It's Mother's Day. I've had breakfast in bed...with my laptop. Across the room is a burgundy taffetta dress. I love that fabric. I love fabrics in general. Lately, I've been wanting to sew but that keeps conflicting with my need to list things like this burgundy dress. The more 50s dresses I acquire the more I want to sew. Many women created their own dresses in that era. Sewing wasn't a rare skill during that time. It was practical. Women didn't just buy a pattern and sew a dress. They adjusted it to fit their body.

And now we've wandered into another passion of mine...vintage patterns. I love the artwork on vintage patterns. Modern patterns with photos on the front just aren't the same. There's something elegant about pattern illustration. Sometimes the bodies are exaggerated. Sometimes they are life-like. The soft colors make us think of a gentler time. When life was slower and things at least seemed simpler. We weren't running from lesson to lesson, answering cell phones in the car, checking our Blackberry while stuck in traffic.

So with all of this rambling we come to my real obsession. The desire to drape and sew fabric into clothing. I've always admired those people who work in fabric stores and dress the mannequins. It looks like a beautiful dress from the front and then you walk around to the back and see how they've draped the fabric to create a dress. It's a wonderful skill that can only be learned with practice. I need more practice and fabric to use for my practice. Some days I'm tempted to play Scarlett O'Hara and grab drapes at a yard sale to drape on my dress form. Or maybe vintage 70s flower power sheets for summer dresses.

Unfortunately my dress form isn't my size. I have found a wonderful article telling me how to make a dress form that is me. Make your own dress form: http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00002.asp  I'm just not sure how my friends will react if I invite them over to wrap me in duct tape. I'm sure there are a few who would probably like to start with my mouth!

I happened to discover that a town not too far from me (4 hours) hosts a Bombs Away Big Band Ball. It sounds like fun. People are encouraged to dress in WWII era clothing. They even give awards for the best clothing. It's held at the Pendleton Air Museum. Check it out at: http://pendletonairmuseum.org/bombs_away_2007.html  So I wondered if there were more of these events.

If you like long term planning, you have plenty of time to get ready for the "Taking the Swing Train '40s Dance" in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in November. http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/visitors/seasonal/troopstrains/dance.htm

Monthly dances at The Mill in Lebanon, Tennessee: http://www.themillatlebanon.com/DancinattheMill.htm No mention of dressing the part but I'm sure everyone would have more fun playing the part.

I discovered that there are lots of 40s era events in England. The list that I found is here: http://www.40s.events.ukonline.co.uk/Calendar.htm#March2007 It looks like they enjoy a good dance in England.

So if you're going to attend an event what on Earth to wear? I know I have nothing in my closet. So I started searching and found several great places with 40s clothing.

Dorothea's Closet Vintage:  http://stores.ebay.com/Dorotheas-Closet

Damn Good Vintage: http://damngoodvintage.com/index.html

Something Special: http://stores.ebay.com/Special-Somethings-Vintage-Clothing

eVintage Society: http://www.evintagesociety.com

Somewhere along the way buildings, bridges and even clothes lost those little details that were decorative and elegant. Somewhere along in the 90s buildings, began to be square blocks without any decorative details. I like old parks and campgrounds that were built by the WPA. Depression era bridges have these wonderful decorative elements about them. So what do bridges and clothing have to do with vintage slips??? I guess that is just my rambling way of reminescing about the wonderful details that can be found on vintage slips. I've been thinking about this a bit today. I happened to be looking at a store here on eBay, Dollhouse Vintage.

I found that the vintage slips had such decorative detailing. There's beautiful crystal pleating at the hemline. You see lace along the hemline of modern slips but few manufacturers take the time to scallop the slip fabric to follow the flow of floral lace. Modern slips use a straight lace that is sewn straight across the hem. It is utilitarian. It is boring. No wonder so many of the vintage slips are worn as dresses. They are just too pretty to hide!

When was the last time you went into your department store and saw anything hanging on the slip rack other than white, beige or black? It's been years. There are many vintage slips in yellow, pale blue, mint green and pink. And there there are the Pucci prints in abstract patterns of bright bold colors. Has our current world become so dull that we only want to wear white, black or beige? I don't I want to wear color! No one else has to know about that riotous Pucci slip under my black dress but I'll know it's there and it makes me smile just to think about it.

In my wanderings of the web, I find many interesting things. One of my newest fascinations is the eVintage Runway. It's an online fashion show. But it's better than a New York fashion show. Most of us can't afford the things on a New York fashion runway. The eVintage Runway is a fashion show of affordable vintage fashions. Even better, most of the items seen on the runway are for sale right here on eBay!

I've found that I stop by there daily to see what the sellers are showing off. You'll find the eVintage Runway on MySpace at groups.myspace.com/eVintage.

• a beautiful white, formfitting Olga nightgown with a matching peignoir. It's not often that I get a gown and peignoir set so this is a special treat. It is a size small
  
• a goddess style Olga nightgown. Most of us are familiar with the formfitting spandex Olga nightgowns with the full skirts. This peach color nightgown is very Romanesque.
  
• a black floral peignoir
• a baby blue peignoir with attached ties
• and  maybe a  black peignoir