༺ Summer of the Vintage Rose ༻

I know my outfit isn’t terribly period acurate here. I’m not sure what era I was going for, but the results look like a cross between the 1940s {hat, hair, shoes} and the late 1950s {makeup, dress}.  I do think that this is the first time I have actually done that. Usually I’m like “Ah! I can’t wear that hat/handbag/pair of shoes/hair style because it doesn’t match the decade of my outfit!” but today I was all ~ “Eh. I don’t give a flying fig. I’m going to wear it all together anyway…”  Haha!  (¬ ᴗ ¬)

This dress is one of the three that I picked up when I was in Sydney for the Aussie Vintage Girls Meetup. It hasn’t appeared on the blog sooner because although I love it so much ~ Reverse border print! Self lined tulle petticoat! Soft vintage cotton! ~ it was actually busting apart at the seams. Literally. (ô □ ô)

I guess the previous owner loved this dress as much as I do, because it is very well worn. But after one wear, I knew I couldn’t wear it again without risking it ripping just like *snap*! The seams would have popped the moment I went to pick up one of the babies, or had to schelp allll the bags: handbag, nappy bag, shopping bags, etc.

So I decided I was going to rescue it. I painstakingly unpicked all the shredded seams {unsurprisingly all on the bodice} and made sure I didn’t cut one single precious thread of the fabric, which was actually pretty hard considering how torn it was.

Then I ironed over all those seams with Iron On Tape. Not the most professional fix, I am sure, but the only thing I could really think to do. Then I sewed all the seams back together by hand. It worked, and I’m so glad I can now wear this dress without worrying about ruining it for good!

….Well, except when said babies come in for hugs with sticky hands, snotty noses, etc..  Oh, lols. The life of a vintage mama! (*≧ꇴ≦)

For all vintage wearers out there ~ have you ever gotten a dress, or piece of vintage clothing with shredded seams? Do you have any tips for fixing them? The Iron On Tape has re-enforced the fabric well enough, but it’s not particularly the prettiest fix, and it’s also quite time consuming when you have eight seams or so to mend!

I’m not sure what I could do diferently to save the seams of this dress, but I’d love to hear your tips and tricks, or stories about the ‘wounded birds’ you’ve had in your vintage collection.

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Lace Trimmed Floppy Straw Hat with Bluebells | Kmart
Summer Rose 1950s Vintage Dress | Round She Goes Market
Summer Straw Wedge | Big W

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