After you all weighed in yesterday (for the record, no one besides me thought that I should give up!) I decided to continue on with my dress.  I attached the peplum in hopes that it would pull down the wrinkles.  The results?  Success!

(why yes, the sweatpants are part of the outfit!)

I’m feeling much better now that I’ve tried it on.  Sometimes I get a lot of anxiety about how a project will turn out – especially when I haven’t made a muslin, and I can’t try it on yet!  I have made some initial alterations:

I removed 1.5″ at center back (I’m holding it where I want the excess out in this photo)  I’m also going to taper the waist in a little when I sew the final side seams.

I’m no longer planning to use the sleeves.  I really like how it looks sleeveless, so I will finish the armholes and neckline with some skinny red bias binding and call it a day!

I’m not lining it – one of you mentioned that it would be harder to iron after cleaning that way, and you had a point!  I agree with Carolyn that underlining would help.  I still have flashbacks about the time involved in my last underlining project, so I’m going to skip that this time, but I do agree – it’s the best way to avoid wrinkles!

I am going to line the skirt.  I’d imagine it will be easier to wear in the winter that way.  I’m also planning to shorten and peg (taper) the skirt, to give it a more vintage feel.

The waist on this baby is super duper high.  I like that – goes with the vintage feel.  This will be lovely for sipping bourbon cocktails on derby day, yes? (Notice I didn’t say mint juleps, a drink which I am convinced someone invented to trick the tourists with something gross!)

Other random thoughts this week:

– I can’t wait for the new Vogue patterns – I’ve seen the line drawings (thread here) and they look good (and yes, there are several peplums in this collection!)  I will post my opinions when they are up.

– I need to clean out my closet for real.  I’ve been doing some thrift shopping, and that means I need to get rid of some dead weight (and donate it back to the charity shop… it’s like the cycle of life!)  My husband wonders how I could need more clothes and… yeah, he has a point.  But!  If I didn’t check often I would have missed out on this:

Yes, that is the faux leopard jacket (circa late 1950s or early 1960s) that I have been dreaming of for years!  I kept wanting to buy one, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay much for an item with limited  usefulness.  So when I went to the shop and saw this sitting with the other coats I grabbed it immediately.  And how much was it?  Five dollars!  And it’s my size, in perfect condition with lining, original label etc (Btw, if you have any vintage labels you wonder about I recommend this resource –  I have found it useful in dating my vintage clothing!)

That’s all for now – hopefully I will be back soon with a completed outfit!