The Results of our Shopping Spree

 Hello all,

I'm back again with some of the dresses that you saw in the last post. These are the two we brought home. I altered one of them to make it modest. The other dress was already modest when we found it - a rare thing in a modern clothing store!

~The beautiful sleeve~

I inserted some lace into the V-neck of this dress to make it modest. It is now lightweight, becoming, and perfect for summer. Can you see a similarity in the eyelet lace pattern and the fabric paisley print? The lace was picked out to go with the dress by total coincidence!

 

This is the other dress I brought home. It was perfect the way it was - so feminine and charming! It is the perfect dress to wear in a field of Queen Anne's Lace in the country.

 

Hopefully you have enjoyed the last two posts on choosing storebought dresses. The first post was written by a guest author, Mrs. Humphrey from The Pleasant Times. If you didn't see it, please go check it out and leave her a nice comment!

To God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

Guest Post: What If I Don't Sew??

By Elizabeth Humphrey

"I would like to dress more femininely, but I don't sew."

"You can't find modest things in the stores to wear, and unless you sew you just have to take what is out there."

"Hopefully the pretty styles will come back someday. But for now, I'm wearing what is current. Wish I could sew like you."

Do you relate to any of the above? Well, you needn't fall into any of those mindsets. I knew that if Miss Humphrey and I went shopping, we could find SOMETHING for the lady that doesn't sew. You just have to develop your discerning style so that you know what to look for when you are in the shops!

 What We Would Buy

We recently popped into to Ross and Marshalls (on our way to another store) to look around. In keeping with the standards of this blog, we only looked at examples that were modest, feminine and of course pretty. This was a quick look in the shops --we weren't there to spend the afternoon!-- so we went to the clearance racks first, and then moved on to the "in season" sections. We tend to spot gorgeous sleeves, then check for length. Upon pulling the dress off the rack, the bodice determines whether it is a "go" or not. This method lets us sift through a lot of dresses quickly.

All of these selections are at least mid-calf length (it was difficult to get a proper photo in some of those spaces, so they are a bit out of proportion) and have feminine features. Most of them feature elements that we do not sew at home: smocking, lace insertion, or special fabrics. All of them would be "classics," meaning that they would be part of a permanent wardrobe (when you wear "classics" you don't have to overhaul your closet every time the latest style changes or the wind blows).

This selection of "what we would buy" from only two stores could serve seasons from spring to autumn, and be suitable for many occasions including homewear. If we were without a sewing machine or time to sew, we think we could survive quite elegantly. Bonus: none of these items were over $40.00!

 Everyday Feminine Dresses for Home

Classic Shirt Dress

 

First we have this pretty shirt dress, which at $14 would have come home with us had the size been right. Done in a blue-and-white striped sturdy but lightweight cotton, this dress is a classic. Feminine elements include the puffed sleeves and deep ruffled hem. Tailored elements include a yoke with pleated back and sleeve cuffs with buttons. The loose structure with the matching belt equals comfort and fit. This dress needed no adjusting, no additions, no alterations. At mid-calf length and with appropriate buttons for the proper neckline, it is already modest and useful. I know Miss Lillian would have accessorized with cowboy hat and boots, but it would be equally suitable to wear a hat of soft white straw and sandals. Paired with an apron, this dress can go from DIY projects to cooking to hanging the laundry on the line. It belongs to the girl who is a busy bee at home!  

***

 The Sea Breeze

 Next we have a dress in (if I recall correctly,) rayon with a soft drape, lovely trim details and slightly ruffled tiers in the long skirt. The mandarin collar also features a ruffle. The small, calico-style print of white flowers keeps the deep teal color from being overpowering. This can be a day-at-home dress but works very well for going out on errands or to visit. A perfect picnic dress.This style is a classic retro style ('70s), and can be worn no matter the trends.

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Coral Dreams

 

Another clearance aisle find, this lovely pink dress is made in a soft polished cotton so it had a bit of a sheen. Its first attraction are the beautiful puffed sleeves. Smocked waist, yoked skirt and tasseled ties are feminine elements of this dress. This photo was a bit hard to get, as I was squished in the aisle and people were trying to get through, but the skirt is at least mid-calf length. This dress would require a chemisette to wear under the bodice (see below). It is the perfect dress for a day in the country, but dressy enough to wear to an event. 

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Church and Event Dresses

Prairie Sage

Prairie breezes blow through the sagebrush and you look a picture in this dress as you gaze at the setting western sun. Smocked cuffs on the elbow-length puffed sleeves and a deep ruffled hem give this dress a pretty prairie look. The sage-green fabric is a thin, textured overlay and the dress is fully lined. As with the previous dress you will need a chemisette (see below). This is a great dress for going to daytime events!

