Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Vintage Party Dress!

My Nana (grandmother) was an amazing and interesting woman. She lived in Atlanta and we did not so we came here to visit many Christmases and Spring Breaks. Now I know why we did not come down in the summer very often or if we did my parents just dropped us off. I digress....

She made this great black lace dress in the early 1960s. It is so great that my cousin and I still swap it back and forth every few months because it is the perfect dress for almost any occasion. I admit I am a bit unstable with my weight so sometimes it gets too small and some times it gets too big, but I have worn it several times. I also know my mother has worn it and I would wager to guess that some of Nana's sisters have worn it as well.

We went to a holiday party at my neighbor's Aunt's house. Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Shaheen have now adopted us! It was tons of fun.
Sorry about the pitiful picture quality but my good camera was out of batteries. But you can see the basics of the dress. It has a black taffeta lining with a black lace over lay. The belt is made of the same fabrics and has seen better days but still work for now. As for fit, the waist is snug and this dress is from another time. A time where they intended to wear much more substantial under garments. The side zipper is metal and has no fabric edge to protect your skin. Which in modern clothes would be crazy but I am sure Nana wore a girdle with this and therefore did not get any skin caught in the zipper teeth. I can tell you it hurts! The shoulders are too wide and my recently shrunken chest was swimming in this. But that is the beauty of black it still worked.

I accessorized with a pin that I think was Nana's, some little blue flower earrings and leopard flats. I know the shoes are a bit iffy but it was raining and I was trying to dress it down a little. I also wore my favorite pink crinoline under it. I picked it up at Atlanta Costume for $22.00 and it has become a staple of my wardrobe.

For years now I have had grand plans to make a new version of this dress for myself. I even bought the fabric. But for now it is still int he pile of "one day" projects hoping to make it to the top of the pile. The thing is I never end up "needing" a new dress since I can just wear Nana's.

Merry Christmas Peeps!



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