Vintage Patterns of the Week!

A lot of vintage dress patterns are described as elegant but, to me, this one truly is! I love the simplicity of the empire waist dress and cropped jacket. But the best part? The bridal dress and cropped jacket with train! From my pattern shop.


Early 1980s Roller Girl romper jumpsuit. I truly wish I could pull off wearing one if these - then I would surely have a dozen of them in different fabrics to wear during the summer! Found on eBay.


Early 1960s summer separates pattern by Advance! I adore the sleeveless top with the cut-out back detail. Found on eBay.


I am a complete sucker for 1960s space-age dresses. Especially dresses with color block details like this one! Found on eBay.


Cute wrap around jumper dress with bare back and sailor collar. A lot of unexpected elements that really work! From my own collection.

Miss Dandy Fall Collection - Sneak Preview

Here's a sneak preview of my fall clothing collection, which I will begin listing in my Etsy shop next week!

This dress reminds me of a girl scouts uniform! It has a white cotton yoke and short puff sleeves. The rest of the dress is made from cotton khaki. The attached bow-tie scarf neckline is an upcycled vintage 1970s scarf!

Free flowing tunic top. The majority of the top is made from vintage plaid wool. The front and back yokes are made from an upcycled vintage equestrian print scarf!

These are only 2 of 22 designs from the collection. My son is due in late September, so I wanted to get a head start on stocking the shop, even though it's still summer and fall clothing is probably the last thing on everyone's minds! I'm really proud of the collection - all of the pieces are made from upcycled and vintage materials.

Vintage Fashion Images from a 1981 Springfield, MO Arts Magazine

My husband and I have lived in a quaint little 1950s duplex in downtown Springfield, MO for the past 5 months. I just found out several weeks ago that our neighbor, a really cool older guy, owned a downtown Springfield vintage clothing shop during the late 1970s/early 1980s called Lacey's Parlor, which specialized in Edwardian through 1950s fashion! To prove it, he lent me a local Springfield arts magazine (called, simply, Magazine) that was published in 1981. The black and white photos are so amazing that I just had to share them!

Ad for Lacey's Parlor.

Handmade white cotton nightgown from 1900.

My neighbor, Jerry, looking suave in a 1940s suit with flowered tie and panama hat.

1939 beaded crepe evening dress.

1918 silk gown and jacket.

Haunting photography by Frank Schwartz.

Haunting photography by Frank Schwartz.

The "I hate fashion" look, as modeled by a local college student.

Ornate glass headdress by Gerald Goodwin.

Latest Etsy Faves / Finds

I never cease to be amazed by the huge number of inventive handmade goods that I find on Etsy every single day:

Kites, mice and diablos, Chinese kids at play - 1960's style blouse - Women's size 12. By Betty Oatmeal. She takes vintage linens & textiles and incorporates them into amazing designs using vintage sewing patterns!!! Her designs really do take my breath away.

Lou Reed dress. By Paperdollfashion. I love the cross-hatch fabric and those pockets!

Faye Scarf. By Flutter. Made from vintage fabric! I really dig the simplicity of this design and it would be so perfect for the fall.

Circus balloon dress. By Nenee. She is, by far, one of my favorite Etsy designers because she makes it a point to use upcycled thrift store clothing as her raw material.

Retro Girl Pink Bangle Bracelet. By Sparklerama. Images from vintage sewing patterns decoupaged onto a bright bubblegum pink bangle - what isn't there to love about this?!?!

1970s Fashion on Soul Train

These clips from Soul Train are amazing! I found them while browsing through one of my favorite pop culture blogs, Bedazzled. The first one is from 1971, the second one is from 1974. If you love 1970s fashion (or music, for that matter) you MUST watch these!

Vintage Patterns of the Week!

Beautiful late 1960s empire waist dress with wide midriff & belt by Jacques Tiffeau! Found on Ebay.


Simple, yet versatile, back-wrap 1960s mod dress. Found on eBay.


Another 1960s wrap dress, this time with a cute scalloped shawl collar! From my pattern shop.


Amazing late 1970s knit separates pattern by Sonia Rykiel. The Sonia Rykiel designed Vogue patterns are pretty rare, I think! Found on eBay.


