happy halloween!

ah, at long last! There was more I wanted to do, but I just plain ran out of time. Oh well, I can add more to it next year. We decided to throw a Prohibition party for Halloween, complete with a big hors d'ouvres spread (next post) and classic cocktails, and we projected Ken Burns' new documentary on the wall of our friend's apartment (you can buy episodes on itunes already!)

so, getting in the 20s/30s spirit, I found this silk ombre dress (Gap!) at Goodwill. It's a bit big, but I figured, that's really going to give me the silhouette I want, anyway.

This is the dress after I dyed the dress with idye on the stovetop for a couple hours. I used kelly green because green and red are opposite each other on the colour wheel. Therefore, I knew I'd end up with a green dress that faded to brown where the pink colour was stronger. The colour seems much more Art Deco to me. Note: if you put silk chiffon in hot water, it shrinks. See the hem sticking out at the bottom? I thought I'd have time to take the dress up (it's a bit long for a flapper, anyway), but I didn't - oh well, another project for next year!

Next: I pinned appliques and bits of lace that I had cut up on the dress. Pin, pin, pin! I looked at images of 20s fashion for a few days and started noting the trends: deep Vs at the neck, whether overlays or appliques or just trim, there are a lot of deep Vs at the neck. And then a horizontal line right at the widest part of the hips. I arranged my appliques accordingly.

Then the real work begins: sew sew sew! I added little seed beads for additional sparkle after I got all the appliques and lace on.

And voila! The starry headband is a project from a few years ago; I also bought a wide headband base to cover with green silk when I take the hem up. So, hopefully next year I'll have a matching headband with appliques and maybe even tassels on the sides - next year, next year.

Cass made himself a foam-core tommy gun - isn't it cute? It's sculptural, too - about five separate layers. It was a hit at the party, everyone wanted to play with it. We don't know what to do with it, but it's too cute to throw away, so it's sitting in our bedroom.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Have fun tomorrow! I am looking forward to hanging out and seeing all the kids in their costumes and handing out candy!