Wanted: Turn-of-the-Century looks

Last year while watching the film Heaven Can Wait, which stars the divine Gene Tierney, I took a few screen captures of her look in one of the scenes.

As the movie is set in the early twentieth century many of the looks are too costume-y to wear today, but this one, I thought, could still be pulled off (of course in an appropriate setting. I'd love to wear a look like this when I play in my orchestra concert next month.)

My mom got in the mail the other day a catalog from a company called The Pyramid Collection. The clothing in the catalog was definitely a bit quirky-- an odd combination of new-age skirts, steampunk- style jackets, and goth trinkets. And, even though I don't usually wear that sort of stuff, some of the pieces turned out to be quite cute. The velvet skirt below immediately made me think of Gene's outfit from the film.

Next up, finding a blouse. These pictures had me googling "heirloom sewing."  I'm definitely crushing on Gibson-girl blouses.

The Paper Bag Waist

When I bought this cotton fabric in South Africa last winter (their summer), I knew I wanted to make something unique and distinctive with it.  I am not sure where I got the idea to make a paper bag waist skirt-- I think it just came to me.  After I decided on the silhouette of the skirt, I did a search on the internet for similar styles, and while there were not a ton of skirts with paper bag waists out there, there were a few (I was directly inspired by this Fendi Spring 2010 look).

According to one website, the paper bag waist is hard to wear: "A super slim, non-curvy body type, plus height, a smallish chest and great gams are the prerequisites."  I don't fit that description; I am slim, but my body is definitely curvy.  I do think my legs are nice, which is one reason I chose this style.  I am not sure how the skirt will look on me, but I think I can pull it off.

I had hoped to finish this skirt by tonight-- I wanted to wear it in honor of the Fashion's Night Out festivities.  In typical fashion, it still needs a little work (the balloon skirt is pinned up at the moment and still needs to be attached to the underskirt).  Hopefully I can post pictures of me wearing it soon, and you can be the judge as to whether or not it looks good on me.

XOXO,