V is for Vintage - the DOT COM version

This December will be my 2 year Blogoversary! As a gift to myself I purchased a new domain, www.VisforVintage.com, and I'll be moving the blog very soon. It's my first time trying this, so I wanted to give notice in case your feed readers don't automatically redirect. Come find me at my new site!

Everyday Wardrobe: Gray Tweeds

There has been some buzz lately on sewing blogs about the Everyday Wardrobe - we all have a tendency to sew/buy a lot of special pieces that aren't very versatile, and wind up wearing the same few things all the time. This topic came up right when I decided to put some fresh effort into my dance wardrobe, and I'm incorporating the idea into my current projects.

I've got 2 patterns that I plan to use over and over for my Everyday dance pieces...my dance skirt is a 6-gore style that I copied from a thrifted skirt, and the trousers pattern is Wearing History's Smooth Sailing pattern. My genius idea is that using TNT* patterns & and the same fabric means that the sewing will go quickly. Except it's not so genius when my fabric is off-grain when I cut them out, because then it means I have 2 garments to fiddle with and fix instead of one! whoops...

Here are my first additions to my Everyday (Dance) Wardrobe - my 2 TNT patterns stitched up in an gray acrylic tweed. I love using washable fabrics, so I'll pick a good synthetic/blend if it looks nice. This one really looks like wool and it's a loose weave so I think it'll still breathe.

I didn't plan my new tweed pieces around Sunni's idea of making an outfit from a Never Worn Garment in your closet, but that ended up happening! I've had that white butterfly top for nearly 2 years, and wore it for the first time this weekend.

What do you think about the Everyday Wardrobe idea? Are you joining in? or would you rather put your efforts into making fancier things?
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TNT Pattern = Tried and true pattern that you've made before and love!

IndyGear 2012 - Adventure Day

As promised, here are the photos from last weekend's event - Chris and I tagged along with friends at Ft. MacArthur for the annual IndyGear Adventure Day. I may not be interested in dressing up for Halloween, but I make up for it the rest of the year! 

The day is full of running and digging in fields and tunnels, so I put together a rough and tumble outfit from some modern pieces in my closet, topped off with a $5 hat from downtown LA that I trimmed to look vaguely like a pith helmet. It was a very pithy day!

WWII reenactors made the fort into a British base, and we were tasked with excavating an archeological site in the midst of a warzone. I think we did pretty well, even with tea being on ration!

Photos by Lauren & me - see more of her photos here

Clockwise from Top: 1. WWII Reenactors guarding the base 

2. IndyGear member cataloging artifacts found at the dig 3. Cleaning an artifact

Clockwise from Top Left: 1. Examining a bomb site for archeological treasures.

2. Lauren driving our team to safety 3. A team of Nancy Drews exploring the tunnels (since it's make-believe we ALL get to be Nancy, and no one has to be Bess!) 

4. Dealing with Military Bureaucracy

Clockwise from Top: 1. It'll be less bumpy if you look where you're driving!

2. Tunnel Hunters 3.Santa Catalina in the distance 4. Chris digging for treasure.

Getting Ready

I'm getting ready for an event this weekend (pics to come!) and did a trial run of my outfit tonight. It's nothing fancy, but I wanted to make sure I had everything organized. I try to do this for any special event, especially if I need costume pieces that might be buried deep in my closet or garage. Then as I take them off I hang all the garments together and put accessories in a shoebox so that they're ready to go. Don't forget hair accessories and makeup!

Anal, yes. But it makes getting ready for an event SO much nicer when you don't have to spend 10 minutes digging for the right tights or gloves, or forget to wear a special piece of jewelry.

"23 Skidoo" - American Duchess Shoes

Have you seen the new American Duchess shoes? I'm sure a lot of you have, but the swing dancers out there should take note - the newest style in this line of historical reproduction shoes is a 1920s spectator heel.

23 Skidoo

It comes in two colorways - brown-and-white, and all-white version that you can paint any color yourself (and American Duchess always has lots of how-to-paint tutorials on her blog, so don't be afraid if you're not super crafty!). Or most shoe repair shops can dye them for you.

Aside from being super cute, these also look like great dance shoes - leather uppers, a smooth sole, T-strap, and check out the heel - it's a 2 3/8" French heel, just like The Balboa, a perpetual favorite among swing girls.

American Duchess is in the pre-order phase right now - "23 Skidoo" is only $99 now through 11/19, and after that they go up to $120. And check out her blog for a shoe giveaway!

1939 High School Cutie

A couple weeks ago someone left a comment on my post about my 1939 Eagle Rock High School yearbook that their cousin, Justine George (Streeton) graduated from the school that year. So I went on a treasure hunt to find her! She's such a cutie, what every vintage girl wants to be. And quite accomplished too, judging from her yearbook credits.

I've gotten a couple more ERHS yearbooks from 1936 and 1937, and I found Justine in all three. I did a little Photoshop collage with the pics from 1939, I need to brush up on my artsy skills!