Many thanks to Susan Beal for including A Dress A Day in her "This Just In" roundup in the new issue of Adorn. It's nice to be in such good company!

Reader Susan emailed me to ask how to choose the right boots to go with your dresses, and I had to admit to her that I am (as the Brits say) pants at choosing boots. I have boots, certainly, but I don't have any boots that I consider successful, where "successful" means that I wear them constantly (and am always looking for more excuses to wear them).

In fact, I think the last pair of boots I bought that I felt that way about were some brown Knapp farm boots that I saw in a spread in Jane magazine back in the grungey 90s. They looked great with vintage dresses, especially if you were nineteen.

(Of course, in my opinion, that was the last time a fashion magazine was helpful about boots: what is up with the current craze for deranged-elf ankle boots worn with jersey mini-dresses and all the jewelry you own, plus a knit scarf? Yes, Lucky, I'm looking at you.)

Anyway, not only am I pants at boots, I have realized that I'm pitiably one-track with other shoes, as well — check out what I found when I tidied up my closet:

Yep, that's roughly a dozen pairs of round-toe ankle-strap heels. And I'm not even showing you the picture that's all flat black penny loafers!

It might just be that there aren't any boots that look "right" with 1950s styles, other than those plastic rain boots they used to advertise in the back of Parade, the kind that come with a matching bonnet to protect your hairstyle. So I throw the question open to you. What are the best boots to wear with vintage dresses?

Here's another example of mid-90s Erin sewing. I can't remember where I got this fabric, although Unique Thrift is a good bet. And I can't remember what pattern it was, but I'm pretty sure it was a New Look that was chosen specifically because the yardage I had was so narrow and short.

This was also from a period where I was trying to serge EVERYTHING, so the seam allowances are not what you would call generous. I gave that up pretty soon.

I wish I'd been patient with this fabric and not jumped so fast to sew it into something, anything. I really love it (and the buttons, which I'll probably salvage for something else — they're opaque blue glass and really lovely). I can think of all sorts of things I'd rather have done with it than this dress!

Also, while I'm being all Complainy McDisgruntledpants, the sleeves are too long and I didn't even get it to hang straight on the mannequin.

Here's a closeup of the bodice:

And the fabric:

See what I mean about the fabric? Sigh.

And, can I just say — you guys have been AWESOME about the new wiki. The number of articles has tripled in just one day, and several other sellers have thrown their images into the ring! (I'll update the list of sellers and links later today, I hope.)

The best part about the wiki — the one I forgot to emphasize yesterday — is the ability to assign categories to the patterns. Even if you don't feel you can upload images or create pages, please feel free to EDIT the pages to include new categories (way down at the bottom). That way we'll get pages like this one! Won't that be cool?

I am so tempted to spend the rest of the morning uploading images from my hard drive, but, sadly, actual work is calling. Once you start making new pattern wiki pages, it's totally addictive … give it a shot!

Thanks to sannse (and Jimbo) at Wikia, we now have a brand-new shiny vintage sewing patterns wiki!

I really wanted one place where people could collect information about vintage patterns, and the wiki is, I hope, going to be that place.

What's a wiki? A wiki is a communally-owned, communally-edited website, made up of many smaller articles. (The most famous wiki is Wikipedia.)

Each "article" in our wiki will be about one pattern, and will include, I hope:

— an image of the front of the pattern envelope
— links to places where the pattern is discussed
— links to places where the pattern is for sale
— a wishlist where you can put your name down as someone interested in buying/trading a particular pattern in a particular size
— your comments
— tags or categories that describe the pattern, like "midriff band" or "collar"

The wiki is VERY rough right now, with only a few articles up, but I wanted to throw it open to everyone as soon as possible so that we can grow!

So right now you might be asking yourself, "What can I do to help create this resource?" That's easy! You can start new articles.

1. Go to the wiki.
2. Choose a username and log in!
3. Look at the articles that are there. Have a favorite vintage OUT OF PRINT pattern that's not listed?
4. Create a new article for that pattern. Article titles should be the pattern manufacturer and number, e.g., "Butterick 6015"
5. Upload an image of the pattern. NOTE: a few vintage sellers have agreed to let their pattern images be used: Jen at MOMSPatterns, Rita at Cemetarian, Michelle at OldPatterns.com, Janet at LanetzLiving, and Julie at Sew-Retro.com … please download the images to your own desktop and then upload them to the wiki. (You have to be logged in at the wiki to upload.)
Otherwise, please only use pattern images you have scanned or photographed yourself, or of patterns you have purchased. Please respect the wishes of other sellers who do not want their images used this way!
6. Include some information about the pattern, especially links to reviews, blog posts, Flickr photos, etc.
7. Have fun!

If you want more information about how to edit, try this link:
how to start editing.

Here's a new model article: Butterick 6015 — you can click "edit" on this article, copy the text, and paste it into your article as a guideline for your edits. (I'm hoping to make a template that will help with this soon.)

Don't worry about making mistakes! It's a wiki! Whatever gets broken, we can fix! Right now we don't have a lot of rules or "right" ways to do things … if we need 'em, we'll work 'em up, but I think the Golden Rule works for a lot of situations, including wikis.

One last thing: I don't OWN this wiki. It's not mine, I don't get any money from it nor will I. It's something for the community of people who love vintage patterns to build, share, and have fun with. Everyone should feel encouraged to participate!

And for those of you keeping track, this is the first of the two geeky projects to be announced …

I'm back from Las Vegas, where I did not buy ANY fabric whatsoever. Not an inch, much less an ell. I was discouraged from attempting any explorations after my unsavory experience walking from the In-N-Out Burger back to the Strip … let's just say that I have a new appreciation for the wonders of zoning. (But an In-N-Out burger is worth any number of two-mile walks past assorted 'gentlemen's clubs'.)

