What Did Flappers Wear?? | How My True Vintage 1920s Dresses Were Made 😍

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The 1920s totally changed women's fashion by creating a radically different silhouette - by getting rid of corsets and padding in favor of looser cuts and dropped waists. Today, we're going to examine two original 1920s dresses that I own to see how they were sewn and all the discover all the delicious details that you can't see in museum photographs. Dresses could be easily sewn at home as well as painstakingly created in couture houses.
I've owned these 1920s dresses for a few years now, one of which is my first antique clothing purchase ever (!), but I've never taken the time to really sit down and look at how they were constructed and what information we can gather about vintage dressmaking and different sewing techniques. I think you all are going to really love this video, as both dresses feature hand-sewing and machine sewing techniques. Something that I love about 1920s fashion is how accessible it is to make. You can sew dresses that are intricate and delicate, with embroidery, beading, and spangles - or - you can make a simple dress in just a couple of hours that can be just as chic as an elaborate couture piece. I hope by looking at these vintage dresses with me, that you can find some inspiration for your future sewing projects!
📚Learn More About 1920s Fashion --
1920s Fashions from B. Altman & Company (Dover Fashion and Costumes) -amzn.to/2TWjsQZ
1920s Jazz Age Fashion and Photographs by Martin Pel and Terence Pepper -amzn.to/2TSpBNZ
Everyday Fashions of the Twenties: As Pictured in Sears and Other Catalogs (Dover Fashion and Costumes) by Stella Blum - amzn.to/2ZUCVpe
1920s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook by Emmanuelle Dirix and Charlotte Fiell -amzn.to/2BdpSVm
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[@AbbyCox]

🔎👒 Download June's Journey for free here: pixly.go2cloud.org/SH1qr Let me know if you all have any additional questions about these dresses! I'll be happy to do my best to answer them! ❤️

[@kissarococo2459]

Lol you roasted some flapper about the quality of her mending work 100 years ago. This is the content I love.

[@marikotrue3488]

The white net dress appeals to my constant repurposing of existing designs, however that would ruin the history right? Even with the wonky appliques the white dress was my favorite.

[@oktkmixedmedia901]

Could you show both dresses, but especially the red dress as a whole please. I might 'need' to recreate that :-) and would love to see how the beading is done below the waist. Thanks!

[@vrandomnumbers]

Abby Cox Did most 1920s dresses not have lining but instead underdresses or slips that did the survive? How did those with lining work? Were the linings usually just basically underdresses connected at the shoulder and maybe neckline or were some linings sewn together with the outer dress as one? I'm trying to recreate a garden party type 1925/26 one hour type dress with a lining and sheer overdress but I've had trouble finding the answers! Thank you for any guidance you might be able to give and this video actually showing antique dress construction. Very helpful!

[@Skye_Writer]

I have to suppose there was some type of underdress/shift that was worn under that net dress. Am I right? Is this the kind of thing where you could wear a different color shift underneath for a different look with the same overlay?

[@roxiepoe9586]

My mother was one of 10 children in a poor family. She started school in a flour sack dress. Her mother made their clothes and taught her children to sew. So, when Mom, an 8th grade graduate, started making her own living by waitressing at the fancy hotel and pressing clothes at a dry cleaners, she was close enough to really fashionable clothes to see the details. She also saw how they were constructed. Being ambitious and clever, she and her sister made their own clothes to look as good or better than the finest in town. It delighted them, and their mother. I love her fearless approach to getting what she wanted.

[@TiredRi]

If you don't mind me asking, what year was she born? What a cool story!

[@roxiepoe9586]

@@TiredRi 1929. Her father was a sharecropper in the South. He worked hard to take care of them, but it was a very hardscrabble life. She died just 2 years ago. She said that what she remembered most from her childhood was the singing. They sang around the house, and in the fields. She and her siblings hoed cotton as soon as they were able, age 6 or so, and tried to stay close enough to one another to sing as they worked.

