Is it Friday already?

It's been a busy week, and I'm unclear as to which day of it we have attained. But my sources say it's Friday, which means that Wendy of Pattern Stash is having a sale today, Saturday & Sunday. She'll be offering a 15% discount in place of the usual 10%. Use the code Voguesale.

At Pattern Stash, shipping is just a flat $2.50 for all your patterns, no matter how many patterns you purchase (in the US only, sorry)!

And at her new shop patternstash.ecrater.com all the patterns are new and uncut, and shipping is free.

That's her pattern there, that really 1960s bridal gown. I love that skirt and the short sleeves; not so sure about the chokey collars on the attendants' dresses.

Also, xstpenguin sent the embroidered logo for the Air Hostess Corps, from Urban Threads:




So. Awesome, yes?

You Too Can Enter The Exciting World of Airship Hostesses!

So Ashley has sent me this great story:

So I have this image of a 1950s airship hostess pattern [see above], and I don't know where I got it. I don't know if it's a Marian Martin or an Anne Adams or what, but it has held my interest since day one. I don't think it was ever featured on your blog; I searched your dirigible posts to try and find the name of the pattern company. No luck. Searches on Google, eBay, and Lanetz and friends have yielded nothing for months, so I decided to just improvise with patterns I already have, as usual. The bodice is a 1990s jumper pattern with straps extended, pointed, and separated for button-y goodness, and the skirt is a from a 1940s pattern. I added a [poorly done] side zipper. The fabric is simple, rust-orange cotton.

So, just in case you didn't get this at first reading: she saw just the picture, and managed to frankenstein together a pretty good approximation, like so:




I love stories like this. (I also love that color orange.) Was Ashley going to let not having the actual pattern stand in her way? NO! She just jumped right in and DID it. This is what our country needs today. If I were hiring airship hostesses, Ashley would go right to the top of the list.

How would you prove your mettle as a possible airship-hostess trainee? Leave your stories of moxie in the comments.

My Airship Hostess Dream: One Step Closer to Reality

Wundermary sent me this link (from the wiki) and it's a fantastic airship-hostess dress. I love the asymmetry, especially the pocket.

I think that dirigibles (or airships, or, if you prefer the vulgar term, "blimps") are making a comeback, too ... there was one in xkcd this week, and nobody predicts the future like Randall. And there are rumors that Google is investing in airships, too ...

So if none of my current projects pan out, there is a definite future for me as an airship hostess. I am *really* looking forward to giving the safety demonstrations. (Traditionally, as you know, the safety demonstrations on airships are done as patter songs, so I will have to take a few singing lessons first. But it will be SO worth it.)

And, as you can see on the pattern, my supervisor's name is very likely to be "Betty Smith."

Oh, and some sale info for you: first of all, Jen is running an "Only Hours Long" sale at www.momspatterns.com that will end at the witching hour of midnight EST on Halloween Friday, October 31, 2008. Save 25% off any order starting *right now* ... but the code will vanish into the mist as the clock strikes 12 a.m. Coupon code will be 'bewitched'.

Also, Sandra at Sandritocat is running a special Halloween sale, 15% off excluding shipping, starting TODAY October 29th and running through October 31st. Just mention "Halloween15" in your notes. Sandra is also looking for her 700th sale and a special bonus will be going out to the lucky 700th buyer ... and I think this pattern would make an excellent 700th sale!

The Hostess With the Mostess

This pattern (kindly sent by Lisa of Miss Helene's) is one of a set of (?) "College-Career Fashions created by student-designers of Stephens College, Columbia, MO". However, if anyone on that campus (or anywhere in Columbia, MO) EVER wore anything like this except for the inevitable fashion show (including their most illustrious alumna), I will construct an audacious little cocktail hat and eat it.

I can't imagine that this is a "College-Career fashion", by which I'm assuming they mean something you can wear at College, and then in your Career. (With capital letters because having either College or a Career ws so rare.)

Wearing this at College (unless you ditch the capelet) is patently ridiculous, but you know what Career they meant, of course: this is the dirigible-hostess uniform for the Greater Midwest Lighter-Than-Airlines! Or at least the one that won the contest that the GMLTA conducted among college student-designers.

The dirigible hostesses all loved this design since they could wear their capelet-belt-aprons on duty, then leave them hanging in the GMLTA locker room while they went out to enjoy the nightlife of Columbia MO, St. Louis, Kansas City, or Duluth. (The hubs of the GMLTA.)

The head hostesses would wear navy dresses and red capes, and the cadet hostesses would have red sheaths and navy capes. So chic.

They'd take their little GMLTA pins off the capes, though, and wear them on their sheath dresses, since they were good for a free drink and plate of crudités at any bar in the GMLTA hub cities.

Ah, I wish the GMLTA hadn't gone belly-up (literally, it was terrifying, thank goodness they had those five-point seat harnesses). Those were the days when travel was truly an elegant adventure.

Wanted: Airship Hostesses

So, for a little while now, India and I have been trading links to patterns for airship-hostess dresses. (You know, what the flight attendant on the dirigible wears?)

Like this:



Or this:



Or this:




[Thanks to Beth B. for the last link]

I mean, I've found SPACE dirigible-crew dresses before, but for some reason these above are more suited to atmospheric travel.

What makes an airship-hostess dress, you ask? I think it's a combination of asymmetry, buttons, and a longish A-line skirt. Interesting collars and pockets are good, too. If the dress would look good with a tiny pillbox hat with a cockade, that's another plus.

I don't know why I'm so tickled by these dresses. Maybe it's the allure of steampunk (I like the idea of an art-deco kind of steampunk), or maybe it's that I've been flying a lot lately and am wistful for the idea of quiet, elegant airship travel (now! with fewer Hindenburgs!). Who knows why ... all I know is that I want to see more of them! Suggestions welcome.

(Oh, and btw, India, I'll have you know, is so deeply saturated with win that she made this Flickr set: A Daily Hint From Paris. Take a look ... there are only a baker's dozen or so right now so it won't kill your WHOLE morning.)