Inspirational Women ~ Hedy Lamarr 'Style Icon'

Without a doubt, my all time favourite muse is the woman once dubbed 'The Most Beautiful Girl in The World', the incomparable Hedy Lamarr.

The Viennese Silver Screen star holds a very special place in my heart and for my March Tea With Tara talk over on my Patreon, I took a deep dive into the life {and afterlives!} of this incredible woman. Whilst I was researching I found an absolute treasure of outfit and sewing inspiration too, so I also filmed a YouTube video about her which this Journal piece sits with and includes all the ideas and links I put together, plus a few extra treats and delights to inspire your sewing.

As with many Hollywood stars, Hedy's onscreen wardrobe was incredibly luxurious and glamourous and often designed by her very good friend, Adrian but I want to focus on her off duty style for the purposes of inspiring my own sewing projects. Here are the looks I selected and I have to say, I want to make EVERYTHING!

A Traditional Dirndl

Hedy, or Hedwig to use her given name, often wore garments that were either traditional Austrian pieces or gave a nod to costume of her homeland. In the 1930's, Tyrolean style had been very fashionable in America and England but I think Hedy enjoyed wearing clothes that reminded her of home rather than because they were the fashion. Having to flee her homeland suddenly in the late 1930's was heart breaking for her and many years later she said it had been one of the saddest things she had endured. It goes to show how important clothes can be in not only allowing us to express who we are to the world, but also as a way of connecting us to our sense of self and place and providing comfort in times of sadness.

Folkwear 123 Traditional Dirndl ~ https://thefoldline.com/products/folkwear-123-austrian-dirndl?_pos=49&_sid=1da410823&_ss=r

Liberty Tana Lawn in Capel https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/capel-organic-tana-lawn%E2%84%A2-cotton-000723812.html#pos=34

and Poppy Forest https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/poppy-forest-tana-lawn%E2%84%A2-cotton-000625780.html#pos=20

I don't think you can go wrong with a classic Liberty fabric and although it's a more spenny fabric, I feel it's worth every penny! You can have a lot of fun, mixing and patchworking your dirndl with Liberty prints or creating piping and covered buttons. This pattern and some Tana Lawn is top of my list for some Summer sewing.

A Crisp, White Blouse

The Folkwear pattern comes with 2 options for a lovely blouse and Hedy often wore high necked blouses or fully buttoned up shirts with a brooch at her neck ~ such a simple and lovely touch. {Georgia O'Keeffe did the same and you can read all about this Style Icon here!} The high neck option would be perfect and although they come as cropped blouses to wear under the dirndl, you could easily lengthen them and wear with other lovely pieces from your wardrobe.

I also found this blouse from My Vintage Wish which I thought was very lovely and you also get the skirt pattern too.

My final blouse option is my Hedy Blouse, a pattern cutting tutorial I did over on my Patreon a few moons ago. I always loved this blouse with it's feature neckline and Broderie Anglais trim. Any of these blouses would look fabulous in a white lawn or poplin and I also love Merchant & Mills Linen and Voile which would give a different look to these classic blouses.

Merchant & Mills Voile https://merchantandmills.com/uk/organic-cotton-voile-white

and Linen https://merchantandmills.com/uk/shell-130-linen

I made my sample of the Hedy Blouse in 1 metre of Liberty print I had bought in a sale once upon a time but I will be making one in a plain Liberty Tana Lawn soon.

If you'd like to pattern cut your own Hedy Blouse, you can purchase the step by step tutorial here ~ https://www.patreon.com/collection/1416388

And I found this lovely cotton Broderie Anglais trim at VV Rouleaux

A Time Travelling Pinafore

Really a sort of continuation of the Dirndl theme, the pinafore was one of Hedy's staple casual pieces and I'm loving it!

I found all these pattterns on My Vintage Wish on Etsy and they give you myriad options for this outfit concept.

This 1930's/40's classic suspender skirt would look amazing and really give you the look of Hedy's versions. I'd love to make it in a beautiful checked linen from Merchant & Mills.

And you could sew up these very Hedy style blouses in lawn or voile suggested above to go with this or indeed any of the other pieces I highlight in this journal article. Essentially you'll be making a Hedy Lamarr Capsule collection!

And I also loved this little dress and jacket set which you could have a lot of fun mixing fabric options for a lightweight jacket with the fabric of the dress.

