Groom's Vest Snafu

So here I am wondering what I could do with a little bit of ivory satin left over from my mother's wedding gown, after using most of what was usable, to create a new wedding dress for my daughter.

My mother's 1939 ivory satin wedding gown - my 1979 white eyelet dress - Tracy's redesigned dress using both

A vest for the groom! Perfect. He was going to be wearing a long sleeved white shirt and white jeans for his attire and the ivory vest would be a great addition. I had just enough to make the front of the vest and used a natural linen for the back and lining. 

The vest fit him nicely and he looked so good. I had just one more detail to complete my project. Buttonholes. I've never liked making buttonholes so I made the decision to take the vest to a dry cleaners, rather than make them myself. Bad Decision.


I went to pick up the vest and noticed they didn't make the buttonholes horizontal as I had asked. Oh well, I could live with that. Once I got home and looked closer at the vest, my heart sank. They thought the satin was the lining and did it all backwards. I had explained that the satin was the right side of the vest!! I was shaking with a combination of anger, frustration, and sadness.

To make matters worse, I noticed a big spot of water, or some chemical, on the satin and how poorly the vest looked now. I drove back to the cleaners and talked with the owner. He was going to make it right and he would deliver it, "No Charge." I was out all day doing wedding stuff and there was the vest, hanging on my gate, when I arrived home.

Didn't take long for my heart to sink once again. The owner must not have checked the vest before he delivered it. The poor vest was a mess, almost looking like an expensive rag. If I were him, I would not have let it leave the shop without being as close to perfect as they could get it.

 And I had to ask myself, "WHY didn't I just do the buttonholes myself?" What a waste. I decided to take this on myself instead of sending it back to them again. I washed the vest by hand to see if I could salvage it. It is hanging in the tub drip drying (photo on left below) and it seems the spots are gone and I will be able to re-steam it.


As you can see from the photo (on the right above) the wedding vest turned out great in the end and was the perfect addition to wear with his shirt and jeans.

The back of the vest is linen - and the groom says, "I do"

I did have a backup plan. . . a rather cool, totally hand-sewn, vest (now vintage) I made in the 70s for a boyfriend. Guess I didn't stay with him long enough to give it to him! Luke had already tried it on and it looked awesome on him. The two photos below are of the front and the floral backside.


And, the vintage vest has also come in handy.  Luke plays his music in clubs around San Diego and has worn it on occasion.