1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections

Flashback Summer: 1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections
(For some reason my hair looked really red in these photos.  It's not; I didn't dye it.  I don't know what happened, haha!)
While I absolutely love 1920s party dresses, I can't wear them every day!  I do have to wear some more hardy, casual clothing for my daytime, regular-life activities.  I was so pleased to discover the House of Recollections Etsy shop when I was searching for such pieces!

House of Recollections is run by Thongbai Tatong who leads a team of four women in handmaking these dresses in their little shop in Thailand.  From what I hear, Thailand is a holy grail land of beautiful fabrics, and it shows in their shop selections!  They have beautiful, drapey velvets and sheers along with wonderfully designed cotton dresses for every day.  

Flashback Summer: 1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections

With spring and summer coming up, I love the idea of a white dress.  I always adore the 1920s illustrations of a cute, bobbed-hair girl in a white dress going about her day as the wind whips her skirt in a warm summer breeze.  Well, they're very difficult to find as authentic vintage, and I didn't want to drop several hundred dollars on a white dress that could get stained and would need to be laundered.  I was quite pleased to see this adorable white dress in House of Recollections' shop!  It's exactly the nautical, white summer dress I was thinking of.

Flashback Summer: 1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections

I sent my measurements to Thongbai since I was below their size chart.  Custom sizing is free in their shop as pieces are made to order, and Thongbai was a delight to communicate with.  Can you believe... when I pulled the dress out of the box and tried it on, it fit PERFECTLY! The length, the shoulders, just enough room at the hips for ease while still keeping the slim-hipped '20s silhouette.  It's just amazing!

Flashback Summer: 1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections

I was also very pleased to find the dress is fully lined from top to bottom.  Especially being a white dress, this makes it so much more wearable for me.  Since it's opaque, I don't have to worry about undergarments and such.  It makes me feel much better about wearing white!  It simply slips on over the head.


While I would totally prefer to model this dress next to the seaside for you guys... I am utterly landlocked.  My next thought was how much it looks like 1920s athletic wear, particularly for tennis!  Of course, once I realized that I had to make the whole look work.

I saw a picture on IG from Inge of @stubborn.modishness of a 1920s crocheted tennis cap she made, and I was inspired!  While I'm not a great crocheter and I've never made a hat, I managed to make something resembling the picture without a pattern.  While it's a tiny bit wonky, I still love it!  It also does its job of keeping my hair in place while I flailed in faking tennis skills.  (And I know you want to see some Emileigh-flying-through-the-air-photos, so I'll oblige.)

Flashback Summer: 1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections

Flashback Summer: 1920s Tennis Dress from House of Recollections

You guys HAVE to go check out the lovely pieces in the House of Recollections shop. I'm also drooling over their chiffon summer dresses. Which one is your favorite?

This dress was provided c/o the House of Recollections, but all opinions are honest and my own. For more information on my review standards, check out my policy page.

6 comments

  1. How lovely to have a custom-made dress! I'll be sure to check out their website. You look very sporty in your new frock.

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  2. Great dress! I need to check out that site. I *love* the headpiece. I've never seen anything like it, and it looks like it would work great for keeping hair out of the face!

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  3. So lovely! I have always loved those 1920's white dress illustrations too. They always seem so carefree.
    The Artyologist

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  4. I have to say that although I do love fancy 1920s party frocks, it's the everyday cotton dresses that get my attention too. This is such a classic design and really suits you. And it's perfect for tennis!

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    1. Thank you so much, Tanith! I think using cotton requires more proportion and design skill too, since it doesn't drape and skim the body as easily as other fabrics like silks and such.

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