Sew Grateful Giveaway! Now Closed

I know I am a day late, but better late than never I always say (probably because I am always late).

Anyway, I wanted to post one picture first, to prove that I do actually do my hair and makeup sometimes hehe. I can't believe I posted those pictures the other day without makeup and hair done.

See, it is even curled (actually this is second day hair).
Anyway, why you all came. The giveaway. It is only open to the US. I know, I am sorry, but it is really expensive to ship oversees and it can't be tracked and makes me all nervious, I found that out in my last giveaway.

The prizes.... well vintage patterns, since I still have some in my stash (yea, never ebay-ed them, oops). But at least all the pictures are right side up this time (which was a huge effort for the first picture, why does blogger mess witht he picture orientation?)

 I think I will do the same thing with letting you choose up to 5. I tried to have a little variety for everyone.

Ways to enter... (all links to social media are on the right side bar)
1. Just comment on which patterns you would choose (don't worry about pattern numbers if not in picture - sorry about that. If you will win, I will contact you for the exact patterns desired)
2. Check out some old posts to see if you might be interested in following (following not required). Comment on what you would like to see more of (sewing I know lol)
3. Follow me on twitter (I generally post about giveaways and good things). Comment back her that you did. OR tweet about this giveaway on twitter (with a link back to here). Comment with a link to the tweet
4. Like a series of vintage sewing attempts on facebook. Comment saying you did.
5. Check out my pinterest boards (I am putting this last because you might get lost after this one). Comment with your screen name if you are on pinterest and what types of things you like to pin (sewing, vintage inspired, home making, etc)

I'll randomly choose ONE winner. The giveaway is now closed.

One more restriction... If you choose a vogue or mccalls pattern (besides the transfers) please send a picture to vintage vogue  (see my last post ) to see if they might want to make a reproduction pattern from it. And scan it if they decide they want to.

Would you share a pattern so a reproduction could get made?

I was reading a blog post the other day by pattern-vault and where she is having a giveaway for the new vintage vogue pattern

which I must admit, the way they put it together on the envelope was not all that impressive to me. But the coat is lovely, just look at the original pattern.

But what I found most interesting about her post was that she said Vintage Vogue had contacted her about getting this pattern from her (pattern-vault that is) because vogue did not have copies of the old patterns.

I have no clue why they would not have had copies of the old patterns, but it is terrible because there are so many lovely patterns that could be made into reproduction patterns.

I am not sure how you feel about this, but my immediate reaction was to look through all of the vintage vogue patterns I own to see if I had anything to send to vogue that they might want to make into a reproduction pattern.

I can see where some might have a problem with this because it could potentially lower the value of the original or if you are planning on making the pattern for yourself (or as a business) then it would not be as unique.

I don't have a problem with either of those seeing as I live in West Virginia and I have not come across anyone who dresses vintage every day like I do. The very few people that I have seen dressed vintage inspired were wearing modern ready to wear clothes. Even if there was someone who had the same dress pattern, the fabric and option choices would make it so that it is almost impossible for someone to be wearing the same dress.

So I contacted Pattern-vault on twitter and she gave me the contact for vintage vogue in which to send pictures of the patterns (if they decide they want them, then I can figure out how I am suppose to scan the whole thing or whatever is needed to get it to them).

One big note- vogue designer patterns are ineligible due to licensing issues

Here is the email that she provided me (please don't spam her about other things, this could be a really big opportunity for us) Carolyne Cafaro at carolynec[@]mccallpattern[.]com.

Once I noticed the email address I also pulled out my vintage McCalls patterns too.

Here is what I had in my stash. I am not sure if I should send them all or just the ones that I think would make great reproduction patterns what do you think?

 

 

Edited to add: Many people have been asking if Butterick does the same thing and Laura from Lilacs & Lace found out. She posted all about it here, so check it out. http://www.lauramaedesigns.com/2013/02/harping-on-theme.html

Winter Blues or Smitten with warm layers?

It seems that many bloggers seem to have the winter blues. I don't. I didn't start dresssing vintage full time until this past fall and there was a reason for that. I love wool clothing and layering.
I love wearing layers, the look of layers on myself, and the look of layers on my hubby (whom I have no pictures for this post), but I will post a few great guy layers from my pinterest.

Now how could one not love that? I guess I just like cold weather (driving in the snow, not so much). In winter, you can always just add on more layers, in the heat of summer; however, you can only take off so much.

