End-Of-Summer Haul

To avoid any misunderstanding from the title, I didn't buy these things at the end of the summer, rather, I'm posting this haul at the end of the summer. It was a bit a race against time the moment I realized that the last day of summer was today, therefore I had about three days to lay this blog post instead of a few more weeks.

31 Sons de mode striped top マルチボーダーロールカラープルオーバー

I learned about this brand when I saw a wear.jp user wearing the top with a skirt from Fi.n.t, and I thought it was such a nice outfit. I've been wanting to get the exact same outfit ever since—unoriginal I know, but both pieces look so lovely together. I spotted the Fi.n.t skirt a few times on Fril, but never bought it. As for the striped top, despite my regular searches for it, I never saw it pop in the results. My unlucky search went on for several months. I seemed to favour finding the top first and then take care of the skirt later, I'm not sure why.

When I recognized the top in a Mercari listing for a fair price, I bought it directly (with Japonica Market). I mostly wanted it because I liked how it looked with the Fi.n.t skirt, but the top itself is certainly nice too. I like its V-shape collar. It looks a bit sailor-looking but without the traditional square collar at the back which I prefer.

This top is so comfortable and softer than I thought. I was also impressed at the seemingly perfect condition given its low price. Only thing is that it tends to roll up a bit at the waist, but I'm being really picky.

Twik white/ivory cable cardigan

I went to Simons a few weeks ago with my mom, notably looking for a cardigan for the colder days. I tried a couple, but there were none I liked. At this time of the year, there were mostly oversized knit cardigans which weren't the style I was going for. I wanted something more delicate with a cable pattern. (I guess that I would've had more chances of finding such a piece in spring.)

I noticed a cardigan on the wall and decided to try it. I was wearing my purple flowers dress and the whole outfit instantly looked more put-together with the cardigan on. It's a shorter cardigan which means that it fits perfectly with my dresses and my high-waisted skirts.

Obviously, the price of the cardigan was much higher than what I usually spend on a cardigan—as it's almost always the case for every piece of clothing that I come to like. But my mom insisted on buying it for me as a present. It's so rare that I find something that is the perfect look, the perfect colour and the perfect fit, so I'm very thankful. 💖

This colour looks good with basically anything too.

1950s Betty Barclay white crochet dress

While I was browsing vintage dresses on eBay, I spotted a white dress that had crochet all around the skirt. The fabric looked quite thick and waffle-y, and with the crochet, I knew that I wouldn't be able to make this kind of dress myself. Furthermore, it was my size.

The seller only stated "Very nice vintage condition" and the display pictures weren't clear enough to properly examine the state of the dress. I could see some faint yellow at the top of the zipper on the inside, but I wasn't sure of anything because of the lighting and the quality of the pictures. Also, the brand tag looked pretty good so I was maybe imagining flaws.

I know the best would've been to ask the seller to provide more details on the condition, but I always get uncomfortable asking this question because I worry that the seller will get on the defensive? Anyway, I bought the dress expecting it to have minor yellowing here and there that could be washed off.

The dress arrived and I was shook at the major yellowing.

The camera doesn't make it look that bad, but there was strong yellowing everywhere

on the inside of the bodice, especially where the underarms and shoulder blades are.

The yellow was even visible on the outside at the shoulder blades. The dress felt a bit disgusting to hold. As someone who sells secondhand clothes (on Depop), yellowing is definitely something you should precise on the item listing. And adding one or two pictures won't hurt. But just the mention itself takes 15 seconds to write and prevents the buyer from a bad surprise upon receiving their stuff.

My mom soaked and washed the dress two times in the washing machine with detergent and bleach at a delicate cycle. She didn't put the dress in a mesh laundry bag because clothes tend to "roll" in a ball and she wanted to make sure that the dress would soak thoroughly in the bleach. The dress was air-dried.

Fortunately, two good washes were sufficient to remove all of the yellowing. (Maybe there's some left, but I really can't see it.) It was such a relief. I find myself lucky because we definitely weren't sure if all the yellowing would go away.

The dress in all its splendour

White piping at the waist

Close up of the beautiful crochet.

I don't know why, but it reminds me of a doily which gives me English/Victorian vibes.

There's a hook-and-eye closure at the top of the zipper and also at the waist.

Yes, the zipper is at the back and it's frickin hard to zip it up. (I also can't fasten both hook-and-eye closures by myself.) I know I mentioned in a past blog post my strong dislike towards back zippers, but it's not like I had the choice here. Moreover, I think that I hadn't discovered yet my hatred for them when I bought the dress.

I'd need a petticoat underneath to show off the crochet better. It's way too pretty.

Each side of the bust darts has those kinds of weird loose folds.

I don't really like it, but it's not the end of the world.

Despite the yellowing that the seller could've mentioned, the dress is indeed in "very nice vintage condition". There aren't any holes or stains. The crochet is impeccable (except in some microscopic places but that is just unavoidable). It's a very beautiful dress. 💖 Now that I've made the first move, I've been so tempted to buy other vintage dresses.

