I bought it from Gingermegs Vintage last year. I was told it once belonged to Lola Lamour! I'd looked at it on the hanger for months but didn't think 1940s style longer dresses would look good on me - until I finally just tried it on - and I knew buying it would mean a weekend spent repairing it. While the dress could have been worn as is, after a few wears it would definitely need repairing. Wearing and washing before fixing would likely worsen the fraying and holes. I wanted this dress to last another 60 years. Here's what I did.
I repaired all of the holes, however small. I backed them with patches of cream cotton and darned over them.
Larger ones I machine darned.
This was one of the larger holes. It's not too visible when worn thanks to the print.
I zigzagged all of the raw edges inside the dress, particularly around the facing.
I removed the old brown buttons and darned holes they had left.
I darned the fraying inside the dress at the back of the neckline.
I removed the old press studs and repaired the side opening. I replaced the three press studs with five to reduce gaping.
All of the inside seams edges got zigzagged.
I zigzagged around the fraying edges of the shoulder pads.
I stitched the sleeve cuffs back in place. I added buttons.
The buttons are from the 1930s. I found a card of 6 of them for £1 at an antiques market. I think the swirly flower details go well with the print.
I also repaired the fraying button holes.
I also took the hem up as it had been previously taken down, leaving a mark and removed the belt loops which were fraying and fiddly to reattach.
Here's some photos I took today.
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| Lipstick - Besame Red Velvet 1946 |
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| 1940s Necklace - charity shop |
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| Earrings - Aspire |
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| Bakelite Bangles - charity shops |
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| Shoes - Clarks |
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