Show us your Swirl dresses!

[Deleted member 12480]

Love my Swirl to death! Always on the lookout for more!

Ah! Hello! I didn't know you were on fl! Xx

 

[HomesteadHattie]

This thread is great!! I LOVE sunny, practical cotton dresses and was not previously aware of a Swirl brand, but I am really enamored now. I am already on the hunt for a wartime housedress pattern, just so's I can use old kitchen-print curtain fabric for contrasting pockets! How cute would that be?

I'm thinking about this pattern, even though it's not a wrap. It still has the traits I'm looking for.

 

[khalamorgan]

I love this!

 

[Inky]

I think this is allowed but if not - please delete Bartender(s).

One of my fav sellers, Hatfeather's Vintage, just posted a fantastic RED Swirl with a lobster on it and the pocket looks like an oven mit shape! I'd snatch it up if it fit (it's a small) - someone give this a good home, it's too cute:

http://www.hatfeathersvintage.com/3291-Red-Swirl-Dress/Vintage-Swirl-Dress.html

 

[zendy]

AWWW Inky! Why do you torture me so!
If I was a few inches smaller in the waist, it would be mine.

 

[HomesteadHattie]

I have been hunting this pattern for a year with no luck whatsoever, and just today I realized it was a Swirl-style dress! It buttons at the top of the back and it wraps around to the front! And check out the unique skirt.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ethel Mertz wore these kinds of dresses a LOT on I Love Lucy. Kinda makes you want to reassess her potential to be a style icon, doesn't it?

 

[Inky]

zendy - i am an equal opportunity Swirl torturer i wish it fit me and even am pondering making a copy because I love it so much!

HomesteadHattie - funny you say that - I wore one of my Swirl dresses while on vacation and my mother-in-law commented about Ethel! I loved Ethel's homemaker style more than Lucy's glamorous one

 

[crwritt]

I have been hunting this pattern for a year with no luck whatsoever, and just today I realized it was a Swirl-style dress! It buttons at the top of the back and it wraps around to the front! And check out the unique skirt.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ethel Mertz wore these kinds of dresses a LOT on I Love Lucy. Kinda makes you want to reassess her potential to be a style icon, doesn't it?

This one would be great for me anyway, as it has less of a full skirt. If only someone around here could locate this pattern and grade it for sizes oh, say
up to 42 bust, then sell the repros for a modest price!

 

[fuzzylizzie]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ethel Mertz wore these kinds of dresses a LOT on I Love Lucy. Kinda makes you want to reassess her potential to be a style icon, doesn't it?

That is correct. Here is a blog post I wrote several years ago about Ethel and Swirl:

http://fuzzylizzie.bravejournal.com/entry/25760

 

[HomesteadHattie]

Inky: I watched a slew of I Love Lucy episodes a few months ago and I kept admiring Ethel's more humble wardrobe more than Lucy's uncomfortable-looking, super-cinched-waist style!

FuzzyLizzie: I love the post! Maybe Ethel paid for her $9 housedresses herself, with whatever profits she could scrape up from hers and Lucy's various hare-brained business schemes (Their Aunt Martha's Old-Fashioned Salad Dressing did fairly well, didn't it?)

 

[KittyT]

AWWW Inky! Why do you torture me so!
If I was a few inches smaller in the waist, it would be mine.

There's always tailoring

 

[KittyT]

This one would be great for me anyway, as it has less of a full skirt. If only someone around here could locate this pattern and grade it for sizes oh, say
up to 42 bust, then sell the repros for a modest price!

I've seen lots and lots of Swirl-ish vintage patterns out there. They sometimes go for a pretty penny, but they're out there.

 

[zendy]

Inky We should have a copy-off!

Kitty T I think the problem is, I need to tailor my waist lol

 

[KittyT]

Kitty T I think the problem is, I need to tailor my waist lol

Cincher? I guess with a dress as comfy as a Swirl, wearing a cincher probably defeats the whole point.

 

[crwritt]

There's always tailoring

Its not so difficult to tailor things smaller. Larger, though, sometimes presents a problem.
I think I'll go ahead and draft a copy based on the illustration of McCall's 8164. I'll let you all see how it comes out.

 

[HomesteadHattie]

CRWRITT: Yes, please do let us know how it turns out, because I have been obsessing over that pattern for a solid year. If you can copy it, you'll be my hero!

 

[Lottie]

CRWRITT: Yes, please do let us know how it turns out, because I have been obsessing over that pattern for a solid year. If you can copy it, you'll be my hero!

And mine! Thats such a lovely pattern.

 

[Drappa]

Hello,
I have just joined the site and already learned a ton! I have fallen in love with a Swirl-like dress and since I have never seen one IRL was wondering how much leeway there is with the waist? The dress I found has a 25" waist, but I'm more a 28"...and am so sad. Is there a way to wear it with a slip and a small gap, or is that really silly?

 

[KittyT]

Hello,
I have just joined the site and already learned a ton! I have fallen in love with a Swirl-like dress and since I have never seen one IRL was wondering how much leeway there is with the waist? The dress I found has a 25" waist, but I'm more a 28"...and am so sad. Is there a way to wear it with a slip and a small gap, or is that really silly?

Well, since they're wrap dresses, you really have at least a couple of inches of leeway. But you definitely would not want to wear it with a gap and your slip showing! You should ask the seller how much fabric overlap there is at the back.

 

[Drappa]

Well, since they're wrap dresses, you really have at least a couple of inches of leeway. But you definitely would not want to wear it with a gap and your slip showing! You should ask the seller how much fabric overlap there is at the back.

Thanks! That's what I thought. The seller said there were two buttons an inch apart, but I find it all a bit confusing.