Style Sense: Vanilla Crème, A Styling Exercise in Summer Elegance

Introduction

You don’t need a closet full of coordinated outfits to look chic in summer. With just a few basic skirts and tops, you can create stylish, breathable looks that feel effortless. The key is simplicity—soft colors and gentle prints help you project calm and ease, even in heat and humidity.

This is the first post in my Style Sense series. Each look is built from two slim skirts and a mix of solid and printed tops. None of the pieces were bought as a set—they were collected over time. When you stay true to your style and color preferences, your wardrobe naturally works together. You can always shop your closet to create something fresh.

Summer Chic: Vanilla Crème

A vanilla-colored pencil skirt is a summer essential. It pairs beautifully with halter tops, tanks, and breezy overblouses. Its soft neutrality complements both prints and solids, making it a versatile base for countless outfits.

In this look, the top is the focal point. To keep the eye drawn upward, I added a simple gold bangle and chose beige sandals that contrast subtly with the skirt. The soft floral tones—roses and leaves—add a feminine touch without overwhelming the palette.

Necklaces can feel heavy or sticky in humid weather. This top features a clever solution: the necklace is detachable and secured with clear plastic loops sewn beneath each shoulder. Each side of the necklace has a clasp that hooks into the loops. It’s a thoughtful detail that can be adapted to your own summer sewing projects.

Style Notes

– Choose a mid-calf or ballerina-length pencil skirt in a neutral shade like vanilla
– Look for a stretch skirt with no zippers or wide waistbands—comfort matters in the heat
– If the skirt is sheer, wear a lightweight slip in white or off-white
– Select a top in a color or print that complements the skirt
– Sandals should be close to the skirt’s shade, or slightly lighter/darker
– Let the top be the focal point
– Keep jewelry minimal—bangles or earrings work well without adding bulk

RetroGlam holiday weekend dress-up fun

Since this is the Labor Day weekend in the U.S., I have more time for dressing up in vintage clothes and sharing online. I also dressed my vintage fashion dolls up. Here are photos from this special day and my trip back in time to the time when my Mom and Aunties lived. Yes, they wore pretty housedresses like the ones by Pat Perkins. For very special occasions they had a sheath dress in a print or basic black. Other popular styles for day into evening had fitted bodices with scoop necklines, fitted sleeves and flared skirts.

1950s Pat Perkins day dress/house dress

This black and white checked dress is by Pat Perkins. The seller on ebay estimated it was early to mid 1950s. I agree with that because there is a side zipper. The bodice opens part way under the Princess Panel on the left so that the dress is easier to put on.

I plan to take detailed photos of this dress and will share a style and construction analysis. My next project will be based on this dress. I will use the new sloper I am developing for 1950s inspired outfits once it is finished.

1950s cocktail/evening dress-unknown dressmaker-custom sized

I bought this vintage dress on Ebay during Lockdown 2020. The seller described the dress as custom made around the 1950s. It is about one size too big for me, but still I enjoy dressing up in it and taking photos in it. I am not sure if this is considered a cocktail dress, an evening dress or a day-to-evening dress. Sometimes the subtler categories for when women wore what kind of clothing in decades prior to the 1970s pass me by.

This dress is exquisitely made. It is fully lined in a matching mandarin orange colored silky fabric. Both the fabric and the lining are either 100% synthetic or a blend. The brocade of the dress is soft and very comfortable to wear. The sleeves are short mounted sleeves with a gusset under the arm. I think in the U.K. the term is “grown-on sleeve”. The dress closes with a center back slot zipper. There are many other finishing and construction details I will share in the future.

When you see a vintage garment you are interested in for study and/or wear, buy it if you can afford it. Once you own it you have a piece of fashion history. You also have a study piece that will expand your knowledge first hand of how clothing was constructed in the past.

Style lines from a vintage patternmaking handout

In my previous posting, “What are style lines?” I explained what style lines are. I showed how a few style lines can be used to transform a basic skirt and bodice into a vintage inspired fashion from a 1964 magazine photograph.

Today, I’m sharing classroom handouts from a vintage patternmaking book. The style lines used are easy to understand and clearly illustrated on the basic bodice. Based on my knowledge of patternmaking it looks like the “slash and spread” method was used. This means, the pattern was created by tracing the basic sloper. The style lines were then drawn. After that, the pattern was slashed and spread when tucks or gathers had to be created. Other patterns were simply cut along the style lines, like the one for the princess line bodice.

I estimate that these pattern transformations are from the 1940s.

What are style lines?

Introduction

The basic pattern, a/k/a sloper, is the blueprint of a person’s body. It is a one dimensional representation of the measurements of the body used within a pattern drafting system. Or, the dress form itself is the basic pattern in three dimensional form. It represents the standard size or the size of the person for whom it was custom made.

The process of working the basic pattern into an individual style is called pattern transformation. Style lines are used to map out how the emerging style will look. They are drawn onto the basic pattern. Alternately, style tape is pinned to the dress form to show how the garment pieces will look. This helps the draper know where to mold the fabric and how the garment piece should look.

Analyzing an outfit and seeing the style lines

A knowledge of the different forms sleeves, bodices, skirts, collars, pants and dresses can take helps in analyzing an existing style. Rough sketches help clarify if one is seeing the style lines correctly or misinterpreting a photograph or sketch someone else has made. Of course the best way to analyze a garment is to see it in real time. That is not always, possible, though. When one is inspired by a vintage style sketching and studying photos is one way to help in the recreation or updated expression of that style.

An economical way to practice visualizing and understanding stylelines is to have a library of basic bodices, sleeves, skirts and slacks printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. With colored pencil or pen these copies can have style lines drawn over them. Immediately you can see the blueprint for the pattern transformation. Which darts and seams the style lines intersect with also comes to the fore. It is possible to get a better idea what needs to be done for the actual transformation.

Example of a style analysis and practice transformation

This photo comes from a 1964 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. Fashions from Hong Kong were featured. This cocktail outfit consists of a silk sheath shirt and unfitted, sleeveless blouse.

On copies of a basic bodice and basic skirt, fronts and backs, style lines are sketched and notes added to better understand one possible way to recreate, or at least interpret, the original 1964 fashion.

I hope these suggestions help you in your next vintage inspired style recreation or adaptation.