Hittygirls

“An Old-Fashioned Girl’s” Dress Parade
or
Hitty’s Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle Swap

Photo courtesy Vickie A.

Must be a member of Yahoo Hittygirls group
and have met all previous swap commitments to play.
You must include your full name, address, telephone number, and email.
If you sign up without this info, you will not be able to play.
Please Note: We do not collect or distribute your personal information,
except to the Swap Leader and your Swap Partner.

This will be a finish the ensemble before you get a partner swap.
Sign-ups begin Wednesday, July 1rst
and continue through
Wednesday, August the 5th
Mailing date: Friday, August 7th
Your swap leader is:
Jane

CLOSED

Do you remember the “Dress Parade” in Louisa May Alcott’s An Old-Fashioned Girl? After Fanny’s family came to financial ruin, she was forced to "turn" her dresses and re-make her bonnets rather than purchase a new wardrobe for the season. Faithful, frugal Polly turned the tragedy into a romp and Fanny came away with a delightful wardrobe.

“Fanny brought out her "rags" and was astonished to see how many she had, for chair, sofa, bed, and bureau were covered, and still Maud, who was burrowing in the closets, kept crying, "Here 's another."
"There's a discouraging heap of rubbish for you!" said Fan, as she added a faded muslin to the last pile.
"Now, to me your 'rubbish' looks very encouraging, because there is good material there, and not much worn-out finery, that's my detestation, for you can't do anything with it. Let me see, five bonnets. Put the winter ones away till autumn, rip up the summer ones, and out of three old ones we'll get a pretty new one, if my eyes don't deceive me."”

So, as a nod to Mother Earth, frugality and a suffering economy, please join me for
Hitty Girls first “Dress Parade” Exchange!

Guidelines for the Dress Parade Swap:

Begin with a Real Person’s garment(s). This can be a blouse, a dress, a shirt (woman’s, man’s or child’s) or even a sweater. Really, any garment you think can be made to work. It must be “pre-owned”, better yet, destined for the thrift shop or rag-bag.

Using the fabric, the trim, the buttons, seaming or what-have-you, recycle a portion of the garment into a dress or an outfit for Hitty. Be inventive and think outside the Hitty standard, but do remain true to your model.

The ensemble should include at least two pieces, i.e., a dress and apron, a dress and under-things, a shirt/blouse/sweater and pants, or any suitable and inventive combination, possibly including an article of clothing and an accessory.

Before you mail your cunning ensemble to your partner, take photographs of the original garment and the re-created (or “turned”) dress or ensemble to share with the group after the exchange has closed.

Style and scale must be appropriate for Hitty. Some out-of-scale features may be used as adornment or even accessories. Cleverness and inventiveness count. As Tim Gunn says, “Make it work”.

Need inspiration?
Would you like to read the original chapter from An Old-Fashioned Girl? Click the link! Louisa May Alcott’s "A Dress Parade":

Gale to Marcy