1940s Singer Ad: Impressing Men with Your Sewing

This 1940s Singer ad features three sisters, desperate for fancy new dresses to wear to a party that their father won't pay for. What ever will they do?! I know! Sew their dresses! That will marvel the men, too.

Vintage, Sewing, and Dating

I love finding old ads like this one. I'm a single lady, like these three sisters here, and someone recently asked me if I would ever wear my vintage-style creations on a first date. It took me a minute to even understand why they would ask. Of course! This is just how I dress!

Living in Austin also has certain perks - dress is loosey goosey here and even office attire is casual. For goodness sakes, our city slogan is "Keep Austin Weird!" I once had a woman at a gas station high five me because I was wearing leopard pants!

I tend to find sewing and vintage-style dressing goes over pretty well on a date, even a first one. Vintage runs much deeper for me than how I dress or my hobbies, though, and I have run into a few tricky spots on that count.

I recently went out with a perfectly nice fellow that midway through the date asked me if I could talk about current events, please. Well, I had no intention of lying to this gentleman when he asked me, for example, what type of music I like to listen to. So I just charged forward as per my usual! That date ended with a pat on the shoulder...

Anyone else have similar experiences, or am I alone on this one? What about you attached ladies (or fellas!) - any advice from your dating days? Perhaps some day, I'll find a nice historical buff that has a hobby like fishing that will leave me lots of time for sewing.

Sewing Holllywood History: The Glenn Miller Story

Oh, The Glenn Miller Story. This has been a favorite of mine for ages. It couples two things that I absolutely adore:

1. Glenn Miller's music. My grandmother drove us to and from school every day, and she loved big band and the old crooners. Glen Miller was a particular favorite and is one of mine now, too.
2. Jimmy Stewart. He makes my heart go pitter patter.

The lead lady in this film is the adorable June Allyson playing Glenn Miller's wife, Helen. The movie starts in 1929 and runs until 1944,but was filmed in 1954. I think you can see some of the influences of the 1950s in the wardrobe at the end of the film. 

The spotlight dress for this film is is a lovely chevron-patterned number. Helen wears it at a party towards the end of the film where Glenn plays "Pennsylvania 6-500" for her for the first time. 

Features of the dress: 

• Silk satin collar and cuffs on sleeves. 
• Button-down front with lots of delicate little buttons. 
• Very full skirt!
• Skirt is multiple panels and stripes are matched in a chevron pattern.

Here are some vintage patterns in a similar style.

1. Advance 6896, 2. Vogue 8606, 3. McCalls 8935, 4. Simplicity 2617

       

See it in the Movie 

Here's the clip from the movie with the dress. It's so wonderful when it twirls! 

Now Showing, The Great Drapo!

Better known as Alphonse Bergé  The Great Drapo or The Lightning Dressmaker appeared in the 1940 World's Fair and demonstrated how he could make a dress in 20 seconds. He whips around girls, just draping and pinning, and in the end you see fabulous daytime and evening wear.



Can't get enough of The Great Drapo? Read an article on him from Life Magazine: http://
bit.ly/ZPbI1c

Happy weekend sewing everyone!

The Sewing Machine, A Girl's Best Friend

A bit of fun for your Friday. The "Sewing Machine" from the 1947 film "The Perils of Pauline" with Betty Hutton.



A bobbin a bobbin, a peddle a peddle... I hope your sewing machine isn't wearing you out like poor Betty Hutton! Happy weekend sewing!