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 Porcelain Paisley

 

Another fully-lined, flowing chiffon overlay dress perfect for a stroll on the beach. This tea-length dress has many Edwardian details, such as a tiered skirt with lace insertion between the tiers. There is also lace insertion at the shoulders and in the lightly puffed sleeves.  Worn with a chemisette this dress becomes ready to go to wear to church, teas, and summer outdoor events. This one was found on the clearance rack.

***

 

Wildflower Day

 

 I regret that I became distracted and forgot to go and fetch a blouse to display with this dress. Just remember, that every "sundress" that you see can be a jumper just as well. As a matter of fact there is less chance of sunburn if you use them that way. With a ruffly sleeved blouse from the $10 top section, this turns into an outfit reminiscent of a 1930s formal for teas and other occasions. With a simple t-shirt you turn it into a very wearable but elegant every day dress to wear about town. 

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More Formal Dresses

The Hibiscus

 

Fully lined chiffon again, but this color makes it seem better for more formal occasions such as a wedding. Features a gently gathered bodice, pleated sleeves and a tiered skirt done in an elegant magenta print. The construction is a "peasant blouse" style with elastic at the shoulders, which does not always work with every figure, so this dress would require a try-on to see if it fit correctly and modestly. However, don't discount this style of dress immediately, because it looks lower on the hanger than it is on a person. This was in the current section of the store, but was still quite affordable. 

(Please note the chambray garment on the right in the above photo. Although many would think that it is a "dress," it is better off defined as a tunic to wear over pants. It is a practical idea for camping, boating and hiking when you want to be more modest but have to wear pants.)

***

The Sound of Music

This is a classic 1930's style and strongly reminds me of the movie of this title. This dress definitely needs a full blouse under it, with a pretty, ruffly neckline (look in the $10 blouse section of the store) or a scoop-neck t-shirt of very nice material, and then it is "good to go." The finely pleated skirt is almost tea-length and shirred at the waistline. The sleeves are fluttery and the entire dress is perfect for many of your fine and formal occasions. I think this would be the perfect dress for the musical girl who will be needing something formal for afternoon recitals.

***

The Graduate

Looking like a time-traveler from early last century, this cotton eyelet dress was definitely squealed over when we spotted it. Although it feels less formal than the others, it reminded me of the tradition of wearing white to your graduation and would make a beautiful graduation or birthday party dress. The skirt has four tiers, gently ruffled. The bodice has a rarely-seen shawl collar that is very flattering. Although the garment looked low-necked on the hanger, it was actually just below the collar-bone and we considered it modest. A "ready to wear" bargain at $17 on the clearance rack.

***

 Daisy Fields

 

 

Keeping with the white theme, this dress would definitely make a regency-style impression when worn with a chemisette (see below). Made in a more casual shirred cotton, it certainly looked comfortable yet special, and was another bargain at $14 on the clearance rack. I class white dresses for special occasions because I know white tends to collect stains, however if I this was my dress I would consider someday dying it and demoting it to an every-day dress, worn with a tank top.

 

***

 

 What is a Chemisette?

 

In the blouse section of these sorts of stores, you will find all kinds of odd little garments somewhat reminiscent of a shirt. Those that are ignorant of historical garments might think that pieces like the above were something to try and wear as-is. Hundreds of girls are making this mistake. What this is, girls, is a chemisette.

 Observe these samples of Chemisettes that are around 200 years old. Made of very lightweight material, they are very useful: you can comfortably fill in garments with lower necklines, protecting the fabric of the dress from your skin, and change the "look" of dresses.

They certainly lend more elegance than a t-shirt, don't they? 

This one seems so modern, it would be perfect under any of the dresses in this article! Perhaps we should all ask Miss Humphrey to figure out how to make this and do a tutorial on it for her readers!

Now to come full circle, as our store example had sleeves, here is an example with sleeves. You certainly cannot imagine the girl of 200 years ago wearing this as-is, with 8 inches of belly exposed to the public? Now you know what a Chemisette is and what those half-shirts in the store really are (or should be)!

Above you see an example of wearing one of the store's sleeveless half-shirts (chemisette) with one of the dresses. As imperfectly as this was thrown together in a moment in the store, you can still see that a little adjustment makes the dress acceptable to wear in public and does not look at all bad or even odd.

A few disclaimers: it appeared to me that some doggy-clothes may have been mixed up in the chemisette section. Be discerning. If the neckline and shoulders of the chemisette does not cover the gap and back of the garment you are trying to wear, you may have picked up a doggy shirt by accident. Match it up carefully with the dress if you are going to purchase one of these items. Also remember that just a plain slightly scooped neck t-shirt will work just as well, protect your dress, and be useful elsewhere in your wardrobe. Don't forget the blouse section! Sometimes there is a beautiful blouse just waiting to be rescued from the rack and paired with a dress, and they are especially beautiful with jumpers (aka "sundresses").

