SUMMER LOVING: MAISY BROWN ROMPERS, SUNSUITS AND PLAYSUITS!

I've gone a bit mad over rompers lately - you know, those very very cute, very retro-looking all-in-one cotton shorts suits? Here are some of the designs I've run up, in different types of fabrics and with different styles of legs, some high-waisted and others empire waist. The one thing they all have in common is most are made from woven, not stretch fabric (my attempt to be faithful to the rompers of the 30s, 40s and 50s). There'll be more on the way, including more one- and two-piece suits that can be worn swimming!

How I love polkadots! "Minnie", made from stretch fabric:



The latest plaid romper, for sale on etsy:





Polkadot romper #1:



Polkadot romper #2, doubles as a swimsuit:



My own batik butterfly romper that I wore all summer a couple of years ago:


A cherry and ric-rac print sunsuit (and matching skirt) soon to be listed on etsy:

The Most Beautiful Lounge in the Universe

The Most Beautiful Lounge in the Universe, at johnnyvintage.etsy.com
I am suffering some serious Lounge Envy. I cannot get this wonderful mid-century aqua lounge off my mind or out of my greedy little heart. Of course, I don't have a spare $4000 lying around, and if I did, well, I'd hate to think how much it would cost to get it shipped out in a container from the US. So, rather than futilely hankering after it from afar and leaving it at that, I'm going to use it as the inspiration for my Lounge Room Make-Over. So unbeknownst to my partner, I am completely re-decorating our living area, and it's all down to The Most Beautiful Lounge in The Universe. I'll blame johnnyvintage when questioned.
Re-decorating in this case does not mean getting in an expert and paying squillions to have someone "do" my loungeroom. It means painting some bits and pieces to give them a facelift and a different feel, making new cushion and divan covers from some fab (yet economically viable) new or thrifted fabric, and picking up a few bits and pieces off ebay and etsy.

I already have a great faux leather 4 seater couch and a matching chair and pouffe that I got from Vinnies for $60. Here it is, here:



I'm going to have a theme of 1940s Hollywood Regency style - it has echoes of the previous 1930s style (sleek, low, a little ritzy, faux bamboo, metallics) but is also tipping over into the coming mid-century style. I have these two great gold damask mid-century chairs, only $40 from Salvos, what a great buy:



As we are renting, the curtains and swags pose a problem. They are made from a blue fabric which is neither dusty enough to be wedgwood blue, nor interesting enough to be much of anything else. They are purpose made for the space - 3 large floor to ceiling windows - so would be expensive to replace (and hard to store!). I'll meet that bridge when I come to it.

I've bought some wonderful cut chenille in powder blue from Spotlight (on sale, naturellment), which has an over-sized Damask pattern, with which I'll cover the divan (although it's huge and takes up too much room, we'll never get rid of it, it's so squishy and comfy for watching TV). Here's the fabric:



Then, I'll add cushions in peacock fabric and silk in various shades of aqua and blue:



I have a beautiful very 1940s convex mirror on hold for me, so Hollywood, from hellovictory.etsy.com:



I'm trying to figure out how to work in my starbusrst sconces and clock:





Then, finally, a few mid-century cachivachis (bits n pieces) made from brass or chrome, or wood:



(antelope head available at objectsinspace.etsy.com - but don't buy it, I want it!!)

This won't be a project I get finished in only a few weeks - my sewing workload is too heavy for that. I'll post photos when it's done!

HYDRANGEA PRINT BOMBSHELL DRESS with 3D SWEETHEART PETAL BUST

Here is my latest creation - and so far, my absolute favourite!
(Please click on the images for greater detail)

I adore hydrangea flowers, and have several large bushes where I live. Of course, they are suffering in our drought. But still, the lush blue-purple fairly vibrates with intensity! I think of them as a very "old" flower, rather 'olde worlde' and nostalgic. So when I came across this wonderful cotton fabric on-line, I had to have it! It turns out it sells out rather quickly, so I had to wait to get my hands on some. Of course, having yards of fabric mailed over from the US is not a cheap process, so to begin with I bought just enough for two dresses (or so I thought).




I took my time deciding what to do with it - I almost couldn't bare to cut it! But then I came across some artificial hydrangea flowers when out browsing a craft store one day, and I had a 'Eureka!' moment. I knew what I had to do. And I had the perfect olive vintage taffeta with which to pair the lush hydrangea and raspberry print cotton.





So, it's a high-waisted 8-gore skirt attached to a sweetheart-shaped bodice, with matching bolero. The tiny jacket is rather structured and square shouldered, giving a small nod to the 1940s shoulder-line rather than the typical, more rounded shoulder of a 1950s bolero. The skirt has a 141" hem sweep - so it turned out I only had enough to make one dress after all! So, thus far, it's OOAK (one of a kind), in a size ML. It's available in my etsy store! More pics below.

SUMMER FUN DRESS - Kaffe Fasset fabric

I very rarely get to make myself anything - or more accurately, get to make and KEEP anything - but I just ran myself up a new sundress and I will definitely be keeping this one!
It's made from my all-time fave Kaffe Fasset fabric, Flower Baskets in duck egg blue (sadly the colours are really flattened by the flash), a fabric which I'm pretty sure is out of print. The pattern is a mish-mash of a couple of different styles that I threw together, but is basically an empire-line tulip skirt style.



Okay, yes, it's quilting fabric, but who cares? I use drapery and furnishing fabric and all sorts of things to make clothes (please see my previous post about garments made from table linen).

VINTAGE SWIMSUITS, an obsession...

I finished my first Maisy Brown Repro Vintage swimsuit last week (see previous entry) and have now officially descended into OCD mode over vintage swimsuits in general! I've been surfing the net looking for inspiration, to get my ideas focused, and have found some gorgeous things; just look at this wonderful vintage pattern for a drop waist, skirted or bloomer-type one piece:



Isn't it wonderful!! Love how it cinches and shapes the figure. And check out this wonderful old advertisement for Catalina swimsuits (just as fabulous as Jantzen, in my opinion):



Then there's this very smart swing-era (1940s) swimsuit with square-shouldered cover-up, which is basically a very cute bra and Wonder-woman style trunks, with ruching up the sides. It would be easily made in woven fabric and no doubt very flattering:



So, fired up and all excited about my first success, I've almost finished my second vintage-inspired swimsuit: a one piece with sweet-heart shaped, pleated shelf-bust, made from authentic 1950s cotton polka-dot fabric with scattered rosebuds, which is simply gorgeous! Here it is in various stages of construction:









The photos (both with and without flash) don't do it justice at all! I'm hoping to get it finished today. I intend to make a short wrap skirt to go over the top of it as a cover-up, in either a flared or close-fitting sarong style. It's a one-of-a-kind fully-lined suit made with genuine vintage fabric and trims, approximately a US size 6, so if anyone is interested in getting first dibs, do email me at shayne_binqi@yahoo.com.au, as once it's gone, it's gone! I'll be listing it in my etsy store (maisybrownreproretro.etsy.com) in the next day or two.
Then I might be able to get around to finishing this cute 70s style terry-towelling bikini: