A dress-a-day for March – 25th-27th

25th March – Little green mini 60s dress. I think I got this at a vintage fair, only a couple of years ago. It was a little small at the time but fits perfectly now and I love it either with poloneck underneath or with white tights and go go boots!

26th March – I made this, bodged from a 60s dress pattern and very cheap fabric – this was my ultimate 60s dress at the time I made it. There’s a shot in HEAD (THe Monkees film!) where a girl with black hair and boots has on a dress like this and I wanted one ever since I first saw it. I also made a matching bag. Turns out my 5 year old is also a fan of this as he asked me if I would wear it again the next day!

27th March – 1940s/50s vintage shirtwaister housewifey dress. I like the fabric and the orange/brown colours on this, it’s kind of cute but is perfect for daytime casual. I think it came from a vintage shop in Margate a few years ago.

A dress-a-day for March – 22nd-24th & CLOTHES SALE!

Part of the reason for this project was to weed out some items from my cupboards to sell on eBay, so here’s batch #1 : MISSY’S VINTAGE CLOTHES SALE

22nd March – Red & white polka dot dress. This gets worn a LOT in the summer coz it’s so easy to chuck on and comfy to potter about in, and also always seems to end up on holiday with me, especially at the seaside. It’s a bit too big these days, hence the belt but I love it – I think it was a charity shop find – certainly 50s/60s and inexpensive.

23rd March – Navy blue nautical style wiggle dress. I was trying to find a Bettie Page-ish wiggle dress a while ago on eBay and got this for a bargain. Like.

24th March – Charity shop 70s maxi dress! This is kind of shiny psychedelic fabric, I love the pattern and the halterneck style. I once went with someone very special for a picnic on Mars in this dress. He knows what I mean.

And we’re into the last week of the project!

A dress-a-day for March – 19th-21st

19th March – Black and white op art 1960s dress. I think this was another charity shop bargain, I think of this as a great psych late 60s dress, it has some covered buttons missing on the sleeves which fasten with poppers (and annoyingly unfasten often) but it’s become a pretty comfy everyday kind of dress for me.

20th March – Another black and white 60s one (it is actually a dress even though it looks like a top and skirt). I think this was an eBay bargain! I like the pattern on the fabric and the button detail. There’s a catch at the back of the neck that always comes undone and catches on my hair which I remember I should sort out every time I wear it. I haven’t done yet….

21st March – Tassled flapper dress – I decided recently it was time for Missy Tassles to own a dress with tassles! We went along to a 20s/30s evening in an art gallery lately so I finally got an excuse to wear it. The hair and make up took me what felt like forEVER to do (about an hour – it’s rare for me to spend more than 10 mins on this kind of thing). It was a fun experiment but I couldn’t face doing that everyday!

A dress-a-day for march – 16th-18th

16th March – Orange 60s style mini dress (with black polo neck underneath). I got this at the Nichols Building antiques centre, one of my favourite rummagey second hand places as the prices are sensible and there’s a little cafe there I’ve been to a few times, mostly on my own. A couple of years ago, a number of (kind) friends got in touch with me to say they’d seen a new Stella ad and that they thought the woman in it looked like me – this is the closest dress I own to that one, so I can pretend to be all 1960s and European and stuff. I love the metal belt detail on it too.

17th March – Flowery maxi dress. Not usually the kind of thing I wear, but I saw it in a charity shop last year and couldn’t resist it. Perfect for sunshine and being a hippy!

18th March – Psychedelic 60s scooter dress. One of my friends gave this to me, along with a couple of other things, which her mum had made but were too small for her now. I love the vintage silk fabric and it’s very comfy to wear and a everyday kind of thing.

A dress-a-day for March – 13th-15th

13th March – my ‘Bettie Page’ dress – at least that’s how I think of it. I made this from a 50s/60s pattern a few years ago with some cheap red tartan fabric and added a charity shop belt around the waist. I love it, but it’s rather tight so I have to be in the right mood to wear it.

14th March – 50s style polka dot ‘wiggle dress’. I bought this as a treat to myself in autumn 2013, I don’t often buy ‘new’ new clothes; this is another one that was made from a 50s pattern.

15th March – Psych 60s mini dress. I got this from a vintage fair towards the end of 2012. It was the first dress I bought at the beginning of a new era in my life, so it has a certain sentimentality for me. It was also my son’s birthday party today, so bright colours seemed appropriate!

