The moment I saw the Nina Lee Bakerloo dress I was besotted. You know, with That collar. The large be-frilled collar that took all the earliest Millenials back to their childhoods. I don’t even know if I owned any dresses or blouses with a collar that fancy but it’s definitely in my memory as a barn-stormer of a Fashion Moment in the early 80s. Paired with a smock dress and a full, gathered sleeve it was simply irresistible to me, and I was pleased to find out I’d squeeze into the very largest size, a 28.
Isn’t there something very powerful about sewing all the garments we wished we had when we were young and unable to buy clothing for ourselves? I could happily leave the power shoulders of the 80s and early 90s but as for the big neon prints, tiny floral prints, ginormous collars and ruffled hems – come with me, I am taking all of you into my Forties!
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I’m working through my stash so when it came to fabric choice I was somewhat limited. I pulled out 5 metres of this cotton print which was only 112cm wide and thanked Past Natalie for buying extra. Because of the narrow width I had to cut the skirt into panels but this was a toile and the busy blue and pink floral would mostly disguise the seams so I wasn’t terribly bothered. The frill would definitely need to be a contrasting fabric to break up the blooming mayhem and fortunately I had just enough plain pink poplin to do the job.
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I do have a couple of bones to pick with the Bakerloo. The grading up into the largest sizes went awry somewhere along the line, and the formed dart had a big butt protruding from the side. I even pressed it up to see if it was trued that way but it wasn’t. The side seam of the front thus curved once the dart was constructed so I had to ease it into the straight edge of the back piece. Also the size guide piece for the ruffle is far too short for the size 28 collar. I don’t know if these issues present in the smaller size range but it’s frustrating that they weren’t corrected for the larger sizes because it makes one feel like an afterthought.
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Nevertheless, when I hemmed the skirt and sewed on the button (a freebie from a magazine I bought years ago) I was excited to try it on. I slipped it over my head without undoing the button, turned to the mirror and gasped. Could it be the most popular girl in school, with the prettiest dress!? All I was missing was a large poufy fringe and some patent leather shoes.
The fit was really good for a toile, even considering that drafting fumble with the side seam. The collar: absolutely massive. The pockets: functional and mandatory. The print: floral chaos. Where am I going to wear this thing? I don’t know but if there’s a school dance coming up all the other kids are going to eat my sartorial dirt.
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