i love style needs to get their hair did

^^^^ Otm

quincie, congrats! when are you getting married?
I am getting married on Saturday(!) and my hairstylist is going to do a victory roll on the left side of my head with my bangs poofy and slightly curled.. the bulk of my hair will be down and curled. I have a similar birdcage veil and she's going to stick this big flower hair clip I bought onto the right side of my head.

She did a 10 minute mock up of my hair then unpinned it so as not to ruin the surprise for the fiance, but I took a picture when I got home because it had kept a bit of the shape:

http://oi51.tinypic.com/16k7y12.jpg

I tried to find red hair extensions and could find none, alas! I wanted for once to have full, long hair! I am pleased however as when I got engaged two years ago my hair looked like this and I just *knew* I wanted something that could support victory rolls! Yay for brighter, funner hair!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/5816_124665698577_516053577_2401591_732040_n.jpg

Oh wow Saturday! You will look so so so fab with that hairdo! I'm getting hitched on October 15. I love victory rolls and think my hair could support one, but I after a bit of googling I still haven't found a stylist in the area who specializes in vintage styles--how did you find yours??

Would love to see the dress to go with that hairdo :) Pics, please!

q, I think finger curls/waves are the way forward for you and your delicious veil! Victory roll idea feels like the wrong era for that headpiece.

http://www.hairfinder.com/hairstyles/7.jpg

http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/article_images/2009/September/September-28/DitaVonTeese.jpg

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1177.jpg

Laurel those are all GREAT! The first is shorter than my hair, but maybe I just need to take the other two and shop them around to salons saying "uh can you do this?"

It is times like these when it would be helpful to live in NYC. I'm sure your fair city is lousy with vintage hairstylists.

I'm glad you like! I think of you as being more elegant than the rockabilly thing wd suggest -- don't get me wrong, I like the rockabilly thing, but much like the All-American Prepette, it can never be truly chic. (See "Dressing ILX" poll for that to make sense.) tza was right, finger waves are really glamorous partly because they don't draw attention to themselves except to make your hair look even more beautiful.

Hey um, my victory roll and birdcage combo will look super chic. I'll prove it next week. ;)

Quincie, my usual hairstylist is doing my hair! I live in Toronto - can't recall where you are - and she's been doing my red for a while. Luckily she's a Jill of all trades!

Oh and pics - I don't have a good one. But I will get a picture of me on here post-wedding!

Yay pics!

Laurel because you sew (at first I wrote "because you are a sewer," but obv. that did not look right at all), I will also post pic of dress pattern. I'll totally be wearing this dress to work the following week--it is my favorite style on my quirky bod. I need to pick out fabric; suggestions welcome! Stand by. . .

Oh and ff I think what Laurel was getting at is that victory roll is awesome on you because you have badass red hair and a hip style; I do not have cool hair or cool style, so something more conservative suits me!

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Full/V8315.jpg

View B. Instructions say:

FABRICS: Cotton Poplin, Taffeta and Lightweight Shirting Fabrics. Unsuitable for obvious diagonals, plaids or stripes.

I know that Laurel is full of love! I'm just sensitive, so close to the day :) I think that dress pattern is adorable. I'm not sure about a pattern?

I mean I don't have any recs, not that a pattern wouldn't look awesome!

Are you doing it with the short, cuffed sleeves??

I honestly think for a wedding (even a second one!) the loveliest thing would be a satin with lots of body, something a little heavier than you might think, to give the collar enough shape not to slump and to make the wings on the cuffed sleeves really stand out.

But that's not really wearable to work the week after, I guess. Boo.

OR I'd be tempted to go the opposite route and have it be peek-a-boo. Use a stiff backing fabric for the skirt, the collar, the sleeve cuffs, and make the rest of the bodice out of, like, practically see-through dotted swiss. Wear a long-line bra/corset underneath and let that be your half-visible underlayer!

Aren't I helpful?

Also, for the day, I'd replace self-fabric sash with a tailored belt in white satin or patent of some color. More formal that way.

Are you married to that pattern? What about this re-release from the Vogue archives?

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Full/V1043.jpg

Or

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Full/V2401.jpg?

