Perfecting Procrastination

Those who know me are well aware of my awesome ability to procrastinate. Despite having ample time to complete a project, I will invariably leave it 'til the last minute - all the while declaring: "I work better under pressure!"

 

True to form, I even procrastinated while sewing my wedding dress. I had allowed myself a good three months to make the dress - plenty of time to do other things, instead of working on the task at hand.

Late last year, I treated myself to a couple of Wearing History patterns, an early Christmas present if you will. We were heading into scorching hot summer, I desperately wanted to make myself the 'Chic Ahoy!' halter top. It looked like a fairly simple project that wouldn't take too long to complete.

As suggested in the instructions, I made a muslin before cutting into the deco-patterned skirt I picked up at Target for $8. The skirt itself was awful but I adored the pattern and could imagine it made into a halter top of some sort. 

 

 

In my excitement to get started, I didn't notice the print was lighter on the inside. No problem, I'll just cut two more collar pieces.

 

 

There was barely enough of the skirt fabric left to line the collar so I made up the rest with some lining from my stash. This is where my simple solution went south. I didn't cut the lining on the same grain as the skirt fabric so it wouldn't sit properly when I tried to finish off the bottom. It was in to the UFO for this 'quick' project - I had more important things to do.

 

Two seasons later, I've completed the entire ensemble and have been waiting for a spare, sunny afternoon to take some pics. Please forgive the absence of smiles, it was freezing!

 

 

The top still doesn't sit right but it's wearable. And the pants, oh the pants! They're extremely wide - I took 1.5 inches off the outside leg - but so very comfortable. This pair is made from crepe but I think they'd work just as well in a soft cotton. Perhaps in a more user-friendly colour next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chic Ahoy outfit makes me feel like I should be lounging at the beach,

not shivering my way though winter. There's always next year...  

 

- Tamara

Curls in Crisis

Now all my wedding sewing is finished, I've had more time to work on fun projects, but I've been too lazy to take any photos. The weather is looking good for the next few days so I hope to have a sewing post for you in the near future. For now, let's talk hair.

While I'm reasonably confident in setting my own hair, I really wanted someone else to style it for my wedding. You know how it goes - get pampered and preened by others and not have to worry about a thing. Originally, I'd wanted my hair to look something like this...

 

But, after the hair trial, it was apparent my layers were still too short to create a nice, smooth wave and my hairdresser wasn't up to the task of finger-waves. It was time for a rethink. I decided to go with something based on the '30s Fake Bob' which appears in Lauren Rennell's awesome Vintage Hairstyling book (p73). Sadly, the hairdresser's interpretation of the style wasn't quite what I was looking for,and with the day being so hot my curls had dropped in the 5 minutes it took to drive home. 
 

Photo: Indie Lane.

 

Thankfully, I have a large stash of pin curl clips and was able to rearrange the disaster into something resembling the hair-do I had envisioned. I also had the help of Kusco Murphy Setting Lotion to keep my curls in shape. It has really good holding power and the smell reminds me of something my Nanna used to use in my hair as a child. Does anyone remember Curly Pet?

Photo: Indie Lane.

With the clock ticking, I had less than an hour to allow my curls to set so I decided to leave them fully formed. Ordinarily, I would have liked to have brushed them out for a softer look, but I couldn't risk them dropping again. With some carefully placed bobby pins and a generous helping of hairspray, those babies were not going anywhere.



Crisis averted!

Photo: Indie Lane.

As you can see, the 'do is a long way from Kate Bosworth's sweeping wave but it's still got that vintage bride style. Oh, and I'm pleased to report, my curls lasted well into the wee hours.

- Tamara 

 

Feelin' Old Skool

Last month my was 20 year high school reunion - yes, I am that old - and while some people approach these events with dread, I was really looking forward to it. There were a lot of people I had lost touch with over the years and some I had not seen at all; I was excited to be able to reconnect with some of these long-lost friends.

 

 

 

 

This beautiful woman and I have been friends since primary school. Our friendship has endured for nearly thirty years and although we don't speak often, when we do, it's like it was yesterday. It's been ages since we've had a night out together, and what a night it was!

 

We danced like we were teenagers again, toasting to memorable moments from our past, and before we knew it the night had ended, be it all too soon. It was wonderful to reconnect with the people I grew up with, not to mention the new friends I made; we may have grown older but deep down, people have generally remain unchanged.

 

While the reunion has got me reminiscing about the old days, it has also inspired a new sewing project!

 

Advance 2754.

