My 1950s Christmas Party Dress
Posted by Edelweiss Patterns on December 23, 2011
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas!” Well, I was planning on posting my 1950s Christmas dress pictures a few weeks ago, but it just so worked out that I am posting it only a day before Christmas Eve! So here are pictures of the party dress I made from a shiny black and red checked material, and trimmed with black velvet at the collar and cuffs. Like the blue silk 1950s dress I made this fall, I used the Butterick retro pattern 5556 – more or less (I’m afraid it was less this time!).
The fabric is a mixture of red lame and black cotton/poly, which meant that it would melt if you tried to iron it! So when it came to pressing all those skirt seams I just had to settle for flat-felling them, minus actually using an iron. And since velvet cannot be ironed under any circumstances (unless you want to ruin it), I spent a little extra time to “finger press” the seams.
For this version of B5556, I omitted the front darts in favor of my favorite type of “tuck”, which is really easy to do but gives a much more flattering finish.
Any good 1950s housewife would have had a stack of dishes to wash, I'm sure!
When I came to the bodice I didn’t like how tightly it was fitting, so I initially made plackets from the black velvet down the center front which I intended to close with buttons. But somehow it was still too tight and straight for my liking, so I added a “v” shaped black velvet panel down the center. On one side this panel is sewn to the inside of the placket, and on the other side it closes with snaps.
And since a looser fit meant the dress fit differently than the blue one I sewed, I decided to add some rayon Venice lace to the neckline to add a couple of inches. I’m not entirely sure what era this lace came from, but it was in a collection of Edwardian laces that I inherited from my friend’s grandmother. I think it was sitting in a cedar chest for at least sixty years, but it’s still in very good condition. As with the velvet “v” panel, the lace is attached on one side and closes with snaps on the other to allow for a front opening. (I omitted the side zipper altogether for this rendition of Butterick 5556.)
I have so enjoyed wearing the dresses I’ve made from this Butterick retro pattern, but if I make another version I would lengthen the bodice by a couple of inches. Right now the bodice hits me a good two inches about the natural waistline, which means you don’t have to wear a corset with it, but it makes you look a little shorter and stops well above the narrowest part of your waist.
I made the belt detachable, which was nice since I actually prefer the dress without the belt.
So once I finally finished sewing this “vintage” party dress, I had a plethora of festive occasions to wear it for! I first donned this 1950s dress for a Christmas party earlier this week, and the next day I wore it for the photo shoot in a retro-looking kitchen! Today the dress was put to use again when I attended a jazz Christmas concert which my dad performed in.
Me, my dad, and Rick Homer... You'll notice that men can only be on this blog if they're wearing tuxedos. (Well, I did let Michael Landon on in his three-piece white suit.) : )
My father (a jazz singer and pianist) was joined by one of my favorite people – Mr. Rick Homer, who is the son of legendary jazz musician Ben Homer. Ben Homer co-wrote the now-classic song “Sentimental Journey“ while touring with Les Brown and his “band of renown“. In the 1940s when Ben Homer was traveling the country with this band, Les Brown discovered a young singer by the name of Doris Kappellhoff, whom you may know better as Doris Day. Doris joined the touring band accompanied by her mother who acted as a chaperone of sorts to ensure she would be safe. Since the musicians often traveled with their families back then, Ben and his wife brought along their then-baby Rick Homer. And when the couple wanted to go around town by themselves, Doris would offer to help out by watching their child. So this man who plays with my dad was frequently babysat by Doris Day!
Today Rick is an outstanding trumpet player, and frequently appears with my father for their jazz gigs. Today they played a selection of “Swing” era Christmas songs, jazzed up carols, and some Christmas “Chipmunk” for fun. My dad brought the house down with the finale of “O Holy Night”, and all in all it was a very memorable occasion to wear my dress to! (And everyone loved the dress today, too!)
So my sewing is done for at least a couple days, and I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas! I am so thankful to the Lord for all the things I’ve been able to sew this past year, and I look forward to seeing what sewing projects are in store for the coming year!
