It is no secret that those of us who sew often get inspiration from Ready To Wear. When select catalogs come in the mail, I love to look at them just to see what ideas I can find which may apply to one of my planned projects. The same goes for online ads which pop up in all kinds of situations. The sources of inspiration are practically endless, but every once in a while, I find a bonanza of ideas all bunched together.
Such was the case with the Gorsuch catalog which recently arrived.
Getaway 2020 should be renamed Stay at Home and Sew, Sew, Sew! Shirtwaist dresses are much on my mind right now as I am currently working on a wool challis rendition of that classic style. I have plans for more versions of this timeless dress in silk and cotton. So imagine my delight when I turned the page in the catalog and saw this stunner:
My gingham shirtwaist dress is going to be in pink silk.
I found this pink silk gingham at Farmhouse Fabrics.
And although it will be a few months until I get to it, I had already been pondering what to do for a belt/sash. I didn’t really want one to match the dress. Well . . . the wide grosgrain belt in white pictured in the catalog is just the look I know I want. Would I have thought of this myself? Probably not. So hooray for RTW ideas.
I didn’t have to turn more than a few pages in the same catalog, and I came across this dress:
The all-over floral design reminded me of a piece of cotton I purchased from Mendel Goldberg a couple of years ago.
This fabric is partially translucent, so the body of the dress will be underlined in batiste.
I bought this fabric thinking I would make a shirtwaist dress, but I couldn’t quite make it work in my mind. I thought I would like to emphasize the purple/deep lavender in it, although other colors are more dominant. I even found lavender buttons, but then thought they may be washed out by the other colors. But – seeing this dress being so effective with a grosgrain belt (again!) in a very non-dominant color, has given me all the confidence I need to take this future dress in the original direction I envisioned.
Among my many clippings from catalogs and magazines are some I keep in a separate “pile” in my sewing room. They are separate because I love the ideas in them so much, I want them to be ever present in my presence! This blouse featured in a J. McLaughlin catalog last year is just such an idea.
And while I could wear gingham checks forever and ever, I plan to make a copy of this blouse in a grass green windowpane check cotton I found at Farmhouse Fabrics. I may even make a pair of linen pants to wear with it, but we’ll see. (Pants are my least favorite item to make.)
And then there is this inspiration from the online presence of Halsbrook:
Remember this dress. It is going to be copied….
fiftydresses 
That’s so funny. I received the same catalogue. I liked exactly same dresses and blouse that you selected. I also was amazed at the prices of the boucle jackets. If you look at the photos of the jackets on the Internet the pattern doesn’t match.
I know! Do you think people don’t notice such things? It is such a shame, as the styles are lovely, just the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
I love your choices! And look forward to seeing the finished products. I love the style of the shirt dress you selected – it looks amazing on so many people but I still prefer one with a pencil-shaped skirt. Maybe I’ll make one this year!
That is one of the things I like about shirtwaist dresses – there are so various style elements to them.
You’ve done all my thinking for me. Perfect.
I am so delighted to hear this, Mery!
Ohhh yes. There are projects that are inspired by things I own, stuff I see, and stuff that comes in the photos of Gudren Sjoden. That one has been inspiring me for as long as they have been in business. Used to be the Boden catalog, but I grew up.
Isn’t it great to have so many sources for inspiration?
I’m with you on those shirt dresses! Interesting, to me the botanic print dress appears to be of different fabric than the bodice. Thanks.
I believe the bodice of that dress looks a bit different as the dress is obviously cut from a border print, and I suppose the design is not evenly distributed over the yardage.
Love those picks! I am doing some copying of my own this week, and I am feeling very proud at the moment! 😆
Copying is one of the many fun parts of sewing!
Can’t wait to see these items made up by you! Always look forward to and read your blogs with such interest, thank you from sunny Cape Town.
Thank you, Shelley! I am so happy to have you as a reader.
How wide do you think the sash is?
I think it may be about 2.5 inches wide. That is my guess…
That first shirt dress picture in your post has me feeling all the feels. It’s particularly stunning!
I know! Isn’t that pretty? Nothing like a gingham dress to look absolutely perfect!