Showing posts with label retro fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retro fashion. Show all posts

Sunday, March 25, 2012

What the Art Teacher Wore #11

Spring Green Monday: Guess who's overcompensating for not wearing even a stitch of green on St. Patrick's Day? sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted; dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: made by me; brooch: vintage, thrifted; shoes: thrifted; fishnets: Target
Okay, please don't hate me. But I don't have to work for the next two weeks. I know! Can you believe it? We have a grand total of 14 days off for spring break. I am beyond excited. I've already had a blast, spending my weekend with a great friend and fellow art teachers at a conference in Memphis. Now I've got the next couple of days to catch up with friends and DIY's before hubs and I head to Orlando.

On with the outfit post. A couple weeks ago, when introducing Claude Monet to the kids, Lauren and I dressed as Monet's garden. This week I thought I'd try to match my look with a painting just for kicks. Sometimes I based my look on a painting, like Monday's dress; other days, I searched for a painting with a similar color palette after the fact. It was a lot of fun...and I'm hoping it helps me out of those fashion slumps I sometimes get into. Of course, the kids loved it. And that's why I do it, right? (Not really, but it makes me sound less crazy if I say so, doncha think?) Enjoy!

Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Vincent Van Gogh ... I opted not to match the beard but the wallpaper.



Since the shoes just weren't tacky enough, I hot glued some flowers onto shoe clips.

Blarf, It's Tuesday: Wearing the Blouse-from-a-Scarf made by me; skirt and fishnets: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Still Life with Peppermint Bottle by Paul Cezanne

One of my headbands from Jen at Peachy Tuesday...you must check out her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/peachytuesday

One-Day-Closer-to-Break Wednesday: dress: anthropologie; tights: Target; shoes: Clarks

Spanish Dancer by John Singer Sargent

Put a Bird on It Thursday: Not seen the Portandia "Put a Bird on It" skit yet? What are you, nuts? Youtube it immediately. dress: anthropologie; sweater and tights: Target; belt: Pinkyotto; crayon shoes: thrifted and then painted by me

Photo of a Stuart Davis painting by me on my visit to the Met. Sorry, I failed to get the title.

More Peachy Tuesday goodness in my hair, love these headbands!

It's Friday, Let's do the Ed Grimely! shirt and tights: Target; skirt: anthropologie; shoes: Indigo by Clarks; belt: made by me

Dogs Playing Poker, artist unknown

I mean, really. What other painting was I going to pick?

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

DIY: The Scarf Blouse

In my newly completed Scarf Blouse. Or slouse. Maybe blarf. Whichever you prefer.
So I have this new habit. Whenever I experience a craft failure/disappointment/disaster-of-epic-proportions, my new thing is to step away, calmly, and leave the scene of the crime. From there I usually wallow around with a bar of dark chocolate, a cup of tea and maybe a cookie or three and find another craft to attempt. I find this really helps me get over the frustration of time lost and effort spent. And, sometimes, helps me come back to the mess with fresh eyes and new ideas. Even if that idea is, "craft project, meet trash can." 
I snagged this sweet little scarf-to-blouse pamphlet during a recent thrifting adventure. I quickly learned that the 20-30 minute bit was just false advertisement.
Which is how this Slouse was born. This little pamphlet had been sitting on my sewing table for ages. So, after a recent craftastrophe, I decided to give it a shot. One of the first things I began collecting in high school were vintage scarves. I loved the patterns, the texture of the silk and the fact that they were cheap. In college I went through a period where I wore them 1950's style around my neck. These days my collection just sits on my sewing room shelf.
Just a few of my favorites. I don't think I'll be able to cut into some of my scarves, I love them too much. I mean, look at that puppy pattern, swoon!
So I chose a scarf from my stash that I didn't think I'd miss if I messed up. It had a small tear and some discoloration but I loved the color and pattern. After deciding on my scarf, the first thing I had to do was add more fabric to make it large enough.
If you decide to create your own Blarf, and I believe you should, keep in mind that these measurements are from the 1940's. People were so much smaller back then. I used the measurements as suggestions.
I happened to have some green striped taffeta (er, I think that's what this fabric is) in my collection that once was a curtain. Adding that fabric to the scarf turned out to be the biggest chore as I had to hem it, attach it to the scarf and then figure out a way to miter the corners. Super fun times. But once complete, I was finally ready to follow the pattern.
While I love this shirt, it's not my usual style. I was hoping for a 1940's look...but I'm afraid I may be a little closer to Mrs. Roper.
I began with creating an opening for the neck. I did have to expand the measurement for the opening by an inch or two as my head is kind of large. Especially when you take into consideration that there is usually a bumpit making it even larger.
When following this pattern, I pinned, tried it on, repinned and tried again. I made many alterations to the pattern but this gave me a great starting point.
Really, creating the opening was not the hard part. It's this sewing silk business that drove me mad. It's so stinking slippery that it's like maneuvering a snake through your machine. And I found it difficult to measure accurately. But my sewing skills are extremely limited, so I'm winging it most of the time. For you sewing smarties, it would be a snap.
The back. Duh. I was concerned about how the backside looked, but if you look at the illustration, the bottom of the shirt is a little more tight fitting.
After the opening was complete, I was tempted to just leave the thing as a poncho. But, after taking one of those aforementioned breaks, I came back and set to work on the side seams.
Follow these measurements with caution and lots of fittings.
 What I found helpful was getting one side seam sized correctly and making a tissue pattern. That way I could use the same measurement on the other side. After creating that tissue pattern, the rest was just a zip through the sewing machine, ironing and done!
While snapping these pictures, I found it kind of funny that I have the very same pallet of colors in my house. Must be what I'm drawn to. The skirt, by the way, came from Target.
I do hope you'll give a Scarf Blouse Shirt Top a try. And if so, please send me a photo. I'd love to see what you create. I'm thinking of making a couple more myself. Enjoy your week!
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