Now, if you had at least hand-sewing skills, you could very easily adjust any of these dresses with a bit of eyelet fabric tacked in to low fronts or backs for a permanent and one-layer solution. I have even seen ladies use crocheted doilies to this purpose, and it looks great (and would be perfect for a "cottage core" look). So you see that even though you don't "sew," it is still a very useful skill to have for store-bought clothing.

 And of course, if you learn to sew you will have the more comfortable clothing that is customized for you, so become a regular reader of this blog for sewing inspiration!

 ***

I hope you have enjoyed our quick shopping excursion! It took me much more time to write up this blog post than it did to find these dresses, so I hope this post encourages anyone who thinks they cannot find pretty things to wear at the shops. Find your style, fix your principles, and train your eye and it will get easier.

 Come back soon to see which of these dresses we brought home!

See you next week

Today, the author of this blog is away fiddling her heart out at camp instead of blogging. Hopefully, she will come back with some new fiddle tunes and techniques under her belt that will extend the sweet patience of her captive listeners (aka her family) for a period of time.

She fully plans to be back next week with a post for you all that is not centered around fiddles. 

Until then, enjoy a blissful week in late July.

To God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

Fiddle Camp Wardrobe Planning

 Hello all! 

I'm pretty excited - next week, I'm headed to Fiddle Camp! I thought I'd share what I'm planning to wear for the four days of camp. 

These are not special, fancy outfits. Actually, it's a good sample of what I wear day-to-day! Comfort matters more to me than style on a 90 degree day, but that's not saying that I have to wear something plain and ugly, or skimpy and revealing. 

Do you want to guess how much use this Edwardian walking skirt gets? A lot!! It's a great, everyday jean skirt, but its gores and delicate waistband save it from being boring :) It goes with the western, 1800s style that is so dear to my heart, and I can wear it with every blouse I own, which is wonderful!!

The plaid shirt is the Stillwater Supply Co. brand. My mother and I purchased them on sale at Bi-mart.  These are very nice western shirts!

This is a one-piece style dress I made earlier on in my sewing hobby, and while it is definitely not perfect, I like it! I might wear it as a jumper instead of a sort-of sleeveless dress. I might improve a few things on it before I take it to camp - we'll see!

On the last day of camp, we're having class performances. I plan to wear my blue circle dress on that day for something a little more dressy!

We mustn't forget the cowboy hat!

And there you have it, my wardrobe planning for 2023 fiddle camp.

 I'm so happy to get to wear homemade clothes much of the time. The world of sewing unlocks beautiful possibilities!

Have a great mid-July, everyone!

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

Independence Day

 

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

I made a design for the dress that I wanted to make for 4th of July, and...didn't. Maybe next year!

See a very similar design that DID get sewn here: https://misshumphreysblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/easter-dress-idea.html

Instead, I am wearing this for the 4th!  

My mother made the blouse for me using the skirt of one of my free-hand dresses that didn't turn out so great. She copied it from one of her blouses. Didn't she do a wonderful job?

I paired the blouse with my Edwardian walking skirt.

There you have it - my red, white and blue!

If you are in America, what are you doing to celebrate the 4th?

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

His Commands Are Not Burdensome

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

--1 John 5:3

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

--Proverbs 1:7

"Obeying commands about modesty is so hard! All these rules your parents put on you for how they want you to dress are so constrictive. You know what? There's one day in your life when you can wear whatever you want! Hey, your female attendants can even wear what they want! What's more, you and your friends can get drunk (or give an opportunity to others to do so) if you really want to. You can play that rock music as loud as you want and dance to it. It's called your wedding day!"

Does that not sound quite right? I wonder why. Oh! Maybe it's because the Bible says much to the opposite. 

"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;"

--1 Timothy 2:9

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

--1 Timothy 4:12

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;"

--Ephesians 5:18

I wonder how Christian girls read the first verse of these three and then go on to wear completely immodest clothes for their wedding, (or to someone else's; looking at you, bridesmaids.) Especially when there are such sweet, beautiful alternatives to culture's dictates about wedding apparel. 

More skin showing = prettier. Wrong. To be proven in this article. 

More skin showing = more attractive. Hmm. The point of a wedding is getting married to one man. Do you really love him? Show him that by saving yourself for him, starting on your wedding day.

I have a question. What is your purpose for wearing 1/2 a dress to your wedding? Is it to glorify God? I'm guessing not. 

