Gatsby Picnic

At my mother-in-law's request our family attended the Gatsby Picnic a couple weeks back. It was motivating, if nothing else. Where does a 185 lb, 5 ft. 9.5 in. girl get herself some authentic 1920s or 30s vintage outfits in a hurry? She doesn't. She has to make them.

I started by buying some patterns from Decades of Style because they have redrafted some great vintage patterns to fit larger sizes (Angelina are you listening?). I made this skirt and this jacket (still a WIP). My sister found a vintage-looking Target sweater at a garage sale. I just happen to have some vintage size 11 shoes that worked. My goal was to look appropriate, but not too fancy.

After looking at the Vintage Pattern Lending Library I was dying to make one of these wonderful felt hats. Of course, I picked the one with the flowers. I used all materials from the stash — a benefit of being a hoarder. The picnic day turned out to be very warm, so I traded in the wool for a straw cloche that my MIL had. The wool hat made its debut at preschool last week when my hair was in a state that might scare small children. Turns out the hat scared them more than the hair. Go figure.

More photos from the picnic here.