Blossom Fashion--Lilac Dress and Coat

Lady With Lilacs

by Edmund Blair Leighton (English)

1901

Hello Ladies,

Getting used to a new phone is more trying that I imagined, and the pictures came out very small and didn't get the beauty of that lilac bush. The small ones of me wearing the purple dress do not enlarge, but the others do enlarge, so be sure and click them.  After the next sewing project I will have figured out the picture taking and transferring. My old phone wasn't working well, and it will take time to get used to this one.

It is too much trouble to do another fashion shoot, and Mr. S. is not a fashion photographer, preferring to take pictures of vintage cars. I told him I was a vintage lady but he wasn't interested in standing still for too long.

I chose the color of the garment to go with the lilacs, which are on their last days of bloom.

 I had been wanting to try this pattern, and I like the price of New Look, which is usually under $3.00.  The pattern was fairly easy to sew if you are used to the princess seams, and the coat was very very simple, but I thought the sleeves were quite boring so I'm going to get a sleeve from another pattern when I make the coat again, and make a great big billowing sleeve 😍.

Coats are my interest right now and I enjoyed this easy pattern, but of course would do some things differently if I try it again.  I'll be changing the sleeves on the coat, since I like big puffed sleeves,  and I'll be making the neckline on the dress a little different.

 A few years ago I watched the Hallmark movie, "The Magic of Ordinary Days," which was filmed in Canada. Note: I didn't care for the entire theme of the story but I loved the setting, the costumes, the inside of the house, the land. The story was about a lonely farmer living by himself on the family farm, who marries a woman who had been jilted (and was pregnant).  The film did a good job of showing the love the father had for the baby, even from the beginning. He was grateful to have a wife and a family to keep him company and she adjusted to living a different life and grew to love it. In those days the farmland was so vast, it took an entire day to drive around it, and this was just one of the things Livvy found interesting.

I was very drawn to Livvy's purple hat and suit, and have had it in my mind to make something similar. I like the purple gloves too!  I will take an old white pair and dye them that color, if I ever get around to it. 

I thought it was remarkable that she wore this outfit  on her train journey to her new home on the farm. Maybe people will start dressing up again when they travel.

Here is my interpretation of Livvie's outfit, part of it shown in the screenshot below;

These are the accessories I made to go with the outfit. I wore the fascinator (in the picture below, right) to church today. I prefer the fascinators (floral headbands) to hats. Hats fall off more easily and are too big.

This is the dress on the dress-form. I didn't care for the neckline as it wasn't very interesting, so will not be using this pattern again, although I like the coat.

I added elastic to the sleeve cuffs because it looked better.

I have the same print in pink (I call it a honeycomb print) and aqua, and I notice there is a green one at Walmart. I also have the solid fabrics to match, so I am looking forward to making more coats and dresses co-ordinates like this. 

Also, I made a little brooch with some artificial lilacs and stuck them on the coat with velcro.  I added the tie in the front; it was not included in the pattern. 

Because the fabric is a natural cotton fibre, it is a bit more wrinkled, but I don't mind pressing it with a steam iron.  

Purple seems to go well with fog, so I'm calling this a fog fashion as well as a blossom fashion.

Materials and Prices:

4 yards Print lilac "honeycomb" fabric by Waverly, all cotton, $3.85 per yard -$16.00

4 yards solid color lilac, Waverly, cotton $2.85 p.y. - $12.00

Lilac Thread $2.00

White Thread $2.00

Zipper - $3.00

Artificial Flowers $1.00

Hair Band 25 cents

Hair barrett

 25 cents

Hat - $1.00

Feather scarf $1.00

Elastic - 50 cents

I went all out on this one,  with a total price of  $38.50, but I have two garments, each costing about $18 each, including supplies leftover.

And, you all know about that high-end store where I got all the Waverly fabric and notions so I won't mention the name. I did get some fabric at Hobby Lobby, which I find is the same low price once their discounts are applied, so I'll be enjoying showing some of their excellent fabric.

I had a lot of left-overs and of course the thread and other things can be used for other projects.

This is a home dress. It was not created to be fashionable or impressive. I wanted to make something to wear at home that would be cheerful and lightweight.  

Today I wore it to church, but that was because it was new. I usually wear a newly sewn dress to church first, and after that, it becomes my work-at-home dress, while I make another one.

Here are some more pictures of Livvy's lilac outfit  in "The Magic of Ordinary Days":

You know of course I only watch movies for the costumes and the interiors and old trucks. 😊

I tried to zoom in and see the shape of the coat neckline so that I could create it on my own coat, but decided it would be less time-consuming just to follow the straight lines of the pattern. I do like that neckline on the coat.  I think the dress and the coat are the same, or similar patterns, particularly the necklines.

Ever since I saw this 1940's costume in the movie, I have wanted to make it. It has been 13 years since it was produced and now look, I've finally sewn something like it.  It took me only a couple of days to make it, so I don't know what held me back all this time. Life kept interfering with my plans!

Here is another dress from the movie, which I think is the same pattern as the purple one. 

 Please leave a comment and let me know what you think or feel about this outfit. I am already getting ready to cut out something else, and of course, it will be designed to go with something that is happening around here.

Not to be out-done, Mr. S. wanted me to post pictures of ties he wore to church:

Now recently, I had a birthday and Mr. S. wanted to take me out to eat. I woke up not feeling well enough to do much and was simply unable to get the energy to go out. I told him to go out and get some dinner, since I didn't feel like cooking. He answered, "I'd love to go out to eat, but I'm going to have a hard time explaining that I'm out celebrating my wife's birthday."

He offered to stop on the way home at the grocery store and get anything we needed, so he took a list with him. He brought home a few things that weren't quite the right item, and when he saw my disappointment he asked, "Will it help if I sing to you?"

We were sitting in the living room and a bird hit the big front window.  Mr. S. said,"Why do so many birds hit that window?"  I told him how astonished I was to hear him ask that question. "You have several degrees and are a graduate of the U of__" I said, "How can you not know something like why a bird flies into a window?" (One reason I was skeptical of the U of__)

He answered, "I didn't study birds at the U of --"

I don't want to give you the name of the University, because I don't want you to think negatively of the place.

Have a look back here today and see if I was able to post a new picture of the dress (with me in it), in front of the lilac bush before the blossoms fade. Mr. S. has put it in his daytimer schedule book, and I have top billing before he charges into his day.

I really struck out with the photos. It was a first time using my new phone and I haven't got used to the settings yet. Sorry, ladies, but this is the only photo I got of that dress and coat , or "pelisse" if you will.  It was too early in the day for pictures,  and the colors of the lilacs in the foreground aren't showing very well, but one must take what one can get. I'm wearing the fascinator with the outfit but the picture does not show it very well.