[@TiredRi]

Wow, thank you for sharing.

[@juliethutchison837]

What an awesome history! I think it’s awesome that you were so close to your grandma. I wish my grandma and I had that kind of relationship ❤️

[@chillfactory9000]

Thats a beautiful story! Your mother sounded like an amazing woman.

[@jorisvanderaa4799]

Imagine putting a lot of love and time in a dress and 100 years later people still gasp when they see it😂

[@brigidscaldron]

Life goals!

[@jennifertalwar6099]

Amazing thought!!

[@sarahrouse5387]

I literally gasped a couple times during this video

[@KoriEmerson]

EVERY SINGLE one of my Great Grandmas dresses from the 20s closes like that. ALL OF THEM. We are talking like 13 of them . I asked her why and she said that snaps were easy to replace and that the snaps didn’t make holes. SO in their mind, it would make the dress last longer. She also said that it made it so if you gained a few inches it wasn’t as big of a deal. you had some wiggle room. Her wedding dress had the same type of closure. She also said that it made it so that you could pass the dress around and not worry about having to change too much.

[@kzisnbkosplay3346]

I have a 1920s dress too, and the first thing I thought when I started poking around in it was "OMG the snaps!"

[@IonIsFalling7217]

I mean that’s how baby clothes fasten. It makes sense to me.

[@spacewolfcub]

Hm... in my experience, snaps tear the fabric or tear my nails. Did they had a neat trick like a pair of tweezers they kept around for undoing snaps?

[@sherylpyers1719]

@@spacewolfcub Thats what fingernails are for.

[@spacewolfcub]

@Sheryl Pyers - Fingernails are for tearing? I did mention snaps tear mine, which is the reason I despise them.

[@autumn7143]

My Granny was born in 1924. None of her family were flappers, but I love learning about what was worn at that time. She did tell me that her mother would wear a net overlay to dress up her normal dresses on Sunday.

[@MiniMidgMom]

I’m fascinated with the concept of overlays, whether it’s to dress up or protect. I want to go down the overlay rabbit hole!

[@pseudo.account]

That's very economical!

[@williamsstephens]

How clever!

[@florindalucero3236]

You know what I would love to see? What gals in small towns were wearing, as they tried to emulate high fashion flappers. They had a lot more humble options than we do, but that doesn't mean that they didn't yearn for what they saw at the flicks, and in magazines. And, since most of America was tiny town back then, I'm fairly sure they weren't wearing sleeveless dresses.

[@LWilli5]

Florinda Lucero look up Urbana, Ohio. Not a bustling metropolis.

[@ColorJoyLynnH]

My gramma Ruthie was from A very small town in southeastern Minnesota. Plenty of those folks made their own clothes, though Gramma didn’t. I have several photos of her, the earliest in the 20’s and latest in the 50’s. colorjoy.com/weblog/archives/6365

[@sherylpyers1719]

@@ColorJoyLynnH You are so very lucky to have those lovely photo's. I think you described me here. We are who we are. I’m glad to be at a point where I can just notice and observe who I am, for the most part. I’m so scattered at times that it’s a hassle. However, that ability to notice and be distracted also helps me draw creative connections I might not see otherwise.

[@ominousblossoms]

@@ColorJoyLynnH Thank you for sharing such wonderful photographs of your Grandma Ruthie! The whole page - including the comments - was infused with such a loving, and lovely, warmth!❤

[@10Raccoon]

@@ColorJoyLynnH Hey, what year was your Grandmother born. I have a Great Aunt Ruthie from the same area and now I'm curious

[@greenlean8890]

Could you do wider shots to get more of the dress to show next time? It's a bit difficult trying to match your descriptions with a vision in my mind of what I think the dress looks like. It would have been nice to see the half below the hips. You're doing a great job explaining your findings, and I love your close-up shots that show exactly what you're describing. I just had a hard time placing some of the features, like where is that hook/eye closure thats badly worn?