Here in Melbourne, summer has been making its presence felt and I found myself longing for a comfortable, yet fun, all-purpose dress. This adorable 1930s tennis/day dress - Advance 2754 - was the perfect solution and, in honour of my old school days, I chose a blue and black tartan that has been in my stash since last summer.

 

As has been my previous experiences with Advance patterns, it fitted poorly and require a fair bit of adjusting of the seams. Besides having to double the seam allowance, it went together really quickly and is extremely comfortable to wear. Mission complete.

 

Anyone for tennis?

 

Look how well the button matches!

 

It also goes really well with my new umbrella!

 

Our first outing - the Costume Shop sale!

 

Hello new go-to dress for summer!

I think we will be spending a whole lot of time together from now on.



 

 

- Tamara

 

 

Do you Putaruru?

I've a whole heap of hand-sewing left to do on my 1940s blouse, so I thought I'd share some pics of a lovely little Art Deco hotel we stumbled upon while on holiday in New Zealand.

Primarily, we were visiting the North Island for the 2010 'Beach Hop' - a Hot Rodding event - but I had also heard tell of Art Deco treasures dotted throughout the county side. So, one sunny morning we set out in our unexciting hire car to see what we could see.

On our mad rush to nowhere, I caught many a glimpse of cute little houses, angular council buildings and even a bus stop, but by the time I had shouted "STOP!", it was far too late. As someone with a keen eye for Deco detail, it would have made much more sense for me to drive.

Thankfully, we pulled over in the small town of Putaruru to make ourselves some lunch and literally, right across the street from where we parked, was this little gem...

Putaruru Hotel, NZ.

Oh, wonder of wonders! Can't you just imagine 1930s holiday-makers swanning about the lawn in their floaty loungewear and giant sun hats?

The door to the hotel itself was locked so I wandered around to the front bar in the hope of finding someone who could let me in. I've never been backwards in coming forwards, so I strolled on up to the bar and simply asked if there was any way I could take a look around the hotel. The lunch 'rush' appeared to be over, so the barman was more than happy to let me in through the bistro.

The Putaruru Hotel appears to have been refurbished since my visit,

so if you're passing through, do stop in for a quick tipple.

Cheers!!

- Tamara



Fashionable Friday

Now that I'm on the mend, I've managed to get the second sleeve on my 1940s blouse but it's still slow going. I am hoping to do some more work on it this weekend, but in the meantime, let's take a look at some more winter-warming styles from The Weekly Times Magazine Section.

Have a good weekend!

- Tamara

Wild About Wool

Readers, I've been a very bad girl these last few days; despite being on an extremely frugal budget, I've been shopping again. It wasn't intentional, when I see a 'SALE' sign I just can't help myself.

Last Friday, I made a quick trip to Spotlight to find some buttons for a 1940s blouse I'm working on. I was short on time so I made sure to divert my eyes from the clearance table. But when my button hunt was unsuccessful, I figured I could fit in a quick rummage. To my delight, it had recently been restocked and was piled high with potential treasures.

With winter coats at the forefront of my mind, I quickly glanced over the printed cottons and other light-weight fabrics left over from summer - nothing there for me. Then I spied a large roll of dark navy wool which had been reduced to $6 metre. I could make a full length coat for less than $20! Let's see what else they have...

Over in the suiting section, I found the rest of the range and it too was reduced. It was too good a bargain to not take advantage - this stuff is 80% wool and normally $20 a metre - plus The Stash could do with a bit more wool. 

I now have 1.5m of each of the hounds-tooth and brown picnic blanket weave and 2.5m of the navy for a full length coat (fingers crossed!). I bought the red & black weave back in April when they had 40%. I dislike having to pay full price for anything.

My Marc Jacobs wool was also washed over the weekend and is now lovely and soft and whispering my name. I've a couple of patterns in my collection which might work but with only 0.8m to work with I'm likely to only be able to make a bolero with long sleeves. Is that a fashion faux pas - long sleeves on a short jacket? Here's the pattern I'm considering...

Simplicity 3463.

As for the other new pieces of fabric, I've a few ideas floating around in my head but nothing that's inspiring me enough to get cutting.

My name is Tamara and I'm a fully functioning fabric addict.

Are there any others out there? Put your hands up, there's no shame in it.

- Tamara

Shape-Shifter

As I mentioned on Monday, I've completed a few sewing projects in the last couple of weeks and today I want to talk about the multi-era skirt. It was something which was supposed to be quick and simple but turned into a bit of a saga.

