Sew Expensive... Millinery For Every Woman Sewing Book

Hello my dear readers! For you today I have another Sew Expensive moment brought to you by the internet and people with too much money!

For today's installment, I have a stunning book that recently sold for an equally stunning price!

This beautiful, and painfully rare book sold on Ebay recently for a sum that made me quite literally squeal. I scared the hell out of the dog.

This original Millinery for Every Woman by Georgina Kerr Kaye sold for an incredible $587.90 (that's 427 € or 354 £!).

Why would this amazing little tome go for so much, you might ask? Because it's full of hat patterns and very rare millinery knowledge that is slowly dying out. Very few people make their own hats any more compared to the average woman of the 18th century who often knew how to make just about anything. That sort of knowledge is rather scarce these days so a book like this would find a very welcome home among those who wish to preserve that kind of knowledge.

If you're interested in making your own hats, there isn't a lot of info readily available and books like these are not easy to find!
But don't fret, my dears, there is an alternative to spending half your rent on antique millinery books! There are several re-prints of this book currently available on Amazon for as little as $25.

In other news, Happy New Year! Another year has gone by and I find that as a whole, I'm just as content with life as I have been for the last 7 or 8 years.  So no resolutions for me, just happy business as usual.
How about you? Any grand resolutions you hope to keep?

Sew Expensive... Butterick 5758 Bathing Suit Pattern

A while back, I was watching a great bathing suit pattern on Ebay. And of course, it sold for an amazing sum so I set the info aside for a rainy day... it's not exactly raining but my studio is still wall to wall with boxes so this is a good time to blog about some patterns!

Are you ready for it?
This lovely original Butterick 5758 from 1951 sold for an amazing $145.98.

Take a look at those lovely details! This is no simple skirted bathing suit. Notice the lovely gathers at the princess seam over the bust and the clever turned back collar formed, it appears, straight out of the criss-cross straps! It's tiny little details like this that set this pattern a head above your average vintage skirted bathing suit pattern. On a side note, I should also mention that Butterick bathing suit/ playsuit patterns always seem to be a bit more scarce, and in my opinion, this drives the price up a bit.
(You can see pictures of the Butterick Pattern flyer advertising this, and other great patterns courtesy of Cemetarian here.)

For those of you waiting for a great bathing suit pattern that don't have that kind of bank laying around, here are a few options that might work more in your favor.

Depew 1001, available in multiple sizes.

Depew 1002.

Available in a size 16 on Etsy at FancyWork, $55.

Bathing Suit Reproduction By New Vintage Lady on Etsy, $25.

Available in a size 14 at Glass of Fashion on Etsy, $59.99.

I know, many of you are thinking that summer is just about over for you. Summer has apparently just begun in Monterey (what fun! different seasons to learn!) and I can't get trips to the beach off my mind!