[@spacewolfcub]

Ooh, sketches! Pencil sketches of the entire dress to point at like a minimap.

[@nixhixx]

Wider shots of the full dress, and better shots of the details, not just laying on the table, below the frame, 90% of the time you're discussing it.

[@SwitchelSweets]

I love love love seeing the weird construction methods and hand-sewing flubs that someone didn’t bother to cover up cuz nobody was gonna notice. Makes me feel so much less pressured to make my sewing look picture perfect! 😂❤️ #SewingIsHard

[@planetpompom]

Agreed, I watched this while sewing and struggling with some sloppy hand-stitching and it really made me smile!

[@Sailor_S]

Is the beading all hand done? If so, I would definitly choose a simple design because the beading is a trip to hell due to the detailing and amount. I MEAN LOOK AT HOW EVENLY SPACED IT ALL IS.

[@k06kw02]

Judging by the way it looks on the back, the beading was also done by tambour embroidery, either by hand or machine.

[@argusfleibeit1165]

I agree-- it's too perfect to look hand-beaded. Every circle and spiral looks perfectly round, and the actual stitches of the beading are too regular. Possibly the pattern pieces were cut out, the machine beading was done, and then the garment was sewn together with hand stitching. The way the edges around the armhole have four lines of beading leads me to this idea. I super love this dress. Very "modern" and beautiful. Hand-beading would have made the dress astronomically expensive, as well.

[@ivernori]

Well, inside it looks like a tambour beading. I'm familiar with embroidery and I don't think it's possible to recreate this technique with machine.

[@mausemadchenmi7144]

Don’t know if the beading is hand done,but even with just a few hours of self taught tambour, I can get my stitches pretty even, so if someone is practiced at it, it might be possible it is handdone, especially if you consider the rest is handsome as well.

[@berkleypearl2363]

Because of the weird way you get into the pretty white net dress it reminds me of a dress for a performance rather than something you would wear for a fancy occasion. Also the seams and the weird hem just scream “I had 5 minutes to finish this it doesn’t matter if the hem backwards no one will see it it’s going on stage! Screw French seams!” Of course this is just a wild guess, I’m not a dress historian. Weird shoulder closures might be normal in the 20’s. It’s just a fun thing to imagine. Also I’ve had to do crazy shit like this for costumes and other various garments for performances. Like “oops I completely forgot about the zipper let’s just open it at the shoulder” is literally something something I’ve seen done

[@SwitchelSweets]

Berkley Pearl I can hear that poor costumer now - “Well there’s no side closure but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna take a seam ripper to this netting” 😂

[@bcgrote]

I was thinking one girl wore it for a performance, and then gave it to a (less handy) girl for future performances. Maybe a choral dress or something like Pageant of the Masters with "tableaux".

[@elizabethclaiborne6461]

You can’t put a zipper in a net dress, it’ll strain and tear it. They didn’t have invisible/nylon zippers, just the big ones in jeans. Every tea dance or reception WAS a performance. Every cocktail dress I ever made had some trash construction detail to get it done and get me to wherever. That’s what this looks like to me. This is not a costume. It’s somebodies clothes.

[@berkleypearl2363]

@@elizabethclaiborne6461 I’m sorry if it wasn’t clear. I was speaking in an over the top manner because it’s something that I’ve experienced in my own life doing costumes for a community theater. It’s all the stress of professional theater except we do it for free! I wasn’t trying to imply that they had zippers when this dress was made. I’m sorry if it came out that way

[@josephalexandergemmell9979]

it's so funny to read these comments. when i was watching this video, 2 ideas kept popping into my head: stage costumes, or costumes for events, "1 grecian urn", or another: in the 1920's, people still sewed at home. maybe grandma made the dress for grandaughter's school dance?

