I must be getting old, because this pattern from the 1980s is engendering a kind of gauzy nostalgia (instead of nausea) in me. Granted, in the 1980s I wasn't really in a Dynasty-era power-dressing place (I was in jr. high, which requires power dressing of a different kind), but I don't think I expected to like this dress (at Cemetarian) as much as I do.
[ETA: Whew, I haven't suddenly caught 1980s nostalgia. (Which is good, since the cure is painful and involves jelly shoes and listening to a lot of WHAM!) Rita checked the date on this pattern and it's from 2003.]
Of course, that horrible beige color has to go (and the hat has to go, too — sorry, all you hat-lovers out there). Those pointy shoes should be replaced with lace-up high-heeled oxfords, and I would shorten the sleeves to 3/4 or bracelet length …
Wouldn't this be nice in gray flannel, with a choker of gobstopper-sized cloisonné beads?
A Dress A Day 
I know it’s 80’s, but it also reminds me of some of the 50’s fauxleros. I even have a few 50’s patterns with slim skirts, not fauxleros. This is an interesting pattern, it could be a neat LBD, with the shorter sleeves. Cool.
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For the 80s it’s pretty good. I don’t know if I would wear it, but I spent most of my own 80s years removing those large shoulder pads from my clothing and thinking my Strawberry Shortcake/New Kids Tees were the height of fashion so I may not be the best judge.I’m mixed. I can see your version in my head, and I can see where it would be a nice dress, on you, but I can’t really get behind anything 80’s for me. However, I would be willing to see it (on you of course) before I jump off the “OMG Not the 80s!” soapbox :D(I barely started making stuff from the 70s and you’ve seen what I like from it!)
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I’ve never commented here before, but I’ve been reading your wonderful blog for quite awhile.I was born in the late 80’s and usually can’t abide the fashions at all, but I actually like this dress in the short length. I agree about the hat. I’m even a hat person and I hate that hat.This dress has a vintage 40’s feel to me. Probably because of that high collar and the economical use of the fabric. (No 50’s excess here!)I think gray flannel would be a terrific choice. Also, it just calls out for a choker to be worn over the collar. I’d love to see it made up.
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LOL….this Morning the Dallas Morning News did their version of What’s OUT and What’s IN for 2009….I was amazed to see OUT-70’s and IN-80’s………….I loved the ease of 80’s fashions……everything seemed over sized and comfy……….or at least everything I wore was…………BWAHAHAHABut I would wear this in a New York Minute if I could loose 6 inches in my waist……….and have my 80’s girlish (if you can call being 40+ girlish) figure back.
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And I just looked at the listing and the Pattern and it is dated 2003…………sorry but it’s NOT 80’s………it’s rather New (in the grander scheme of things)
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I could see it in a soft, dusty blue with black gloves, black beads, and a deadly stare. It seems like the sort of dress that should be worn by a fashionable, rich, and discerning mother-in-law in 1949. Def. shorten the sleeves.
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I have the perfect hat to go with that outfit.”Vintage 1950s Ecru Tan Linen Platter Hat with Flocked Netting”I just love hats. I wish they’d make a comeback already.
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This style would be very 50s if the armholes were just a bit higher, and those slightly flared hip pockets cement the deal. (did ya catch the back view? awesome princess seamlines up the skirt for a sexy fit)this is one for a slim gal, I’d say….
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I love this pattern, and I dont’ see 1980 anywhere. It’s more 1940 with the details and the tailoring. Yummy, but not in flannel. It needs something with an elegant drape and a bit of body, wool crepe maybe. – evalyn
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OK, that didn’t stick.. lolI just listed a 50s Advance pattern with the teeny tiniest fauxlero yet.. http://www.momspatterns.com/inc/sdetail/26992Or maybe it’s just a different sort of sleeve and I just SEE fauxleros everywhere I look nowadays?? haha!Hope everyone’s New Year is going well!
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But think of the shoulder pads… for goodness sake, think of the shoulder pads!!!
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I think you only like it because it’s 40s inspired. Your description of how you would do it would make it look even more so.
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LOL……it HAS NO Shoulder pads. It was designed in 2003 and not a shoulder pad in sight.
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I didn’t think it could be ’80’s. Vogue was using a different logo then. Lovely dress, how did I miss this pattern when it first came out?
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I’m odd, I know, but I like the hat. The whole ensemble screams the 40’s to me!
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I just love the early 50s style fauxleros, like the original one (still waiting to see that one all done up, Janet — hint hint). I think Advance made the best ones.
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Not for me thanks, with my bosoms already hanging too low any seam detail to emphasise that is verboten!!!
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It looks like a nursing dress to me, just open up those flaps… But maybe I’ve got Breastfeeding Diegogarcity?
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hee-hee Wham! Thanks for the blast from the past. I’ll be humming “Wake me up before you go-go” all night!!
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Ok, so here’s a happy moment for me . . . I’m lovin’ the 80’s and the 80’s retro thing . . . and I was even alive and caring about fashion the first time the 80’s came around . . . bring on the striped leggings!!
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I totally hated 80’s fashion, but I LOVE that dress!
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Erin, I love reading your blog, which I found after being introduced to you via library school (we watched your YouTube video on the dictionary during my Reference course). I thought your dress was unique and I did a search on your name, which turned up this blog.But I must say, your nostalgia for the 50s is my nostalgia for the 20s, and I was born in the 50s. (My wedding dress, the the 80s, was a Folkwear pattern for a 1920s tea dress, for example.) But lace-up oxfords with high heels? For me those are synonomous with the elderly, because before the current fashion moment, that’s who wore them, only without the spikey heels. Doesn’t Miss Gulch wear them in the Wizard of Oz? But in spite of the fact that I don’t personally have a fondness for the clothing of the 50s, I do enjoy your blog, and I’m glad you have made time in your life for sewing.
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WHAT?? i LOVE heeled oxfords! They are the bomb! I went thru 3 different pairs in the 80s (with wicked pointed toes, however….) My hubby got me a pair of “Me Too” Frost’s for Xmas this year and I freaked out. Go Elmira! 🙂
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You were in jr high in the 80’s! How perfect! I was so old, already graduated from high school. The 80’s clothes were perfect for ‘tweens. It was a perfect era to be 12 and pretty. Very jealous.
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I don’t know about flannel, though the pattern is really pretty. And not 80s at all. Except that the hat has kind of a Princess Diana in ’91 thing going on. But I don’t think it would drape right in flannel… you might end up with another project like the black denim dress.
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I really like this dress, with the alterations mentioned. It’s very sculptural, yet austere…which, when made up in a lux fabric, I think is usually very flattering to one’s face and hair. It’s like the plain velvet that lines a Tiffany’s boxes.What I would strive to eliminate (though I do not grasp construction) is that waist seam in the front. What purpose does that serve? I like all the lines, drapery and business up on the top, but then from the feauxlero it should ideally fall in a simple swoosh. Little insets like that triangle make it appear chintzy, like you didn’t have enough fabric to work with. So, what’s that fabric triangle for? Can someone please enlighten me? (And yes, grey flannel and an over-sized choker would be lovely!)
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PS: This pattern is also available on ebay…AND THEY CALL IT A FAUXLERO!
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