Wearables 1950's Capsule Wardrobe

Now that I've finally ordered my first bjd, I can start working on her wardrobe! The plan is a capsule wardrobe, based around a black top and skirt, which I can mix up with different accessories.
My goal is to sew as much as possible myself, using patterns from the 1950's, but there are certain things which I will have to buy or commission. (Also, the accessories will depend on what materials I can get my hands on.)

The "shopping list":
- doll (Unoa Lusis) ✔
- wig ✔
- black jersey top (Esef Dolls) ✔
- black corduroy a-line skirt

- obtain fabric ✔
- resize pattern ✔
- mock-up ✔
- actually sew it​

- black corduroy beret ✔
- black flats ✔
- tights/stockings

- black sheer ✔
- beige sheer
- cobalt blue opaque​

- various accessories

- wool scarf ✔ ✔
- tulle scarf?
- foulard
- ascot, matching bag
- leather belt??​

- jewelry

- gold stud earrings
- pearl necklace, bracelet
- black ribbon choker
- gold bangle ✔
- sapphire brooch
- brown glass brooch
- boutonnière?
​

Optional:
- pleated navy skirt

- obtain fabric
- draft pattern
- actually sew it​

- underskirt

- obtain fabric
- draft pattern
- actually sew it​

- black corduroy evening hat

- obtain fabric ✔
- resize pattern
- actually sew it​

- wooly navy trench coat

- probably I'll have to commission this
​

Most of the actual sewing will have to wait until I actually receive my Unoa (hopefully March?), but I can work on the patterns, maybe sew some mockups, and finish gathering materials.

 

Slight progress! I have resized patterns for the a-line skirt and beret.

The skirt pattern comes from Elle magazine, 27 July 1953 (more info on vintage French patterns here). Officially it's a pattern for an underskirt, but... I don't care! I based the size on the Unoa measurements from the Alchemic Labo website, but I expect to have to adjust the waist and skirt length later. For now I plan to make a mock-up with scrap fabric, just to make sure I like the pattern.

I also found a beret pattern in Elle magazine, but it called for making 17 tucks along the circumference of the beret, and I'm not insane enough for that!! Instead I used this tutorial on YouTube. I will be making a mock-up of that also, and have a back-up pattern in mind in case I don't like it.

Lastly, I found this tutorial for making doll stockings on YouTube, which makes it look super easy... so now I'm wondering if I should make my own stockings, instead of buying them?? We'll see...

 

@chrstphrl Thanks for the encouragement!

@cobaltconduct I sure hope it ends up being useful, lol! Re: tights, I'm forcing myself to be (mostly) historically accurate, which means sheer neutral-toned stockings for day, and sheer black for night... which is not the kind of fabric that I have lying around . Nor does my local sewing shop! I'll either have to order fabric online, OR buy human stockings/pantyhose and cut them up... probably the latter, as shipping would cost more than the fabric

---------------------------------

Now on to updates! I have finished the mock-up beret!

Spoiler: crappy phone pics of the beret

A bit lumpy around the edge...


... but it's not really noticeable from the side! Yay!

I messed up the lining (by not following the instructions ), but now I know to do it properly next time, and the mock-up should work well enough for fitting purposes.

---------------------------------

Here's the progress on the skirt mock-up:

Spoiler: crappy phone pics of the skirt

Why did I make the seam allowances so small??? Ironing them open was a real pain in the ass


Somehow managed to sew exactly one panel on the wrong side of the fabric. Let's pretend it's a stylistic choice, ok?


Wow, it looks like a real garment!

As you can see, I still need to hem the bottom, and add some sort of closure. I don't like the way the top hem turned out: it looks bumpy and bulky to me. Using a different stitch would obviously help, but I think I'll try an entirely different method for the bottom hem. Perhaps involving bias tape? (I really don't want to sew a lining, guys...)

---------------------------------

All in all, pretty decent for a first attempt, I think! Considering these are the first garments I've sewn in... literally decades? I'm pretty proud of myself, to be honest

 

Goodness, has it been a month already???

Well, I finished my skirt mock-up, using bias tape and invisible stitching for the bottom hem. (Didn't take a pic, just imagine a nice hem )

Since I still don't have my Unoa, I've decided to work on accessories where fit doesn't really matter much. For jewelry, that means: brooches! A very popular accessory in the 1950's, but not much used today.
I thought a long time about how to make them happen—jewelry components for pins that you buy ready-made seem too big—but I finally I settled on... magnets! I found a supplier in my country which will sell strong neodymium magnets in all shapes and sizes, and in any quantity. I figure it's best to make/buy the things I want to turn into brooches first, and then buy magnets in a matching size.

