Long Hair Inspiration

I have been feeling so conflicted over my hair for the past few weeks. It's getting quite long (remember when it was this short?) and I've been feeling uninspired. I'm only wearing it two ways these days:

In a ponytail:

Or down, either naturally wavy:

Or curled:

I've been seriously considering getting some bangs cut. In the past I've regretted cutting my hair into bangs pretty quickly though. My hair is really curly in the front and it takes quite a bit of coaxing to get it to stay straight. And if they get wet at any time during the day my hairdo is ruined.

So I've been looking for some alternatives short of chopping all my hair off. I'm pretty attached to it, no pun intended, and would like it to be at least 3 inches longer.

So I've been surfing the net looking for some help.
In my opinion, vintage photographs can only offer so much inspiration. I'm a lazy girl. I want as much wow for as little effort as possible. And I hate sleeping in pin curls.

I was really lost until I had a better look at Casey's Elegant Musings. Until a few days ago I was not a follower, but would drop in occasionally through other blogs.

Well as it turns out, Casey and I have very similar hair and I feel head over heels in love with her hairstyles and tutorials.

Ok, enough talk, more pictures. Here are some of her hairstyles that I'll be giving a try:

I think I might just go in for a trim now and leave my hair as it is.

Lisa.xo

Wishlist: Oh Canada! Hudson's Bay Blanket Coat

[EDIT/UPDATE: I've found my coat! Check it out here!!]


As it gets chillier and chillier I keep thinking of ways to keep warm.

And nothing says keeping warm in the frozen Canadian north to me like a Hudson's Bay Blanket Coat.

Of course I'd love a vintage coat, but the new designs that have come out in the past few years are also stunning.


This is a classic. Exactly what I want.

found here on Etsy

This girl is just so cute! I had to share this image. I even have a fur hat! Gotta find one of these coats.

found via Chicktopia

And if I could afford it, I just LOVE this designer HBC swing coat. (when it was available it retailed for $695 CAD. Yikes!)

image found here

this image found here

Lisa.xo

How to Sew In Seam Pockets into a Dress (Lisa Style!)

Here's how I inserted pockets into my dress from yesterday's post.

Sorry for the randomness in the photo colours. I worked on this off and on all day two days ago and the sun is setting around 5ish these days which leaves me with less than stellar light for taking photos.

Anyway...enough excuses, here's how I did it:

I had never done this before and did not have an existing pattern, so I started by looking through my closet for a dress with an in seam pocket. I used this 60's dress I wore to my step-Dad's 60th birthday.

I turned my example dress inside out and laid it on top of some kraft paper.

Next I traced the pocket onto the kraft paper.

Next I unstiched the cut off hem fabric and pressed it flat with my iron.

Then I folded the fabric in four and pinned my template to it.

Now...I did something silly next. I cut out the template with room for seam allowance.
By the time I had my fabric cut out I realized that the pockets would have been WAY too big. I realized that the pocket I traced included a small seam allowance. Opps! (told you, I had never done this before)

So I went back and trimmed by template back to the line I had originally drawn, pinned it back to my fabric and recut my pockets. After cutting, I had 4 pocket pieces. Two for each pocket.

This is where I started my second attempt. And it's after dinner, hence the darker photos.

Next I put the dress on and figured out where I wanted my pockets to be and put a pin in the side seam where I wanted it to open. I pinned about 3" down from the waistband.

Next I opened up the seam. Not all the way to the hem, just enough to fit my pocket pieces in comfortably. Around 10".

Now I hope I can explain the next bit clearly.
I pinned the straight edge of one pocket piece up with the open edge of the side seam. The right sides together.

Then I sewed the two pieces together along the straight edge.

I did the same with the second pocket piece.

Once I had sewn both pocket pieces to my dress the inside of my  skirt looked like this:

Next I pinned and sewed both sides back together. Instead of sewing straight along the side seam I made sure to sew around the pocket leaving a 1/2" seam allowance.

After this, I sewed along the side seam 3/4" down from the top of the pocket and 2 1/2" up along the side seam from the bottom of the pocket to close the opening some more.

I sewed just on the outside of the stitch line to the pin.

Then I repeated these steps on the second pocket! Ta Da! Pockets!

If this was too confusing for you, this post helped me while I was sewing in my pockets. As always, feel free to ask me any questions!

Lisa.xo

More Than Hemming

I've been working on this dress on and off for two days.

I knew when I bought it from the lovely Erin at Oh So Lovely that I wanted to shorten it significantly. I've had my eye out for a long sleeve vintage dress for a little while now. And I didn't want to buy anything 70's or 80's. This cute 50's housedress was just want I wanted.
The only problem was that I felt very dowdy in it with the long sleeves and the mid-length skirt. Flaunting a little skin was in order.

These two photos were my inspiration:

Calivintage

Charlotte Taylor

So I took the plunge and hemmed the skirt. This, of course, involved cutting off a portion of the existing hem. 

I was left with such a wide piece of fabric once the hemming was finished I got to thinking about what I could do with it. I thought about what the dress was missing. The original belt was missing, but with the pattern being so busy I wasn't sure I missed it so much. I got to thinking that it was a terrible shame that this cute dress didn't have pockets...so I thought I would sew some in!

