Do you like... sparkles?

Because I do! Here are my two latest vintage finds: (oh - I also should have asked if you like the 1960s, because otherwise these might be lost on you...)

This fantastic beaded, sequin-covered, rhinestone-strewn sweater top is my latest favorite thing. I didn't actually have to go digging through a thrift store or estate sale for it, but I'll still call it a "find." I spied it on etsy at the cute vintage shop Lemon Icebox Pie. There's currently a sale goin' on over there, so I suggest you check it out. As for my new top, I'm thinking I'll pair it with some dark, slim-leg pants (RTW, not sewn by me - someday, I'll be cool enough to sew pants) for a festive look around the holidays. One thing I definitely like about this top is that it's jeweled...meaning I don't have to try to pair any major jewelry with it! It takes care of itself.
 

My other latest vintage find, was more of a "find," since I dug through racks and racks of clothing at the flea market I went to last weekend in order to find and rescue it. It's a blue and black nylon material dress with bias-bound neck and arm openings and a peek-a-boo closure in the back (no zipper). I particularly love the little cord belt it has and the cute little belt-loops. The waist has some hidden elastic strips, one on each side to give it a bit of controlled gathering for a consistent look when the belt is tied.

I wore this to work last week with some black tights. One of my coworkers was lik, "oh, Susan looking nice today. Is that a sundress?" I didn't even know where to start, because, it's not really a sundress, but it's not really anything else either - oh, plus it's a dress, and everyone I work with pretty much just wears t-shirts and jeans. What would you call this style of dress? A shift? It just seems like it has a little bit more going on than what I picture for a shift dress. Is it a sheath? Is that the same thing? I obviously have no idea what to call it, but I do think it's adorable.

In other news, my Colette Jasmine blouse is coming along. I was making good progress this weekend and even had the sneaking thought to myself "hmm, maybe I'll finish this today!" but, alas, that was wishful thinking. I got to the point where it was time for me to attach the collar, and things started to get a little hairy. 1st, it seems like whenever I'm making something with a collar, no matter how much I measure and cut carefully, the two halves of the collar never come out the same size. Then, I pin the crap out of them to get the collar pieces onto the shirt for sewing, and once I've stitched, the collar has somehow become slightly off-centered and crooked. THEN, when I go to make the bias tape to use instead of facings for the neck and armholes (I'm omitting the sleeves on this version), using the Colette Handbook, I manage to eff it up so many times that I end up with 1" bias tape, folded in half, to make 1/2" strips, that baaaarely cover up my seam allowance and are impossible to fully stitch down, since I can't get the dang raw edges to ever line up completely to begin with. ANYWAY, just in case I lost you there, here's a kind of a visual.

Jasmine is currently in a blob on my sewing table, with some hand-stitching half done to try to make my scrappy bias tape do its job. I'll be revisiting her later this week, if not next weekend in hopes of finishing up. I've got some other projects planned that I'd rather be working on, so, yeah.