In which I make something for my Everyday Closet | Reviewing Simplicity's New Look 6560

I took a change of pace to create something for my everyday closet, and I'm soooo glad I did! I found this cotton shirting on clearance at JoAnn Fabrics and absolutely loved it! It's solid black with little gold birds, and I've been loving all things gold these last few years, so I knew it was perfect.

Since I wasn't necessarily planning on making something modern, I took a look through the patterns that were on sale that day and found a super simple, but super cute wrap shirt. New Look Pattern 6560 for $2.99.

I ended up going with view C. For sizing, I'm always between 2-3 different sizes with these commercial patterns, but I went with my bust size, which was the smaller of the options, knowing that there would already be some give because of the style, plus these patterns always have (usually too much) ease already worked in. It turned out perfect, and I don't regret a thing!

The pattern came together easily and quickly, despite the fact that I was still fighting a nasty sinus infection when I started it. I had been laying around for the previous two days and needed something to do, so I told myself I could just cut out the pattern pieces. Well, as most projects do, I got caught up and had most of the blouse done within a couple of hours.

Overall I really liked this pattern. It was simple to cut and I only referenced the instructions lightly, as I usually do with commercial patterns since they usually hurt my brain more than prove helpful.

With that in mind, I did make a few small changes. The main one being that I under stitched the front facing. If the instructions said to do this, I completely missed it, but I felt like that was necessary to keep the front nice and flat.

The other thing I did was create two crocheted belt loops and added a snap at the top of the neck to hold everything in place. I didn't like the belt just hanging loose, and I wanted a little more security to hold the neckline closed.

My sister, Sereina Elwert, who's a wizard with a camera, happened to be in town shortly after I finished the blouse, so we were able to go out and get some cute photos. As well as some... interesting ones. It's never a photoshoot without at least one derpy photo and a photobomb, right?

In conclusion, I really liked this pattern and would definitely recommend! I could also see myself making a few more blouses out of it, probably in some linen or seersucker for summer.

Funny story: when I was buying my supplies for this project, I somehow misread the pattern and bought an extra yard of fabric (and it was 60" wide no less!) and was able to get a full circle skirt out of it! When worn together it looks like a cute dress while still being versatile. Unfortunately we didn't get around to getting pictures of the skirt, so that will have to wait until another time.

Dreamy Edwardian Dresses | Project Inspiration

I've started a new project, and while I'm in the beginning stages of draping/drafting up patterns (AKA the visually boring stuff), I thought I'd share some pretty inspiration for the project.

The project is an early Edwardian era lawn dress. I found a great deal on a pretty pink lawn, which is being shipped and will hopefully arrive soon. I made an S-bend corset last year, and this era of fashion has always been a dream era of mine. It's so soft and feminine and I'm so excited (and maybe just a little nervous) to be diving into it!


This first dress is the main inspiration for my project and what I'm basing my dress off of for the most part (though I'm not trying to duplicate it exactly).

This dress is part of The Met's collection. The gown was designed by Jacques Doucet and is made of cotton and silk.

Below is part of the description from their website:

"Possibly worn by one of New York's finest, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor Wilson, this afternoon dress is a perfect example of couture during this period. The sheer pink fabric, accented with lace and black and pink ribbon trim, is a dress to be displayed at garden parties and the races. Doucet added interest to his work with his use of unusual trims, illustrating his inventiveness and artistic taste."

Dress c. 1903 via the Met

I came across this image of the dress and a portrait that is, at the very least, very similar to the gown. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on the painting.

If you look closely it doesn't actually appear to be the same dress. The ruffles around the bottom half of the skirt are striaght, where as on the dress it's almost a scallop edge. And the front bodice appears slightly different. It could be that the artist interpreted the dress differently, or it's a completely different dress. Still, I thought it was interesting and wanted to include the comparison.

Since I'm draping my own pattern this gown has been extremely helpful for me to see the lines of the bodice and to get an idea of how it closes. 

Dress c. 1900-1914 via The Museum at FIT

Dress c. 1900-1914 via The Museum at FIT

And a few dreamy Edwardian fashion plates for inspiration, because they're just so pretty.

Want some more pretty Edwardian inspiration? Check out my Pinterest Board!

Continuity Photos | What they are and why you need them

Continuity photo's are taken of an actor (or actress) once they are in their final costume, hair, and makeup to maintain continuity throughout a shoot. They are taken to document each individual look to maintain consistency since sometimes shooting a single scene will take place over several days. Depending on the shoot it could be days, weeks, or even months if you have to come back to a scene for pickup shots or re-shoots.

Usually I prefer actors to go through hair and makeup before getting into their full costume (though like everything, it depends on the shoot and what the specific costume needs are). I'm typically the last person working directly with the actor before shooting a scene, so once they are screen ready I'll ask them to step aside and snap a quick photo.

You can use your phone or an actual camera, but you want to be able to access the photo's immediately. If you're working with a team it's easiest to take a few minutes to get the photo's printed at the end of the day and put them in your Wardrobe Bible for the shoot. That way everyone has easy access to them along with the rest of the wardrobe notes.

On most of the shoots I've worked on I'm the only one running wardrobe and since they've been smaller shoots I've keep them in a dedicated album on my phone instead of getting them printed.

One of the continuity shots from "Broken" (2019)

The purpose of these photo's is to create a consistent look throughout the film. Because films are rarely shot in chronological order, it's common to shoot part of one script day in the morning, then a bunch of other scenes, and maybe later that same day or several days later, come back to that first script day where the actors should be in the same outfit.

These photo's provide a reference for how everything was worn, exactly how the hair and makeup looked, as well as show how certain pieces were worn. For example if a collar was flipped up or laid flat, pants were tucked into the shoes or left over top.