Dieselpunk Inspiration

Dear Readers,

Despite having many events in the calendar before the Steampunk Weekend this August Bank Holiday I still find myself extremely excited for the weekend and dressing up for it. I seem to do that a lot and always look to what's on the horizon and want to be there rather than appreciating where I am at the moment. I do love the Steampunk Weekend though as it adds some good variety to the events calendar and I have attended it every since it began; albeit the first time was entirely by accident. We have been trying more to get into Dieselpunk for the occasion as it's already based on an aesthetic we love and we have a lot of outfits in our wardrobes that can easily be dressed up for the occasion.

Generally we have always just attended the Steampunk Weekend dressed in our 1940's outfits but recently I have been wanting to make more of a special effort and do something which feels more Dieselpunk. I think though what I really end up doing is more of a Captain America based cosplay since that seems to be a lot of my inspiration. Last year I wanted to be a bad-ass Agent of Hydra but really all I wore was a Collectif dress I already own and Indi made me a little Hydra logo lapel pin badge. But I felt bad-ass anyway so mission accomplished!

This year I started out with a very specific character of my own creation, The Aviatrix, and I have been using a lot of photographs from the women pioneers of aviation as inspiration. Ladies such as Ruth Eldar, Amelia Earhart, and the stunning Katharine Hepburn.

Image Source: http://coolchicksfromhistory.tumblr.com/post/5875393796/aviatrix-ruth-elder-1902-1977

Image Source: http://semioticapocalypse.tumblr.com/post/82028902804/amelia-earhart-before-the-first-flight-across-the

Image Source: http://wehadfacesthen.tumblr.com/image/44005139389

As always though I am drawn back around to Captain America and of course I want to be Agent Carter; she embodies everything I wish to be! She's a stunner and has fantastic dress sense (that hat!) but also she kicks ass. Peggy gets the job done even when everyone around her says she can't, and especially if people say she can't. She does everything the men do only in heels.

Image Source: http://faymcwrath.tumblr.com/post/115454060556/o

In my mind I want my outfit to be somewhere between my two inspirations. I'm not looking to make an exact replica of either Peggy Carter's outfits or the original Aviatrix Outfits from the 20s / 30s. I think that's what's nice though about the Steampunk and Dieselpunk aesthetics as there's a lot of imagination involved so you can mix it up a little bit if you wish.

These are the types of things I am going for to accomplish my Dieselpunk Aviatrix outfit. I haven't got all of the pieces together just yet but it's beginning to come together which I am very excited about. You will have to tune in to my blog after the Steampunk Weekend to see how my outfit looks once complete.

Are you coming to the Steampunk weekend this year? Will you be dressing up for the occasion? Let me know what you think to my outfit plans, I'd love to hear from you!

ttfn!

post script - special thanks to my friend James for technical support during the making of this blog post. You're a darling!

February Sewing Project 2015

Dear Readers,

For my February sewing project I cheated again and made the full, gathered skirt from Gertie's Blog For Better Sewing. I have wanted a skirt like this for such a long time and suddenly inspiration took me when I saw it again on Pinterest and I was reminded of how much I wanted one. I had a free weekend and some fabric in my stash so there really was only one thing for it!

I'm so pleased with the finished product and feel my sewing skills have really come on leaps and bounds just by following the instructions. A novel idea, I know! I'm most proud of how well the gathering turned out as I sought advice from my Auntie Margaret ages ago about it. On the previous skirt I made I just sort of made it up as I went along and the gathers were very uneven. This time around I remembered to make two rows of running stitches, not one, and I also put pins in at the half and quarter way points so I could match these up to ensure an even amount of fabric all the way along. 

There is more fabric in the skirt than was called for as when I came to cut it out I realised the width of my fabric was only a few more inches than the pattern so I didn't bother cutting it and just used it all. I feel that these extra inches have made a difference and my skirt is extremely full. That said I absolutely love it and it's the first sewing project I have made on my own and I have worn it repeatedly and confidently. I love it in black because then I feel comfortable wearing it to work but I have also dressed it up with my beloved Sophia wedges for a night out. Versatile is this skirt's middle name and I have also worn it with tights, a t-shirt and converse for a relaxed and comfy weekend look.

I'm wearing my "me made" skirt with a Bardot top from Primark and and my Sophia wedges from Rocket Originals. What do you think folks? Have you got any projects in the pipeline? Perhaps you have made this skirt too from Gertie's blog? I'd love to hear from you, drop me a line!

ttfn!

