Puttin' on the Ricci

1969...
"...Shapes. Some people called it the year of the body, not because more anatomy was on display than even before, but because body-hugging clothes made the headlines. Gentle jersey shirtdresses went snug and were tied close at the waist or slimmed down with smocking. Long sweater-jackets slunk closer...", from
Paperpast Yearbook's 1969 recap of trends. There's also a cute pic of a young Lauren Hutton and a pair of "Roxbury" looking guys, hee hee hee. I thought this is an informative and entertaining fashion yearbook detailing trends from 1950-1979 by a click on a year.


The roll neck collar dress is back in full swing:

Barrie Pace dress in metallic thread jacquard regularly for $218:


Barrie Pace longer sleeved version in ponte knit


Sara Campbell's silk dress at Amazon.com regularly for $248





Vogue Paris Original by Nina Ricci

Pattern Description
From 1969: One-Piece Dress. Loose fitting straight dress has short kimono sleeves and square seaming detail on front and back. Stand-away bias rolled collar. Slanted welt pockets. Purchased or self fabric belt. This design came out when Ms. Ricci was 86 years old.

"...Working directly with the fabric on a mannequin, Nina Ricci created elegant, sophisticated clothes in classic style. She was noted for her high standard of workmanship and became a popular designer for older society women.
She was skilled at making the most of a print, cutting a plaid for an evening dress on the bias, echoing the X-cross in the skirt pattern in the surplice, crossed-over treatment of the bodice. One daring dress in 1937 had a halter neck open between the breasts from neck to waist. Day and evening dresses alike drew attention to the figure, by being fitted to below the waist and featuring much shirring and drapery..." Ms. Ricci was definitely ahead of her time!

More of Nina Ricci biography

Wiki list of Nina Ricci sewing patterns



Fabric
Floral Fantasy Stretch Cotton - Red/White from GorgeousThings.com




Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, except for the wild floral print I used.

Likes
* 60's shift/aline style
* Interesting front of bodice where there is a top yoke attached to the rest of the dress, resulting two inverted "v" seams at each end joined by a straight seam in the bust area.
* Cap sleeves (extensions of the upper front and back bodice and thus, no need to set-in sleeves!)
* Welt pockets
* Unique collar (cut on the bias and folded outward)

Dislikes
*Construction of welt pockets. Vogue did a fine job of detailing the construction, but I would have preferred to use Kenneth King's method described in his Cool Couture book.

*Sized for regular not petite figures. The dress for me necessitated a petite adjustment between the armscye and waist.

* Difficult to ease the upper front and back yokes to the corresponding upper edges of the remaining front and back of the dress. I hand basted the yokes to the lower part of the dress before machine stitching. My inverted "V"'s points were more rounded than pointed.

Were the directions easy to follow?
Absolutely and even better with the helpful illustrations. I read the entire directions before cutting the fabric, noting all of the marked symbols and the various corners to be clipped prior to basting and sewing. Since, I wanted to stay true or almost true to the original construction, I followed most of the directions as noted in the modifications below.


I did not even mind hand-stitching the collar to the inside seam and self-facing the short sleeves.


Modifications
*Omitted the "underlining" or what seemed like lining pieces individually to avoid further bulk. I did not want to relive my experience from a previous vintage Vogue when I "underlined" an entire jacket, when I could have just simply "lined" it as usual.

*Used an invisible zipper

*Omitted the belt carriers. I actually like it without the belt

*Added back darts below the shoulders to take in the back

*If I plan to make this next time, I would make a 1 cm petite adjustment betweem the armhole and waist.

*Shortened the length of the sleeve facings to be able to encircle the sleeves

*Removed a total of 5" from the bottom hem.

*After trying it on, I decided to reinforce the seams with bias tape.



Conclusion
Overall this dress was not that difficult to construct, but not a "quick" sew. I like the silhouette of the dress and the collar, but I'm not so certain that the collar's style really suits me. Although this pattern is 40 years, this or a similar styling is very wearable today. I highly recommend trying any of the vintage Vogue designers series (i.e. Vogue Couturier, Vogue Paris Originals, Vogue Americana). Today's styles seems to have many elements borrowed from the past.....