Cicadoidea

The ball gown version of my ongoing Victorian project is finished!

Which means the entire project is finished as well! One underskirt, two overskirts, and 3 bodices. Many, many yards of silk, a dozen yards of black muslin, hours and hours (and hours) of hand sewing, and uh...no place to wear it all. One day I can hold a Halloween ball, but until then, the Cicada gown will sleep.

Halloween In March

You can keep your Christmas in July, as long as I can have some Halloween in March. And every other month of the year. I finished the day bodice for my green silk 1880's bustle gown! 

Wish Listed

 

A Lilli Ann suit is on many a vintage loving gal's wish list. I found one for a bargain years ago and have cherished that fleck navy number since. Of course, as a devotee of black clothing, a black Lilli Ann suit always remained another vintage collecting dream (or as they are sometimes called "unicorn") find for me and my wardrobe.

Which was when I spotted this Black velvet trimmed Lilli Ann from 1952 for sale on Etsy at the end of truly terrifically terrible twenty twenty, I pounced. How often do vintage suits in my measurements pop up at all, but a black Lilli Ann? It's an investment, and they aren't making anymore suits from 1952, so I'll try not to feel too bad about adding this to my closet. Here is the original ad for this suit as shot by Richard Avedon for Vogue in 1952. 

And it does fit quite perfectly. I've paired it with pale mint gloves, a velvet belt (I've got the original belt too but it's pretty fragile), my suede heels from Remix vintage shoes, and a flocked vintage clutch handbag. Wish I could get a hold of more of these back seam fishnets but I have no clue when or where I picked them up!

Stay safe out there.

Plaid in the Past

Just a few more photos from my fall day trip into the foothills. I made this plaid dress for a video on Patreon this last season and this fabric has been in my stash for YEARS, so I was really glad to finally use it. This dress is rather pink for me, which is a color I don't normally wear, but I felt this one was rich enough I could get away with it blended with the black and blue in the tartan pattern. Styling it with black helps it feel more "me" too of course.

I hope you are all staying safe and keeping well as we move into winter. I think I'm going into full hibernation mode, but I'm hoping by the time winter ends there could be even better vaccine news on the horizon. Be careful out there and take care of yourself in this unending strange time!