Anyway, even though I didn't buy any fabric, I did manage to buy the pattern above, from eBay seller nateesh. Isn't it pretty? Square necklines with underbust gathers will get me every time.

In other clothing-related news: a TSA employee at O'Hare complimented my new camouflage-print skirt. Which totally made up for the "subcontractor" at the Las Vegas airport who not only ARGUED with people and made them beg for bins for the conveyor belt, but also DROPPED my laptop into a bin after deigning to give me one for it. (Yes, I complained. So I'm probably on a no-fly list now.)

I'm hoping to announce two fun Dress-A-Day-related projects this week. They're exciting! And geeky! Look out!

I was asked if I wanted a copy of Basic Black for review, and I said "yes, of course." Cathie Black is the president of Hearst Magazines; I am a magazine junkie: why not?

Basic Black is not only very readable (unlike quite a few other how-to-succeed-books I've come across) it's also very enjoyable. Ms. Black has a practical, friendly tone that comes across well on the page, and her advice is of the "this worked for me, I think it will work for you" variety rather than a one-size-fits-all manifesto. The whole book leaves you feeling refreshed and optimistic about the world of work and your place in it.

Here's one of my favorite bits:

If you want to be an innovator, express yourself like an innovator. Dress in something with verve rather than a corporate uniform. Take your team offsite and do something wacky. Wear a costume to a sales meeting […] and recruit a few others to do the same. Pick a theme — have people dress like cartoon characters.

I really wish I'd recruited people to dress like cartoon characters more often. It's absolutely on the to-do list now!

One of the things I really appreciated about Ms. Black and her book was that she doesn't think that feminism and business are incompatible. She worked for Ms. and for USA TODAY — and you don't get more mainstream than USA TODAY! And when people grumbled that she hired "too many women" (whatever THAT means) she made her point in a very direct, concrete, and nonconfrontational way: at a holiday lunch for Hearst executives, she was supposed to make some brief remarks after the meal. She stood up and said: "Some people seem to think I hire too many women. I just want you to know I'm listening to their complaints. So I thought I'd do a little survey. Would the women executives please stand up?" A third of the room stands. Then she asks for the male executives to stand … and when dozens of men get to their feet, her point is made.

One of her best points, I think, is a slightly-kinder "Get over it," urging women not to dwell on their mistakes but to pick themselves up and move on. "If I needed three days to get over every day I was criticized, I'd never have gotten anything done in my career," she warns. It's more important to get things done than to get things done perfectly, and better to try and fail than never try at all.

If you're looking for a book for a recent college graduate, especially one interested in working in publishing or media (or sales, for that matter), this is an excellent choice, and it's not bad for people who have been in the work world for a while, either.

I'm trying to be better about posting more pictures of stuff I've sewn. This is a dress from several years ago (maybe three? I remember wearing it to see Simon Winchester reading from Krakatoa at the NYPL, so a while back). I had this crazy desire for a VERY ROSES dress and then I found some quilting cotton at eQuilter, and the rest is history.

It's from this pattern, only short sleeved.

Here's the bodice:

And, for all you covered-button fans, here are the buttons:

And speaking of roses-dresses, Pamela (Glamoursurf on eBay) sent me a link to this wonder. Roses AND black chiffon! I think there are several states where that combination is illegal, so be sure to read the terms and conditions before bidding.

AND, before I forget AGAIN, Miss Helene has put up a Squidoo lens about sewing patterns! What's a Squidoo lens? A list of helpful links on a particular topic, put together by a real person (in this case, the topic is sewing patterns, and the real person is Lisa at Miss Helene's). Check it out! You can't edit it yourself, but you can add suggestions in the comments …

I'm going to be in Las Vegas for about 36 hours early next week … and since I don't drink, don't gamble, and can only eat two or three pounds of shrimp cocktail before feeling like a beached gray whale, I was wondering if anyone had any leads on fabric stores convenient to the Strip?

I dimly remember being pointed to a fabric store in Vegas before, but of course neither my actual brain or the distributed brain I've cobbled together through OS X and Google have turned up anything …

Reader of the blog Kris would like to know, too, so if have suggestions, would you leave them in the comments?

Thanks!

Hélose sent me a link to this eBay auction — the picture is not of the best, but really, do you need to know any more than "1950's crossword-themed dress?" before you start mousing around for the "Bid" button?

It's 36-26(ulp)-39, and the bidding right now is about $25.

As you know, I already am the proud possessor of a crossword-themed dress, but I'm keeping an eye out for more crossword fabric — the tournament does last three days, after all.

I can't tell if the buttons are little squares or not, but it looks as if they are. And it has pockets, to hold your pencils! What more could you ask?

Click on the image to visit the auction, as usual.

Julie at Damn Good Vintage sent me this link, to a pattern at MOMSpatterns. Isn't it cute? Wait, let me rephrase that. Isn't it CUUUUUUTE?

However, I can tell you from many tries at sewing necklines with a hard square edge that you are going to have to either add piping or interface the heck out of that sucker. Seriously. Ignore my weirding prophecy at your peril. Otherwise it WILL curl up, and you will either have to accept the curling as an aleatoric design element, or you will be sneaking off to the ladies' room to wet it down so that it lies flat. Either way, it requires a fair amount of dedication.

But if you have a dozen buttons and some interfacing (or piping), WHAT a cute dress! I love the green version with the red belt, which surprisingly doesn't look Christmassy at ALL. Perhaps because it's a sundress? I know I'd love to make a green version with flower-shaped buttons, and put the red buttons and belt on the mustardy-colored back view version. (And why is she pouting all by herself in the corner?) What combinations would you make? (Click on the image to visit the pattern listing, as usual.)