Today was suppose to be rather cold (compared to yesterday's freakishly warm weather), so I thought that I would bundle up. It turned out to only be about 34degrees (Farenhett), but I did take some pictures of my outfit this morning after arriving at work. Please excuse the wonky photos. I still have yet to figure out how to take photos of myself.

So this is my outer layer, I planned to do my hair and makeup once I arrived at work. This is pre-hair makeup. Yeah, pretty scary :)

Here is the bottom (I couldn't hold my phone out far enough away for a full body shot)
The coat is a olive wool coat that isn't too heavy (I will break out the heavier coat later this week if the weather goes as predicted). I got it at Gabriel Brothers, so it isn't perfect (the darts are going the wrong direction and the fit is not great on the bottom), but I needed something to wear that was heavier than a heavy cardigan and lighter than my heavy coat (I still need another inbetween weight coat) and this fit the bill.
The gloves and hat were a gift from my sister in law. I am thinking of adding some embrodiery to the gloves just to give them a little something special.
The skirt is a grey wool tweed which is lined, I got it off of eBay and I love it. It is loose enough that I can wear extra layers under when the weather gets really bad.

This is what was under the coat. The cardigan is an angora/wool blend vintage that I picked up at an estate sale.
The red sweater is a short sleeve company logo sweater. I don't normally wear red, but in this outfit there needed a pop of color and I have to wear company logo tops to work.
The white turtle neck underneith is also short sleeve. It is vintage 80s (yeah, that just feels weird to say) and I picked it up at a thrift store. It has really cute buttons up the back of the neck which can been seen when my hair is pulled up. I think it makes a perfect under layer. I do not particularly like long sleeved under layers, but it is whatever works for you.
 

And this is what is under my skirt. The white is my slip, which is pretty important when wearing layers of wool, it really helps witht he static.

The grey layer are medium weight cotton tights. I tend to wear tights instead of stockings in winter, because I don't like my under layers to be too constricting and my girdles are a little tighter than they should be right now.

The black layer is over the knee socks, which because I am short, fit about the same height as stockings.

Both the tights and stockigns came from Gabriel Brothers. This post is making seem like I shop there more than I do.

 

This is a typical work wear outfit for me in the winter. I might remember and get pictures of a heavier layered outfit as the weather worsens this week.

 

Do you love cooler weather or warmer weather? Someone posted on thier blog that vintage clothes makes them think of warm weather with light weight dresses and playsuits, is this the case for you or do you have a fine time dressing in vintage layers like me? What are some of your favorite winter layers (I think I am needing a wool under skirt in case of extreme cold)?

 

Well, that is all I have. Layer up and stay warm and remember that spring may be just around the corner (which is terrible for me because I have very few warm weather clothes, more of that in a future post).

 

My vintage wearing process & giveaway winner

I want to announce the winner of the vintage pattern giveaway and I would like to update everyone on my wardrobe progress. I did start this blog to document my progress of sewing a wardrobe that fit and felt good to wear.

While I haven't had very many sewing adventures (and even less successful), I have been obtaining vintage clothing that does fit and flatter ( in my opinion). So much so that I now wear vintage everyday (well everyday I leave the house).

So how did I go from owning no vintage and vintage inspired clothes to now wearing vintage everyday?
(And I have no pictures of me at all. Which is why i have been reluctant to write blog posts. I am so sorry for this long and picture lacking post)

Well, I bought a nice vintage dress for my company's Christmas party while I was in Florida on business (there were quite a few vintage shops in St.Petersburg were I was at). It was on sale and was more of a splurge than I had expected, but I was happy with it.

At the Christmas party I met the wife of a then coworker and she runs estate sales. I went to one even though I knew I didn't have very much money and didn't expect that much because the pictures didn't show that much clothing.
However, my money went really far because the clothing was really inexpensive (some as low at $.50) and on the last day everything was half price.
The clothes were not perfectly my style. They were mostly 70s (the older stuff I did get was too large for me, but I hope to alter), but the skirts had a 40s kind of style to them even though they are a-line and have elastic in the back. I did get some pussybow blouses, though I don't get to wear them very often because I have to wear company logo shirts to work.
I started wearing these to work and them the transformation began. I really liked wearing skirts and though they were not perfect (wearing a belt, even without belt loops, takes away from the elastic look), I started feeling a lot better not having to force myself into jeans every morning.
Then I started to slowly add vintage pieces to my wardrobe that were actual 40s-50s pieces. Some from another estate sale, but most from eBay. I couldn't afford to do it all at once, but a low priced skirt every once in a while wasn't too bad.

