Film Noir Dress

Hello! I've been away from the land of Blogs for a while because of life and stuff. I've just moved house - the first time in 20 years! - which has disrupted my sewing and knitting out put. But I made sure I made one last thing before the big move, which I'm sharing with you now.

I've had this pattern for ages, and while I always loved it, I never really felt I had the right look for it until now. According to the Vintage Pattern Wiki, it's from 1951 - it definitely has that haughty, Parisienne fashion look about it from that time:

Simplicity 8424, 1951

And even better, I had a length of black, grosgrain-type fabric I acquired during the swap at the Sew Brum meet-up which Claire from Sew Incidentally had donated.

The finished dress has a feel of something a no-good dame from a film noir would wear. Or if you're familiar with the work of artist Ryan Heshka, it kinda has the pointy-boob, big hip thing going on that one of his scary women would wear:

Mean Girls Club - Ryan Heshka

And here it is:

As you can see, I decided to pursue the film noir theme to its logical conclusion and take some shadowy photos in my new back yard.

Apologies for the wrinkly look in the photos - there's something about this fabric that just resists all ironing. I've tried steam, heat, spray starch, alone and in combination - it just doesn't want to know. Hence the crinkly lapped seam in this photo:

But it's still a great dress to wear. I particularly love the pockets, which sit away from the body and make your waist look smaller:

Close-up of pocket

Other details:

The buttons at the neck are covered in the same fabric as the dress:

I reinforced the base of the button facings and the pocket seams with embroidered arrowheads:

It's hard to see, being black on black, but there's an arrowhead on the left!

And I lined the skirt in red, as well as finishing the hem, as always, with matching bias:

The only fitting adjustment I made was adding some extra room in the bust; other than that it all went together pretty well.

This dress is surprisingly comfortable to wear; I might even make another one, if I ever get my sewing things unpacked... Anyway, it's great to be back on the Blog-wagon - see you soon!