Vogue First of the Month Collection, February 1947

Judging by the size and style of this publication it was intended as a supplement to the big Vogue pattern catalogues displayed in fabric stores.

Though these patterns were released before Christian Dior sprang his New Look on a waiting world, it is clear that fashion changes were already in the air.  The lines of these suits are noticeably less angular than their wartime counterparts, the waists are clearly indented, and the skirts are longer and fuller than would have been seen a couple of years earlier.  The two trim and ladylike models in the picture are looking forward to the fifties rather than back to earlier in the decade.

Photograph, ca. 1894-1897

This robust colonial lass demonstrates that even in the 19th century fashion had its pitfalls if you didn't have the right figure for it.  In this case the sitter's corsets appear to be laced uncomfortably tight creating a visible ridge under her clothes around her bust.

The photograph is stamped "Mora, 83 Rundle Street, Adelaide".  My research informs me that the firm existed at that address during the 1890s.  I further narrowed the date of this picture to the middle of the decade by the puffed sleeves the sitter was wearing.

Simplicity Pattern Book, Summer 1950

The model wearing this outfit looks like the archetypal fifties housewife dressed to go out!  Very typical of her era is her neatly groomed head, seed-pearl necklace and small waist, while her large white collar and cuffs add a demure touch to her outfit.



Singer Sewing Fashions Showcase, Fall/Winter 1970s

Yes, Virginia, there were stylish clothes in the 1970s.   Here is an example from the beginning of the decade.



Le Petit Echo De La Mode, No. 22 of 1930

This is a chic French version of all those little sewing magazines available in the English-speaking world.  

Though it is often said that fashions changed radically at the end of the 1920s (just in time for the Wall Street Crash and the start of the Great Depression!) it can be seen from this picture that plenty of style elements from the 1920s lingered on into the new decade.  The fashionable silhouette is still fairly straight and the models' heads are still covered with close-fitting hats.  Moreover, while the waist is belted in its "natural" position, the skirt descends from a yoke at the hips, echoing of the dropped waistline of the previous decade.

Weldon's Ladies' Journal, August 1911



... And to kick of August, here is the last of my 1911 issues of Weldon's Ladies Journal.  The free patterns enclosed this month included a child's bathing suit and a blouse for an older lady.