I Think I've Gotcha

The 1920s party came and went and I wanted to go over what transpired in my have-to-find-a-costume-for-this-party dilemma. I did go to a few fabric stores as I mentioned and that only made things worse. I came across some interesting and ornate details that I could use with some fabric that my grandmother had intended to make me a dress out of before she passed. I bought a few things including but not limited to fur, fringe and wine colored velvet. When I got home I proceeded to set up the sewing machine (it stays tucked away in a closet because I don't have a proper work station yet), clear the dining room table for cutting and measuring, close the blinds so I can try it on freely, etc. There were no witnesses to this madness as my boyfriend had gone to NY for business the day before and wouldn't be home until that night. The most important thing about the last statement is that I had no one to run my edits by. I made a box dress (as taught by my grandmother and my usual "watch and learn" technique). I cut and sew, and cut and sew, and tried it on in between every move. None of this mattered because what I didn't realize before or during the making of this amazing dress (in my mind it was spectacular), is that I've got too much hip for this type of dress. I have never liked straight boxy dresses on myself ever and today would be no exception. I tried to reason with myself for about half an hour before I gave up, cleaned everything up and put it all away. All of the embellishments stayed intact yet ineligible for return because they were cut to size for me at the store. These will be saved for another project. Here's what I ended up choosing from my personal collection. I bought this romper from Anthropologie during their awesome holiday sale this year:

I wore black patent round toe pumps that had a thick heel (I'm only 5'6" so it's a very long pant on me, unlike on this statuesque model) and it was a hit. I curled my hair (as in curled, pinned, set, etc.) and created waves then pinned it up to mimic a bob. The make up was heavy but romantic eyes with dark mauve purple, taupe, champagne highlight and black liner. I used a brighter red than I would've wanted, but couldn't rationalize buying a vampy wine color just for this. I regret this now because a) it would've looked great and b) after giving it some thought, I would totally wear it again. Anyway, the party was lots of fun. There were some who showed up in store-bought costumes, some in homemade ones like a friend's boyfriend who came as a moonshiner wearing a flannel shirt, overalls, a gypsy farmer looking hat and a mason jar for his drinks and the rest of us had some kind of interpretation manifested somewhere on a fancy outfit. 

Next day was clean-up day. I volunteered to help because the party was held at my friend's parent's house and I've always enjoyed being with them even in 95 degree weather trying to get feathers out of the grass.

With my boyfriend gone, I made the weekend a staycation and had an amazing time with just the girls. Hope you're weekend was awesome too!

-photos courtesy of www.anthropologie.com-