Finished Project- A Fair Dress for the Fair

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

We spent a lovely weekend together, starting with the County Fair on Saturday, followed by great times with family BBQing, watching neighborhood parades, swimming, and ending with fireworks (although very far on the horizon).  It was  a lovely weekend!

I had myself all planned to make a dress for the 4th of July but got sidetracked by making a dress to wear to the County Fair.  This dress was from Dubarry 2472B from 1940.

The fabric I used was a very nice looser weave rayon/linen blend.  I was very excited to find it in both the orange and the blue that resembled the ’39 World’s Fair colors.  The dress is of the blue and the pockets are lined in the orange, and I used purchased orange bias tape for trim on the pockets.  The buttons on the back are vintage orange with triangles inside circles- kind of reminiscent of the Trylon and Perisphere.  Although I’m not an adamant collector of fair merchandise I do really enjoy the color scheme and whimsy of design, especially of accessories and the like, of the ’39 fair, so it was great fun to incorporate that inspiration into a dress! I still want to make up a bolero to match, too!

Here’s an image of the pattern, Dubarry 2472B, from 1940.  It varies a bit in color scheme from the one listed on the Vintage Pattern Wiki.  I love how the fabric print is little koi fishes!

It did have it’s fair share of frustrations.  I’ve never had a lot of success with DuBarry patterns, but I haven’t sewn very many of them either.  It did, in the end, look like the illustration, but the sizing was very off and there was not as much fullness to the skirt as in the illustration.  The bust was supposed to be 34, but it ended up being something closer to 40″, which was obviously quite too big for a sleeveless dress.  While I do take into account that a lot of that could be my fabric, it did take quite a bit of fitting, as is common for me with sleeveless summer dresses.  I made up the shorter version then chickened out on the length and finished the edge with bias binding.  I’m not a big fan of showing my knees.  I did make the straps too long so fixed it by just doing double buttons at back.  No biggie!  I still really love the dress, and I probably will make another one in the future!

24 Comments on Finished Project- A Fair Dress for the Fair

  1. Reagan Foy
    July 5, 2011 at 10:27 pm (13 years ago)

    Super cute. Love the pockets and the color choice is fantastic. It looks great on you and great for this summer weather. Also thanks for your comment at my blog about the Beach Bra Top…it is such a great, easy top to whip up. Its so comfy. I can’t stop making them, I’ll probably be in them all summer!

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:06 pm (13 years ago)

      Thank you!
      I love that top you made! Just got my pattern in the email and I’m excited to give it a go! It’s been so warm lately- I guess we’re making up for our lack of summer weather last year! lol!

  2. Jill
    July 5, 2011 at 10:49 pm (13 years ago)

    LOVE it! I also love how you’ve accessorized it!

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:06 pm (13 years ago)

      Thank you :) The hat was an Etsy find and I wrapped a ’39 World’s Fair scarf around the brim to tie in the color

  3. PepperToast
    July 6, 2011 at 12:52 am (13 years ago)

    GREAT dress. Worth all the work!

  4. angie.a
    July 6, 2011 at 1:23 am (13 years ago)

    It’s just lovely. Great summer color too!

  5. Lindsay Cillessen
    July 6, 2011 at 5:30 am (13 years ago)

    Lovely dress! And I really fancy the blue color!
    Well done!

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:07 pm (13 years ago)

      Thank you so much!

  6. Tami
    July 6, 2011 at 7:01 am (13 years ago)

    So cute! And I really like the unusual colour combo :)

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:08 pm (13 years ago)

      Thanks! I think I’ll need to make more of the blue/orange combo! It’s so cheerful!

  7. TicketyBooTupney
    July 6, 2011 at 8:55 am (13 years ago)

    Oh I love it ….and the hat, eek. (Fantastic pictures too btw).
    I have a DuBarry pattern on my ‘to make’ list- I hope it doesn’t cause me any troubles as I’m not the most patient of girls when it comes to sewing! Tups x

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:08 pm (13 years ago)

      Thank you! The hat was an Etsy find and I just wrapped a scarf around to accessorize :)
      Maybe it won’t be a pain! I remember I made up one mid 30s one and it came out just fine!

  8. fredericaknits
    July 6, 2011 at 10:45 am (13 years ago)

    Beautiful dress! I love the pocket detail.

  9. Casey
    July 6, 2011 at 12:51 pm (13 years ago)

    Adorable! I just love the brightness of the blue–so striking. :) I’ve had similar problems with Dubarry patterns in the past; they sizing/drafting is just odd… I have a few in my stash I keep meaning to sew up though…

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:10 pm (13 years ago)

      Thank you!
      I know what you mean! Sometimes they’re worth the pain cause they’re cute, but I guess there’s hits and misses with every line! A mid 30s blouse I made up came out just fine. I think my fabric was a bit woobly, so that might have contributed. But I made my husband 30s mens pajamas and they looked nothing like the illustration- and they were just plain old mid weight cotton!

  10. Heide from apronhistory
    July 6, 2011 at 5:07 pm (13 years ago)

    Great pattern! You definatly need a bolero to go with. Love that look.
    I don’t recall if I have ever made a DuBarry pattern. Will have to remeber to watch out for sizing issues though.

    • wearinghistory
      July 6, 2011 at 6:11 pm (13 years ago)

      Thanks! I *love* boleros, so definitely on my to-make list!

  11. Sara
    July 6, 2011 at 8:33 pm (13 years ago)

    Awwh really cute dress, great pattern! :)

  12. Tasha
    July 7, 2011 at 7:08 pm (13 years ago)

    I think it looks fantastic! So funny, I saw the smaller picture on Sew Retro before seeing it here and thought “My, that looks like Lauren from Wearing History!” LOL I really love the pocket detail in particular!

  13. Lholy-chan
    July 8, 2011 at 4:46 pm (13 years ago)

    This is a lovely dress! I really like its shape and the colors you chose. I’m not a huge fan of the pocket style though, although I admit that it’s original. A matching bolero would be perfect.

  14. mahaila
    July 14, 2011 at 7:41 pm (13 years ago)

    I love this dress. The colour combination and the style are fantastic. Loving your blog!!!

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