[@mayrapakastin]

I'd love to have seen a complete view of the dresses instead of just panning up and down, since you already had them on a mannequin. I bet they are stunning to look at!

[@jazzbebe666]

Me too. I know they're fragile but it'd be amazing to see them on an actual human 💟👗

[@kitefan1]

@@jazzbebe666 id be happy with the dress form.

[@RecyclingMama]

me three...

[@pinkiepromise1707]

I enjoyed the way you panned over the dresses, but I would have loved to see the whole dress at once to get an idea of the full completed dresses as well. On the dress form, we only see the top half of the pink dress. Overall I love these types of videos. It reminds me that my sewing doesn't have to be perfect. :)

[@annebeck2208]

My Grandmother was 15 in 1920, she remembers her mother taking old newspaper and drawing drop waist dress pattern for her, then she cut and sewed the pattern. Her mother mentioned how much she liked the new style, because you didn't need a purchased pattern. Of course, they lived way out west in a small town and getting patterns wasn't easy.

[@scrappypatterns]

Again you have shown me a garment I feel the need to make... I do have some black velvet and lots of beads...

[@AbbyCox]

yasss!! that would be amazing!

[@vintagehemlines5464]

This i want to see!!

[@scrappypatterns]

Umm... I might have already started... And I might have a silly vlog about it on my channel next week

[@vintagehemlines5464]

Yeeeeeessss! I cant wait!!

[@LatelyFashionable]

Honestly, I'm not surprised the velvet dress is all hand sewn. In my experience, that's the way to deal with sewing velvet and still keep your sanity! And I love that it's so simple in its construction, because such gorgeous and eye-catching fabric and beading doesn't need lots of fancy design elements to make a great dress. Whoever made it just let the fabric do the talking, and it came out STUNNING. Thank you for sharing these treasures with us!

[@TheCraftDragon]

Those dresses were gorgeous. I love 1920's fashion! Has anyone watched Miss Phryne's Murder Mysteries? My jam!

[@AbbyCox]

YASSS I LOVE THAT SHOW! I got to meet the costume designer last year, and I was just blown away by her attention to detail.

[@TheCraftDragon]

@@AbbyCox That's amazing! The costumes are so beautiful!

[@FrugalOverFifty]

I'm obsessed with the books and the series. ❤️

[@muncgrl]

@@FrugalOverFifty Me Too!

[@misspeach3755]

Agatha Christie's Poirot is equally enjoyable from a fashion POV.

[@Yrie27]

I'd love to see a full length view if the second dress and an explanation of how the beading was done, which stitches were used.

[@LadyB_20]

The hand sewn pink velvet dress with beading is hand sewing goals. You can feel the lady that made the dress put a lot effort into it. Ps. Love the Kaftan dress. Do you have a collection of vintage jewelry/accessories?

[@AbbyCox]

Thank you! Yes, I have an ever growing collection of antique and vintage clothing, some I wear and some I just keep as a personal collection. The caftan I'm wearing in this video is one I made using the Decades of Style TLC Caftan pattern! www.decadesofstyle.com/collections/decades-everyday/products/no-107-tlc-caftan 😊

[@LadyB_20]

@@AbbyCox a showcase of some of those pieces would be lovely 😁

[@heatherjohnson609]

I'm so glad someone else asked the question about the dress Abbys wearing in the video! Love the flapper era of style. My mother worked in antiques and I saw a lot of antique clothing in my youth. The 20's and the Flappers were always my favorite. Loved the video too! And would love to see you recreate one of these dresses :)

[@jayneterry8701]

@@AbbyCox the caftan your wearing must be the third one? Did you make the long or short version. Seems to need a couple of snaps in front lol. The net made dress was very pretty. Possibly repaired by someone later, not the maker as their isn't the care but into it. Love the colour and perfect circles on the pink number 😍 tfs

[@laurieosborne7228]

I love the pink velvet dress! It would be great to see still shots of it, or maybe a slow shot of the whole dress on a dress form. Seeing more of it in its entirety would be fabulous.