So here's what I've got so far:

Spoiler: future brooches

A selection of vintage glass stones from etsy. (I searched for "flat-black" or "cabochon" to get stones which can be glued onto magnets easily.)


Several attempts at ribbon rosettes. I tried using these instructions from a 1952 issue of Elle magazine... to varying success. 1: a very messy "cocarde rococo", 2: first shot at the "chou modiste", 3: second shot at the "chou modiste", 4: gathering the ribbon like for the "chou modiste", but pressing it flat, and stacking multiple sizes on top of each other.

I think I'll get different types/colours of ribbon, and make versions of 2, 3, and 4. Perhaps some for belt or purse decoration rather than brooches? But we'll see.


Another ribbon flower, following this tutorial (very similar to this 1925 method). I used the wrong kind of ribbon for this, but I still love the results. Definitely have to remake this!

Bonus:

My mom found this baggie of vintage "hair jewels" in her sewing stuff. They're basically rhinestones glued to pieces of velcro-looking stuff? Very curious to see if they work on doll hair!

I also have plans for several 1/4-scale bags, hopefully I'll get some progress on those that I can post about soon!

 

Quickie "I'm half-sick" update:
- My doll came!! Which means I can try on my various mock-ups!
- Skirt is too short for my purposes (over-the-knee), but pattern works well. I'll upload pics and a pattern diagram later, so other people can copy it
- Beret is too small, need to re-do the pattern with a more accurate over-the-wig head measurement
- The shoes I bought... don't fit
- A bunch of bracelets that I don't wear anymore will fit as belts! So I've got a bunch of accessories ready to go, no effort! Pics to follow.
- Due to Life Circumstances I won't have the cash to buy any more materials for... a while. Magnet brooches will have to wait, ditto new shoes. Going to focus on sewing clothes using fabrics I already have, and adapting patterns to Unoa measurements. Fingers crossed I can get another update in before May

 

Thanks!
I'm not very attached to these shoes, they're just simple black flats. Probably it'll be cheaper & easier to buy other shoes than to get chibi feet. What I really want is the Unoa heel feet, but Alchemic Labo aren't making those at the moment

On to the pic dump: the results of raiding my & my mom's jewelry chests. (Please ignore the weird shirt situation, I need to get some hand hooks so I can get her arms through the sleeves of the bodysuit.)

Spoiler: belts

Vintage watch band, works perfectly!


Random bracelet, looks interesting but what would it go with???


Chunky medieval-ish, probably more appropriate for the 70's than 50's


Beaded friendship bracelet is a "maybe"


Mystery clasp I found in a box of jewelry-making supplies. Easiest option is to add gold chains, but that might be a little too "90's Chanel" for my purposes... if only could get my hands on some foiled leather!

Spoiler: necklaces

My mom's late-in-life metal allergy is my free jewelry source!


Would be perfect for the 1920's, but I think I can make it work for the 50's too?

Spoiler: too-small purse

Ordered this brass locket from etsy hoping it would work as a mini purse... but it's simply too mini! She couldn't even fit a finger in there, let alone her house keys! Maybe it would work for 1/6 scale???

 

Lol, totally forgot to post the a-line skirt mock-up


(Once again ignore the top hem please )

And here's the diagram with measurements:

If you want to copy the skirt and my diagram isn't clear enough, please let me know!

 

Despite feeling waaayyyy too tired, I've managed to make a bit of progress:
- Fixed Charlie's wig so it'll actually stay on. (Elastic was a tad too tight, so I stretched it out & sewed over it with a straight stitch.)
- Made a quick beret out of felt to replace the one that's too small. This one is perhaps a little big? But I quite like it!



- Finally got her bodysuit on. It's a little short in the torso, so I used some folded-over masking tape as fashion tape, to bring the neckline up higher. Sleeves are still a little awkward though (too tight, armpit too low).
- Related to the above, I've decided to sew a turtle-neck sweater (egads!). Made a mock-up, but haven't tried it on yet. Pics to come.
- Got some Unoa chibi feet from a concerned citizen, so now her shoes fit!! I think Alchemic Labo have changed their resin formula recently, and as such the chibi feet have a slightly different color. I bet it won't be noticeable by the time I get her in some tights, though!

Spoiler: crappy phone pic illustrating the above points

Next up:
- longer skirt mock-up
- corduroy beret
- tights

 

New stockings, new scarf/sash!

For the stockings, I bought some knee-length hose (the kind old ladies sometimes wear) at a thrift store, pinned them around her legs, sewed them up, cut off the excess, and fray checked the edges. The welt of the stockings is just the top edge of the hose, as they came! Very convenient. I have a beige pair of knee hose also, plus some cobalt blue pantyhose, which I'll make into stockings later.