Slips (3)

Ever since I made my mom cut the lace trim of a skirt slip to beautify the hem of a dress, I regretted "wasting" that slip. I had therefore been looking for a replacement for what it seemed like forever, and I finally found three at Value Village.

(Note: My mom tightened slips #2 and #3 because their waist were a bit loose.)

Slip #1

It looks ordinary but...

... there are cute flirty slits on both sides...

... and all edges are scalloped ✨ Plus, the condition is like new.

Slip #2

This one is a bit more see-through.

I got it because I liked the lace trim and could alternate wearing it with the previous one.

Cute detailing on the elasticized waist

Close up of the lace trim

Slip #3

With two slips I had plenty of slips by then—even one was already enough.

But I couldn't let this white one hanging on the rack.

I really like these dainty elasticized waists.

Three layers of lace trim ♥

White block heel pumps

I found these white shoes at Verona while looking for nude ones. I wasn't specifically looking for white pumps at that moment, but I knew that I wanted to own a pair someday. I had seen them in vintage snaps and thought they looked dashing paired with a white or pastel dress.

I very rarely buy shoes on a whim, but I immediately liked their look on my feet and knew that I wouldn't find better online or elsewhere in-store.

I wore them one time and they walk great. I also wore them in my try-on pictures with my dress Simplicity 4270 and I'm so glad I got them. They'll need the usual breakage but I'm not worried. They're even a little loose, so I wear gel half soles in them.

Nude block heel pumps

I had been looking for low-heel pumps that would look classier, but that I could still wear on a daily basis to run errands and go to work—basically a new main pair of shoes to replace my Anne Klein black flats that look a bit bulky at the heel. I absolutely love my black velvet Mary Janes and initially chose them as substitute, but I wore them one afternoon to go shopping and my feet/toes hurt so bad. The pain lasted for a couple of days even if I had walked for a few hours only. They're definitely still too tight and I'm unsure if I'll ever be able to wear them for longer periods...

Because I had black pumps in mind, I started to look for black pumps with a bow on top, regardless of whether their tip would be round or pointy. This was around the beginning of summer. But gradually— and I guess that vintage magazines influenced me—I started to drift towards plain nude pointed-toe pumps. I always found they were too mature for my style and too extra for work, but I put these feelings aside and thought I should at least try a pair to see how it looked.

My mom and I went into different stores and I was pretty confident I'd find what I was looking for since it wasn't too out-of-the-box. I eventually found my perfect pair at Naturalizer. I had never bought there because the shoes were never my style, but we decided to go take a look just in case.

The colour goes perfectly with my skin tone, the heels are just the right height and the shoes are very comfortable. They make the perfect shoes for everyday wear while still giving an elegant feel to my outfits.

Love the almond shape, not too pointy.

I didn't even know there was an in-between between round and pointed-toe shoes.

We've come to the end of my haul, coinciding with the end of this year's summer. I'm not sure if I'll be posting other blog posts for now. I do have another haul planned and do enjoy making dresses (I started another one that is a WIP right now), but I really need to focus more on "serious" stuff. I enrolled myself in an online program (after graduating two years ago) and I'm already late with my assignments in all three classes. Lol.

Making a 1950s Dress – Simplicity 4270 (Another One!)

During my summer vacation, I made another dress with the pattern Simplicity 4270 (see the first one I did here). It's such a beautiful design and I'd always wanted to make a second one in a colourway similar to the one on the pattern cover once I'd find the right fabric. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I came across this fabric that was on sale and I loved the colour and the subtle embroidered pattern.

Fabric and notions purchased

Close up to see the embroidery

I had forgotten the number of pieces you have to cut to make this dress—a lot.

This post will be pretty straightforward. I'll mostly mention tips and tricks discovered while working on this project that I find relevant for future reference when making this dress or another one.

Bodice dart marks

This time, I made x's instead of full circles to mark the darts.

It's faster and I believe it's less likely to pierce the fabric or get see-through.

I realized too late that I had this bad habit of making marks too heavy with the pencil. In fact, on my first version of this dress, the right dart at the bust started to show some pencil with wear, though it's washable.

After making a zigzag stitch on the raw edge of the lower sleeve (white piece),

I simply sewed it to the upper sleeve (blue piece) instead of making a slip-stitch like last time.

Close up of the lower sleeve sewed

Yoke and facing seams

Joining the facing to the yoke (both are two same pieces, they're just called differently)

To ensure that the facing seams are aligned with the yoke seams, first pin where the seams meet (as pictured above), then pin the rest of the facing to the collar, easing where needed.

Result

Bodice rickrack

When sewing the rickrack, always place it a little above the seam line on the piece that's thicker. (In this case, the white piece is thicker than the blue one as shown above). Because the sewing needle tends to push the rickrack down, putting it a little above assures that when the rickrack is pushed, it arrives right on the seam line and not too low (thus leaving an ugly blue space between the white yoke and the blue fabric).