Cute little early 1970s mini-dress with pinafore-style ruffles and matching bloomers. From my pattern shop.

Hero Worship

Vogue Fashion

Every once in a while, I'm lucky enough enough to find a really cool fashion book at one of the library branches here in Springfield! I picked this one up yesterday - VOGUE FASHION.

It's a 400-page book that's jam-packed with info on the history of Vogue magazine, breaking everything down by decade. The majority of the book, however, is an encyclopedia of designers whose fashions have appeared in Vogue. I'm not a huge fan of the modern Vogue magazine itself, but I do love all of the amazing photographic images from past fashion editorials. I've picked out my faves and scanned them to share!

Classic Chanel sports ensemble, circa 1928.

Beautiful Cecil Beaton photograph - Suits on Blocks.

Wasp-waisted playsuit by Claire McCardell, circa 1953.

Gorgeous 1960s swinging London couple Terrence Stamp and Jean Shrimpton.

Twiggy and a fellow 1960s doe-eyed model showcasing Mary Quant's innocent babydoll dresses.

An early Betsey Johnson design, circa 1968.

Probably one of my favorite images of all! Signature Jean Muir jersey dress, circa 1971.

1970s-meets-1930s at Biba!

Speaking of Biba, I have a copy of Barbara Hulanicki's autobiography From A to Biba that I plan to give away to a lucky reader (if there are any out there, that is!) in a few weeks. Stay tuned - I will make an announcement on the Sew Retro Blog!

My Latest Etsy Faves

Here a few handmade items from Etsy that I am completely in love with right now!

Double t-shirt dress by takeoffyourclothes. Made from two XL grey t-shirts and so very inventive!

Shroom Gloom dress by MeltBrianna. Vintage mushroom cuteness appliqued onto a vintage dress!

My Lil Runaway Doll by romawinkel. I really love Roxy Marj's whimsical illustrations. They're even better on fabric!

MONARDA - Upcycled leather bag by hoakonhelga. A really clever way to recycle discarded leather jackets. Also reminds me of my 1980s childhood!

Sewing Nerd vinyl decal by holly. I MUST have this for my car!!!

Keyboard Zipper Pouch w/Detachable Ring by ILikeItTooToo. I've been meaning to buy one of these cute keyboard zipper pouches for over a year. Michelle uses upcycled and vintage fabrics in all of her designs!

Hostess Dress - newly made from vintage fabric - by VintageVacations

. There is so much discarded 1970s polyester fabric in this world just waiting to be transformed into something cute & wearable, like this pretty space-age style dress for example!

Upcycled Romper + A Vintage-Pattern-Loving Kitty

Here's a little romper that I made for my son Brydon, who is due on September 30th!





I used McCall's #7775 (copyright 1995) to make the romper. I found it at a local thrift store - the toddler on the front looked so endearingly comfy & cute in the photo that I couldn't resist making it right away! The body of the romper (a.k.a. - the amazing airplane & numbers fabric) is made from a vintage 1980s adult shirt that was kindly given to me by Stef of Midwest Vintage. The cuffs are made from a bright green cotton that looks super washed-out in the photos. My first time working with snap tape, which was pretty tricky, actually!

I also caught my sweet kitty Izzie lounging on a pile of vintage sewing patterns today!




Both of my cats LOVE sewing patterns, especially when I'm in the process of cutting out pattern pieces. They love to wallow and squirm around in the discarded bits!

Vintage Patterns of the Week!

Every week, I will be posting scans and screen captures of various patterns that have caught my eye. Some of them are highlights from patterns that I have for sale in my shop, and others are patterns from my own collection or patterns that I've found for sale online that I'm lusting after!

Early 1970s dress or tunic with interchangeable collars! I have a major love affair with crazy shaped collars. Available in my shop!

This pattern has lots of design elements that I love...puff sleeves, a full tent shape, Peter Pan collar and a high-bust fit. From my own collection.

Cute strappy, tie-on midriff halter top and sailor pants/shorts/skirt! Available in my shop.

Mod jumper dress with cutaway armholes. Found on eBay.

1970s Butterick Young Designer pattern by Kenzo. Fall will be here soon, and this peplum jacket and skirt ensemble would be so pretty made up in corduroy! From my collection.