What I wore: Vogue 2538

Monday 24 June 2013
Thank you to all the ladies that braved the cold, windy and rainy weather on Sunday afternoon for our high tea - I had a fabulous time talking sewing and blogging and fabrics and patterns for hours on end with you all. You can certainly tell we are a dedicated bunch of sewists by the way that the pattern used to make garments worn on the day were being recognised as effortlessly as some people can spot designer labels! Unfortunately I was too busy talking to take any photos, but believe me that everyone looked absolutely gorgeous in their wonderful self made garments.

And for all those who asked me on the day what pattern I used for the dress I was wearing I apologise for being so vague. I made the dress way back in 2007, pre-blogging days in fact, and I've only worn it a handful of times over the years (originally posted here).  But it turns out the pattern I used is Vogue 2538, long since out of print, although I modified it slightly by sewing three quarter sleeves instead of cap sleeves.




 

I made it from a cream wool with a pale grey plaid, which I've fully lined so you can understand why it's had relatively few wears over the last 6 years - there's not many occasions to wear a very warm wool dress in white, particualrly in Sydney. I did end up wearing it to the high tea with black tights and shoes purely for warmth, very similar to how I styled it back in the original post in 2008:


I haven't changed much in five years have I?

I have actually been thinking of refashioning it into a jacket or something that I may wear more frequently because it is lovely fabric, so I'm pretty glad I decided to wear it on Sunday because it just may be it's last outing.

Now I hope to get back to my usual sewing and have something new to show off shortly!

26 comments:

  1. Oh please just buy some fabric if you need a new jacket! That dress is too gorgeous to refashion.

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    1. I can easily come up with some fabric without buying it or refashioning this dress - point taken I will keep the dress as is!

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  2. I'm with Mae... don't cut it up, it's beautiful. You haven't changed much in 5 years at all!

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  3. I think you look calmer now, but perhaps that's trick photography. Thanks again for organising the meet up. It was a great occasion. I wouldn't cut the dress, but perhaps you could dye it for a change.

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    1. I'm squinting into the sun in the first photo, I doubt I'm calmer now since I have two kids and that original photo was when I was footloose and fancy free....

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  4. Swoon! I love the dress and shoe combo. Perhaps you'll wear it more when you get past the little kid phase. Being appropriately dressed means having the right thing on hand for the right occasion. This was perfect for a high tea on a cold day, and even if it doesn't get worn a whole lot, it still fills a need in your wardrobe.

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    1. I didn't think of it in this way - I guess it is very handy to have just the right dress waiting in the wardrobe for every occasion, even if it's a long time in between wearing.

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  5. I agree with Mae! Don't refashion it. Some dresses are special and only deserved to be worn every now and then!

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  6. That is a lovely dress and deserves to be pulled out on a special occasion.... Love those matching shoes!

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  7. I have to add my vote to keep the dress as is! Too nice a dress to cut up, and even though lined wool dresses don't get much of a look in with Sydney weather, how nice is it to have such a great dress to pull out when the occasion and the weather call for it? And it's a classic.

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  8. Hi Kristy,
    Thanks for organising our the high tea on Saturday. I had a wonderful time meeting so many like-minded people with a love of sewing. I thought your dress was lovely - it is a timeless piece it is rather a shame that it is OOP now.

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    1. thank you for coming along, I had a wonderful time too

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  9. What a great idea to organise a high tea to show off everyone's pretty makes, and I agree keep that dress as lovely as it currently is!

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  10. Your dress is gorgeous and looks fantastic on you and the extra pin on Sunday was perfect for the occasion. Thank you for organising such a great afternoon.

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  11. I love it - very Jackie O! It's great to have something that looks so nice and classic five years down the track... I'm with the other ladies, keep it :-)

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  12. It looks really great. I don't know why you wouldn't want to wear it again. Love the first pic with the matching shoes. Fabulous. I think you could make it a bit shorter (say just above the knee) as it looks a bit lengthy to me.

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    1. Yes I agree on it being too long - I'm suddenly finding that I think that all my clothes are too long, too bad I despise alterations!

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  13. It a a perfect winter dress! Stylish but room to layer .... I agree with the first post, get some other fabric fr a jacket :-) thanks again for organising a great outing!

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  14. Thanks so much for organising the get together, it was great to meet you (finally - I've been reading your blog for years!) and catch up with and meet lots of other local sewists.

    I'd like to add my vote for keeping your dress too - it's lovely and unusual, and it did look perfect for a special, chilly occasion.

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    1. thanks Gabrielle, it was great to meet you too. I'll be keeping an eye out for you taking photos in Martin Place from now on....

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  15. DONT get rid of it . Its so nice on you . It would probably be more "every Day" if you wore it with some nice boots . That afternoon te looked YUM . Lucky you .

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  16. That dress looks fab and I agree with everyone who said "don't refashion it!!" It is too good to refashion it. I also love the matching shoes. Gosh, I might need to search etsy and ebay now for this pattern.

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  17. This is so lovely! The retro style is perfect for you and the long lines make you look 10 feet tall.

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  18. Wow, what a genius idea to use the coat sleeves on the dress instead of the silly little flaps of the original design. I think those coat sleeves were the reason I bought this pattern all those aeons ago. Now your post will inspire me to use them on a similar dress pattern I have. Thanks!

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