Coral Silk Blouse

I finally got to photograph the blouse I sewed in December! It's made in a super-slippery silk charmeuse satin, in the most beautiful shade of bright coral - one of my "double star" colours according to my House of Colour consultation. The shops on Goldhawk road sell this stuff quite reasonably (about £10 a metre) in a rainbow of colours, and when I first embarked on this project I merrily planned a second in dove grey, then another in tangerine. But, well I have to be honest, I don't relish the prospect of working with silk charmeuse again! The result is beautiful though - the finished blouse is an absolute joy to wear, and I think it looks rather lovely. The buttons are vintage mother-of-pearl with a pretty carved design, and the buttonholes are hand-worked.

I was going for a sort of late 30s 'everyday luxe' look with my fine wool houndstooth skirt and a Deco era handbag. The double sash was inspired by something I saw in a 1939 Sears catalogue. The hat's not very thirties of course but hey, what can you do?

Silk satin blouse, made by me from a 1942 pattern; Skirt, made by me from a 1950s pattern; Polka dot scarf, purchased in India; Plain sash, made by me to wear to my sister's wedding; 1950s hat, car boot sale; 1930s-40s handbag, given to me by my sister; Shoes, Marks and Spencer (a Christmas gift from Matin); Gloves, Spitalfields vintage fair.