thinking of a new business.....

many years ago,my sister and I made vintage inspired lingerie,we had a lot of fun,some of the photos following show our work,some are samples-we have just found them again,these show how finished work woudl look-ie lots of hand work and such,some others are what we called working toiles,we made our designs up into washable fabrics and wore them,and asked our friends to wear them,so we could evaluate them
some are now well past their sell-by dates ,but I cant seem to throw them out
after we closed down,we altered some of the samples and some of the wearable toiles,this was to make them easier for us to wear,not because the designs were flawed,for example ,the camiknicks were too short for me,so I chopped them at the waist and included some stretch lace.camiknicks were also altered into short pettis-or long camis!
we are now thinking of doing this again,with different designs,to take advantage of the wonderful world of vintage fashion,we will be offering reproductions of real vintage garments in our collection and from period mags and books,but made in todays sizes,plus some designs just based on vintage...

detail of slip

vintage slip detail

detail of bias cut slip

waist slip

a working toile,with a straight front and back panel and side gores for a lot of fullness

well worn sample

this is made in fine cotton with italian lace-bought by us in a place near como,it is very fitted and worn out

more french knickers

a wearable toile

french knicers of sorts

a wearable toile,remember when we were designing these french knickers were popular,these are without the full legs but do hang loose ,trousers had low crotch lines so these were popular

1970's

by 1974 I had seen the light and was wearing long clothes,this slip has lost the straps and has a zip up the back

mini skirts

I loved this slip,but it was too long and showed under my clothes!!this is from approx1968

knitted cami-knicks

my mother knitted me these,they are well worn and comfy and warm,the pattern is from the 1940's

corset

I made the pattern for this,it is a toile in calico,I have not finished it at all,it needs to be shaped top and bottom,it was made to see if I could draft a pattern ,to fit me ,from my block,it does fit and it does manipulate my figure to where I want it,so although it lookd odd it works

stays

made quickly on a course from alison smith I did not make the pattern

corselette

this was made quickly at michelle pye's course on making a corselette to put inside a strapless frock,we altered a vogue basic pattern,it is only a mock up and the real one would be made from two layers of cotton net

pretty vintage bra

have worn this many times,it is comfy,stays up and gives good shape,now I feel I should stop wearing it ,to keep it safe

vintage merry-widow

corset

this was made very quickly on a course by alison smith,now getting worse for wear from lots of ladies trying it on prior to ordering one,I did not make the pattern

prick stitch either side of seam

unironed

just found this ,it is unironed ,but inclueded it as an interest piece,it was a direct draft cami knickers,altered now into a short slip,it is hand pricked along the bust

fifties slip

this is cut on the bias with shaped back and cup,again a wearable and nearly worn out toile

commercial pattern

we would also make up commercial patterns ,but only to people who had bought some of our collection,we preferred to make all our own patterns to our own designs
this is a workable toile that I hand embroidered

my favourite

my sister grabbed this,I do manage to borrow it back occaisionally,again a wearable toile,it feels gorgeous on,it comes to mid calf and the lace is soft and frothy,will be making my own when I have time

cami knickers

again a sample in silk

vintage slip

bias cami with prick stitch

this is now really showing its age....