It’s been a while since the last Link Love, no? Still, when I saw this post on casual vintage style by Miss Virginia of Retrospect, I knew I had to share it.
Talk about the perfect out-and-about outfit inspiration! I love the elegant touch of a neat blouse and Capri pants; in fact I’ve actually bought two new pairs of Capris recently that I can’t wait to show you in an outfit post. In the mean time, however, enjoy these lovely looks from the past, and don’t forget to hop on over for the rest of the gorgeous pictures.
xox,
bonita
More fabulous vintage history from Glamour Daze ~ this time featuring the origins of the Little Black Dress and how it became the quintessential evening piece in any gal’s wardrobe. Find out it started in the 1920’s, how it went from day to night wear in the 1940’s, and how it was influenced by Dior in the 50’s and more…
A big fan of single neutral colours, Chanel was really just pleasing herself with this number. In mourning mode after the death of her lover in 1915 ; Chanel's tendency towards black naturally crept in to her designs…
xox,
bonita.
I really like interesting background articles on my favourite fashion eras, and this post by The Vintage Dancer is no exception. The thought and detail behind the fashion is so intriguing! Hop on over for the full article.
When you think of dresses in the 1950′s what do you imagine? Most people would think of the classic house wife dress that Lucile Ball or Mary Tyler Moore wore in their respective 1950′s TV roles with large, puffy, skirts and snug fitting blouses, paired with cute coordinating accessories and perfectly groomed hair. While this style of dress was certainly popular there is another style, the opposite look of the 1950′s, that has been overlooked until now. Because of TV shows like Mad Men and Pan Am the slim fitting 1950′s style sheath dress is just as popular as its full figured sibling….
xox,
bonita
I just love finding out about the history and background of designers and creative minds; and this lovely little interview with Juli Lynne Charlot is simply fascinating! She is the creator of the original circle skirt, and how she started this massive fashion trend is really quite amazing! Read on at The Vintage Traveler.
In 1947 two seemingly unrelated events came together to start her career in fashion. First, fashion changed dramatically with the New Look. WWII fabric restrictions were lifted and hemlines dropped and skirts got full.
About the same time, Philip Charlot lost his job. Juli Lynne was a young woman who wanted to be in fashion but she had no money for the new styles. So she decided to make her own skirt for Christmas that year. Since she could not sew, she got some felt. It was the only fabric wide enough to cut a full circle skirt without making seams…
xox,
bonita
This is the perfect up-do tutorial for a lovely vintage 1940’s inspired hair style that works well with short hair! I love this look and cannot wait to try it out myself ~ and as always, amble on over to The Freelancer's Fashionblog for the rest of the darling illustrated instructions.
…In general, a good tip for a easily achieved fancier-than-it-actually-is look that works for as well long and short hair, is to concentrate on your hair in the front and just gather the hair in the back and cover it with something nice…
In short, it works the following way:
1) style your hair fabulously in the front - rolled bangs, rolls, pin curls, the choice is yours.
If you suck at styling, try to learn at lest one thing that will work for you. You can do it!
2) make a quick and simple bun or chignon in the back and pin well for it to stay
3) cover the hair with lots and lots of decorations. Something simpler like a scarf or bow or one big flowers will be good for everyday wear, while more glittery and colourful flowers puts your head into party mode!
If your hair is super short, roll up or wave it in front and just pin all the rest together in the back and cover it with as many flower pins and -clips as you can fit! You can curl very short hair in the front nicely too, I have done it to ladies, so it's possible. If you can't manage anything, pin smoothly to the side and put in a flower there too. Ta-da, up do feeling achieved!
But now, back to the actual apple-blossom do...
xox,
bonita
I love the look of this shawl collar t-shirt; comfortable but stunning and vintage styled at the same time ~ what could be better? Pop over to So, Zo… What do you know? for instructions on how to make this lovely refashion for yourself.
…There's one of two ways you could create a garment like this from an existing T-shirt. You could either take a T-shirt that already fits you (or the indented recipient) well then recut the neckline, make the new collar and then attach the collar to the T-shirt. Or you could do what I did here: take a large loose fit T-shirt originally intended for a guy, and cut it up and remake it using a T-shirt sewing pattern to fit you before getting involved in the collar section.
I took the collar pattern from New Look 6808 (pictured above) to make the collar. I also used that sewing pattern's front and back pieces as a guide to recut the new T-shirt neckline…
xox,
bonita
xox,
bonita
If you are into tiny cute knitted gnomes, balloons, snowmen, pianos, unicorns or just about anything else you can think of Mochimochi Land is the place for you! These tiny knits are available as patterns or complete kits, so you can make your own Mochimochi!
