Julie at Damn Good Vintage sent me this dress that's up for sale in her shop right now. And all I can say is I wish I knew the woman who put this together. I mean, sure, there's an even chance she was a raving loon (okay, better than an even chance) but I bet she was FUN. I bet she ate ice cream without moaning about how fat she was, and I bet she didn't mind running so as not to be late for the movie previews (the best part) and I bet she could imitate the mannerisms of your worst ex-boyfriend in such a way that you howled with laughter and forgot all about how badly he broke your heart. You know, the female equivalent of a mensch. And I bet, if you asked her, she would have let you borrow this dress, even though it was her favorite and even though she knows you tend to gesture with your french fries and spill ketchup everywhere.
It's B38, W30, $110 and completely inexplicable. There's a supernumerary bow on the shoulder. The sleeves have ties. Those buttons — they HOLD THE SKIRT ON. I don't understand, but then, do I really need to?
If you buy this and actually wear it, drop me an email. We can go to the movies. I'll wear my crazy skirt, and bring the Raisinets.
A Dress A Day 
You can bet this garment has an interesting story! Wonder if there were shorts to be worn underneath the skirt? There were patterns of that era that were skirt/short sets. Marie from Texas
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Okay – and check out the clown skirt:http://www.mainstreetvintage.com/listingview.php?num=5196&ref=21
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What (bizarre) fun! My mind is racing with the possibilities:–Drum majorette? Hard to lose track of her on the field, plus she could use those buttons to hang all manner of props (whistles, batons, gloves, who knows)–Hostess with the most-est? Maybe there is a collection of matching aprons that attach to those buttons. Also good for hanging feather duster for last-minute touch-ups before the guests arrive!
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I hate this dress and love this post. Thanks for entertaining me (almost) every day. š
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My mind, it is full of bogglement!
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I used to have a friend who was in a wheelchair from MS and sometimes she would turn up in very bright outfits. Most people would say “you must be feeling cheerful to wear that”..”No”, she would answer, “I’m wearing this to make me cheerful” She was great fun and typing this I miss her even though she died a good 20 years ago.
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Thanks Erin, it is a crazy mad dress.I would love to see the pattern for it and she really did a great job of matching the stripes.
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The buttons? Why? Why?
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It looks like the dress of a woman who was afraid of gathering. “hey, buttons can hold it on and then I won’t have to sew the skirt to the bodice!” But yes, she would also have been very fun at a slumber party. Especially wearing that dress.
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I must be the only one who actually like this dress. Not in an “I’d wear this all the time” sort of way, but a dress like could make me happy just hanging in my closet. That’s where it would probably stay for all eternity because my personality is not quite colorful enough to carry such a dress off. I wish it was though. Because that is a DRESS!
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I think the dress is great, the stripes, the bold colors, the little details. All make for a stand-out style, in a very good way. And I bet the hip treatment and the buttons looks great on hips that fill it out a little more.
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I love the dress and I would wear it, if it was my size!I would also love to buy the clown skirt so I could wear it to Thanksgiving dinner just to annoy my brother. He hates clowns (and is afraid of them), but he can be a real pain in my derierre.Linda
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Wow, that seems like the kind of dress you make for the challenge of it – you can put it together and stand back and say, “THAT was an accomplishment,” and you don’t worry about what it might actually look like in a fashion-sense kind of way.
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This? Is the best thing ever. And I was laughing so hard at your post I nearly peed in my pants! LOVE IT!
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I had to laugh at Amy B’s comment about fear of gathering: I will go to almost any lengths to avoid making buttonholes! I just hate doing them and even the ones that are automatic-guaranteed-to-be-exactly-the-same on my Bernina fail me sometimes. This dress is made from taffeta! Holy moly: matching stripes with that slippery stuff had to be a challenge! I would have loved anything made with that gorgeous fabric, but this dress is over the top!
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I think I may have seen a pattern for this dress on one of the vintage sewing pattern sites. It’s also possible that merely viewing this incredible dress has induced hallucinations that I saw a vintage sewing pattern for a dress like this. The buttons on the hips are a rather unique feature.Regardless, I’m now inspired to sew some kind of Completely Over The Top dress for the holidays which may or may not involve buttons.CMC
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It’s a dress, No! it’s a swimming suit with a skirt you can button on. Thanks for a great post Erin!
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It’s fun, it’s funky, I most certainly dig!I’m a fan of your blog! Perhaps you’ll be a fan of Punky Penny. Get ready for all the details on LA Fashion Week – showing soon at http://www.punkypenny.com. Ciao, sweets!
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I would be so happy if I saw you in your crazy skirt and someone in that dress, goin’ to the movies. What is the female equivalent of a mensch, anyway? Cause that’s a word I need.
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That’s neat, what you said, Esther.And chanief if you really like it, maybe you really ARE colourful enough for it …Thanks again, Erin! Too fun.
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That dress is awesome. :)it’s too big for me. :I suffers the wanty.-d
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Thanks for the laugh, I could actually see you character and almost felt like I knew her…:)
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What a wonderful dress! (and what a wonderful text, thank you!). Love the colours and the quirkiness – I’d wear it, and it would make me happy just to own it.Heck, I’d sew it if I got along with my sewing machine (we hate each other)!Maybe she had solid-colour tops (in the colours of the stripes) she could button the skirt on if she felt like wearing something different? Or solid-colour skirts to button onto the stripey top? Actually, I think that’s a great idea and would make a wonderful travelling outfit where everything fits together!
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It looks like the skirt has been buttoned on backwards. That pleat in the front looks like a kick pleat. Hmmm, wonder what the other side looks like.
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Love it. I’d wear in a heartbeat. Love your ramblings my dear~pandaandapanda-rlf
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Your “crazy skirt” looks just fine to me. And that’s all I’m saying. š
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I LOVE that dress. Is it one of those convertible ones with a shorter, pencil-type skirt underneath? Personally, I hate buttonholes way more than attaching skirts, so I’d have to be on a real tear to do such a thing, but it cracks me up.
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the best part is you could wear the top separately, i suppose! but then you’d have to wash it more often and the colors wouldn’t match. I’d be ALL OVER THIS if it weren’t taffeta. i look terrible in shiny fabrics.
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this is a tricky one for sure:)))
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The dress is hideous. I don’t think “mensch” is gender specific. So, the woman who wore this dress can just be a mensch without gender specification. If someone else picked this dress out for her and she wore it anyway, she was definitely a mensch.
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I just saw a pattern for this dress on ebay days ago! Maybe last week. Okay, it might have been a little different, but I dont have it saved to check. If I remember correctly it was from the 20s and was a clown costume pattern. I dont *think* I am merging two sightings anyway.I know this comment is years late, but what can I say! I am working through the archives still š
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