[@RhomanysRealm]

It's kind of heartwarming and even a little inspiring that back in the day there were also women who started these projects and spent many days holding their head in their hands asking 'WHY did I think THIS was a good idea?!' Makes me feel not so alone.

[@Marialla.]

"Rode the struggle bus" is my new favorite line!

[@juadonna]

I love the pink dress! If only I had my figure of my 20's! I think the beading looks like Champagne bubbles, I would feel quite sparkling wearing it!! Thanks for the close inspections.

[@Littlebeth5657]

"road the struggle train" well isn't that just me whenever I start a project :P

[@AbbyCox]

Welcome! We have tea and cookies at the front of the train. Make yourself comfortable. 😉😂

[@LadyDragonbane]

You guys are making me imagine I'm in a sewing carriage and I'm loving it 😍

[@saphirephoenix1173]

Ooo...'favorite' is a hard call. The white dress had a lot going on and a lot of love and time put into it, but the berry velvet has....gravitas? It immediately draws your eyes and hold them. I love them equally for what they each are: different and gorgeous.

[@randihardy6642]

Love the pink one! The white flowers one with the weird flower appliquéd in poorly, first impression was that someone wanted to mend the holes by putting flowers over top, realized it wasn’t working, and gave up. LOL i’ve done that plenty of times.

[@elizabethclaiborne6461]

That pink dress is something revolutionary. It started as a concept and may be a copy of one of the new designers. Fashion starts as some persons idea and then spreads.

[@TheMetatronGirl]

Both dresses were gorgeous! I’d love to see a recreation of either...or both! While I am not a pink girl by any stretch of the imagination, the velvet dress just makes me swoon. Okay, not literally, but it is so great!! I love the beadwork and the simple construction, and the gathers at the hips. It could easily be worn, today...open those armseyes and show a little side-boob! Ooh-la-la! I could totally see the white dress with a slinky silk slip (say that five times fast) underneath in a twenties themed wedding. I’ve always loved twenties fashion, but was never tall or slender enough to pull it off, so I lean towards eras with more voluptuous silhouettes. Thanks so much for sharing more of your collection with us. Much love, and see you next Sunday!

[@ridafatima3363]

this is the best sewing motivation

[@911nmg]

The net dress is beautifull, but the beading on the velvet dress makes it a delight. I'm not shaped for 1920s but the combination of velvet and beading definetly is inspiring a project...

[@bcgrote]

I would love to see "remake the antiques"! Can you make that dress in an hour? (Except for the beading, of course!)

[@belkisrosario9951]

What a gorgeous fuschia dress- I would love to see you make that same dress to your size and your version, but soon🙏🏼 Love the dress!!!

[@Marialla.]

I really enjoy these "garment archaeology" episodes! It's fascinating to think of how people once constructed a garment, and lived in it, altered it, mended it etc. as needed. It's so cool to see where their needlework was just stunningly perfect vs. where it got slapped together "good enough".

[@aurafluff]

I love seeing the messy vintage seams, they make me feel better about my own messy sewing 😂

[@kelseyhaddix2403]

The beaded dress is definitely my favorite. Reminds me of wearing my mom’s slip dresses when I played dress up as a little girl 😂

[@gibbersking6575]

2nd dress: color of fabric and bead work reminds me of Klimt's art.

[@jennieeveleighlamond]

Thank you so much Abby! The 20's is my favourite decade. I have a lot of original home sewists patterns from the 20's and seeing these garments is a real treat! Thank you, thank you!

[@vanessabrannan4059]

I love the pink dress. I'm all about beading, and the color is gorgeous! I can't do drop waist clothing, but if I could, I would wear it in a heartbeat.

[@EtainMcCloud]

I'd love to see a pattern of the pink one. While the construction of the seams may have been a day project that beading took a long time. That's at least 40 hours of work with how nice an neat those stitches are and how much of the back is covered.

