For those of you who know me, you know that I often whip up some themed outfit to wear for an event, wear it once, and pass it on.  Well, this outfit was worn TWO times. Gatsby party in January and then Vintage Vivant a week ago.

Most of the materials were sourced from the lingerie aisle at Savers and my closet and I spent $20 max on this.

The Dress: constructed from two slips, ~$3 each.  I used a solid black slip made out of polyester that feels like sandwashed silk for the base (When making reproductions I try to mimic the look and feel of the original garment).  Then I took a printed rayon slip that looked like burn-out, and cut it to add a flounce to the bottom,and appliqued what seemed like a million flowers all over the slip.

The Jacket: Constructed from a robe I bought at Savers ~$3 and some fringe I took off a poorly constructed shawl that I acquired (Note: fringe is not cheap.  It’s worth the time to pull it off of another garment).  Somehow I didn’t have a tie for the robe so I made one out of blanket binding and more fringe (Note: Blanket binding is cheaper than ribbon).

The Turban: Constructed from some “satin” pajama bottoms ~1.70.  Because time is money, I decided it was worth my time to make a hat to avoid the hours spent on fingerwaves.  My internet search brought me to The Rantings of a Mad Hatter’s post Making a 1920′s turban from the book “Manuel de Modes Sunlight” Between her thorough account of making the turban and my vague memories of French in college, I was able to finish the project in a few hour.

The Purse: I had just enough scraps to make a fringed flapper purse.

Visit  flickr for the rest of the photos.

Velvet Coat with Fur Trim

I had the pleasure of restoring a coat for Ms. Riley Do Right.  The silk lining was desperately in need of repair.  Luckily there was enough lining and underlining left to make a pattern.  [Pro Tip:  Don't throw away a shredded lining. Having a replacement made will be much cheaper if you have something, even shreds of something to make a pattern from.]

This restoration project was rather time consuming because the lining had to be hand stitched to the jacket (From start to finish, the project took 5 hours).  I didn’t want to chance ruining the velvet.  Other than the lining this jacket was in near mint condition.

One of the most interesting parts of the jacket was the inside pocket.  My friend Krista coined the term pocketry (best if pronounced in a British accent) when we worked together. I will define it as the craftsmanship involved involved in the construction and installation of pockets. I’ve never seen a pocket that was shaped like this before.  I had come across the featherstitch-like hand work in other garments from that era.

Check out flickr for the rest of the photos from the reconstruction.

Reproduction and Original Pockets

I’ve found a larger space where I can take in alterations/restoration work from all of my clients, so I will be moving out of Frock On Vintage.

Starting this week, you can find me inside The Fabricker’s shop at 4631 Airport Blvd #119 on Fridays and Saturdays from 12-7pm. I am available by appointment on Sundays and Mondays.

Feel free to contact me via email clothinghospital [at] spinsta [dot] net or you can call me at (512-693-7553)

or to keep up with sales and other happenings.