Also, I'm not suggesting this pattern specifically but one of the things that makes this dress look really elegant and elevates the appearance of quality (or even Quality) is the RIDICULOUSLY deep hem. It's like 18"! But it gives the hemline extra body, extra stiffness, and shows a positively entitled disregard for overuse of materials, which is what it's all about, right? But seriously, this stuff adds up. Small seam allowances and shallow hems are hallmarks of mass-produced clothing that skins the profitability of each item right down to the bone.

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Add_2_Full/V1044.jpg

Even a 6" hem would do.

Who's making this dress, anyway?

If I can suggest something: Have the seamstress move the zipper from the center back to the left sideseam, and ask for a NON-INVISIBLE, totally regular metal-toothed zipper with a LAPPED zipper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oJYRTW7d_A

Lapped closure, I mean.

Moving the zipper away from the center back means that if you choose a pattern, the pattern won't BREAK across the center seam. The sewer could take the time to match the pattern across the center seam, but matching patterns is hard and takes extra fabric, whereas moving the zip to the sideseam is reasonably not that difficult and takes very little extra fabric. Esp since people will presumably be looking at your back kind of extensively!!

I used to read a lot of Threads magazine.

I bought a groupon for 6 introductory sewing classes today and I can't wait until* I can make these patterns you're linking to, Laurel.

*I know it won't be immediately after the class, but a girl's gotta start somewhere!

The Vintage Vogue line is really genius. I don't know who curates it/decides what to re-release but it's always classy shit.

And actually a lot of it isn't that technically difficult.

Why the non invisible zipper? Just the visible zipper trend?

No, no. You won't actually see a lapped zipper at all, the longer seam allowance in the lapped side covers it. It's an older style, from the couture days of hand-sewing, actually. And non-invisible zippers are stronger than invis ones, too, and less likely to weaken in the zipper tapes and start to stick at the pressure points, of which waistband are maybe the most pronounced.

Actually, if you want to be really couture, the visible outer seam created by the lapped zipper should be hand-sewn in embroidery thread, because the fact that it slightly shows is actually evidence of its being hand-made.

Oh good, because I don't care for the visible zipper trend and I was a little disappointed (and surprised) that you would advocate it in a classic dress style. I am sorry I ever doubted you, Laurel. I should have known better.

Ahahaha. I've outed myself as a total sewing nerd/snob here, and I'm not even a very GOOD sewer! But I have, myself, moved a zipper from the center back seam to a side seam (to do this, you then re-draft the pattern for the 2 back pieces as one piece, and cut it as such), and re-set the zipper to lap from the front, and hand-sewn it into place, and that's the brown-and-white dress I was wearing in that photo the other week. All based on one article in an issue of Threads from like 15 years ago.

ffm, if you want to get a real leg up on your sewing course, I do strongly suggest Threads as the most serious sewing resource out there.

(I'm sorry, Jenny, but I do actually LIKE the visible zipper! But only in modern garments where it's matched by other modern/industrial design elements, not in ones of a more graceful vintage.)

Like this one, for instance:

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Full/V1150.jpg

ooh i want a dress like that

So do I, apparently, since I bought the pattern! Haven't made it yet, though.

I think visible zippers are one of those things that are going to look terrible to us all the microsecond the trend passes, but that's just me. Laurel, I was more concerned that you might advocate such in a vintage garment, not that you like it in the appropriate setting. That black dress is very cute. Except for the zipper. :p

Did I just unironically use an emoticon? I think I did. Huh.

I think exterior zippers will be with us always! I have multiple dresses from the '60s that use them, some of them even have extra brightly colored plastic zippers to stand out more. I wouldn't call them "elegant", but they're reasonably attractive sportswear/day dresses. One of them has approx a 22" waist so I haven't been able to wear it for a few years, but I hang onto it in everlasting hope, nonetheless.

Laurel, you are a seamstress goddess!

I did consider the Vogue reissues you posted; the one I like best is the first one, but it looks better in the drawing than in the real-life picture. Hang on, lemme find it.

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Add_2_Small_Thumb/V2401.jpg

oh shit too small

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/filebin/images/product_images/Add_2_Full/V2401.jpg

hmmm, yeah - I's chop a few inches off the sleeves and the length, heh.