Mad Men |

I’ve loved Alison Brie since binge-watching Community a couple of years ago when it was on Netflix – for some reason it has now disappeared, which is a shame because it’s brilliant! Also, of course, I then enjoyed her role as Trudy in Mad Men.

Then last month Netflix released GLOW – Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. We watched it all in 2 days and could easily have watched it all in one go. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a funny, smart show about women. The central friendship between Alison Brie’s and Betty Gilpin’s characters is a refreshingly 3 dimensional look at female friendship. And there are lots of good female characters as all the wrestlers have personalities and get time being more of a central character. And they don’t just talk about men all the time, so this definitely passes the Bechdel Test!

I also slightly love all the terrible 80s fashion, hair and make-up! Can someone please invite me to an 80s party so I have an excuse to make an 80s outfit?

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I saw an interview with Alison Brie where she said she got a perm for the role! Now that’s dedication to your craft.

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Since I now have a total girl crush on her, I thought I’d do a post about her style, which I really like. I also totally want to be as fit as she is in GLOW. I have (again) started jogging, so maybe one day!

I’m not sure I could pull off leather trousers tbh (I’m not Theresa May after all!), but I do like this look. I like the top and the lipstick too. If only I ever wore lipstick…..

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I really like the details on this dress – the black side panels and the unlined part of the skirt at the bottom. I really want to know what kind of fabric this is! On the skirt it looks almost like chain, but that would weigh a tonne, so I’m sure it’s not! Answers on a postcard please if you know.

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I really, really like this sweatshirt. I reckon it would be fairly easy to knock off, with the Grainline Linden pattern, but the tricky thing would be finding the right fabric. I like it with the shirt underneath, too.

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Ah, my love of collars is definitely coming back! Not totally sure about the cuffs, but I love her hair and make-up here.

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I’m not normally a huge fan of strapless dresses, but for some reason I really like this one. Look at the embroidery! I assume it’s embroidery, but it could be on the actual fabric and they’ve done some really clever pattern placement?

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I like the fake cut out type panels on this dress. The (I assume) lace inserts look really cool.

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I really love this dress which she wore to the People’s Choice Awards in 2016. After some googling I have discovered it was designed by Cushnie Et Ochs. I love the minty colour and she shape of the front panel, and the cut outs look great. A contender for my dress for next year’s Dressmaker’s Ball perhaps?

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I really like the simplicity of this dress. I think it works so well because it fits her perfectly. It looks like the edges might be leather/faux leather, which adds a bit of an edge to what might have been a slightly twee dress.

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I love this jumpsuit! I’ve had a couple of jumpsuits patterns in my stash for ages and I’ve still not made one. I’m not generally a fan of wrap fronts (as I don’t have the chest to fill them) but I really like this. Probably mostly in love with it for the colour! And it has pockets!

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I really like this coat and scarf combo. I always feel like I don’t look that stylish when I wear scarves, but I’m not sure how to tie/wrap them to look cool. I might copy this coat at some point in the future……when I apparently have unlimited sewing time and money!

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To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why I like this Bella Freud dress so much, but I do really like it. I love the colour, even if it’s one I wouldn’t wear, and I like the seam details across the upper chest and the sleeves. It’s quite 70s I think.

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Have you watched GLOW yet? If so, did you love it? I’m almost certainly going to watch it again next week when I have a sewcation from work 😀

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So when I was at my Grandma’s at the weekend, it occurred to me that she used to do lots of sewing – there’s a very glamorous shot of her in a 50’s style halter dress (like Marilyn Monroe on The Seven Year Itch) and she made the dress herself…….without a pattern! So I asked he if she had any patterns left from her sewing days and I was in luck! I picked only the ones I though I might be likely to make (so left behind all the 70s and kids’ ones). Because my Grandma was born in 1930, the 50s and 60s seem to be the eras when she was sewing the most clothes – especially the 60s, which is lucky for me as I’ve just become obsessed with Mad Men (I know, only like 6 years behind everyone else!)!

I got this one as The Boyfriend has been saying he wants a night-shirt for a little while now – so now I’ve found a pattern, I’ve got no excuse.

Another one for The Boyfriend – see how selfless I am?! I love the fact that the guy in the jacket is smoking in the picture!

I love, love, love these 60s blouses – and I love the fact that the brand of pattern is called ‘Housewife Special’!

The rest are mostly dress patterns….

I’m not sure about this one – but I might just be being put off by the orange!

I think this one is more 70s as it was a dress my Grandma made for my Mum’s school uniform. You can’t go wrong with a shirt dress!

Simple shift dresses.

Simple skirt, top and jacket pattern.

I really love this one, even if the cover is quite damaged – and you can see it’s been drawn on by a small child at some point!

I think this one might be a my favourite – look at those coats!

It remains to be seen if I ever get around to making any of these – I would have to grade them all as they seem to be mostly in size 14 (whereas I’m a size 8). Maybe one day, when I’ve sewn a few more modern patterns……