Monday, July 20, 2015

My First Vintage Piece • Kerrybrooke 1950s Dress

*EDIT: This dress is now for sale in my Etsy shop.  See the listing here.*
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I'm very excited about today's post! This is my one and only (so far, at least) vintage garment!

It is a Kerrybrooke dress by Sears Roebuck & Co. from the 1950s; I'm not sure of the exact date of manufacture.
Just as a side note, Sears has come a long ways since those days, don't you think?


Juniors' fashions now versus during the 1940s.
'Nuff said.

Back to my dress, however, I bought it a couple of months ago from A Doe A Deer; she was having an Instasale, and as soon as I saw this dress, I couldn't resist it. It was actually long enough, a super cute style, and the price? Amazing! $20 shipped. You just about can't beat that.


I was very excited to receive it! I washed it up, hung it out to dry, and then tried it on.
Hmm.
One little-bitty measurement I forgot to ask about was the back-waist length; it was only about 3 inches short. After discovering that fact, I was sure I couldn't wear it; there wasn't enough of a waist-skirt seam to let out. I was disappointed of course, but still glad to at least own a "real" 1950s dress.

Fast-forward to last week, when I decided to try on the dress again just for fun. Suddenly I had the thought of making a wide waistband/belt that would cover up the too-short bodice. I went to the fabric store, found some matching fabric, and made one! 

It ended up being the most wonderful idea! You can't even tell that the waist is too short, and I rather like the green accent at the waist. I am so thankful that I actually get to wear my "real" 1950s dress! :)


The details are just lovely; the pintucks in the front, the buttons, and look at the sleeves! I can't wait to use that sort of cuff on one of my dresses!


I don't know what kind of fabric the dress is made of, but thankfully it does wash and iron up perfectly. It also doesn't wrinkle! Bonus!!

The dress was originally slightly short for me, but it had about a 2" hem, which allowed me to bring it down to the perfect length.


We were at the antique shop last week, and lo and behold, there was a card of these exact same buttons for sale. Yes! We bought them!! Now I can add an extra button at the top of the bodice (it's pinned in these pictures), and have extras in case I lose one.
That was such an amazing find. Thank you, Lord!!

I'm very happy with my dress, and excited to be able to wear it! It's not often that I even see a vintage dress in an antique store around here, so when you add the length factor, and the fact that I really don't like to spend a lot of money on one thing, it's hard to find a dress that works for me!


If you haven't stopped by my Etsy shop lately, do check out this skirt I just listed last week! It's the most lovely 1930s/40s/early 50s design, plus I will hem it to your desired length for no extra charge! The fabric is a lovely non-wrinkle polyester, so you really can't go wrong with it! ;)
Check it out here.

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28 comments:

  1. Lovely colours, Esther! Green is a favourite of mine. I am glad you were able to make the dress work. :) The way you did your hair is so cute!

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    1. Anonymous, thank you so much!! I too love the color green. Thank you for your lovely compliments! :)

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  2. Esther, you look so lovely in your vintage dress! The green waistband looks terrific. I never would have guessed that is wasn't original to the dress. Your hair looks great too! : )

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    1. Thank you so much, Sarah!! I'm so glad to hear the waistband looks authentic. :)

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  3. Wow - what a lovely find :)
    I think the green belt sets it off nicely; and how awesome you were able to find matching buttons!

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  4. That dress is positively gorgeous on you Esther! What a great find!

    Blessings,

    Brigid
    the Middle Sister and Singer

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  5. Oh, and perhaps the dress might be nylon? Just a thought, since a great majority of dresses from the 50s were made out of nylon since it was the "novelty" fabric of the era.

    Brigid
    the Middle Sister and Singer

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    1. Thank you so much, Brigid!! Nylon is a good thought! :) Thanks for the comment, dear!!

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  6. It looks lovely! Well done on the fix! Almost every vintage piece I've ever acquired needed some kind of alteration to fit me, sometimes really big ones like this. It makes the pieces even more unique and real "stunners" wear, because they're tailored to fit you. :-)

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    1. Thank you so much, Lauren!! It is so worth the effort to make them fit, isn't it? There's just nothing like an authentic dress!! :)

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  7. Dearest Esther, what a charming and oh-so-elegant dress! You look simply lovely :)

    Have a delightful evening! Hugs!

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  8. Hi Esther! What a special find...it is so perfect for summer! And I have to admit that one of the first things I noticed was that pretty green waistband. :) Never would have guessed it was not part of the dress! That was a terrific fix, and I think the dress is prettier for it. I love the pintucks and green stitching details on the bodice. I have a weakness for tucks. (Think over-the-top Victorian blouses and petticoats!) Your hair looks very nice up like this, too. Hope you have a great week! Congratulations on your first vintage dress and thanks for sharing with us!

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    1. Thank you, Sarah A.!! It is indeed perfectly suited for summer. I'm so, so glad to hear the waistband looks good on the dress.
      Thank you so much for all of your sweet words, Sarah!! :) I always love seeing your comments.

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  9. Sweet Esther, it is such an elegant, classically pretty piece. Congratulations on your first genuine vintage dress. You couldn't have found a lovelier one to start building that part of your closet with.

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thank you so much, Jessica!! I always admire your stash of absolutely gorgeous vintage dresses. :)

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  10. Love this! That green is super pretty! I thought the belt came with the dress lol! It looks THAT good!

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  11. You look so lovely in this as always. I don't own too much authentic vintage, more just a lot of vintage style pieces (most are probably 1980's does 40's/50's) I do own a great wiggle dress, 1960's German. I don't get too much occasion to wear it, but the sewing on it is amazing. i should do a blog post on it and share some of the details

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    1. You're so sweet, Kaitlyn! Thank you! I can't wait to see your '60s dress; I'm sure it's beautiful. :)

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  12. I would love a dress like this - it is so elegant and the colour suits you!

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  13. Oh Esther, I am so very happy for you! I can totally feel your excitement over this dress! The color, style, and sweet things on the dress are so incredible!!! It looks fabulous on you and I am happy that you were able to figure out how to make it wearable!! Yay you!!! I also love it when God has little gifts hiding for us...like your buttons!
    Blessings!
    Gina

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    1. Thank you so much, Gina!! I am very excited about it too!
      Isn't God great? :)

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  14. Ooh, such a cute idea! I'm so thrilled for you that you are able to "fix" your vintage dress into something a bit more wearable. There's nothing worse than the disappointment when it doesn't quite fit, and nothing more exciting than figuring out how to make it work! And just for the record ~ I love this dress on you. It is so pretty, and dainty and the colors are just gorgeous! ❤

    xox,
    bonita of Lavender & Twill

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  15. This dress looks so lovely on you! The waistband is a brilliant save- it looks completely original. :-) Have you ever considered taking a pattern off of this? It looks like a lovely fit! (and that is so amazing that you found another matching button at the same point in time! I love little "coincidences" like that. :-D)

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