Seamstress VS DHgate-Stolen Photos

Well it seems that a seller in China called ''Bestdavid'' who sells on wholesale site DHgate has stolen my photos, removed my watermark and added their own! They took the images of the Tangerine Evening Dress that I posted in November
http://morningstar84.blogspot.com/2012/11/marilyn-monroes-tangerine-dress-gpb.html

I have contacted the seller as well as the website about their theft and have been assured they will look into it...we shall see. I will have to start placing my watermark in a less removable area. I hate when there is a big watermark blocking a detail, but i'm going to have to do it. I honestly didn't think that many people saw this blog. Who knew some factory in China was out scouring the internet for seamstresses to rip off for their own profit!  Sigh, you learn something new everyday.
So if you happen to post things you have made online I strongly suggest you too start watermarking your work in a way that is hard to remove, lest you be stolen from as well. I looked into this issues particularly with DHgate sellers and found many other people who have had the same thing happen to them, a lot of them Etsy sellers. Unless you can prove you had the photos first then there doesn't seem to be much you can do.

Update!
DHgate is reviewing the issue and the dress is no longer available to purchase. I also got an apology from the seller BestDavid reassuring me they are a respectable and honorable business...
Luckily I was able to prove my photos were posted before the item was listed on their site. So it looks to be getting sorted out thank goodness!

Update 2 !
The photos have been removed!

A Little Bit About Me and Morningstar84

As someone mentioned recently they didn't know much about the woman behind Morningstar84 and all the sewing projects that are posted. I realized I never really introduced myself on my own blog! How rude of me! I do apologize.  So i thought I'd take a little time to say hello and tell you a little bit about how I came to be a full time seamstress :-)

My name is Esther and I have been sewing since I was 6 years old. I grew up with a seamstress as a mother, she worked from home so I saw lots and lots of people come and go with different fitting issues, requests and regular alterations. I loved making barbie clothes and costumes. As I got older I began making some of my own clothing and learning to fit myself.

I have been sewing professionally now for almost 12 years. I got my very first job as a seamstress for a costume shop. After that my mom and i went into vintage clothing, collecting, selling, repurposing and creating new ''vintage''. Thats when I got really interested in vintage clothing, sewing vintage and began creating my own patterns and retro designs. I was also taking custom orders. Learning to work with different shapes and sizes in person was invaluable and i had my mom right there if i needed help. I could not do what i'm doing now if i hadn't spent that time working with people in person and with my mom everyday.

A friend suggested I try Etsy, I wasn't so sure about it but I listed a few things and they sold. I listed some more things and people started asking for custom work. Around this same time My mom and I decided to close the vintage shop since the economy wasn't really improving and we found ourselves sewing more than selling vintage. I began to focus more on custom work on Etsy and moved my work space home which now takes up an entire room and then some, to the great delight of my husband, lol. He's been great though even putting up shelves for me!
So that is how I came to be a seamstress. It has been a real blessing to be able to do something that I love. Thank you to all who have made it possible!

above is me looking very glam  (though i rarely ever look like this)

you are much more likely to see me like this only inside, surrounded by fabric and probably no sunglasses  ;-)

These photos may not be used without permission from Morningstar84.

Marilyn Monroe's Strapless Beach Swimsuit in Aqua- Tobey Beach

This suit is styled after the suit worn by Marilyn Monroe. Made using Aqua spandex, fully lined. bust has boning and bra cups. I also put boning in the side seams to better support the suit. The front is skirted from seam to seam. Scoop back with ties. I added a removable halter strap for a more secure fit. below is the suit, the first picture is the suit with out the straps and elastic,  and the finished suit.

And a little side note, this suit would just about fit the measurements given in the first photograph of Marilyn, only my suit has a slightly smaller bust.

 

Making and Selling Patterns-Readers Thoughts

I have been drafting my own patterns for a while now and have had several people ask about purchasing copies of the patterns I have made. Mostly of Marilyn Monroe's outfits. So far it hasn't been something that i have offered but  has been on my mind lately and i'm wondering if there is a decent market out there and what method would be the best option. There are so many different ways to sell and receive patterns now.
There are so many talented ladies on Etsy making patterns i'm going to have to test out some of them to see what methods like. So if any of you out there have thoughts on what works for you, what methods you like please let me know!

