small town in a rural area' and 'intellectual antiquarian book center'. I had a perfect end of summer saturday (it was probably the last hot day of the year).

Back to business in a bolero suit

I still have two weeks of vacation ahead of me but the rest of the world is going back to work and school so I am already in a 'back to college' mood, and I'm actually looking forward to starting my studies again.



With that mood come more business like clothes. In a few weeks I won't be wearing that many floral dresses but more things like this suit. The fabric is still a light and airy silk but it is a sophisticated 'Deux pieces'(that's what they call any outfit that exists out of two matching garments in old magazines and I love the expression).





I guess it dates fron the late 30's or 40's and bolero's and matching sets were a big thing back then. A big pro of a bolero suit is that the amount of fabric you need is a little less and an old dress can easily be made into a suit.



These are some pictures of bolero suits from old magazines.









A picture of an old pattern I found on the internet.



The skirt looks like a 'plise' skirt but it is has ever so many tiny pleats at the top.

French fashion magazines

Last week I found five old French fashion magazines in a shop in the city Deventer. Two came fron the 30's, Two from the 40's and one from 1950.
The picture above shows the cover of the oldest magazine "C'est la mode" 4th of February 1934



"C'est la mode" from the 11th of August 1935



"Le petit echo de la mode" from the 22nd of June 1947



"Le petit echo de la mode" November 1947.




"Le petit echo de la mode" 23rd of July 1950

Making a summer dress from a 1939 pattern

A while ago I found a pattern from 1939 for a simple summerdress in an old magazine. I decided to make the dress from a white broderie cotton with red and orange flowers.



The pattern stated that it was a size 42. Today it would be a 40. I was surprized, after hearing many stories about vanity sizing, that it only differed one size. The pattern was full size and not in the least difficult so it was all very easy to draw over and cut and put together.






I decorated it with red bias ribbon and buttons. I was inspired by other pictures in the same magazine.







On this picture the dress is far from finished, but my father decided that the light and the poppies were perfect. I was very uncomforable because a lot of the seams were pinned instead of stiched together.




The finished dress.

V&A

When I was on a trip to London two weeks ago I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. There was a lovely exhibition on Grace Kelly but unfortunately taking photo's wasn't allowed.
I did take some pictures of the rest of the costume exhibit.

I looove this Vivienne Westwood taffeta Watteau gown. You can really see the 18th century influences.





Here is a painting by Watteau. The pleats at the back of the dress are called "Watteau pleats".



This an original 18th century dress with Watteau pleats at the back.



Another 18th century dress. The fabric is so pretty.



Some Vionnet dresses.

Vionnet again.


Watch the padded shoulders, how verry 'Balmain' oh no it's Schiaparelli more than 70 years ago :P.



Underwear



Really like this late 30's suit, soo simple.