July

I cannot believe it's August already. To me, that means summer is basically OVER, but I'm not even sure what happened to my July. It was my birthday month, as you know, and it was a busier few weeks than I'd expected. The sewing WIPs are still moving slowly (I'm trying not to admit I'm in a little bit of a rut), but I did manage to acquire some new-to-me vintage things, which is always fun.

First up, I found this vintage dress at Goodwill on my birthday. I love the color palette of the fabric and the ILGWU tag indicates it's from the 1950s or '60s.

The fabric is soft and semi-sheer and has begun to pill slightly in some areas. There has been some mending done to it by a previous owner and a little more is needed now, especially along the waistline. It'll take a little work before I can wear this out in public, but I think it'll be great.

During my birthday weekend, Tom took me to my favorite antique store in downtown Leesburg. The vendor there who stocks her room with vintage sewing patterns and notions was having a closing shop sale, which was good and bad because I'll really miss shopping in her section, but there were great deals to be had. I picked up two cute patterns for an awesome price.

In another vendor's room I found this pretty blue cotton 1950s Swirl dress. It is just the right shade of blue and the floral fabric used for the skirt is so cute.

Some surprising construction detials on this dress include an elastic waist, just on the back of the dress, and a full front zipper, rather than a side or center back zip.  The bodice has cute rows of pin-tucks and the skirt is pleated, which always seems a little bit more flattering than a gathered skirt.

I wore this dress out to dinner with Tom to celebrate my birthday at a Thai restaurant in DC. It was delicious and I was so glad to be wearing this comfy cotton dress while sweating my face off as we devoured spicy food in the quaint, un-air-conditioned restaurant. :)

What about you all -- was July a busy month for you too? Did you pick up any exciting vintage or sewing goodies?