A couple of weeks ago, while fossicking in Spotlight for some black tracksuit material, I came across a lost and lonely piece of black stretch drill. It was roughly 90cm (150w) and being a random piece of fabric, they sold it to me as a remnant - only $4.50! Little black skirt here we come...

Simplicity 3188

Somewhat foolishly, I chose the skirt from this 1930s suit pattern I have in my collection. I think it was because I've some fabric in my stash to make the jacket and a black skirt would complete the outfit. 

So keen was I to get  started, I didn't notice my stretch drill wasn't on the suggested fabrics list. You can see where this is going, can't you? The suggested fabrics are wool crepe, velvet, etc, basically all floppy materials; the stretch drill has the drape of a piece of cardboard. Needless to say my skirt looked ridiculous! It stuck out like a giant A-frame and was nowhere near the nice, general purpose skirt I had pictured. It was time for a re-think...

New York 923

Once unpicked, I would still have enough fabric to re-cut my 30s disaster into the something more suited to the fabric. By all appearances, this late 40s Louise Scott Creation would do the job nicely. The only major change I would need to make is the addition of a back seam - the 30s skirt has two panels in back and this one should be cut on the fold. No problem, easy peasy!

That said, there was something else I was going to have to work around...

 

Take a look at the shape of the skirt pieces; there is no way those sloped side seams will create a tapered skirt when sewn together! No way in the world. If you think about it, it will create the opposite effect - yet another stiff A-frame! Having encountered this problem before, I pulled out my trusty Route 66 pencil skirt and basically traced the shape of the tapering onto the inside of my skirt using chalk. Once again, not very accurate but boy does it ever work.

 

You can see from the photo that I didn't quite taper it the as much as the Route 66 skirt, I needed to allow room for the lining. In the end, I think cut a good three inches off the side seam at the hem. That would be those stupid pointy end pieces of the original pattern.

So, several patterns and a dash of freestyle sewing later, I've managed to turn this incredibly trying project into the multi-purpose skirt I set out to make. Phew!

 

BTW - How cute is my t-shirt? I picked it up at Target a couple of weeks ago for $10 and remodelled it to suit. Originally, it had a deep scoop neckline, way too low for me, and the adorable little bow was attached to a useless pocket. I carefully unpicked the pocket and removed the bow for later use. The shoulder seams were then unpicked and roughly half an inch was taken out of the front to create a higher neckline. Woohoo! Another dodgy experiment pays off!

The addition of this skirt to my wardrobe also means I finally have something to wear with my Freddies of Pinewood top. Yay!!

- Tamara

Protect the Astor

The Astor Theatre has long been a favourite place for me and for the seventeen odd years I lived in the Windsor / St Kilda East area, it was never more than 10 minutes away. The heritage listed Art Deco theatre has been screening films almost continuously for seventy five years and is now the last of the single screen cinema palaces in Melbourne. 

I have many fond memories of late Saturday nights watching films from one of the ancient couches at the back of the stalls downstairs, feeling like I was sitting in my own home. The stalls haven't been open for years now, but I have found the perfect spot in the dress circle - it's a double seat! It was wonderful if you were there with a date; we'd cuddle up under a blanket, watching romantic classics like Roman Holiday. Sigh. Alarmingly, its future now under threat.

The Astor Theatre, Windsor.
Photo: The Argus newspaper, 1936 (?)

The property was purchased in 2007 by a nearby private school and while the building has been allowed to continued to operate as a cinema, they have not been offered a new lease. There is talk of the building being turned into a school performing arts centre and uniform shop! Heaven forbid!! If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting The Astor, you can understand the horror of the situation.

Tomorrow, Saturday 16th, the Friends of The Astor are holding an event for Melbournians to come out and show their support for this grand, old cinema. Between midday and three o'clock, there'll be the rolling of Jaffas down the aisles, free popcorn (until they run out) and a screening of the awesome Jim Henson classic Labyrinth. I don't think I've ever seen it on the big screen so I'm a bit excited. I do hope my favourite seat is available.

So, if you're in Melbourne and have a free afternoon, get on down to The Astor and help keep its Art Deco glory open to the public. My overseas readers can show their support by signing the 'Protect the Astor' petition here.

- Tamara

Fashionable Friday - Winter Warmers

It's been a while since I've done a Fashionable Friday so let's get to it, shall we?!

With the winter weather now well and truly here, I'm looking forward to getting out some of my winter coats. At last count, I have seven, but this kitty likes to be warm. I really don't need any more, but I do like the look of some of these lovelies from The Weekly Times Magazine Section (c.1930s).

