Woman revives 1940s fashion by recreating dresses from grandma's original designs

Growing up close to her grandma, Illinois woman Julia had always loved vintage-style things. She would often visit her grandma’s condo and become fascinated poring through her collection of vintage knick-knacks and sparkly old things, per ABC7 News. But there was one secret that her grandma, Georgie, hadn’t told her until she grew up. In a TikTok video, Julia posted during the COVID-19 pandemic, she revealed that she found a collection of stunning fashion sketches made by her grandma in the 1940s. The designs painted a new picture of her upcoming life. Since then, she has made dozens and dozens of recreations inspired by these vintage sketches.

As a teenager, Georgie dropped out of fashion school to support her family, Julia described in the video. She loved collecting glittery brooches and crafted chunky bracelets out of discarded vintage buttons. After this, Georgie never pursued a fashion career. Her dreams remained unrealized and piled in a corner of her house until Julia discovered them and committed to reviving them for her.

Julia’s thoughts were further fuelled by the comments she received on TikTok. People encouraged her to bring the designs to life. Many people commented asking her to convert these designs into actual dresses. @rosemoorgirl said, “Please get one made, it would be amazing!” @maluchc commented, “I would love to wear one of her designs!! They’re all so beautiful!” @isjennalulu proclaimed, “Can someone get this on #designertok and recreate one of these?”

Julia herself wanted to recreate her grandma’s designs but there was one obstacle. She didn’t have a fashion background and she didn’t know how to sew. "I still have never attended fashion school or taken any classes on sewing, but I love my grandmother very much, and I thought it could be a fun bonding experience for us," Julia told PEOPLE. "So I began to teach myself how to sew, mostly using online tutorials on YouTube for free." And that’s how started Julia’s journey to recreate her grandma’s fashion. Since then, her social media channels have become hubs of fashion inspiration.

Initially, she shared about restoring her grandma’s wedding dress, a stunning cream-colored gown with a flared voluminous hem, a seam at the back, and a gorgeous lace at the neckline. She said in a video that the gown had been stowed away in a garbage bag for long as her grandma wanted it thrown away thinking it wasn’t good at all. The ardent granddaughter not only restored the gown but even wore it at her wedding.

She told PEOPLE that her first design sewed from the sketches, was a long purple ballgown. Julia also crafted a "Moulin Rouge-inspired" black and blue ballet dress for her grandma, per ABC7 News. In a TikTok, she also shared a redo of a Halloween-inspired black irregular hem dress that her grandma found perfect and pretty. She made it just for $30, using only thrifting materials.

Speaking to PEOPLE, she added that she uses repurposed materials for her recreations, maintaining a small budget, usually under $100. "My process for creating a 'Grandma' design is to go thrifting or go through previous projects I’ve already made," she said, and added, "I take them apart and reuse the fabric, or find fabric that has a similar look to one of my grandmother's drawings. Then begin to create the design to the best of my sewing abilities.”

Later on, the content creator went on to launch a vintage-inspired swimwear line based on one of her designs. "I collaborated with a company called JVB Swim to create a one-piece bathing suit and bathing skirt in some of my grandmother’s favorite colors," she told PEOPLE. "That is our favorite memory together so far, and she couldn’t believe that people would be able to wear one of her designs."

You can follow Julia on TikTok and Instagram to grab more inspiration from her vintage fashion recreations!