Welcome to week 2 of our Kids' Clothes Belgian Style series! Kristin from Skirt as Top received nothing but Ooooh's and Aaaaah's for her stunning Deer Dress in the opening guest post, and this week, things will be no different. The gorgeous retro dress below is made by Venus from the lovely blog Suburbia Soup. I'm so happy to have Venus guest post here today! Venus is a mom to three beautiful daughters, but it's her youngest one, Lala, who gets away with most of the attention. Anyone who's on Pinterest has undoubtedly come across Venus' cute little Hoodie Scarf, for which she shares a tutorial here. And then there are her sweet little dresses... As if that isn't enough, Venus is also a talented artist - check out her amazing mugs project, for instance.
So if you haven't already - head over to Suburbia Soup and become a follower. Today!
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I'm Venus from Suburbia Soup. Oh I'm just so giddy to be here! When An asked me to take part, I jumped at the invitation. "Oh heck yeah!" I thought, but then I began to wonder, "What is Belgian style?". With a brief description and a link to An's Pinterest board, it all came together. It's a well orchestrated mix of vibrant colors, unique patterns with a vintage vibe.
Simple.
Fresh.
Timeless.
At first I thought this was gonna be a breeze.
*pish!*throwing hands out*
"No problem!". Oy vey... was I wrong. I went through my whole entire stash of fabrics. It was either too girly or too plain... too busy or "what the heck was I thinking buying this fabric?!", I started to sweat and then...
there it was. Buried deep in my bin of yellow fabrics, shining back at me was THE fabric. I knew this fabric would come in handy and today is the day. It was almost identical to a fabric used by one of Fred & Ginger's dresses (shown below).
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| Picture by Barbara Decré |
*nudging arm*
Right-right?! A dead ringer I say.
Now the next question... what should I make out of it? Dress? Separates? I was limited to what I could do since I had a little less than a yard to work with. I went through all my patterns, pattern books, PDFs and nothing seamed to fit the bill. It wasn't until I hopped over to Rae's blog and found the Geranium dress Pattern.
Eureka!
An had used this pattern and now Kristin. I chuckled when I saw Kristin's post... hey, I'm in great company!
As you can see here, I made a couple of changes to the pattern.
I added a Peter Pan collar
and extended the bodice a few inches. I would've loved to have added sleeves, but I barely had enough for the collar as it was.
I don't know if it's just me, but I'm having a hard time finding good cardigans in toddler sizes and finding them in colors...HA! Forget about it! Luckily I had an old cardigan I was willing to let go and refashioned it.
*sigh*
The things we do for our kids...
And there you have it... my take on Belgian style. I LOVE it-I really do! I concur with Kristin... and hope Belgian style sweeps the US.
An... thank you so much for having me!
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So sweet! Great job, Venus! And An, your series is a stroke of genius - Belgian Style is going to totally become a hot trend worldwide! :-)
ReplyDeleteI really love this, but I'm longing to see more boy examples. Vintage-y shirts with cardigans? Peg-leg pants?
ReplyDeleteVery sweet! I like the Belgian style :-)
ReplyDeleteSo cute. I love the colours!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Great idea to extend the bodice of the geranium dress - must try this next time.
ReplyDeleteI've been living in Belgium since 2004 and it's wonderful to see Belgian kid style on the pages of these blogs...great inspiration for when I can't quite justify the prices at Bellerose, Fred&Ginger, and Scotch and Soda. Thanks for sharing.
So awesome! Job well done :) Gotta love that fabric serendipity!
ReplyDeleteSo adorable, Venus!! Love the retro look of yours so much - the fabric is awesome, and what great idea to add a peter pan collar to the Geranium! Thanks for the kind words, too. Belgian Style is just too fun. :)
ReplyDeleteLovely dress and fabric, well done Venus!
ReplyDeleteAn, great idea to host "Kids' Clothes Belgian Style" series, it's fun to watch (read - actually) :)
You inspire me to sew "Belgian Style" dress for my daughter. Thanks! :)
Such a fabulous dress, love this!!!
ReplyDeleteWaaw!
ReplyDeleteawesome dress.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your kind comments! :) I had so much fun creating this look. How about all you fab sewists... any plans of making your own Belgian inspired clothes?
ReplyDeleteThis dress is so great! Love the idea of adding a Peter Pan collar to the geranium dress. My daughter was peeking over my shoulder while I was reading this and exclaimed that she must have a dress like this! Lol I guess I need to get sewing! Thanks for the inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful outfit! no pink but soooo cute!
ReplyDeleteI love how you described the design and sewing process. We all have a little belgian style piece of fabric under our mamoth stack. Glad you found yours :)
Thanks An and Venus
María
Oh, this came out so beautiful. I love the piping on the pater pan collar, and that beautiful fabric choice. Timeless, indeed. And what great fashioning, with that cardigan and mustard tights. Love, Love, Love.
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