Just look at those high fur collars! They would be wonderful to nestle down into when the winds get icy...

Happy Friday everyone!

- Tamara

Let Purple Reign!

I finished the first item on my winter wish list this afternoon and I couldn't be more pleased with myself.

Hollywood 1632

While on my little shopping spree at Easter I picked up a funky, purple and grey plaid with this adorable 1930s pinafore in mind and have been dying to cut it ever since. In fact, I was so excited to get started that I sat the sewing machine for roughly six hours straight and knocked the pinafore over in one evening. It was a super marathon effort which left my back aching so much I was unable to sew for a couple of weeks. But, thanks to my wonderful osteopath, I've been back at it and have made an outfit!

Originally, I'd only planned to make the pinafore, I've plenty of things to wear with it, but the blouse looked so simple I figured, why not? You'd think I would have learnt by now not everything is as it seems, nothing's ever simple. Well, that's not entirely true. The blouse was simple; there's no real fastening to speak of, it just slips on and the sleeves are only gathered at the top so fitting them was a breeze. The problem arose when I need to insert the elastic for the puffed sleeves.

I misread the instructions (quelle surprise!); the casing for the elastic is supposed to made by folding the bottom of the sleeve up roughly 3" and sewing two lines to create a pocket to thread the elastic. I tried to make it work, but I'd altered the size of the sleeves - they were going to be a little too puffy for my liking - and the hemline was too crooked to sit flat. My solution: sew a piece of bias binding to the inside of the sleeve for an instant casing, and loosely stitch the sleeve hem to the bottom of the binding. It's not the most elegant finish I've ever done but it worked. 

There is supposed to be a belt with the pinafore; I have made it but I'm looking for the perfect buckle to complete the look. I also need to tighten the elastic in the sleeves of the blouse, they're a bit floppy - sigh, after all that work - and I need to sew a small button and loop closure at the neck of the blouse. Just a couple of tweaks and it's done. Yay!!

Mdblm says my new outfit looks a bit 'school uniform-y', but you know what? If this was my uniform when I was at school, I'd have been more than happy to wear it everyday.

Happy Friday everyone!

- Tamara

Secrets of the Great Hollywood Portraits - Part 2

Welcome back!

First up, I'd like to mention that before I read 'The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers' it had never even occurred to me that these screen goddesses might have needed a little help to keep them looking their ethereal best.

Although the stars had final approval of the prints, they relied on the photographer (and retoucher) to remove any visible defects. From the moment the star stepped into the gallery, the photographer took into consideration the work to be done later in the darkroom, and by the army of expert retouchers on the large format negative, at which time any mistakes in posing or lighting could be corrected.

Joan Crawford, 1930.
Photo: George Hurrell, for MGM.
Publicity shot for Paid.

Using a fine point on a special pencil, the retouchers lightened spots and wrinkles by adding lead to the target area on the negative. Darkening an area was achieved by carefully scraping the emulsion from the dark areas with a knife.

The retouchers also required specific instructions on each negative so the stars wouldn’t all come out looking alike. The retouchers were paid by the hour so it was in their best interest to do as much as possible. The less precise the instructions, the more likely it was that the face would take on a lifeless, enamelled look. Thankfully, George Hurrell's retoucher was an expert and red-head Joan Crawford's face still retains its beautiful contours.

Joan Crawford, 1932.
Photo: George Hurrell.

The retouchers cleaned dirty teeth, replaced missing ones, and straightened crooked ones; they cleared the eyes if they were dull or bloodshot; they lengthened necks and eyelashes, whittled waists, and exercised ungainly pounds.

Ida Lupino, 1940.
Photo: Scotty Welbourne for Warner Bros.
Costume by Orry Kelly.
Publicity shot for They Drive by Night.

In 1960, along with the release of the film La Dolce Vita, came the arrival paparazzo and the end for the studio photographers. The last of the studio galleries closed in 1961 and all the publicity material, including negatives, were being thrown out! Sadly, this seems to be fairly common practise across the board.

Lucky for us, long time movie fan Mr John Kobal was on hand to dig through the trash and rescue this precious memorabilia. These days, the John Kobal Foundation holds over 22,000 original black & white negatives from 1920 - 1960 and features Hollywood star portraits, scene stills and production and publicity images.

'Made in Hollywood: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation' exhibition will be showing at the Toledo Museum of Art, USA, October 2012 -January 2013.

- Tamara

All information & images sourced from the following books: The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers; Hollywood Glamour Portraits: 1926 - 1949; Movie Star Portraits of the Forties.