Have a Merry, Merry Christmas,
Katrina
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Jos said,
Your dress is AMAZING!! Merry Christmas!
Marlene E. said,
Ooh, how lovely! SO fifties… love it!
Brielle said,
Greetings,
like a gown on the ladies at the end would wear. (during the party, before everyone sings “white christmas) anyway…
What a lovely dress!! So pretty, it fits you perfectly.
I like that you added the black panel in the front, it breaks up the festive red in a flattering way.
It reminds me of White Christmas…
lovely sewing work..
and Merry Christmas!
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Thank you, Brielle! Have a Merry Christmas too!
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Thank you, Marlene!
Annabelle said,
What fun! I love how you were able to take some pictures in the retro kitchen – it really makes the photos come to life. It’s wonderful that you had some fun events to wear this dress to – that is my biggest hinderance to vintage sewing. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Thank you, Annabelle! I did have a wonderful Christmas. And even though I don’t usually have occasions that call for dressy dresses, I just wear them to average occasions anyhow. : ) Back in the 50s Lucille Ball always wore high heels (ouch!) and beautiful dresses for housework, and Ricky was always in a suit even for relaxing after work. Dressing up is such fun!
Happy New Year,
Katrina
LadyD said,
I love the dress after modifications.
You should do a sew a long to show how it can be done, as I’d like to know about the ‘tucks’ you mention etc.
I keep looking at the pattern and wondering how it could be modified (a notion came into my head to make the top and skirt seperates as I haven’t found a 1950′s blouse pattern for sale here at all but a bit scared about making modifications on my own.lol!)
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Hello LadyD,
That’s a good idea! I will have to keep a sew-along in mind for Butterick 5556. If I do have one would you prefer for it to be made the way I made the Christmas dress or how I sewed the blue one?
You could easily make a skirt by sewing the skirt as instructed in the patterns, and drafting a waistband yourself to sew it into. A blouse could be made from the bodice pieces by lengthening the bottom edge (and adding width as you go out, of course.)
Happy New Year!
Katrina
LadyD said,
I like the christmas dress best. The wider neckline like that I think would be more comfortable for me. And I really don’t like the thought of a side zipper. I’ve worn..well tried to wear dresses with side zippers and struggle to get in them.
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Yes, I am not particularly fond of side zippers myself! I like to avoid them whenever possible.
I’ll keep your idea in mind!
Happy sewing,
Katrina
Nancy said,
This is a very beautiful dress! I’ve bought this pattern, and I’m going to alter is so the top and skirt are two stand alone pieces.
I have an ironing tip for you.
You CAN iron this fabric. EVEN the velvet haha. Use a wet napkin or handkerchief and put it on the fabric. Then gently iron over the napkin at a low to medium temperature. The wetness of the cloth makes sure you wont melt the glittery things.
Good luck!
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for the comment! It was such a fun dress to sew. I’m afraid though that this lame is such a high plastic/metallic content that steam wouldn’t make it less wrinkly, it would just melt the fibers.
And as far as velvet goes, I would have to say that it’s not recommended to iron it or even put any pressure on it. All the professional bridal and couture sewing books warn against pressing velvet lest you have permanent watermarks or crushed velvet pile which will never recover. If you must press velvet, you need a special needleboard to do so, or in a pinch a terrycloth towel on which you place the nap-side down. Once velvet is ruined, it’s ruined for good, so I just steam mine from a few inches above and all the wrinkles come right out!
Happy sewing!
Katrina
Teresa said,
This dress is fabulous! I love it. You look like you came right out of a 1950′s magazine. I would love to have the pattern. I am new to your website but, love it! Thank you! Happy New Year 2013!
Teresa
Edelweiss Patterns said,
Why thank you, Teresa! This was one of my favorite dresses that I’ve made so far. I’m so glad you found the blog, as I have a lot of fun with all my sewing projects.
Hope you have a wonderful 2013 as well.
Happy sewing,
Katrina
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