Is it because you really wanted a pretty dress and this was the ONLY one you could find?? Nope. 

Is it because it's your only chance to wear a fancy and immodest dress, per tradition? Well, it is not your only chance. You don't have the option at all to be immodest as a Christian woman.

It's time for ladies to stop going with the flow. We need to stick out, be different, and represent Christ in a non-Christian world. A wedding is a great opportunity to be a good example to others. What other time can you be assured to have the rapt attention of at 100+ people on you and what you're wearing? Be an example to the young ladies who haven't had a wedding yet. Show them how gorgeous and innocent a modest wedding can be. 

A "modest wedding dress" does not imply being plain, long-sleeved, and choke-necked. My wedding dress isn't going to look like that. No, I plan to have a lot of fun designing the prettiest, best thing I can come up with! I'm not Amish, (and you aren't, either, if you're reading this post online!) but I am a part of Christ's body and His representative on earth. I need to act accordingly.

By the way, I'm not Mormon either, in case you wondered. :)

Let me assure you that you aren't missing out on anything by attaching shoulders to a dress. You aren't missing out on anything by having a dress with a back on it, for goodness' sakes! And you are sure of God's good opinion of you if you are careful to include Him with your special-day decisions.

A note to the bride: If you can't be sure that your sweet bridesmaids will choose modest apparel, think about choosing their designs for them. They have to do what you want them to! :)

"Adorn yourself in modest apparel" has got to be one of the easiest commands to obey in the Bible. There's so many options that are beautiful, and won't hurt other people's consciences! 

If you wouldn't comfortably wear the dress to the grocery store or to Sunday morning worship service (on account of how much of you it exposes,) let me suggest that you should re-think the design of your special dress. 

My mother and I were enjoying looking at what the web has to offer in terms of modest dresses for the bride. If you can't sew - or don't want to - there are tons of wedding dresses out there that are quite beautiful.

Here's a few sites that I've seen out there that have some nice dresses to offer: (Note: I do not endorse everything I see on every single website.)

https://www.elizabethcooperdesign.com/store/c10/Modest_Wedding_Dresses.html

This dress captured my heart :)

https://fantasy-bridal.com/categories/modest-wedding-dresses?

https://www.moncheribridals.com/modest-by-mon-cheri

Once you see how beautiful a modest wedding dress can be, you will realize that you're missing out by not looking at the alternatives!

And of course, if you're not excited by what you see, you can always design your own! (Plus...sewing your own will be a lot cheaper...)

~A few handmade designs~

Another trend I've been seeing in Christian wedding planning is to serve alcohol at the reception.  

Yes, I know that the Bible allows the drinking of alcohol as long as you don't get drunk. But as my mother and I were talking about this, she pointed out something interesting: 

As a young person, you don't know your tolerance for strong drink. You don't know how much it takes to make you drunk. What if you actually have a tendency to become addicted, and that first drink starts you off? 

As the host/hostess of a wedding, you don't know your guests' tolerance for strong drink. What if they have never had wine before, drink a little bit, think it is delicious, and discover that they have a strong tendency to become addicted? Perhaps, if the occasion had not been offered to them in Christian society, they wouldn't have taken their first drink and made a crucial, life-affecting mistake.

Sure wouldn't want that one on my conscience.

We recently went to a very nice wedding where no strong drinks were served. Everyone was happy and sociable, and nobody missed the alcohol! 

My mother has written a very good post about alcohol and "social drinking" on her blog. You might enjoy it!

Well, I don't usually write rants on my blog, but this is one I've had saved up in my plans for awhile. Thanks for reading!

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

"Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:"

--Proverbs 7:4

"For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."

--Proverbs 8:11

How I Made This Dress, Part 3...Finishing Up

When I have the bodice completely done on a dress, I have usually passed all the hard work. Just have to attach a simple skirt, and I'll be done! 

Not so with circle dresses. Those can be finicky to the very end. 

And not so with the tiered skirt to this dress, because I had a lot of work ahead of me to make all those gathers!

My mother told me how to do a tiered skirt. Here's the "formula" I used for how long each of my panels needed to be.

Here's how I did my panels...

I cut a panel and sewed the ends together (right sides together) to make a round. On one of the panels, I had to add extra yardage to make it the right length. This dress fit easily into 4 yards of fabric, using the excess from one panel to complete another.

I sewed 2 rows of gathers on one edge.

It would have been cute to just hem the bottom of this panel and have a blouse!

I gathered the second panel until it fit pretty well with my last panel, then sewed it up!

To this I added a short panel to complete the skirt.

I made a sash out of the dress material, and I was...done!!

Here's some more dress pictures.

Hope you enjoyed this dress-making process!

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey