I have followed along with Kristin and Jess’s Vintage May series since its inception so I was so pumped when Kristin emailed me and asked if I wanted to be a participant this year. Um, yeah! I had so many ideas floating around my head that I had a hard time pinning down just what I wanted. Then I stumbled across this pinterest picture and knew I had found my lightbulb moment- a 1950s inspired rockabilly outfit. The fact that it would involve several patterns I wanted to try- Bonus!

Without further ado, here is Oliver in his 1950’s outfit: cuffed straight-leg jeans, white tee, and a plaid button down. I de-saturated the pictures a bit to give them a vintage feel. Not sure I was totally successful but I’m kinda digging the effect. He totally owned this photoshoot too- might be because we actually let him drink the photo prop. (please no judging- good pics were a must!) For any fact sticklers, I’m well aware that hubby’s bike is actually a 1975 cafe racer but it’s still vintage so it counts in my mind even if it’s not the exact era we were going for.

My imaginary back story is that Oliver has brought his new motorcycle down to the local hang-out spot and is waiting for his friends to arrive so they can admire his new ride and take it for a spin. Meantime, he’s enjoying a refreshing RC Cola and chilling (like a villian- 😉 )

Now for a little run-down of the patterns I used for O’s outfit:

Pants: Small Fry Skinny Jeans size 2T with 3T+ length. I knew that I wanted to copy Kristin’s idea of the big cuffs so I added several inches to the length. I bought some dark denim at Joann’s then had a moment’s freak-out when I got home because the pattern calls for stretch denim and mine did not have any stretch. I could have sized up to a 3T but I had already cut out the 2T pattern pieces and time was of the essence so I decided to just go for it. Glad I did because these fit great! Actually the waist is even a bit big now that O is potty trained because the 2T allows extra room for diaper bums.

Like all the other reviews of these pants- they are definitely not a quick sew. But they’re not that hard either- her directions are excellent and walk you through each step so beautifully! The only really difficult section was the belt-loops. All those layers of denim almost didn’t fit under my machine foot. And soo much to sew thru! I was afraid I was going to break my machine. One broken needle later and we made it…whew! Note- I switched from a jeans needle to a top-stitching needle and that made a huge difference. When I finished these my husband commented that they looked like designer jeans and he wanted a pair- high five to me! (But I’m not planning on making him a pair anytime soon in case you were wondering 🙂 )

Button-down: Oliver+S Sketchbook Shirt. I have been wanting to make this for O before he grows out of the size range that I bought it in! I went on a search for just the right plaid and found this great madras fabric at Hancock. Apparently I have been missing out because Hancock has a great selection of apparel fabrics. I am definitely going to be making a trip back there soon! This shirt reminded my of my grandfathers- one of which passed away when I was a pre-teen so it was a happy nostalgic time making this for Oliver. I hadn’t really thought of the fact that I was making something from their (my grandfather’s) generation until I was in the middle of this shirt construction but I’m so glad it worked out that way. Feels like a bit of a nod to my grandpa to have my son wearing something that he would have worn in his day.

I used the 2T size because I had traced it back in the fall and never used it. Oliver really fits in the 3T size now but when I compared the sizes, it looked like I just needed to add some length to make it work. I added two inches to the length of the arms hem so that I could retro it up a bit and roll up the sleeves and also added an inch to the bottom hem. The neck is a bit small but I’m not planning on buttoning the collar so that’s no big deal. A very professional finish with this pattern- like all O+S patterns.

T-shirt- I knew O needed a white tee to complete his outfit but wanted to add a little bit of fun to it so I added this motorcycle transfer (image found via google). I had been given some iron-on transfer paper a while back but actually didn’t pay attention to it until I was cleaning out my sewing room a few weeks ago and found it. Why have I not been using this? It’s so easy! And Oliver loves the motorcycle tee! I think it will become a summer fave. Pattern is the flashback skinny tee made in a 3T size with extra length added to arm and shirt hems. I wanted to be able to roll the sleeves up to add to the vintage feel of the shirt.

Hope you enjoyed your trip back to the 1950s. I know I did! Make sure to check out all the other great Vintage May stuff happening on Jess and Kristin’s blogs over the next few weeks.