The Big Reveal - The Bonus Outfit
Picture if you will, a driveway full of kids on bikes, scooters and other wheeled toys, rather a lot of shouting and squealing, and Mr Myrtle and I spending more time "shoo-ing" than taking photos. Some might call it chaos, we call it a pretty normal photoshoot.
I'm pleased I can show you a new outfit. It feels like AGES since I've had one finished. This little bonus outfit has been fun to put together. I'm looking forward to wearing it now the sun is finally shining.
My skirt is made from an old French linen sheet which I dyed in tea. I used Megan Neilsen's Kelly skirt pattern and it's pretty cute, but it's not a style I've worn for years and years and I'm still convincing myself I'm not too old for it. It certainly makes me feel fancy and free and I just love the big pockets and the old green buttons.
(See, there was squabbling that I had to shout at ...)
My tank top is based on a Vogue pattern (The designer was Tamotsu - pattern number 2454). The pattern envelope is stamped "Barker & Pollock". That is a sign of how old it is - does anyone in New Zealand remember Barker & Pollock? I might have been in my late teens when I bought that pattern, no older than my mid-twenties at least ...
It would have been quick and easy to put together except that I had cut the pattern tissue (although I don't remember making it before) and I was dubious that I'd still fit that size. I slid and cut the pieces a bit bigger, only to discover once I'd done the neck band that actually, it would be better smaller .... Grrr. Queue a cross moment and some hasty fitting and adjustment.
I also wanted a scooped bottom hem, like the famous Wilksten Tank. That was easy, I folded the top in half lengthways and drew a curve to imitate that bottom hem. Although I don't have a picture of it, you'll have to trust me that once cut and hemmed it looked good and if you know me in "true life" (as my 5 year old would say) you'll see me wearing it as long as the sun keeps shining.
No outfit is complete without a little jewellery, even this bonus outfit. My ring and my necklace belonged to my grandmother, the same one who inspired my fur stole in outfit 1. My grandfather gave both pieces to her years ago, I think after he returned from WWII.
The ring is ivory and although very politically incorrect, it is very beautiful, fits my finger perfectly and I love it. I can't imagine how carefully it must have been carved, the flowers are tiny and exquisite.
The necklace is a funny old thing but I think it's cool. It looks polynesian, tiny pips, the size of apple pips strung together with slightly larger, white gourds. They are both from plants and I imagine that when they were first strung they may have been soft and have hardened with time as they dried out. It's very fragile as it's been threaded onto a linen thread that will be quite old now, and I'm worried that it will break with the slightest tug, so I'm going to restring it onto fresh thread before I wear it again.
So, there you have it. A little bonus outfit. I'm still to finish my coffee pot skirt so that I can show you outfit 5. But, now I've decided how I want it to look, I can start it, finish it and show you soon :)