I have never, ever sewn pockets into anything before. I figured it couldn't be too hard. And with a quick phone call to my Mom for some advice mid-way through my project I got the pockets all sewn in in one evening! I'm so proud of myself!

So here's how she looks now: 

It's getting dark so early here right now. It's getting tricky to find time to take photos in good light! Ugh!

Blue 50's Housedress: Oh So Lovely

Aqua Belt: Thrifted

Navy Tights: Wonderbra (@ Walmart)

Sweater Clip worn at Brooch: Vintage Glory

Grey Mary Janes: Aldo

So cute don't you think?

Stay Tuned tomorrow for a step-by-step on how I inserted the pockets. 

Lisa.xo

Make Mine Shorter

As you know, I've been keeping myself busy these last few days with some hemming projects.

It really is a disease. I cannot stop hemming dresses! A few inches off the bottom hem of a dress just makes such a big difference on how they look on me. I'm not tiny at 5'4", but the more dresses I hem, the more I realize that shortening a dress to just below or above my knee not only makes my legs look longer, but is a great way to modernize a vintage dress without a ton of alteration. And I really do my best to keep the original hem intact and not cut any length off to preserve the original fit of the dress in some way.

Here are two of the dresses I worked on this weekend. (sorry, I am a bad blogger and did not take "before" pictures, you just get the "afters"):

This cotton day dress is new. I just bought it at Ragpickers a month or so ago. It needed some love. There were a number of split seams, so I got it for a song. I just couldn't resist the colour and the pintucks on this dress. And hemming was easy peasy! I just rolled up the original hem, pressed it and hand sewed it into place.

I've had this next dress for a few years. This one is from Vintage Glory. I've only worn it once or twice. Mostly due to the fact that the skirt was so long on my it was only a few inches from skimming my ankles. It is definitely a late 40's, New Look dress. The darker cranberry colour is so 40's, it's got a centre back metal zipper, but the fullness of the skirt makes this dress a 1948-50 style for sure. I just love it!

This dress has pockets! I've said it before and I'll say it again: Nothing is better than pockets on a dress!!

I have always wanted to shorten the skirt, but didn't want to mess with it too much because of it's age. Hemming some dresses this summer has changed my mind about that. I bought it to wear it and I did't like to because of the length of the skirt. I felt like I was drowning in fabric. It's mine and I will do what I want with it. It's not like I'm cutting the whole thing up. I did cut 4 inches off the hem of this dress though. I did leave a 2 1/2" hem allowance if I feel like lengthening it in the future.

I've got a nice chunk of fabric left from the hem of this dress, I shortened it a total of 6 1/2"! I'm considering making a matching belt since it was missing the original when I bought it. Any tips?

Now that I've hemmed it I couldn't be happier with the results. I love how it turned out!

I also worked on this dress this weekend and have another one on the go right now. Stay Tuned for pics of those too!

Lisa.xo

Inspiration: Winter Wear

With the snow here to stay for several months I've once again been on the hunt for cute, vintage inspired winter looks.

These ones had me at hello:

Tuppence Ha'penny

Love the riding boots with the dress and cardigan! I'm on a determined hunt for some boots of my own second hand or on sale. 

Elsie @ A Beautiful Mess

Another dress, flat boots and a cardi. I really love the textured white tights. Gotta look for some. 

Johanna 

I really love the plaid scarf and the large fur collar over the wool suit (she made this suit herself!! amazing!)

Gypsy Skirt Vintage

This one is all about the addition of the scarf over the classic outfit. I don't wear scarves like this and I think it's time I try. Very chic!

Lisa.xo

Let it Sew!

Winter has finally arrived in Winnipeg.
It snowed ALL day yesterday. Two days ago there was still grass in my front yard and now we have this:

Due to all this snow I've decided to hibernate and get some projects in my mending pile done.
a.k.a. Hem some more dresses! lol!

This is my vintage sewing machine. It was my grandmother's. My Mom learned to sew on this machine and made many, many things for my brothers and I with it over the years. Mom gave it to me 7 or 8 years ago and I love it! They just don't make things like they used to.

Lisa.xo

Outfits: Pink and Polka Dots

Last weekend D. and The Boy's brother had their social. For those of you who don't know what a social is, it's a kind of large party/event that engaged couples throw to raise money for their wedding. A hall is booked, tickets are sold, there's a cash bar and a silent auction full of donated prizes for people to bid on.

It's a pretty big deal for the family and wedding party so I dressed up a bit for it.

This is what I wore:

Raspberry Beret: Laura

Leopard Print Scarf: Ricki's

Black Blazer: Forever 21
Vintage Rhinestone Brooch: Thrifted

Vintage Rhinestone Necklace: from Grandma Nelson

Blush and Black Blouse: Laura

Stretch Belt: Laura

Vintage Wool Polka Dot Oscar de la Renta Skirt: Vintage Glory ($15!!)

Black Bow Heels: Winners

40's Corded Purse: Ragpickers

In other news, I've finished working for Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. The show closed last week. I've got the rest of the year off until I start working for Manitoba Theatre Centre in January. In the meantime I've picked up a little part time job at The Boy's Mom's office doing some filing and faxing. Gotta keep busy!

Lisa.xo


P.S. Welcome to all my new readers!! :)