Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Daily Dress: 50s Scalloped Day Dress

Am I imagining it, or are scallops suddenly EVERYWHERE lately? It's the strangest thing. And the most delightful thing, because scallops are awesome.

I've been wanting to feature more day dresses here, and a quick scan through Etsy made me pick this one. I love the shaping on the bodice. It seems to have a pseudo-gusset in the underarm to provide mobility.

I also love when sellers show the inside of dresses! Here you can see the metal zipper, which was the norm in 50s dresses. I adore metal zips for this reason. It's also fun getting to see the top stitched facing and the "Mr. Mort" label. But the thing I'm always insanely curious about is seam finishes! Here you can see that the facing was turned under and stitched. Do you think the dress is underlined? The inside of the fabric looks unexpectedly pale, like an underlining of white cotton.

This view of the dress back shows that the zipper application was centered rather than lapped.

And here's the whole view. It's interesting how it mimics the look of a skirt and blouse.


Scallops are easy to incorporate into any pattern. Just redraw your style lines using a round object (like a plate or glass) and make a facing to finish it. Very inspiring, I think!

29 comments:

  1. I would love a tutorial on this dress! It is so feminine and pretty! BTW I'm a novice seamstress, LOL

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  2. Scallops - YES! I just made my wedding dress from a vintage 1959 pattern with a scalloped neckline. I used your blog for advice on sewing with lace, too!

    http://maryhaley.blogspot.com/2011/05/hitched.html

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  3. This dress is fabulous - something I would wear in a heartbeat! Scallops do seem to be everywhere - today I did an alteration to a very nice top that was scalloped on the bottom and had cute little bows where the scallops met.

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  4. I have a favorite vintage dress that has a wide scalloped neckline. The dress is a little small, and a little stained, but I've still worn it probably 6 times. I really want to copy it and even got some amazing silk twill from Fabric Mart for it, but I'm scared to take it apart. I should draft a muslin that copies the bodice style and skirt and try it on for fit.

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  5. Believe it-- I bought a dress made identical to this in 2006. It was hanging high on a post in a Goodwill and I snatched it $4! My daughter dressed her dressform with it and it's lovely parked in a corner of her boudoir. *wink* Made of a very polished cotton, its colors of soft cream, yellow and green make it a springtime vintage dream!

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  6. Mary Haley, your dress is absolutely precious. Congrats! Everybody go check her out!

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  7. I'm making a pair of scalloped seer sucker shorts this summer from a vintage pattern. They're pretty easy to make too!

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  8. I have seen loads of scallops lately! I've been wanting to give them a try.

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  9. WWow. I so would love to have a dress like this to make my own would be just fab, like you Missy I too am a novice dressmaker.

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  10. this looks made for you. only with a severely scooped back. is it weird that i really want to see that happen?

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  11. You are so correct, scallops are everywhere and this dress is a beauty. I also like seeing the inside of vintage dress. Thanks for sharing this one.

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  12. I have McCall's 8763 from 1951, which has a scalloped neckline and sleeves. It's named the Junior Date Dress. I love 'em and found amazing flocked fabric that begs me to make a dress with a really big scalloped hem- like dinner plate size scallops I think. The flocked motif is about 5" wide...

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  13. I'm thrilled that scallops are making a comeback!! I've loved them ever since i first saw this pic http://www.vam.ac.uk/things-to-do/wedding-fashion/349 of my mother's wedding dress. Eventually i'm going to draft a pattern from the pic to try and recreate it; sadly the original was lent to a friend and never returned. At the moment i'm recreating this scalloped beauty http://www.etsy.com/transaction/48764291 for my youngest daughter's formal (prom). I'm making the short dress with long sleeves.

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  14. totally - right i am of to experiment with scallops!

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  15. Love that dress, the way it looks like separates is just lovely!

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  16. I'm addicted to scallops! I made a pair of shorts with a scallop hem a little while back. It's a little bit fidgety and time consuming, but sooo worth it.

    www.wangsfactory.blogspot.com

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  17. I'm so excited scallops are making a reappearance in fashion right now. :) I just adore the way this dress uses them--the scallops at the hip are such an interesting detail!

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  18. Lovely... I'm going to say it is under lined with maybe with a light weight linen. I would love to make me one. I think you could draw the scalloped on the dress then sew right on the lines. I'm going to give it a try. <3 it!

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  19. I love love love that dress! I don't know if it's the scallops or whether is't the blouse and skirt effect, or what it is! I'd love to adapt a pattern to create something similar though...

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  20. This dress is absolutely lovely! I love that they added scallops to the waistline also and not only to the neckline. I looks like a perfect springtime dress!
    I might add a scallop dress on my already very long todo list. ^^; Thank you for sharing this.

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  21. That is gorgeous! Where can I find the pattern for that!!! LOL

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  22. wow, what a lovely dress. I love the way the scallops dip down ever so slightly at the center back.

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  23. By far my favorite of the daily dresses so far. This is so pretty!

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  24. i was just thinking how scallops are suddenly everywhere--and i, too, and thrilled!

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  25. I'm so happy you posted this, it came at exactly the right time. I was trying to figure out what to do with the bodice of a dress I had started making. Now I've given it a scalloped neckline!

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  26. I love scallops and scallop prints! This dress is so gorgeous. I'm a little intimidated by scallop edging, so thanks for the encouragement!

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  27. I am so sorry, but this looks like someone took Granny's old quilt and made a dress out of it. I love scallops too, especially in a good wine sauce-kidding!

    But seriously, the cotton material looks like it has a batting liner! The old-fashion print doesn't help either, it looks faded rather than retro. Doesn't do anything for me besides make me kind of sad.

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  28. hi gertie! i'm wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me out.

    if i wanted my bodice to have the scalloped look across or right above the breast area with the top/upper bodice being a contrasting print then the lower bodice with the scallops; how do i draft that? what i thought would work didn't. my guess is that i need to make the top bodice scallops larger than the lower bodice because then when i sew the two right sides together i would ease the scallops in like sleeves?

    i have played around with this over and over & can't figure out what i'm missing. the dress i was trying to copy was a dorothy perkins neutral deco colourblock dress that i saw on pinterest. if you can offer any pointers i would soooooo gladly appreciate it!!!

    i

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Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! xo Gertie

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