Yma Sumac-Vintage 1950s Pink Silk Satin Gown

This was an unusual project, one of my lovely customers purchased a vintage dress originally worn by Yma Sumac ( a noted Peruvian singer in the 1950s) but the dress was missing its original train. She very much wanted to have a new train made to make the dress even more amazing. So she mailed the dress to me halfway around the world so I could match the color as best as possible. Above is Yma Sumac in black and white. The dress is a silk satin, full tulle train with lame detail. Now we couldn't find any photos or info about the back of the dress but it looked very similar to some of Charles James evening dresses ( the other two images above in color). So that is what i used as my inspiration for finishing the back of the train. I used 15 yards of pink tulle and about 10 yards of pink netting. The Charles James dresses must have about 3-4 times my yardage.

 Here you can see the inside structure of the dress, the dress it self has boning in the seams and then a waist stay made of grosgrain ribbon stitched together has more boning and a panel of hooks, the dress was let out at one point and an extension was added, even so it was too small for my smallest dress form, so i had to use the half display form instead. The elastic sewn to the front of the neckline helps to pull the front in, between the breast, much like a bra. Padded cups are sewn under the facing. The entire dress is underlined in a light muslin with all the seams exposed for easier alteration and to support the silk. This is my favorite method of supporting silk fabric, and as you can see it has held up pretty well.

 above is just one layer of the netting inside the skirt with a large ruffle along the bottom.

 This is the finished back of the skirt with all the layers of tulle and netting. The train hooks onto the back of the dress with three skirt hooks, so the train can be removed when the dress is cleaned.

She also wanted an over skirt made for a more dramatic outfit change, finished with a rhinestone buckle in front and a large lame bow in the back. I wanted to do something a little more interesting than your typical bow in the back and I've seen this style done on other 50s dresses before.

Pinup Maternity Style 1960s

As I mentioned before I am expecting my first baby this summer and I love vintage. Im now in the ''none of my cute stuff fits but maternity clothes are too big'' stage and the maternity sections of the local shops just look so sad and boring the thought of wearing that stuff is depressing. As spring slowly arrives and invitations to weddings and bridal and baby showers begin to arrive i'm left wondering what in the world am I going to wear? So of course I began thinking of all my favorite shows that feature maternity clothing. 

One of the best samplings can be seen on the TV show Mad Men, worn by 'Betty Draper'

 Though most of these styles from the 60s are best for nicer maternity wear, evenings out, weddings, baby and bridal showers etc. They are a little dressy to be wearing while doing laundry or sewing.

The more casual around the house outfits are a bit too tent shaped for my liking. Maybe once im huge i wont care so much, but right now id like something a bit more streamlined. 

Also here are a few pictures from one of my favorite shows when i was a kid, when ''Samantha'' was pregnant on Bewitched. The green dress is also a bit much with the tent shape and the long full sleeves, but i like the shorter length skirt. The other dress above is very cute!

                                          This one reminds me of ''That Girl'' Marlo Thomas

 

This is one of my favorites! i think this would be a perfect summer dress

Above are some maternity patterns I found while searching for something to make for myself to wear a lot of these are actually 70s patterns but still have that late 60s look to them. Most of these can probably be found for sale on Etsy or Ebay. I have bunch of saved pattern images to get ideas of how to adjust patterns i have already, but i don't know exactly where i found them all. These would be very easy to make as there is little to no fitting involved, and could probably be done in an evening. Now to find fabric and the really tricky one...time!

Red Niagara Jacket & Blouse-Marilyn Monroe

One of my favorite jackets of Marilyn's. Red wool with wide open collar, 3/4 length sleeves with cuffs, fully lined. Front and sleeves are cut as one with a center back seam. One big white button finishes off the look. Below you can see my first collar test with the pattern on the dress form. I usually go through 2-3 pattern adjustments before I get it the way i like it. The blouse I designed since I wasnt able to find any pictures or hints as to what it looked like. It may not even be a blouse but a scarf tucked into the neckline but for wear-ability, I went with a blouse. It as a white rayon fabric, very simple styling with front darts and back tucks. The front closes just below the waist with two small buttons. I added removable shoulder pads.

Also you may have noticed my Etsy shop is very empty and will be for a while. I am expecting a baby at the end of the summer and will not be taking anymore orders for 2013. I will continue to post projects as I finish them, there are a bunch left to do before the little one arrives. I do plan on taking more orders sometime in 2014. 

All photos showing my work may not be used in anyway without permission from me.