The sash/scarf is a length of woven cotton ribbon (18 mm wide) which I got off etsy. I sewed a line across the width, as invisibly as possible, the unraveled up to that line. I really like how it looks, and it's so easy! I got enough ribbon left to make another scarf, might do one with a v-shaped fringe, mirroring the red lines? Or maybe I'll save it for something else...

Spoiler: more pics

I also, on a whim, adjusted a pencil skirt pattern (again from vintage Elle) to Unoa measurements. I haven't tried it out, and I doubt I will for a while, but here it is anyhow:



Finally: I'm close to done sewing the longer a-line skirt, after which it's on to the corduroy beret!

 

A year and a half later, I have finally made more progress worth reporting!



As you can see, I finished the corduroy beret! It's a little lumpy perhaps, but it looks very French, so I'm satisfied

Originally I was planning to finish the brim edge by lining the brim pattern piece, then folding inside out for a clean edge. The lining turned out to be a pain to deal with, though, so I removed it and did a mini blind hem. (Honestly, I think I could've just put fray check on the raw edge and left it at that.) I'm still debating if I want to add the little tag on top of the hat—that would make it even more French, but also less versatile... perhaps I'll make a removable tag pin or something??

---

You'll notice I've also made a second "wool" scarf. Same method as the first, just with a diagonal edge to match the woven pattern. I've also stuck a sewing pin with a red head through one of the ribbon rosettes to turn it into a pin. Works fine for now, but I'll need a different approach if I want to pin it onto her top or whatever.

---

Now for a skirt progress report. I'm 90% done, basically just need to do the back closure. (I might even do that this evening?) But...

Spoiler: skirt pics (overexposed so you can see the black properly)

I don't love the way it's fitting . I think an over-the-knee a-line skirt is just not very proportional for such a long-legged gal—she needs either a much fuller pleated skirt, or a pencil skirt. But I have sentimental reasons for wanting an a-line skirt out of this fabric, and I'm too committed to Period Accuracy to go above the knee. So I will press onward!

One thing that might help (I hope) is a petticoat. This would fill the skirt out, and also disguise the bias tape hem when she's sitting. I don't have the materials for one now, but I want black tulle for another purpose also, so I will keep a look out.

---

Next up:
- it's really bugging me that she doesn't have earrings, so: earrings
- second turtleneck mock-up (will post about the first later)
- resist the temptation to buy more scarf materials

 

thanks for the encouragement!

One thing that bothers me is the way the skirt kind of... collapses? when her hands rest against it, which a hem wire wouldn't really help with. Then again, could do both a petticoat and a wire... we'll see! I'm rather tired of messing with it, so I'm going to say "good enough for now" and move on to the next thing, haha

 

@AlisonVonderland ahhh, you're too kind

Honestly the skirt had been growing on me, I think I just find everything I sew clumsy at first, but over time I stop noticing the small faults and start seeing the big picture. And like you said, by the time I add interesting accessories— which is the point of the wardrobe, after all—they'll pull focus.

(It also helps that I have enough fabric to make another skirt, so I can tell myself "I'll just remake it in 5 years when I'm better at this")

 

@HikariAlien @Lillith thanks for the encouragement

I have assembled all the materials necessary for both a petticoat and a carnival look, so of course I decided to give Charlie a haircut instead

My goal: to turn an extra wig from Jusun's from "3 stooges" to "Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday". For this purpose, I put on the freebie faceplate I got from Alchemic Labo for using Tenso.



Then I just went at it with scissors. I only started doing things the sensible way—cutting in layers, trying to make the layers even—half-way through, which is a bit late! Even so, I think it's just hard to get a subtle layered cut at this scale; plus the construction of the wig worked against me, causing the top layers to lift up. I tried smoothing things down a little with water, but ended up with more of a Lydia Deetz look



Next step: using watered-down glue as styling gel, trying to get the top to lay smooth, and shaping the bangs. Limited success, so I put a plastic bag over the whole business, held down with rubber bands, in the hope of getting things to stick down properly. Still no dice! Just looks like a more-accurate Lydia Deetz!



I could've left the bag on overnight, or I could hide the loose bits with a hat... But I also don't like the way the bangs stick away from the face, which is an inevitable consequence of the wig construction/cap thickness. I think, in order to pull this style off, you really need to make a wig from scratch—possibly with a hard cap?

Anyway, I'm happy to write this off as a "learning experience". Back to the usual Bieber cut for Charlie!

 

@AlisonVonderland that's what I was thinking too! Real cute look... for someone else

@cobaltconduct oh, that's an idea! I don't think that would fix the bangs though: they're being pushed away from the face by the elastic band around the wig cap. But I could try removing the elastic?? Hmm...

I do have an idea for a Halloween costume (corvid-themed) that this wig would be perfect for... I think I'll keep it as-is until October, and maybe mess with it some more afterwards. We'll see!