Completion of the bodice

Bodice done

The edges of the bodice aren't straight which made it difficult to sew the flaps right. After hesitating to sew following the vertical lines on the fabric versus the curving of the edges, I chose the former. I didn't encounter any problems subsequently, so I'm satisfied with my decision.

The edges

I would've folded more white fabric on the front left edge, but couldn't because then I would've had to fold a lot of blue fabric on that same edge. This would've made the bodice tighter while I felt that it was already rather tight. Eventually, when I tried on the dress with the zipper, I realized that I had been worried for nothing. The bodice has plenty of space.

Apart from this, the edges aren't the same width. It's the same thing with my previous dress, so if I make this design again, I should really make the yoke and facing longer to avoid such unexpected troubles.

Making the skirt pleats

This one isn't really a trick... just to mention that I followed the width of the pleats on the pattern piece, but regretted it instantly when I put the skirt under the bodice. I had been hesitating right at the beginning but still went for it because I was so unsure which width to choose.

So I went back to 0.25" pleats.

Yay done

After being done with the pleats, I trimmed the excess fabric which finally gave me a reference for the ideal width of a skirt with 0.25" pleats for my waist size.

Here's the extra fabric I removed after making the pleats—one whole skirt section

(There were three skirt sections in total.)

Close up

The fabric pulled out looks a bit less than the pattern piece, but I also removed two seam allowances of 5/8" each (not pictured), so it does come down to one whole skirt section withdrawn.

In sum, I have to cut two pieces of fabric with this skirt pattern if I want to make 0.25" pleats. (Ease is included in this.)

Attaching the skirt to the bodice

For my previous dress, I had made a skirt band before attaching the skirt to the bodice. Although the skirt was easier to manipulate with a skirt band, it made everything thicker which isn't that good. So this time, I only made a zigzag stitch on the skirt's ruffled edge and it was as simple attaching the skirt to the bodice and easing it.

I, however, lacked rigour when easing the skirt to the bodice.

Okay, the side seams don't match here (I tried but it wasn't enough).

I really didn't want to fix it so I just let it be.

The next defect, even worse, is that the seam doesn't align at the zipper. The same has happened for all of my other zipped dresses and I never thought this was a big issue because I always wore a belt, but it gets tiring to have something squeezing your waist and I would've liked the option of wearing the dress without a belt and this flaw.

Dress hem and other finishes

Although always instructed by the pattern, I never slip stitched the hem of my dresses. I'd only make a straight stitch all around. The stitch was never very visible, so I didn't see the relevance of using a more time-consuming method. Not sure if it's because of the colour of the thread, or the fact that I was making a dress in a solid colour for the first time, but the straight stitch was extremely visible on this dress, and it was very ugly.

The fact that I chose a large width for the hem makes it look even uglier.

I thus turned to slip stitching. I thought that I'd need to slip stitch by hand, but when looking for tutorials on YouTube, I discovered other videos explaining how to make a blind hem on your sewing machine. Thinking that it would be simple and way faster than by hand, I looked into these.

Completing the hem actually took me the whole afternoon. I kept unsewing and sewing again because some parts looked horrible even after trying to fix them by hand.

The part on the right looks awful. There were too many spots like this

throughout the hem so it was just easier to start everything over.

After restarting again a couple of times, I managed to get an acceptable result. I ran out of thread on my bobbin near the end so I had to restart from that point, but it doesn't look too visible.

You can see in the below picture that the needle didn't catch the fabric in some parts, but this hem will definitely do. It's at least much better than the hem with the straight stitch.

After the hem, there were the flower buttons left to sew which my mom did. I seem to have developed a reluctance for hand stitching, but I looked into my sewing machine manual and there's a way to sew buttons with your machine...! I need to look into that next time.

Here's the dress finished ✨

Wasn't posing so sorry for my hand, but you can see the dress better without the blinding sun.

Something that annoys me is the bust darts that are loose/stick out.

Not sure if it's the lighting or the dress really is see-through.

I'll wear a slip from now on.

Improvements with regards to the first version

Despite the flaws, this dress clearly shows improvement from the first dress I made with this pattern. Here are a couple of mistakes I made in the first version that I didn't repeat in the second:

First version: Both sleeves have a weird hole in the hollow of the aisle.

Second version: Both sleeves look normal and are aligned.

First version: Seams aren't finished and buttonholes don't have interfacing.

First version: The facing (slip stitched) has some parts clipped which don't give a nice result.

Also, the yoke seams don't align with the facing seams (not pictured).

Second version: Seams are better finished, buttonholes have interfacing and yoke seams

align with facing seams. However, I forgot to put interfacing between the yoke and facing.

First version: Zipper doesn't have interfacing.

Second version: Zipper has interfacing.