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You are here: Home / Retro Garments / The Mad Men Challenge: A Little Bit of Betty and a Little Bit of Joan

The Mad Men Challenge: A Little Bit of Betty and a Little Bit of Joan

04/21/2013

I have had this dress done for a few weeks now.  I made this dress for Julia Bobbin’s Mad Men Challenge.  I was excited to make a dress for this challenge as Mad Men is one of my favorite shows and I love early 60s styles, but I also wanted to use fabric from my stash and not go out and buy fabric specifically for a dress.  Betty Draper is my most hated character on the show, but she also tends to be my favorite as far as fashion goes, so it’s a little bit of a quandary.  I could not find a photo of her in a dress in fuschia as it’s not a color in her fashion palette, but it IS a color in Joan Holloway’s closet!

Betty Draper

Betty Draper

Joan

Joan Holloway

So here’s my version of a mesh of the two using fabric and a vintage Vogue pattern in my stash.

Vintage Vogue 8780

Vintage Vogue 8780

I used Vintage Vogue 8789 paired with a fuschia Calvin Klein rayon/acetate faille (bought at Fabric Mart last year for $2.99/yd).  I lined the bodice with cotton batiste (I hate facings!) and have on a black net (and very uncomfortable) petticoat that i had made for another dress.  This is a fun dress and not sure when or where I will wear it again due to the brightness.  I also wish the bodice length was longer, so if I made this pattern again, I would lengthen it.  I probably would make a sash tie belt instead of the cummerbund from the pattern and I think this pattern would be best in a lighterweight fabric.

This is the second dress that I wore for the pin up photos that i took last weekend.

Vintage Vogue 8789

Vintage Vogue 8789

Vintage Vogue 8789

Vintage Vogue 8789

And no one ever gets to see the lovely quirkiness that is my Betsy Johnson vintage-y frames, so I took this self photo to share. 🙂

mrs hughes

mrs hughes

Happy Sewing!!

signature

Dress:  Vintage Vogue 8789 in Calvin Klein rayon/acetate faille, made by me

Petticoat:  Simplicity 5006 in black netting, made by me

Shoes:  Nicole Miller

Jewlery:  Vintage 1950s/60s from my grandmother

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Filed Under: Retro Garments

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Comments

  1. cristi hamilton says

    May 14, 2013 at 5:16 am

    Love your moxy! You got it goin’ on and know how to wear your creations well!

    • Tanya Maile Hughes says

      May 14, 2013 at 6:09 am

      Thank you!

  2. Becca says

    April 23, 2013 at 7:18 am

    It’s gorgeous! What a cute photo shoot! You look so good in pink. Love your glasses, too. 🙂

    • Tanya Maile Hughes says

      April 23, 2013 at 7:45 am

      Thank you, Becca!

  3. Chelsea says

    April 21, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    Ooh,that dress is lovely!

    • Tanya Maile Hughes says

      April 21, 2013 at 3:20 pm

      Thanks, Chelsea!

  4. purplepincushion says

    April 21, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    Beautiful!

    • Tanya Maile Hughes says

      April 21, 2013 at 12:47 pm

      Thank you! 🙂

  5. Nessa says

    April 21, 2013 at 8:52 am

    Another fabulous dress and photo shoot!

    • Tanya Maile Hughes says

      April 21, 2013 at 11:14 am

      Thank you, Nessa!

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