I'm a huge fan of vintage fabric reproduction company, Maltings Fabrics, and I really loved this multi coloured stripe, called Winborn, in their Viscose crepe base.

You could have a lot of fun with those stripes and playing with direction and colour matching. Coral is such a vintage colour and I love the idea of the jacket made up in Merchant & Mills canvas in the colour Summertide Coral.

A Fabulous Trouser Outfit

A conscious decision by MGM head Louis B Meyer, who she was under contract with, and the MGM costume department was to offset Hedy's otherworldly beauty with pared back and masculine tailoring. I really love this look and it's really inspiring my vintage casual trouser outfit ideas for spring.

This pattern, fabulously named Smooth Sailing Sports Togs by Wearing History has fabulous trousers and a blouse for this look.

You could sew the trousers in any basic colour that underpins your wardrobe but I'm loving this Japanese washed cotton canvas in Mushroom and the soft canvas in Pink Chalk both by Merchant & Mills. And you could make a matching jacket from that Pinafore pattern I suggest above ~ How fabulous!

For the blouse I'd go with this beautiful print, Braemore from Maltings Fabrics, which comes in either Pink or Sage Green and in either a viscose crepe or cotton cambric.

And if you'd like to pattern cut your own perfectly fitting trousers, you could follow my tutorials for both a trouser block and the Helen Trousers which are a perfect 1930's/1940's wide leg classic trouser style ~ I'm currently sewing my third pair! You can read more about the Helen Trousers here and find my Trouser Tutorials on my Patreon.

A Pretty Dress, or 2!

Even though I'm looking at casual outfits and investigating trouser styling for spring, I'm mostly here for the dresses and a classic pretty dress can be dressed up or down, vintage or otherwise for all occasions.

I LOVE this Simplicity Repro vintage sewing pattern Simplicity S9464 and both versions would be perfect to achieve the style of both of Hedy's dresses. I want to do Version A in this BEAUTIFUL Liberty Print Leila. Such a pretty confection of rose blossom in muted shades that put me in mind of 1930's garden parties!

I'll make my Ingrid Belt to go with version A , which is a PDF pattern I created for my Patrons although I'm thinking about also releasing it as a standalone pattern for Tara Deighton Atelier in the near future. It's such a classic and versatile accessory to have in your vintage inspired wardrobe AND it's reversible! you can find the PDF pattern here together with a video tutorial ~ https://www.patreon.com/collection/1416524

Version B would be perfect for the dress shown on the right of the Collage and I'd love to make it in this gorgeous striped cotton called Faded Plum from Merchant & Mills but I'd also love it in this very pretty check they do called Petite Pink.

Polka Dots

Although I've suggested 2 patterns here, this look is more about the fabrication and Hedy did love a Polka Dot!

All these fabrics are reproduction polka dot patterns from Maltings and I really love them all! From Left to Right~ Dunvan, Selbourne Grey { this also comes in a lovely pink/red colourway}, Halland Black, Mantell Ivory, and Sackville.

Here's that Selbourne print in the pink/red colourway ~ Sublime!

Hedy also loved a check whilst we're talking about prints and this is a favourite photograph of her that I found when I was researching her. Isn't it fab?!

And I love this candid of Hedy, eyes shut in the sunshine. that print on her dress is very like the Halland print above which I think comes in a brown or burgundy too.

Both dresses I suggest are from My Vintage Wish and the Vogue Pattern is a real dupe for the dress Hedy is wearing on the left of the collage I created for this concept. It's a classic style from the 1930's and 1940's and would look amazing in most fabrics that have a little drape and would work for day or evening looks.

The dress on the right is a bit of a wild card as it's not really suggested by any dress Hedy wears although ties in with the shirts/blouses she favoured. I think a Classic Shirt Waist dress is a staple in a handmade wardrobe and I really love the details on this style, the shirring at the shoulder cuff and waist. It really elevates the design and gives you lots of scope for creating something incredibly beautiful and unique. And it would look fab in a Polka Dot!

I hope this journal piece and the accompanying YouTube video have given you loads of inspiration for your sewing this season and I hope you have enjoyed spending time with Hedy {and me!} this March! I urge you to find out more about her if you're unfamiliar as she is truly INCREDIBLE and well worth the time. And I hope you have a lovely time sewing some of these ideas I put together ~ It's been an absolute joy!

Tara x