I personally haven’t knitted up any yet, as I tend to favour amigurumi instead{see here and here}, but I thought this animated .gif was seriously too cute not to share. > U < Up, up and awaaaaayyyyyy!
xox,
bonita
I love this fashion video from the archive at Glamour Daze ~ the clothes are really cute and I do so like the circle skirt playsuit! I am thinking I shall have to see if I can sew up a set for myself come summer. If you want a better look at some of the outfits, there are some neat stills from the video here. Enjoy!
xox,
bonita
Glamour Daze is a wonderful source of authentic vintage style inspiration. I love their latest mini series on 1940s fashions, it’s chock full of fabulous original material. Swing by and check out their style guide post for a full run down on how to achieve an authentic 1940s look.
xox,
bonita
I love Casey of Elegant Musings’s style ~ can we say girl crush much? Her taste in vintage decor is every bit delightful as her wardrobe, so meander over to this little post to see how to make your own pillow slip covers. You can also see what she has in store for her couch. Enjoy!
Happy Friday, friends! I’m excited I finally have a little DIY for you (hopefully soon there will be some garment sewing DIYs coming…) Remember my pep talk post recently about decorating and getting started on covering up those ugly, beige accent pillows? I finally did just that! I’ll show you the fruit of my labours first and then there is a mini how-to further down for those who might be curious about the process….
xox,
bonita
This super cute refashion from Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch looks like a darling 1950s blouse to me and even better ~ she give you instructions on how to make your own version! This is a really simple project and looks great for beginners or someone who is short on time {*ahem*}. Hop on over to the post and Sunni will breeze you through it in no time. : D
… I opted to make a box blouse, basically two rectangles sewn together with room left for your arms and head. Yup. It’s so easy, you might just chuckle. Seriously. Amy from Yellow Bird gave me the idea, which by the way, she’s made several and you should head on over to see them because then they’ll give you ideas for what to do if you want to make yourself one.
Now here’s the thing, I wanted to keep this simple. I wanted this project to be something you could really whip up in a jiffy and all without the use of a pattern. Something that WILL fit you, because box blouses fit everyone! Got it? Yeah. That’s exactly the idea. So let’s just start with the Box Blouse formula…
xox,
bonita
You all know my favourite thrifted red cardigan that I wore about three times in a row for outfit posts right? {It features here, here, and here ~ and probably else where, but I can’t seem to remember where.
> o < } Well, it starting to get a tad bit shabby, but thanks to Tasha of By gum, by golly! I can now knit myself a replacement. It’s not quite the same, but the shape is very similar, and I think it looks super cute, so I can’t wait to try this as my spring knitting project!
Yes, winter has not even come in full force down under and I am already thinking a season ahead. Oh well, that’s what you have to do to plan your wardrobe right? Visit Tasha’s blog to download the free .pdf. ^ U ^
I don't know about you, but I have had shrugs and boleros on my mind lately!
As the weather finally seems to be staying nicer and I creep closer to rotating my closet (yay for seeing pretty spring and summer fashions that have been hidden away for months!), I've been thinking about what cover ups I like to pair with my not-too-cold weather clothes. I have a multitude of boxy cardigans, but lately I've been really wearing a couple of my favourite boleros the most. I love that they're just a bit less bulky and nip in at the waist, which is perfect with dresses. I really need more of them in my life!
So I thought what better time to share a vintage shrug knitting pattern?…
xox,
bonita
There’s another awesome guest post over at The Girl with the Star Spangled Heart ~ this time by Brittany of Va-Voom Vintage. I adore this precious DIY she has for us, so do stop over and have a look. : 3
Hello everyone! This is Brittany from Va-Voom Vintage here, to show you how to sew a 1940's hair scarf. I am so excited to be a part of the guest blogging series while Stephanie is on vacation!
Many months ago, I found a little pink 40's hair scarf at an antique mall. It's so sweet that I was determined to make a few more in different colors. I wear my head scarves to keep my hair out of the way while I clean, to protect my pin curls while I sleep and to wear as a fashion accessory.
This is a great project to use some of that scrap fabric in your stash. You can use pieces of vintage sheets, feed sack, table cloths and other household linens. Today's tutorial uses shirring. Shirring is very easy to do and looks fantastic!…
xox,
bonita
As always our beloved Gertie from Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing is a fountain of sewing techniques and knowledge ~ her latest post on dealing with pattern ease is very helpful to anyone out there who is wondering why their dresses don’t fit as well as they should. Check it out over here:
Here’s a topic that gets a lot of discussion, but I think the info bears repeating: ease in patterns. I’ve been making more contemporary patterns than usual, and also featuring them here. I’ll often get comments (virtually and in person, when I teach) warning me to watch out for the sizing on a certain pattern because it’s all off and it came out ginormous, etc.
So, here’s the thing: the sizing on a pattern doesn’t have to be a surprise. Actually, let me restate that: the EASE on a pattern doesn’t have to be a surprise. (Ease being the extra inches built into a pattern for wearing room.) It just takes a couple more steps in preparation than usual.
As traditional sewing wisdom would have you believe, all you have to do to get your correct size is measure yourself, check the size chart on that pattern, find the size that corresponds to your body, make that size, and ta-da! Your dress will fit you perfectly. Unfortunately, this is completely untrue…
xox,
bonita.
