Vintage Pattern and Bad Memories

When I was in 5th of 6th grade (11 or 12 years old) I went to the local drugstore and bought a sewing pattern I just adored.  It was like one of those 50's dresses with the nipped in waist and a full skirt. I wasn't quite skilled enough to handle sewing it by myself and my aunt was going to sew a dress for me.  Well, she took one look at my dream pattern, decided I was too chubby, and coerced me into settling for another pattern.  I think I picked the fabric (kelly green with some sort of flowers) and she made the dress.  I loathed it.  It was stiff and tent-like. Imagine my surprise when I saw a pattern pop up on my facebook stream that jogged my memory.  It was a vintage pattern from 1969.  I would have been 11 when it came out and I remembered the pattern.  I didn't think I was capable of sewing dresses at that time.  Then I remembered!  That was the dress my aunt made for me. The dreaded tent dress. I think I wore it once and it haunted my closet for years.

Nowadays most fashion experts tell you that even chubby girls need a waist with a belt or something to define it. My aunt used to call me chubby checkers which was very hurtful. To get stuck with that stigma as a child definitely changed the person I was. I am still self-conscious.

Update: As fate would have it my daughter just bought a vintage dress in the style I wanted my aunt to make for me when I was a kid.  So you can see exactly the type of dress I was talking about if you couldn't picture it before.  Her's has a side zipper.

Flowery Sundress

I'm happy to say my new wardrobe website got about 50 viewers today, and I just started it yesterday.

For my second outfit, I took a wrap dress/ skirt that I sewed in high school, and by sewing just one seam on it, I made a sundress that is ever so comfortable. I've been wearing it all day and I feel great. It's slinky, flirty and ever so fun to wear. And it's driving my boyfriend crazy because it's both short and low cut. Scandalous!

Since I bought the fabric in the 70's, it is now considered vintage fabric. Now I'm glad I never threw it away. I'm even happier that I'm getting some use out of it. And somewhere I have a matching triangular shawl.