Recently I rediscovered the vintage patterns I had been collecting since I was 17. It used to be an impressive collection but after many moves the pieces dwindled to 10 or so patterns. I had never really attempted to complete any of the projects until I pulled out my vintage 401A sewing machine.
I hadn't realized that my machine was so old. My mother had given it to me so I assumed it was from the 70s. I finally researched the machine and found that they were mostly manufactured in the late 1950s! It was my grandmother's machine. I have never met her as she passed away when my mother was in her early 20s.
I love this machine! It is 22 lbs but so sturdy, although I admit I need to take it in to get some of the dials unstuck, other than that it is perfect.
I set to work on my first vintage dress.
I decided to do a wiggle dress from the early 60s. I set to work by creating my first muslin mock up. What a brilliant revelation! It makes so much sense to do this rather than ruin such lovely fabric.
I created this dress with burlesque in mind so I added a longer zipper that unzips from the bottom and has snaps on the shoulder for easy removal. I also created a matching tilt hat which I learned how to make in a millinery class from Vienna La Rouge, a burlesque performer in San Francisco.
Here is a close up of my tilt hat with added fabric roses, veiling, and feathers. It was a lot of fun to make and at this moment is one of my favorite hats.
To make the dress I used a patterned satin fabric that is sheer beige with velvet roses. I lined the dress with a lovely shade of red and added red bias tape to the edges of the sleeves and neckline. I also added decorative tassel so that it is easier to zip off during my act.
These pictures were take by POC Photo and are the finished product!
I started by the inspiration of a headpiece. I took apart an old vegas style headdress that was falling apart. All of the fabric easily tore off and gave me a really nice easy base to work with. A few sequence and holiday trims later.....
The headdress was turning out nicely, I used a ton of stiff material, wire, and a good drawing hand to finish the layout of the snowflake. I found the perfect dress the same day I knew I wanted to be a snowflake. It was a 80s dress with an ugly skirt. I cut off the skirt and covered the black accents with blue sequenced trim, it already had the rhinestones in the middle of the bow.
The problem was that once I cut off the skirt, my bottom would be exposed prematurely. Luckily my roommate had decided to be the white queen from Alice in Wonderland this past Halloween but the 80s wedding dress she bought was too long to walk around in. She cut off most of the train which left me with some ruffly fabric with preexisting appliques. I sewed it up and added snaps to the corset to create the perfect removable bustle.
Almost done! I added glitter and blue trim around the headdress and all I needed was to reuse some undergarments from another act and voila! I had the perfect Vegas snowflake costume for the season. 
I took all of the cheap rhinestones off and put on some czech crystals that are blue zircon. I also added some blue panels to add accents. I think I might have to add more all around the corset but there is much more to be added to the costume. I am going to make new beaded tassels, add more tulle to the tutu (not pictured), and fix the falling apart matching panties. 