Pretty much half way through the project now!

A dress-a-day for March – 10th-12th

10th March – 1950s dress. This has a mildly amusing story – I bought it (along with another vintage dress) in a charity shop in a small seaside town, I think in Norfolk somewhere. It was pretty cheap, I tried them on and took them to the counter. Woman behind counter: “Ooh are you going to a fancy dress party?” Me: “No, I like them and I wear clothes like this most days”. Woman behind counter: Awkward silence…
I think of this as comfy rather than glamorous, don’t wear it often and it gets considered for the eBay pile from time to time, although I do like it.

11th March – 60s mod scooter dress. People always comment on this dress when I wear it, usually the colour. I guess most people tend not to wear bright colours much so it stands out. I bought it what used to be my favourite vintage shop in Leeds before it closed down. It’s a little big for me now but it’s still quite striking I think.

12th March – 50s/60s day dress. I got this quite recently from eBay super cheap as a kind of everyday dress. I thought it would be way too big, but seems fine with a belt, I love the pattern on the fabric, it makes me feel I should be sitting around in Italian cafes in the 1960s smoking and reading and discussing philosophy, then being taken for an incredibly romantic evening walk into the sunset. In fact, that’s pretty much what I think I should be doing most days. *tassles daydreaming again*

I’ve started making myself another dress too from a 60s Vogue pattern, I will post it’s progress shortly, I’m hoping to get it finished by the end of the month as kind of a prize to myself for reaching my target!

I’ve even got a 1960s DRESS FOR SALE: http://ebay.eu/1fprPpR
I’ve worn this 2 or 3 times since I’ve owned it, and it’s just a bit too big really…

March project so far:

A dress-a-day for March – 7th-9th

7th March – my boyfriend took this of me dancing to the Monkees after which time I may have had a glass of ale. It’s a 60s minidress from a vintage shop I bought about a year ago with Hawaiian-y pattern flowers. I like that it’s kind of psych, kind of tiki – and has a ruffley neck. It’s comfy and fits well (rare for vintage clothes!).

8th March – I bought this at a flea market in Paris, vintage 60s wool with a cool op-art pattern on the bottom half. It got a bit moth-eaten in places but I tried to fix it a bit and it seems ok now.

9th March – 50s cocktail dress. I made this from a 50s pattern, using some 50s/60s Italian silk I got in a Chesterfield charity shop for £1. Win! I’ve only worn it 3 or 4 times but it feels very elegant.

A dress-a-day for March: 4th-6th

4th March – Grey floral 1950s dress. I got this cheap on eBay, made a few minor adjustments to it when it arrived. I used to think of this as my ‘Paris’ dress but now it also reminds me of a very cold but wonderful walk through Ecclesall woods.

5th March – Another ‘Paris’ dress. Also from eBay, but was made new from a 1930s pattern. So comfy! I think I should wear this one more often rather than saving for best. Every day should be for best!

6th March – Op art mod dress. I made this one from a 60s pattern but kind of invented the pockets. I just love big white round 60s zips (I had to paint the rings white as I could only find silver ring pulls).

A-dress-a-day for March 2014

I did this mini project once before years ago and it seemed a good time to try it again – the plan is to wear a vintage (or homemade vintage-style) dress every day for a month! The main reason is because over the winter it’s so easy to bundle up and wear the same comfy things over and over again, and get bored with your own clothes. This will hopefully make me dig out and appreciate my wardrobe full of dresses that don’t always get their deserved airtime. Also, I might be able to decide which (if any!) can head for the eBay pile to make way for one or two new ones… My boyfriend said I should photograph each day, so posting updates here every few days should make me keep to the plan!

BE YOUR OWN ART!

So, to kick off:

1st March – Red and black spotted wiggle dress: I made this last year with some fabric my mum gave me; the shoulders and pleats were a bit fiddly to do but I was pleased with the result. At the time, it was the most complicated dress I’d made.

2nd March – Yellow 60s mini dress. A bit too big for me but it remains one of my favourites, bought cheap on eBay a few years ago – proper vintage with bell sleeves and hippy embroidering on the front.

3rd March – Black 70s disco dress. Found this in a charity shop and couldn’t leave it there. I like the lacy top – I think it was originally very long as the hem has definitely been taken up by someone at home (not me!).

My Godzilla family keeps on growing…

More of this type of thing, please!