I am now at the point where I have started to phase the 70s skirts out of my wardrobe and am beginning to only wear the older stuff.
My wardrobe is still lacking in some areas though.

Belts: I attempted buying a belt off eBay and while it is cute and labeled vintage (though it was vintage inspired), I am not digging that it is made in the Far East. I am currently looking for American made belts at thrift shops and things, but haven't had much luck yet. Two of my skirts came with belts, but I accidentally have ruined one by wearing it too tight (apparently I am smaller in the morning and grow throughout the day).

Shoes. I have bought a few pair of shoes on etsy and eBay, but none of them have fit very well (though I do still wear them occasionally).

(I just got these so crossing fingers)

For me, I think I am just going to have to buy shoes in person. I screwed that up once too though. I was at that same vintage shop where I bought my first dress and I saw a lovely pair of crocodile shoes in a case and asked to try them on. The lady handed me one, I looked at it (it was a little worn, but in mostly good shape). It had a dry rotted insole piece added, but it fit pretty well. I spent more than I have ever spent for anything vintage, but was feeling good because I sold a bunch of vintage pieces I wasn't interested in (at extremely low profit to a vintage store).
I got home and was showing them to hubby when I realized that the other shoe, not the one she handed me in the store, was in pretty sad shape. It had been repaired several times and the skin was starting to break off ;(
I have been pleased with some modern shoes that I have, but again I would prefer some nice American made shoes.

Dresses, well dresses tend to be more expensive then just skirts and blouses, so I haven't committed to many of those. Actually I have only bought one vintage dress and while it is lovely, it doesn't fit. I am trying to decide if I should alter it.

 I do have quite a few dress patterns, so I am hoping to make a few.

Loungewear: I have some nightgowns, but I need something to fill the gap from when I get home till I get ready for bed. I can't wear my day stuff because I will be cooking and cleaning. I just can't see getting my vintage stuff dirty like that even house dresses are expensive most of the time. I do have one "old lady dress" as my father in law calls it. It is more of a smock than a true dress, but I think it would protect my clothing a bit more than one of those cute aprons.

Another activity I don't have vintage clothes for... Working out. Admittedly I haven't done much of that lately, but I'd like to get back into it. I don't generally leave the house in workout clothes, but I'd still like to look cute and I'd like to feel like I could go to a gym in the clothes if I wanted to. I have some ideas (and a Pinterest board) for making some, but am unsure of working with those types of materials. I figure I will get there eventually.

Well there you go, that's my story.

Now for what you have been waiting for, the winner of the vintage patterns of her choice....
Gia of One Perfect Day. I have already shipped out her selections.

The other patterns I said I would do on ebay, but I am considering opening an etsy shop to get rid of some of my vintage things because I won't have to keep relisting each week and such. I don't know anything about running an etsy shop, but I am going to look into it. I will keep you updated.

Giveaway Day (vintage patterns) now closed

So, I am late to the party, but I wanted to participate in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway day

The giveaway starts right now and ends December 7 at 8pm Eastern.

I am giving away some of the vintage patterns that I picked up recently and am not planning on using (I really hope some of you will have a use for them and love them).

So, up for grabs are your choice of up to 5 of the following vintage patterns (the rest will be put up for auction on ebay).

yeah sorry this one is upside down and I can't fix it right now.

The first of the transfers I have in D, J, H, G, and M (each comes with all the letters, but extras & different sizes of the one it is for)

The second transfer I have in J, A, and M (each comes with all the letters, but extras & different sizes of the one it is for)

Now, for how to enter... Giveaway now closed
I am giving each of you 7 ways to enter!n (leave a separate comment below for each way)

1 (the easy entry) - comment on this post which patterns you would like if you win
2 - tweet or retweet about this giveaway
3 - facebook about this giveaway
4 - blog about this giveaway
5 - check out my pinterest boards or pin this giveaway
6 - create a saved search for my auctions on ebay (email notification optional)
7 - check out some of my old posts and see if you might like to subscribe (subscription not required) comment what you would be interested in me blogging about

Make sure  your account links your email address or leave a valid email address.
Thanks!
Hope you enjoy. hopefully more ebay listings and blog posts soon.

Giveaway now closed!