Showing posts with label 1930 fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1930 fashion. Show all posts

Triangles and paprika


Here is the next one in the project pile, a blouse in paprika/rusty red and blue mohair. I have no idea what the original colour scheme was, I image something a lot tamer (pale yellow plus brown, or perhaps pale green plus dark green??), but I thought my choice was positively vintage, if  rather intense. 
It should suit an Autumn, but I must be careful with the blues. 
I long for blue, probably because I can't wear it much as most shades look disappointingly bad on me. Still, I thought I could risk an accent. In retrospect I am not 100% sure it was the right shade as the contrast seems particularly vivid, but I think it works overall. It kinda has to, now.


What about the comparison test? The original is crochet, but mothers talents and current eyesight don't go that far. Due to the texture of the mohair, my blouse looks bigger/heavier when in fact it is light as a feather. 
I would have like the blue triangles better defined and only stitched down on the one side, closer in that to the inspiration source, but for some reason mum decided to proceed otherwise.
They are not coming down either as much as in the 30's pic, this is partly to do with insufficient yarn (the blue being a remnant from another project) and partly with the fact that the waist line is really high on this blouse. I felt it was a bit too high to be correct as it sits right below the breasts, empire like, nearly mid way through the blouse. We usually encounter the opposite problem of not being able to place a waist high enough, but not this time :)


I wish I had taken pics without the belt for this to be more apparent - and to check if indeed it looks the way I see it in the mirror!. In any case, in order to correct what I believe to be a departure from the original style I used the belt - produced for a different item - and placed it slightly lower, at the base of the current waistline and where I think the waistline should be. It does the trick, but creates a bit more ruffle around.
The sleeves are slightly longer, and I had pulled them up to create puffiness around the upper arm, but they had slid down again by the time of taking the pics. All in all, it may not be perfect to a "t" but I am pleased. Hurray again to long distance knitting!


 Outfit:

30's inspired top, knitted in a blend of kid mohair and silk - 
the blue one is Debbie Bliss Angel in the shade 08 
(this was called anything from Denim to petrol, air force blue and soft navy !!!!)
70's wool pleat skirt, etsy;
70's rust suede shoes, bought at a vintage fair, because I love this shade 
and the style looks to me very 30's/40's.



Lollipop


Each year the same story: I find winter OK in December, try to be reasonable about it in January - after all it is only mid season -, somehow bear through February, and by March I am at the end of my tether. Simply can't take the cold and greyness any more. As much as I love spring, this isn't exactly it. So far we had 2 or 3 sunny days in March, and for the rest what I call "cement weather". 
Today started pretty much along those lines, but for some shy rays making a weak statement mid day, however the afternoon turned out positively sunny. So I pretended it was warm enough for short sleeve (it wasn't, my sore throat is the proof of that) and took some photos of the latest knit projects completed by mum. 


Here is one of them, in a lovely pink and cream Shetland wool. 
The idea of this project dates a while back, and but the time it was finished I had forgotten how the original pattern looked like. 
I notice now I didn't do my collar up like in the original image - I shall try that next time I wear the blouse, to see how it sits. 




I am pleased with this, it's a sweet little blouse, if anything I would have liked the waist band tighter - mine just hangs there, as opposed to really hugging the waist, but hey, I think I'll live with that. I believe it was a happy choice of colour too, and if anyone thinks I look like a lollipop, so be it. At least I said it first :)






Magenta and sea green


With the sudden resurgence of summer over here I jumped back into what has become for me a warm season staple: wide legged trousers with some blouse or another.Yep, I could do this forever. Lazy, yet happily so.
As for the colour combination, now I know why I needed that bag I left behind at the vintage shop...



Full velvet obsession

design by Jean Patou, 1935


1932

Oh, glorious velvet! I can't get enough of you! This is one of my latest finds, bought the other week at a local auction. Sorry about the not so great pics, in spite of my efforts they came out not very clear and I am not showing the garment properly. I had to take them quickly though as the coat is pretty yucky without necessarily appearing so. I got red inflamed patches wherever it touched my skin directly!!! I know, I'm allergic to vintage, how cruel is that...
This odd super sensitive skin of mine had me part a couple of years ago with the most beautiful feather cape. It broke my heart, but every time I put it on my whole chest would go bright red and be itchy and stingy and feel like a burn, so really I had no choice. I let it go for next to nothing too, fearing that it might cause to others what it did to me...



Anyway, let's toss sad memories aside and concentrate on the present matter. The coat doesn't cause me irritation to the same extent, and hopefully after cleaning things will be better. And I did buy this one with the intention of reselling it, except that now...well now I don't really want to anymore...Although in order to make this wearable there is some work to be done. 
The lining needs replacing. It's completely shattered inside the sleeves - that's the section causing the itching - and has some serious holes towards to bottom. The only thing that worries me with replacing the lining is losing the original label. This coat has no other but a Harrods label, and if at some stage I do decide to sell it , then removing the original label wouldn't be such a good idea. I don't know whether a partial lining replacement might be any better?!...
It is in need of some stitching too, as the underarms came undone, but luckily no tears as such. No doubt this happened when it was tried on at some stage, I could see that easily happening, this coat is tiny especially the underarm to underarm at the back and wouldn't fit anyone with a decent size to them. If I do keep it, I shall have to handle it very carefully.
There is a bit of fading to the sides, but it's far more apparent in the pictures than it is in reality. 
I think in spite of all this its a beautiful coat. It really didn't say much to me when I looked at it on the hanger among the other lots at auction, but when I tried it on after wining it, ooh, my...

1935
1936


Now you'll think: ok, but why all these pictures? Well, it's because I spent hours researching this design. 
The auction house had it listed as 1920's, and it really bugged me because my first thought when I saw it was: yeah, a 1930's coat. Now of course I'm far from the expert, so if any on you know better, please do help.
The length places it in the 30s, as I know the 20's coats were generally shorter, as the dresses were. But perhaps not all of them...But then this billowy three quarter sleeve design seems typically 30's. 
As you can see I found some similarities in the first two examples, dating to 1932 and 1935, with the exception that those sleeves are cut and gathered below the shoulder. The other examples, from 1935 and 1936, are even more similar to the sleeves in my coat, with simply narrow fitted bellow elbow, and a mass of billowy fabric above that. My coat, similarly to those shown, doesn't have any fastening, and seems meant to be worn open over a dress that would show.
Admittedly the pics I found show day coats rather than evening coats, and they too are all shorter than my coat - with the exception of the Patou design, which could in fact be a dress. However this sleeve treatment seems to be typical of mid 30's big and puffy approach to sleeves and the fashion for feminine frills and embellishments,  in this case the bow-like adornment on the side of the collar.
Now over to you for the verdict!

1935