Remember the "Let's Go To Florida!" dress from here? Well, a full-on dredge of eBay turned up one (not my size, alas) from seller On-A-Moonbeam, who nicely included a scan of the entire front pattern envelope, so now we can really see the lines.
And, hoo boy, look at that skirt! Those are godets, are they not? Four of them. The listing shows the back of the pattern, which tells you that the width of the skirt at the hem for a size 16 (B34) is 262 inches. That's about seven and a quarter YARDS. No way I'm hemming that … except, isn't it gorgeous?
This pattern doesn't look too difficult to do; this might be a good starter for someone who wants to start off with something glamorous. Only don't make your first version in satin or velvet or anything slippery and expensive … try a lightweight cotton, okay? Believe me, this dress would be a knockout even if you made it in cotton flannel. Not that I'm recommending that, but hey, if that sounds like fun to you, who am I to quibble?
And thanks to everyone who gave me recommendations for Tokyo; I did go find Tomato fabrics and I did buy nearly my own weight in cotton prints. I'll have pics in a day or two, I hope …
A Dress A Day 
Loooove it. Congrats on the fabric shopping too.
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Hem confession: I never, ever, ever, blind-stitch a hem. I always do two 1/2 inch turn-overs and machine-sew that sucker. The speed-lacers on my boots used to rip out the hems on my longer skirts (yes, I wear boots with skirts. I’m from Texas: Boots go with everything. Sue me), so I started machine-stitching them so there would be no space for the hooks to catch.I suppose I would have to blind-stitch on a dress that nice, but if it were a fuzzy fabric or a busy pattern that wouldn’t show the sewing, anyway; forget it.
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Oh so glam…I would love to be able to create this beauty.
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A starter? Really? The B measurement is your bust measurement, yes? Darn! I could squeeze into a 36, but not much less. Who knew I’d ever be too busty. đŸ™‚
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This is gorgeous! I love godets,full, full skirts and I actually like doing hand hemming, though 7 yards sounds rather daunting…A friend of mine DID make a Nick and Nora flannel dress with a circle skirt; I think it was pink. Too fun!This dress tempts me to dust off my flat pattern drafting skills.
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The skirt looks as though it has a pleat combined with a enormous triangular gusset (godet?) If you could see the back I bet there are four pleat/godets in the skirt.
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Saidee–What’s a Nick and Nora dress?
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Rebecca,Nora Charles was half of the detective team in the “The Thin Man” series written by Dashiell Hammett. Turned into a series of movies from the 30’s through the 40’s, Nora was played by Myrna Loy (a very sharp lady in her own right). Often dressed in very glamorous style, and a source of inspiration for her style and humor.http://www.observer.com/node/37460
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“Godet.” Two weeks ago I’d never heard the word before, and since then I have run into it multiple times. Neat word, and what an amazing dress. For some reason, I am seeing this in zebra stripes…Monique in TX
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Yes, the big triangular gusset is a godet.Nick and Nora Flannel, I’m sure are named for the famous movie duo is a line of really fun flannel prints (and pajamas) featuring things like Sushi and clouds. If you remember back that far, I believe Murphy Brown often appeared wearing Nick and Nora PJ’s. That is, when she was on the show wearing PJ’s.
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I have this pattern, but tucked away ( my mom made it for herself when I was a kid and it was beautiful ). If you were to make it out of lace, you could easily machine hem with a tiny zig-zag, and it would dissapear. And the godets could be narrowed up a bit if you wanted to save on fabric. Because of the volume of the skirt, I can’t imagine the weight of velvet working without a serious petticoat. But glamorous, you bet!
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The skirt design is fascinating.No gathers at the waist, 4 slightly flared panels, front, back and over each hip. Nearly ALL the fullness in the skirt comes from those godets, each one an exact quarter circle. You can see the pattern pieces on the scan of the back of the pattern envelope in the eBay listing.The seams of the princess bodice line up perfectly with the point of each godet.Ah! Perfection.CMC
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LOVE THIS!
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Years ago I had a flannel shirt dress that was so soft, warm and comfy to wear when it was cold. I have always wanted to make another one but have not been brave enough.
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If you didn’t manage to get this vintage pattern, Vogue has a reissue with a similar effect. Although the construction is different.http://www.voguepatterns.com/item/V2903.htm?tab=vintage_vogue&page=1
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