January Sewing Project 2015

Dear Readers,

At the beginning of the year I decided that I would make one dress per month as a sewing challenge to myself. We are now in March and although I have kept up with the challenge of sewing one thing every month I have bent the rules to make it one garment, not just a dress. I realised that jumping up and sewing a dress when I had very little experience in dress making was probably a recipe for stress and tantrums.

So my first project was something I have made once before and that's a pencil skirt. I really wanted a black pencil skirt that I could wear with anything and everything and that will have a vintage feel when I am in the office. While I am so extremely proud of myself for having made the skirt and make it to the highest finish I have ever managed to achieve I still don't feel like it's really what I was looking for. I think this is a combination of two things. Firstly due to my inexperience I think I chose a fabric which wasn't totally right for a pencil skirt. Plus even though I measured myself and cut my pattern out to the measurements my final garment was still pretty baggy on me and did not evoke the wiggle skirts that beautiful ladies from the fifties wore.

In fact I feel rather frumpy in it. Because of this reason I have decided to alter it to fit me and then take it apart so that I can use that as my pattern when making pencil skirts in the future. I am sad that after all of that work I will be taking my skirt apart but I love pencil skirts so if it means that I will have some more garments that I will actually wear and feel good in then I think it is worth it.

However, I am not deterred and plan on making many more pencil skirts in the future until I perfect it and get that ever so wiggley fit I desire. I already have plans to make the skirt in a teal colour and will hopefully make the capris trousers from the same pattern later this month.

Are any of you out there seamstresses? Have you had similar experiences with patterns? I would love to find out your experiences in sewing.

ttfn!

Post Script.
Skirt pattern - Simplicity 4047
Fabric - Fabric Corner, Lincoln
Jumper - Primark
Shoes - Clarkes
Earrings - Twinwood Festival

My Birthday - JD McPherson

Dear Readers,

It's my birthday tomorrow! It's very exciting, not because it's a particularly special birthday, but because I just like it. I don't mind getting older but it does freak me out a bit when I look back at how long ago it was since I left school. Since my birthday has fallen midweek I have done the only sensible thing and had celebrations on both the weekend before and the weekend after. Well to be precise I am doing a grand total of three things for my birthday this year, just because I can!

On Thursday I went to visit my sister, Jessica, in London as I tend not to get to see her for my birthday. We had arranged to goo and see JD McPherson too and my present from my Mum was my train fares so it was a nice little low cost trip. I have been wanting to see JD McPherson for over a year now, since the last time he toured England, so jumped at the chance of both visiting my sister and seeing him play at the same time. It was actually my Mum who first suggested his music to me and the rhythm and blues / rock and roll feel to his music does not disappoint. What I really love about it is the the kind of mutant blues under current there is to his music and I also feel that it is not too niche that it discourages a wide range of people from enjoying his style; in fact at the gig there was a really wide range of folks there.

Recently I have lost a little bit of weight, though I don't know why because I haven't been trying. But it's nice all the same as I am now able to wear some things in my wardrobe that haven't properly fitted me for a while. I was really pleased with my outfit which I wore both to travel down to London and also to see JD McPherson. The blouse was given to me by a friend and even though it didn't fit me very well I couldn't bear to let go of it as the print and style is so pretty. In fact I like it so much that when I saw a dress on ebay in the same print and style I had to snap it up! So I'm so happy to be able to wear it again and really pleased I didn't get rid of it when it didn't fit me. There are benefits to being such a hoarder!

Blouse - from a friend but originally H&M

Jeans - Freddies of Pinewood

Cardigan - New Look

Pumps - New Look

And finally I just had to include this picture because, you know, my milkshake brings all the cats to the yard, and they're like... "I'm lactose intolerant, why would you do this to me?"

ttfn

Outfit Post - Baston in the Blitz

Dear Reader,

Just a quick little post to show you my outfit from a couple of weeks ago when Indi and I went to Baston in the Blitz. It was a really lovely little wartime event held just on the Sunday in the village of Baston. We hadn't particularly made plans to go to it as we didn't know where Baston was but that weekend we were staying at my parents house while they were away. On the Saturday we were driving down to Market Rasen as we had booked a table in the new Iron Horse Ranch House which is an American Bar and Grill; if you are ever in the area their food is amazing. Anyway on our way down we spotted a sign for Baston and since it wasn't far away at all thought we would swing by on the Sunday to see what it was all about. It was a lovely event with some great performances from the likes of Lola Lamour and a wonderful community spirit. There was even an impromptu sing along outside the beer tent with a pearly king and someone playing the spoons!

 

Jeans - Freddies of Pinewood

Blouse - London Boots

Belt - Frockahula

Sunglasses - ebay