Love Letter to a $4 Vintage Peplum Dress

Dear $4 vintage dress,

We've been through a lot together in the past 12 years and you've always stuck by me. I remember the first time I saw you squeezed on the back of a rack in Cambridge's Garment District thrift store. I was running my hands across the rack looking for something bright and pink or orange, but your soft velvet burnout caught my attention.

And then there was your neat little 80s-does-40s peplum, and your adorable little front bow. And you know I can't resist a sweetheart neckline...

You were the perfect combination of structure and comfort, with your boned front bodice and your super-stretchy elastic shirred back. Really, you're everything I could want in a dress:

Thanks to that shirred back, you've survived many a closet purge over the years. My weight has gone up and down, but you almost ALWAYS fit.

You make me feel glamorous and put together and thrifty all at once. You've accompanied me to many a dance over the years, and even a Zombie Purim party (sorry about the fake blood, but it washed out):

Plus, even though I got you second-hand you were originally union made in the USA (thanks International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union!)

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for coming with me to my college reunion last weekend. It was my 33rd birthday and I was grumpy about spending it back at Harvard and I barely saw anyone I knew (that's what I get for taking a semester off and graduating with the class behind me!) and I soon realized why velvet dresses aren't generally worn on 90-degree summer days ... but I had so much fun getting dressed up and dancing with my husband in his rented tuxedo.

Love and kisses,
Mikhaela

P.S. You are so hard to photograph, dear dress—but that's the black velvet I suppose. Here you are in an overexposed shot for more clarity:

--Black velvet strapless sweetheart peplum dress, vintage--
--Fake pearl necklace my mom and I both wore to our weddings--
--Vaneli silver leather strappy sandals, bought for my wedding in 2007 (similar here)--
--Pleated silvery gray clutch, now covered in cranberry juice stains thanks to a drunken reunion attendee (similarish)--

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the ready-to-wear hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (and quite likely spent on yarn or fabric).

Fear of Piping?

Fear of Piping? by m1khaela featuring mid heel shoes

I should have been excited that the sundress dress I've been making has optional piped seams, but instead I was terrified. Piping is one of my top--if not my top--favorite garment details of all time. I love the way it calls attention to seams and outlines a piece of clothing--especially in a bright contrasting color--almost like cartooning with cloth!

But I've always been too chicken to try it, for fear it will call attention to my less than perfectly sewn seams and make them look like drunken snakes. Also, it involves cutting bias strips, which I've always managed to avoid. Some reckless sewer I am. I'm also afraid of making:

1. Buttonholes, especially bound ones.
2. Flat-felled anything.
3. Boned anything.
4. Bias anything. (Which brings me back to Fear of Piping).
5. Pants.

And a lot more techniques and/or garments I'm deliberately not going to think too hard about right now. I do hope to conquer them all eventually but for now I'm taking it slow.

What sewing techniques do you yearn to attack but make you quake in your comfortable yet stylish boots?

P.S. I'm happy to report that my piping-free Tea Party Sundress is going to fit Ms. Z, though what she will wear it to and for how long is dubious--she's been growing like Alice in Wonderland lately. Here she is trying it on (with tape to hold it place as I've yet to attempt those terrifying buttonholes). The hem facing looks weird because it's just basted, not actually sewn or anything:

Holiday Dress Plans + Sun Dress Progress

I haven't sewn proper in months (years?!) but already I'm imagining tons of "next" projects. Next up: holiday sewing.

Chanukah toddler sewing: DONE!

Z still (barely) fits into this Simplicity 3765 dress, which I think should work just fine for Chanukah:

Christmas toddler sewing:

But for Christmas, I got nothing.

Since I'm only sewing from the stash, and I didn't have much fabric with even a vaguely red or green look to it, I went with this super cute apple-patterned baby cord from Joann's:

I looked through all my Ottobre Design magazines and went through fits of pattern-choice agony. I even briefly considered making overalls instead of a dress, just because I already had a pattern. Then I decided that sewing only from my pattern stash when I didn't own any toddler patterns made no sense.

So I went ahead and bought a download version of New Look 6016. It's a simple yoked and pleated jumper without too many seams, just perfect for my boldly patterned corduroy (and a nice shape to fit over Z's cute toddler belly.) And it comes with a top and leggings pattern, too.

I'm going to keep it simple--no trim or bows or pockets. Maybe I'll even make a red and white polka dot knit top to go under it--I have some nice rayon-lycra knit in my stash.

After I made my decision, I came across this adorable RTW Mini Boden dress online, which I've decided is my retrospective inspiration. Z was very excited by this photo and kept exclaiming "Apple! Apple!":

Mini Boden Print Corduroy Pinafore Dress (Infant) (clipped to polyvore.com)

I've already downloaded it, taped it together and cut it out. I'm finding this so exciting! Actually sewing once again!

Sun Dress Update:

And before any of you wonder why I'm cutting out future dresses without displaying completed photos of previous dresses, never fear.

The Oliver + S Tea Party sun dress and bloomers set I mentioned in my previous post is well underway--I attached the dress bodice tonight and I just need to hem it and do the whole buttonhole/buttons thing (I've never made a buttonhole EVER, so I think I'll practice first on scraps).

I took Ms. Z to M+J Trimming with me today to buy the buttons for both dresses, though we had to fight our way through gangs of shoppers and roving Santa-costume-clad drunken bar-crawling dancing people (whatever possessed me to get near Macy's that close to Christmas?). Here are the sun dress ones--they have a lovely white floral detail that echoes the fabric:

So that's that. I have a vague tickling inclination in my head to make that green and white wrap dress I blogged about EONS ago for myself... I already have the pattern and fabric. But I'm TRYING to take things one project at a time.

What are you sewing for the holidays?