I love Mid-Century Swimsuits!

Mid 20th century swimsuits are such fun! I love the ingenuity of how designers and home-sewers got around working with non-stretch fabrics (usually pure woven cotton), and all the pretty details you find on old bathing suits. It wasn't unusual for a home-sewer to sew her own swimsuits; I remember my mother making bikinis for us both (I have fond memories of a yellow gingham bikini with broderie anglaise trim).

It seems to me that contemporary swimsuits are much less ingenious and interesting, design-wise, and less pretty, due to the laziness that comes with lycra, I suppose, and also with mass-production. I have to say, though, the larger manufacturers have finally got the hint that we really love VINTAGE and are now offering super cute, up-dated versions of vintage-style swimsuits (a gorgeous VELVET - yes, velvet! - swimsuit offered by modcloth is a case in point). They're making lycra versions with cute vintage detailing, like high waists, frills and bows, 'modesty' skirts, ruching, nautical inserts and wrap ties; however, I've yet to see any made from woven fabrics.

So, like a few other handmade garment sellers, I've decided to make a more serious foray into making woven cotton vintage-style swimsuits. They'll feature shirring and elastication (with swimsuit elastic), boning, longer leg lengths, bias cut bottoms for ease, sarong skirts, white cotton linings, zippers, buttons, and removable, button-on straps! Although not necessarily all on the one suit ;)

Here's the first, a Hawaiian Sarong Swimsuit faithfully made from a hard-to-find vintage 1950s swimsuit pattern:

It's made from vintage fabric (35" wide cotton) sporting the classic Hawaiian motifs of skiffs, palm trees, islands and waves in a restricted palette. It has a zip and hook and eye up the side and is fully lined in soft, white cotton, just like the originals.

It has really interesting darting at the centre bust of a kind I've never seen before and which produces almost a bullet-bra point (hard to see due to the busy print). A cute pleated sarong skirt covers the built-in bias-cut bloomers.

I'm really happy with this suit! My model loved it and really enjoyed wearing it for the photos. It's for a size 42" bust - go here to check it out in my store:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/151974637/authentic-1950s-swimsuit-pattern-repro?ref=shop_home_active

Next post: Vintage swimsuit No. 2!

The Half and Half Dress

The Half and Half Dress is something I've been thinking of for a while. I came across the very well known and extremely coveted Advance pattern 6238 (from 1949, I believe) after I'd actually drafted my own version:

I made my first half and half dress from black moire taffeta (for the overdress) and bubblegum pink taffeta for the strapless underdress, which I made as a fitted sheath. I decided to put buttons all down the side of the black overdress; the plan was to cover the buttons in the contrasting pink moire - snazzy! I was on the home run with it when I slipped whilst slitting one of the buttonholes, creating a huge gash in an awkward spot on the overskirt and effectively ruining the whole thing :( 
I was so upset about it that I put off making another (yes, possibly a bit of an over-reaction)...until NOW. I came across this wonderful rose petal fabric and bingo! was inspired again:

I had some amazing pink coated fabric in my stash that I thought would be wonderful with it! It's a candy pink stretch woven cotton that has a pale pink pearlescent coating on it. It feels cold and strange and makes an interesting papery swishing sound...cool! Here's the dress:

I'm so happy with it! And the great thing is the pink underdress, or perhaps foundation dress should I say, is lovely on its own as well.

I plan to do another very soon, possibly in black and white. I'll also perhaps do a combo of two different coloured halves and a sheath...the possibilities are endless!

Find it here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/152505481/vintage-mid-century-style-half-and-half?ref=shop_home_active

The Roman Holiday Summer Ensemble: a sunsuit with matching overskirt

Often when I make a garment I'll have a particular person in mind, usually a favourite movie star, and it's almost like I imagine I'm designing an outfit for her to wear in a particular movie. I can see Audrey Hepburn wearing my latest two-piece ensemble in Sabrina, or better still, as she was in Roman Holiday, zipping along through the streets of Roma on a Vespa, not needing to worry about the wind flipping up her skirt, as she's wearing a full-piece sunsuit underneath! lol

I'm really pleased with the result; I took care with cutting and piecing the double-border print fabric to make the most of the vintage-inspired ric rac stripes and cherry toss print:








The style is very easy to wear and very flattering - the high-waisted sunsuit shorts are not skin tight but slightly A-line, and a slightly more modest length, too (3 1/2" inleg):



I'll be making more of these soon! I have some fab Hawaiin-style hibiscus print fabric which would be great made into a 1950s bubble-leg playsuit with matching draped sarong skirt!