Vintage Look- 1950's Lavender Crosstitch Dress

I bought this lovely dress months ago and have been dreaming of finally wearing it. But I am glad that I had to wait, because now I match with one of my favorite crabapple trees! I had my eye on this dress for some time, but it was several sizes too large. I had bought from the eBay seller Ivig3420 before and she is an absolute doll! Her shop is Green Dragon Lady Vintage and she is amazing to work with. I keep an eye on what she lists...;)

So, I finally broke down and got it! It is the most unusual lavender pink. I had never seen a gingham in this shade before. And it's gingham and hand stitched!! You know those are two things that tempt me more than anything! It was going to be worth the work.
I will always wear my hair up with this dress. How could you cover that amazing back?

Some cross-stitched dresses are only decorated on the front. Not this lady! She made sure that ever angle was absolutely beautiful.

It was still a bit blocky at the waist, even after all my alterations, so I added one of my Grandma Betty's belts. This is what I talked about in my video, Building a Vintage Wardrobe, when I said that late 50's into 60's saw the waistlines go from the natural point of the waist to a less flattering area right above the hip. The belt helps to bring the eye back up a bit.

I just love the stitching so much! Many stitched gingham designs are very geometric to make them easy to lay on out a checked pattern, but this rose design and flower border must have been very trying to sew. I am so delighted to get to enjoy her handiwork. And what is funny to me is that the dress is a bit clumsily made. Some seams are a bit wonky, and she hand-hemmed the sleeves in a wobbly running stitch that looks like I could have done it! Obviously her real love was for the fabric and stitching, not the sewing. I believe we might be kindred spirits!

I love how my sweet-smelling tree is a match for my dress! And, yes, I remembered to add my vintage jewelry. A 50's stretch bracelet in milkglass beads and 1940's clip-on earrings with purple flowers under a crust of tiny glass beads.

This is to show how large this dress was in waist and bust.

 It had a wonderful side-zip, but I had to sacrifice it so that I could take the sides in. In another dress I might have split and seamed the back, but never on one sewn with roses! I was a little unsure as to how the seam would lay after I overlapped the zipper.

 To easily (and lazily) take in a dress, I simply put it on inside-out and then pin the sides till it is fitted the way I like. Then you have to be able to take it off with the pins in place. If you can't, then you know you won't be able to get it on and off once it is sewn. Without the side zipper I couldn't make it as close as I would have liked, because I couldn't have gotten it over my big shoulders.

 This is after is is taken in. Much better.

And the seam doesn't look at all bad where I went over the zipper.

But it was still a bit gaping in the bosom area. I had already decided to replace the odd colored original buttons with some vintage ones from my stash. I simply moved them all over a bit to take in even more of the looseness. I really love the iridescent white buttons on it now.

 It was well worth waiting for!

Do you ever buy new or vintage clothing and alter it to fit? Do you have any tips or tricks for doing it? I'd love to hear them!