House Sewing and a Flapper Frock

Gadzooks! Where did January go? So I have been doing some sewing, but it's been off the "house work" pile. I don't obtain this pile too often, because housework = chores = stuff I try to put off. In this case, it was curtain hemming. Always a "fun" task in my book.

Curtains. Yay. Fun. Totally not exciting.

So on to the real fun stuff now. I don't know why I didn't put this up sooner.

In November last fall, I awoke on Black Friday and started perusing the online sales. And I don't mean the Macy's or Best Buy sales. Instead I head over to some of my favorite costume and boutique sites. In this case, Unique Vintage. 

Unique Vintage is well known for vintage style wear, but I've been stalking this site for a few years for their beaded flapper dresses. I've been wanting one since I first found this site about 3 years ago. On Black Friday, they do a huge sale and it's the best time to grab one of these because they normally go for about $100-$300 each (prices vary according to style, popularity, if it's on clearance, etc.). With some help from my sister, I selected this beaded beauty.

Teal beaded dress by Unique Vintage

I'm not an expert on 1920s clothing, but the styling on this one matched some of the extant examples I've seen in museums and the length would work for me since I'm taller in the leg. I'm not one to just blow $200 on a dress, but the steep discount of 30% doesn't come around too often. So I shut my eyes and hit "buy."

Then began a 2 week period while I waited for the dress to come. And when it did OH MY GOD!!! IT"S SPECTACULAR!

(I apologize in advance for not having photos of the dress on me)

There's beading and beaded fringe everywhere! Beautiful iridescent blue, silver, turquoise, black, light blue, and it's so sparkly! It is heavy though! Probably at least 5 pounds, which may not seem like much until you feel it all hanging on your shoulders. Because of all the beading and the weight, it does take some maneuvering to get in and out of (aka, "Kerry, I need your help!")

I got lucky and was able to wear the dress out on New Year's Eve since my friend Jenna was holding a costume party. Because it was a flapper dress, I had to get some sparklies to go with the dress. The girls at work helped me pick out a headband, bracelets, and earrings to go with it. Given the short amount of time I had to grab accessories, I opted for fun rather than period appropriate, but may revisit it later down the road.

Kerry also decided to dress up too and he pulled together a fun outfit for himself too. I know it's a little blurry, but you get the idea!

And then by this point, I was just having way too much fun. Period.