A Tambour Beaded Egyptian Revival Dress and Evening Bag

Before I started tambour beading, I practiced using a tambour needle with some tambour embroidery that became two of my day dresses. It was a wonderful way to get used to the motion and process. 

Vintage Egypt, Part 5: Evening Wear

Always my favorite category of dress, donning black tie for almost a week 

straight was SO MUCH FUN! Off we go!

The first black tie evening was a beautiful dinner at the Old Cataract Hotel. The dress is a grey and white chiffon, with strategically placed beads (for weight) to keep the neckline laying nicely. 

The shoes were such fun! I covered a pair of grey shoes in thousands of Swarovski crystals. Had I realized how many crystals I would have to buy, or how expensive it would be, I probably wouldn't have made these. But once I started gluing, it would have been a waste to stop mid way, and so I decided I needed to see them through. Flapper Cinderella vibes, for sure! 

Vintage Egypt, Part 4: Undress

One of my favorite outfits of the trip was my fancy silk jammies! I used a period pattern, and made them in Nile green china silk. The boudoir cap and slippers were the icing on the cake!

I made my husband a robe so he could join in on the fun! His blue pajamas were purchased. 

Originally, I made these to sleep in, but once I found out there would be a pajama breakfast, I saved the set for that (china silk wrinkles like mad) and made similar pajamas to be slept in. (P.s. I sooooo wanted to get 20's looking glasses to wear, but figured it was a bit of a waste since I'm always in contacts. Next time!)

Oh hey, wrinkles...

Speaking of sleeping, this is how I kept my hair tidy when I slept. Clips and a hair net. Was it terribly comfortable? Not really. But it was so worth it to wake up to hair that was ready to go!

I also made beach pajamas! These were starting to appear in the late 20's. The cotton was lovely in the heat. The silk pajamas were beautiful, but definitely not meant for lounging in the sun. 

This sleeveless robe also worked well with my swimsuit! One of the days, we all put on vintage beachwear (for pictures - I don't recommend diving into the Nile!). Both of our wool suits were vintage. 

Another true vintage garment I brought was an early 30's nautical set that I won in a raffle at Costume College 2018. The boat was the perfect spot to wear it!

Another thing I forgot to mention was undies! No pictures, for obvious reasons, but I wore some me-made 1920's lingerie, and I also found some great step in/tap pants on Amazon to buy. Considering I needed over a weeks worth of underwear, buying seemed like a good option. The majority of "ready to wear" pants were nylon and a bit short waisted. I sized up and went with the highest waist option I could find, to get that 20's step in's vibe. The nylon was a little toasty, but silk would have been the same. If I did this trip in the summer again, I would probably make light cotton step ins. 

Another thing to bring up, since I mentioned wrinkles above (and was asked this after my last post), is how I kept my clothing wrinkle free. I don't like using hotel irons, as I'm always worried they haven't been treated well. The last thing I want is a crappy iron spitting... When I travel, I bring a steamer. I love the Joy mini steamer. It's not dual voltage, so for international I use a Conair travel size steamer, but I don't think it's as good as the Joy. 

Also, when I pack, I hang garments in dry-cleaning bags on dry-cleaning hangers. I kind of accordion the clothes into my suitcase. The slippery plastic bags really help discourage wrinkles, and the hangers make unpacking lightning fast. I put small items and foldables in packing cubes. It literally takes minutes to unpack, and then if I'm tidy about folding items away and hanging back up daily (minus the bags - I take those off so the clothes can breath, and replace when I'm ready to leave), when I go to repack, it takes only moments. 

This is especially handy when traveling with multiple stops. I've been doing this for years, and it always works very well. It's kind of the same concept as having a steamer trunk as your wardrobe. No unpacking, as everything is hung and ready to use. And as a bonus, when I've accumulated too many souvenirs, on the way home I can ditch the hangers and I instantly have extra room and weight in my bag!

I should really do a post on packing...

Vintage Egypt, Part 3: The Nicer Day Wear

Lace insertion.
The lace has little sphinxes and pyramids on it!

After a hot, sweaty, dusty, day out, coming back to the ship and putting on something light and cool was absolutely heaven! 

Where I live, I'm used to the heat, and the joys of having a fresh, clean outfit to put on, so I made sure to bring lots of easy dresses so I would have plenty of fresh clothes. 

Vintage Egypt, Part 2: Sporty Day Wear

First up, my most worn garment of the trip: Jodhpurs!

Vintage Egypt, Part One: The Planning

My biggest sewing project of 2019 was creating a 1920's travel wardrobe for a trip to Egypt.

The trip was organized by Goodspeed and Bach, and was a vintage themed Egyptian tour, inspired by Agatha Christy's famous novel, Death on the Nile. It involved staying at historic hotels, visiting all the best ancient sites, and a week long, privately chartered Nile cruise on a 19th century steam ship, the S.S. Sudan.

The trip ended up being absolutely epic. But before we could go and enjoy the time traveling voyage, I spent about eight months planning and sewing.

2019: In Review

A review of (almost) all my favorite looks from last year. Mostly vintage looks, and mostly chronological by month. Some historical. Some new makes, and a lot of re-wears. The vintage was a mix of me made and true. And most true vintage only made this post if I made something for the outfit (like my giant Christmas corsage toward the end), or was just plain proud of my hair, haha! 

I hope to get around to posting about some of the more interesting outfits, but till then, I'm plopping these pics down for blog posterity. Cheers!