[@kaytiej8311]

Only found you recently. Your attention to detail and disseminating the knowledge is wonderful. Entertaining and precious. Thank you!

[@lionfish2201]

Loving the dress that you’re wearing 😍

[@sandranoisewater6093]

It from Decades of Styles, patterns.

[@wesolapyska]

Same here! The dress looks amazing!!! I have to make one for myslef ❤️

[@JSJSpeaks]

Thank you for this! I think the shoulder closures are so clever! I am studying up to make my own dresses/wardrobe, and have been looking at alternative methods of creating structure, support, and coverage for the upper body, and how to incorporate support into the waist and lower seams. Excited to see what I could do with this! Much appreciation!

[@mistressmars3200]

My grandmother and her sister were 'Gin Hall Girls' in the 1920s and I have heaps of photos of them in their flapper dresses, including the headband with feather!

[@SeSeMittens]

Whaaa 😍 this just came in the right time. I recently have had my hair cut to a short bob and I thought: "Hey, this would look cool with a 20s flapper outfit" and I decided to make a 20s flapper dress soon. So seeing the insides of the pink dress and recognising that the construction isn't to hard really gave me confidence and motivation to start this 😊 thank you for showing 🌸

[@claire2088]

I really wish I could see a full lenght clip of the dresses, everything being zoomed in stops me being able to imagine the whole thing

[@MossyMozart]

@Claire - All those shots of Ms Cox looking at the dress wasn't very informative. It would have helped to see what it was she was talking about in the moment. Live and learn!

[@cincocats320]

I love the pink velvet. It shows how a bit of embellishment and a great fabric can elevate basic construction to the next level. And I really love that it appears to have been entirely hand sewn since hand sewing is my jam. So glad you have it in your collection where it will get the love and care it deserves. Keep sharing your collection please! I love the detective work you do in these videos 🔍🤔🔎

[@jayswing101]

The flowers on the white dress are so pretty and delicate and I need to cuff all my garments like that. And the beading on the velvet dress is amazing! The level of precision and detail is just insane. I'm just learning to bead and man that is GOALS. Thank you for showing these beauties to us and explaining their construction and the mending of them so well! Also thank you for your videos in general. They never fail to relax me and make me smile. Thank you!!

[@katiemoss7578]

This is really cool to see I’m thinking about making a 1920s dress soon as my first proper historical reproduction apart from one shift and I’ve not got access to actual 1920s dresses so it was really nice to get a good look at some originals

[@ckettenhofen]

The pink dress is drop dead gorgeous! I love the beading, that was done, as well... just a beautiful dress....

[@joyreed952]

I love love love 1920s clothing.... the second dress was my favorite. I'd really like to see 20s fashion come back it had an edgy class to it. Thank you for sharing.

[@janewanderlust9668]

It's so cool. Thank you for sharing the whole breakdown of this dress!! I also ADORE the dress you're wearing!

[@sandranoisewater6093]

It's from Decades of Styles, caftan pattern

[@johannakerns2107]

Thank you for sharing pieces from your collection. I love looking at the garment construction. It's truly a breath of air for me to see gorgeous gowns with less-than-perfect sewing. It reminds me that real people with real lives needed to dress themselves and sometimes good enough was the mantra. I think I can do good-enough sewing and it gives me courage!

[@katharinaboyer3275]

I agree. It’s very encouraging!

[@julievitous8069]

I enjoy your channel for the information you share. But, I have to say the 'personality clips' you share at the end are the best. You always bring a smile.

[@b-rextheprgoddess1872]

I love the dress you're wearing in this video. I have been looking for one in that style forever!

[@CaseyReneeCosplay]

I love watching you examine antique dresses! Your channel is so fun and informational!

[@chrismurray2237]

I am so glad I found your site. Love these dress reviews. Thank you !

