Sometimes this newsletter process starts with something I want to make, rather than the more organic process of film viewing and inspiration… this is one of those times! I had a want for a vintage inspired dress, something very feminine. So I thought, what better way to source direction than watching some movie from the 50s with a female star? Show me a lot of nice dresses, prefect for twirling through summer! And God Created Woman, with Brigitte Bardot front and center, the epitome of a vixen, is what I decided to watch.
Now this movie is not that heavy on plot, and the machismo energy of the men is a little cringe to watch with modern eyes, but there is a reason it’s still watched today… and it’s the same reason audiences flocked to see it when it came out— Brigitte Bardot. She is whole point of the movie, and her performance and magnetism captivates just as easily today as it did when it was originally reviewed. The French Riviera’s seductress tries to live her life with as few cares as possible, but the feelings she inspires leaves a tangle of men in her wake, each with their own questionable motives and tactics to control and win her.
Saint-Tropez in the mid 1950s as depicted by the film is quite the summer dressing mood board! Shirt dresses, midi skirts, boat neck dresses, jeans with men’s fishing shirts… and most importantly ballet flats, easily kicked off in favor of bare feet. I wasn’t exactly finding the silhouette I had in mind, though. Lots of pencil skirts to accentuate the awe-inducing walk of Brigitte, not the voluminous circle skirt of the 50s I was looking for. But in looking up film stills for reference, I did find something of interest! Apparently, the director, Roger Vadim, made a second movie by the same name in 1988. Not exactly a remake, but similar femme-fatale themes. I kept getting image results for the 1988 movie, and got so stuck on this dress that the leading lady wears on the poster.
I really loved its 80s-does-50s full skirt and fitted bodice with wide neckline… and it did at least maintain the baby sleeve common in Brigitte’s dresses. It immediately reminded me of a few things from my saved folder on Instagram with the same color/volume/feel. So this is the direction my project went in.
This past week I bought myself a gift— a large roll nearly as tall as me of pattern drafting paper. After so long of drafting on old scraps, or directly on the fabric, I was so glad to get a roll of my own. To celebrate, I drafted this pattern fully the right way with markings and seam allowance and everything! I took the wide neckline, short sleeve, and princess style lines (which breaks the bodice into 3, with a seam going from the arm hole, curving over the bust, and finishing at the waist) from the ‘88 movie (that I didn’t watch lol). I drafted a full circle skirt, like the ones seen on the vintage pattern, which looks exactly as it sounds, a circle for the skirt and a circle within that for the waist. I did, however, make the waist a little bigger so that I could add a little gathered detail at each side, as a nod to the vintage dress worn by Reese Blutstein. And finally, to really accentuate the waist, I attached the bodice and the skirt together by waistband to give a sort of skirt and shirt illusion (with the hope to layer on top of it til the weather gets warm et la Leandra Medine).
I had never made a circle skirt before because of the amount of fabric that they take, but now I totally understand the appeal! Really happy with how this dress turned out and how beautifully it drapes and flutters when spinning. I am toying with the idea of removing the sleeves for more versatility with wearing things under and over it… but that shall have to wait until I get a few good turns about town with it as is!
BIG thank you for reading this weeks newsletter :) musing on my gratitude for having an outlet to keep me inspired and keep me making things and sharing those things. I have never had such a regular practice of that as E-Pastiche affords me. The hardest part is the picture taking— UGH I hate it! And that always kept me from showing off things I’m otherwise proud of. When I push through that discomfort twice a month I feel empowered! I appreciate you for reading!!
I’ve been listening to back-logged French Connection on WXNA , and dancing like this—
The pictures of you in your inspired masterpieces are the best part!