Sewing the Grace Kelly Style

Grace Patricia Kelly ((November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who married Prince Rainer III of Monaco in 1956. She died at age 52 of a fatal car accident in 1982. Grace Kelly is an icon to this day because of its style, which is characterized by elegance and timeless class.

Hèrmes even named a handbag after her: The Kelly Bag. The bag is extremely expensive, has waiting lists for potential buyers and, like Grace Kelly, is 'sophisticated' in every little detail.

Do you want to be as stylish as Grace Kelly? That seems almost impossible, but it is certainly not. There are many sewing patterns available that work well with the Kelly-Style. We have made an overview.

In a world of Kardashians,
be a Grace Kelly!

The Grace Kelly style
How would you characterize the Grace Kelly style? It is the same style of the fifties and  in any case super feminine and stylish. Women already wore pants but these were often a bit legging-like or in the summer: capri style. Beautiful blouses, which were beautifully finished with embroidery, extra ruffles, bows or collars. The blouses were made of silk, cotton or piqué.

Grace Kelly's coats were: long, stylish and real couture. Cape coats were also very popular. Gala outfits were feminine and very Hollywood. The fabrics used were mainly silk, chiffon and jacquards. And then there are the accessories: Grace Kelly was not only famous because of her handbag(s) but also for her long gloves and her scarves. Hermès in most cases. The scarves were actually always there and were worn around the neck and over the head.

Typical of the Grace Kelly-Style is actually what is missing. We mention: casual, comfy sweaters, hoodies, jogging pants, oversized clothing, sneakers, layered clothing, hippy clothing and shoulder pads. Doesn't this just happen to go hand-in-hand with the era? Of course! But Grace dressed impeccably in public and created a style that really suited her. Just like many stars then, and now, they created their own style  because and became fashion icons of their time.

Coats:

Classic coat Vogue V1562
This coat is really a beautiful classic but not easy to make. See the blog: Vogue V1562. Especially the perfect shape and the extended long cuff with buttonholes are a time-consuming job. But it is a very nice coat and has a lot of class and style.

McCall's 7848
Beautiful coats with narrow waists.  Very feminine!

Vintage coat Vogue V1669
Great coat in the fabulous fifties-style!

Blouses

KnipMode blouse 1701-20
A Beautiful blouse with a high collar, puiffed sleeves and long cuffs.

Butterick 6710 blouse
Butterick 6710  Blog: Butterick 6710. A beautiful blouse that is perfect for silk or satin fabrics. You can make the blouse extra beautiful with the bow. The puff at the cuffs is also very elegant.

Pants:

Tight trousers Butterick 6845
These pants fit perfectly with the Grace Kelly style. The pants are not too wide, not too tight and the height of the waist is just right. Timeless and stylish pants that go with everything.

Capri pants Knipmode 0419 - 31
Beautiful Capri pants with typical slits at calf height. This type of pants is ideal for summer, from casual to chic.

Evening and partywear
Grace Kelly looked divine in her evening wear. Her clothes were designed by top designers such as Christian Dior, Madame Grès, Coco Chanel and many other famous designers.
If you want to go to a prom or party in style and look a bit like Grace Kelly, choose for evening dresses which are long, made of lightweight fabric, soft colors and perfectly tailored. The dress should be an eye-catcher because of the shape and a lot of couture details. The dresses mentioned below from Vogue are our favorites. The dresses are timeless and very classy.

Vogue V1748

Vogue V1699

Vogue V1605

Accessories:
Did you ever notice pictures of Grace Kelly on her way without wearing gloves? Probably hardly. Her long white gloves have become typical of her style.

Gloves are not easy to make, because they are very small pieces of fabric and the fabric is often difficult to sew because of the high stretch content. But it's worth giving it a try. There are seamstresses who have a passion for making the most beautiful gloves. Gloves are also handy in this time of pandemics!

In terms of hats, we thought the sewing pattern from HP best suited the Grace Kelly style. The hat is called: Classic Elegance and is number 206.

Another FAMOUS accessory: the Hèrmes scarf. We can't make these ourselves, but luckily there are often beautiful panel fabrics for sale that match the Hèrmes style.

Handschoenen Vogue V8311

Hoeden Pattern Studio HP206

Marga van der Vet as Grace Kelly, photography: Jan Kruize, M.A. Anthony, en MK Potography