[@JessicaGonzalezGibson]

This video was such a treat! I loved looking at all the closeups!

[@susanclark6987]

Such a great story about your Mom....i never realized how lucky i was...my mom made so many great clothes for me in the 60s....good program...

[@SarahGreen523]

When I see how fabulous dresses like this were made I feel a lot better about my sewing skills. Some of those stitches were... so me.

[@e.urbach7780]

The beading on that pink dress is wonderful! It's amazing that the silver beads hadn't all tarnished yet. My grandma's wedding gown from 1945 had a lot of silver bead detail on the bodice, and all that beading has tarnished *sad face*

[@theshorelinecrafter9547]

The pink velvet one is everything I love: colour, velvet and embroidery?! Yes, please!

[@lilykatmoon4508]

I really LOVE that pink dress! I would definitely have made something like that and worn it! Great video, thanks!

[@jenniferlee8949]

I think the pink velvet dress is definitely my favourite. Thank you for sharing the dresses.

[@goodwillbunny5773]

100 years old--amazing! Thank you for this video. I am a new fan.

[@michellel4774]

Really enjoyed your analysis of these dresses.

[@ladyelbinine]

I cant choose, I love both of them. Though the amount and quality of work on the pink one is total life goals

[@deannamartin799]

You should try and recreate the net dress, that would be interesting! Also, I love the belt bit of the pink dress, that's so flattering

[@katiepie3009]

The pink velvet! 🥰 It is my personality both in look and construction! 😆 Loud, kind of garish, and hastily put together, but still able to hide the flaws! Thank you Aunty Abby for your knowledge punctuated by your beautifully chaotic energy!

[@diannasmith7119]

The white dress looks very comfortable and feminine as does the velvet. Both have great personality. I would wear both.

[@charischannah]

I love the velvet with the beading. I would totally wear something like that.

[@canucknancy4257]

Hello Ms. Abby. Your Decades Everyday caftan looks amazing on you. I'm just trying to find material to make one. I love how you sympathize with the wearer of the net dress about the fragility of the fabric and her constantly getting holes in it. I must say that I much prefer the pink velvet dress. It looks like something one would go out dancing in. Thanks for giving us a peek inside of these two ladies. So interesting to see the differences in construction. Take care of you.

[@williamhenshaw4838]

Loved the one with the beaded circles. I have done one like it for my MFA thesis show. I would really like to see the white one more for closures and sleeves. Thanks for sharing!!

[@deniecezinnecker9630]

I really loved the velvet beaded dress! It would have been the star of the evening, I imagine.

[@tinagriffith841]

Hi Abby! Both dresses are awesome and definitely took some time to make, but I definitely love the first dress (the white net) the best.

[@NicoletheKiwi]

Gosh I absolutly love your passion for yhese dresses. I personally think these two are GEORGOUS and I would totally wear them!!!

[@sc0ttishlass]

Thank you for sharing your dresses with us. Actually, your berry coloured velvet dress helped me solve a problem with my aesthetic/reformation dress challenge piece. The gathered hip 'plaques'. My pattern has the same for the hips.

[@lauramoore127]

Love the pink one best! Those circles are killer!

[@lisaknell1809]

Beautiful dresses. That pink one is to die for! I have an antique black heavily beaded tabard dress with gel sequins all over it. I actually wore it to a 1920s ball with all antique accessories and I felt so beautiful in it. I always wonder about the people who originally wore these gorgeous dresses!

[@ColorJoyLynnH]

I adore the pink with circles!!!! Wow!!!

[@StephanieCanada]

I absolutely love the realization that the dress was entire handmade! That is absolutely amazing!!

[@cventura9048]

I love June's journey. I've been playing for over a year! The dresses a just lovely.

[@cventura9048]

The white dress is a wedding dress.

