Last post for the evening.

So,Vintage Vivant was supposed to be on vacation for July.  Then, out of the blue it was back on with a Love on the Left bank theme.  I had no clue what I was going to wear.  Then I decided to do what the French did best.  Lacy underthings.  I turned a sad cotton sundress that I had purchased at Treasure City for a quarter into cami-bloomers.  It wasn’t a difficult transformation.  It was just a pain to remove the tiny pink sequins scattered all over the dress.

Before: Cotton Sundress

I located the center of the skirt front and back and cut a slit to create bloomer legs. Then I sewed the inseams together. I debated adding lace or elastic at the bottom but decided it was too much. A last minute Target run landed me some awesome stockings (one day I will make sock garters for them).

Photo by Devaki Knowles - After: Reproduction Cami-bloomers

Photo by Norah Thomas: 1920s Reproduction Envelope Chemise

I am playing catch up now that I have a functioning computer with a big monitor.

I posted something on Storyville back in May but I neglected to post pictures of my finished project.  I was able to reproduce an envelope chemise out of some cotton that I cut off a maxi length sundress and the border to a christening gown (For a tiny garment you would have never expected two yards of trim). The difficulty was finding ivory ribbon to trim the garment with during bridal season.

The dressing gown was a Saver’s find.  I lowered and replaced the original ties with ribbon to give it a drop waist appearance. The headpiece was made out of the last of the trim and fake flowers from Saver’s.  The handbag was pieced from scraps.

Photo by Devaki Knowles - On Left- Reproduction headpiece, envelope chemise and sheer dressing gown

I was reminded that I needed to post the rest of my burlesque tale after the most recent episode of Project Runway where Olivier asks what double D’s are.  Seriously? I thought that all men, gay and straight knew what they the were.

I see a lot of boobs.  It’s part of the job description.  I’ve complained a few times about seeing TOO many or too much but, in reality they keep me in business.

Remember my post about my Great Depression burlesque outfit gig?  The hardest part was underwear.  Yes, they had fancy lacy underthings back then.  Sadly, they did not have supportive lacy underthings.  Riley had way more boob than a traditional 30′s bra would support.  I decided the best route would be to fake it.

I started with a Body by Gap bra that I snagged for a quarter at Treasure City Thrift. Then I cut up a slip that I procured from a lingerie raid at Savers.  From there, I cut the slip to make a cover for the bra.  Then I took off the bra straps, the ones on the slip would work fine.  The last hurdle was figuring out a way to fasten it.  I needed something that would work but wouldn’t be too difficult to undo on stage.  I ended up keeping the existing bra hardware intact and making button holes in the cover for access.

Slip that had a top that was cut like a 1930s bra

1930s Reproduction Bra cover (front)

1930s Reproduction Bra cover (back). Body by Gap bra on the inside.

Buttonholes allow access to bra hardware.