Elizabeth Taylor-Blue Polkadot Dress-Custom Request

A return customer of mine sent me the picture above, after hours of searching for large blue dots on white (surprisingly hard to find). We settled on a cotton fabric with aqua dots, the most affordable option and the closest to the original dress. The dress is entirely underlined with white cotton The skirt lining has a ruffle hem and attached netting for fullness. Hi-neckline in front to a V-neck back, i was guessing a little bit with how the back collar finished since there were not any other pictures to go by. Fold down bias cut collar. Back zipper. I purchased some vintage velvet remnants to make the waist belt, it is removable so another belt or sash could be worn.

 

Marilyn Monroe Bus Stop Skirt & Blouse

 

 

 Is seems I forgot to post this outfit! I made the top and skirt below last spring. The top is a yellow gold faux silk fabric with black lace overlay. Drawstring neckline with long front ties, elastic puffed sleeves with decorative bows. The back waist has a zipper that runs from the hem to just a few inches below the neckline for a more snug fit. The skirt i made of a stretch satin self lined, covered buttons down the side. Above are the costume images of Marilyn Monroe in the original outfit. All images below belong to Morningstar84 and may not be used without permission.

Black Silk Satin Wiggle Skirt With BIG Bow

This skirt was a custom request, my customer really like the idea of the Marilyn 'Bus Stop' skirt but wanted to add some of her own details. She wanted buttons down both sides, and grouped into sets of three with fabric loops. Then to top it all off a big bow in the back the peeks out just a bit from the front. She also requested that the skirt be self-lined. I used a medium weight silk satin in black, the skirt sides and back are all cut in one piece and fitted with darts at the sides and back. The waist band is interfaced for support. The front flap is totally removable with buttons and hooks down each side. All images below belong to Morningstar84 and may not be used without permission.

 

Misfits Dress- Modified Boat Neckline

 This was again a request by a customer, who loved Marilyn Monroe's dress in the Misfits but also wanted to be able to wear it to work. She decided on a boat neckline with the same cutout design only much higher, the back is the same low style as the original to make it more day to night friendly. Finished its like a combination of an Audrey Hepburn dress and Marilyn Monroe's.

All images above belong to Morningstar84 and may not be used without permission, all other photos are used only as inspiration and do not belong to me.

50's Black Satin Wiggle Dress-Request

 This fabulous dress was a custom request. The above images are the original 1950s dress that had been sold, these were sent to me by my customer I do not know who sold the dress. These pictures are used only for reference, i do not own the rights to them.

Though the original dress appears to have been made using a taffeta fabric, my customer chose a stretch satin and wanted a pop of color added so we went with a pink stretch velvet. Adding piping around the neckline/under-bust seam and the bust petals. She also chose to go without the large bow on the back. The bust has built in bra cups and boning, the front and sides also have boning to keep it smooth through the midriff. Side pleated skirt with two gathered panels creating a train on the back of the skirt.

Low Back Lindy Dress

As I mentioned before in an earlier blog I have been making dresses based off of dresses worn by Lindy Chamberlain in the 1980s, for a lovely Australian customer. Above are the screen grabs from old news bits that i used to create this dress, as you can see they are pretty blurry so some guess work was involved. Below the dress I made, using a printed cotton, A-line skirt with gathered ruffle hem. Back zipper. Top wraps around to tie in the front, built in bra cups with some boning sewn into the front darts to support the cups.

Custom Requests: 40s Style Swimsuit & 50s Dress

 The above two pictures are of a vintage dress that she loved but had already been sold. I do not know where the pictures originated or who sold the dress, they were emailed to me by my customer. The closest polka dot fabric i could find had larger dots and the dress fabric was chosen to best match them. It is a poly stretch suiting fabric. There is a white sweetheart neckline lining under the chiffon with boning and bra cups. An invisible zipper is hidden under the back T-strap and bow.

 Above is the suit this is designed after, I was totally guessing on the back as this was the only image of the suit. This swimsuit was a bit of a challenge, first off we went with swimwear spandex, something that was not available in the 40s but is much more swim friendly. The entire suit is lined with white swim lining. The back is cut in one piece and is smocked with narrow elastic cording, the back of the top is as well. I finished off the closure in a vintage way with a loop of elastic covered with fabric, and a metal hook. The top has boning in the bust as well as bra cups, and another modern detail the adjustable lingerie straps.