[@januzzell8631]

As much as I love your videos, they are so insightful and interesting to watch, I ADORE your end credits! The sight of your Editing bit where you were reacting to yourself was wonderful! Thank you SO much for sharing :D Please Stay Safe though

[@MaryanneNZ]

LOVe the pink one, and that slash and gather technique. It's quite common in that Japanese loose fitting style that is everywhere and I love!

[@darrahjones-reddy6100]

Yes Abbey!! I love that TLC caftan dress in that pattern!!

[@Mochii_waffles]

I also love the dress you have on in this video!

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

Wow they are both beautiful. There is no way to pick a favourite. Working with the netting and making it turn out so well seems like a scary idea to me. I love the piping and gathering details on the velvet one as well as the beading. Both are so very nice. I’m so glad that you were able to show them to us.

[@bowerbirdstyle7661]

I love both dresses! So different. I like the dress you are wearing too.

[@caroline.m]

I watched Downton Abbey religiously so seeing that second dress just made so jealous. I love vintage clothing and would kill for that dress

[@sum12sumwhere]

As someone learning go sew and with fast fashion clothing deteriorating faster than our vintage counterparts, i wonder what clothing will be left to examine in 100 years And this makes me feel better about some of my finishing techniques ive aquired

[@theresaprend1]

These are beautiful! I would love to see how and where you store your dress collections.

[@pepperreed.33]

LOVE that pink velvet dress! It’s amazing how modern some vintage looks. I really like the circle beaded motif; simple and effective. What fiber is the velvet.

[@lesliel9791]

love the bead work..its different than what you expect on 20's dresses.

[@AbbyCox]

I know! It's so funky - that's why i love it so!

[@WBCRO]

Great video! Your breezy, chatty presentation feels like a real life visit with a close chum. So nice and welcoming. I think I prefer the velvet dress but I can't imagine wearing it. If the weather is cool enough to warrant wearing velvet, I'm guessing my arms would get cold in a sleeveless design. Maybe there was a matching silk duster coat to go over it. I'm curious to know if you think the lady who made it also did all of the beading too. That would have taken forever! The 'carved out hip defining' strategy is pretty neat - there couldn't have been much of a seam allowance on the band. I would have been concerned about fraying. One last thing: about the white dress...it's so sheer, if it was my dress I would have sewn a couple of different under-dresses using colour to give more options. Say, a white one, pale pink and maybe a mint or periwinkle too. I'd love to see each dress again in the round with a full shot. The close-ups are excellent but maybe a bit more 'big picture' footage could help too. Your videos are smile-makers!

[@Meekavintage]

was so excited to see these dresses ,like the whole dress you only showed really close ups of them kinda bummed bout it,recently found your channel and have been binging the crap out of it :) i mean after the sick sock puppet show ya all put on i had no choice lol? absolutely gorgeous dresses

[@maggiedawson7804]

That pink dress! Heavenly.

[@thehistoricallyadequatesea4395]

Madly sketching while watching and rewinding because that hip detail is such a cool idea and merits being reborn! Also knowing now what a shit time this kinda was for you, bravo on carrying on so beautifully

[@radicalpinkys]

That pink dress was a real inspiration. I know it's not very well constructed but I was inspired by the slash and gather to make a modern piece. I love historic costume and love what you do, thanks Abby.

[@HeatherBryant22]

It's awesome that I know where your mom got the first dress and about Louisville too. I love both dresses!

[@nicoledeloncrais5940]

Seriously Abbey, that pink gown ( cause, it really is), is B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!💜. And the colour is seriously Elsa Schaperelli. Just wonderful ❣️ thanks for this ❤️

[@valentinacavalottivelasco9484]

that second dress was so beautiful!!! Even if the overall construction was simple, those beeded circles are so damn gorgeous (and the stitches looked really neat, at least for me xD). The design of it is stunning, the combination of colours too!!! sometimes simple is great Thank you for making these videos!!

[@Eirashands]

I love the pink velvet one. That is the first 20s dress I've seen and wanted to sew something similar.