"To Freida..." (1927)

 This is literally a "found photograph"—I found it wedged between the pages of a secondhand book.  (The book was published in 1906, so for all I know it has been sitting there nearly 100 years!)

Best of all from my point of view, is the fact that the photo has an inscription on the back:

To Freida

With Love from

Rita & Eileen

1927

so I can date it exactly.

Though our two sitters, "Rita" and "Eileen", aren't particularly young or stylish, they are wearing fashionable evening dress from 1927.   They've had their hair bobbed, and adopted the dropped waistline of the twenties.  The sitter on the left is wearing a long string of beads (a very 1920s touch!)   The rosette-like ornaments worn on their left shoulders was an up-to-the-minute fad in 1927—as you can see from the pattern illustrations in this 1927 issue of McCall's.

"Wool" (Australian Home Journal, April 1948)

As Australian recovered in the postwar years, the Australian Home Journal was there to offer free dress patterns and fashion advice.  If the magazine was to be believed, wool was the fabric to be wearing in April 1948.

Wool Sweaters
It is but a step from wool jersey to knitwear and, with a considerable increase in supplies recently, pure wool sweaters in all colours of the rainbow have pride of place in many shops.  However, first favourite is black, often heavily embroidered with wool, like one which had a yoke worked in a closely-packed floral design in mauve.

Wool in Paris Theatres
Wool takes the stage in Paris theatres, for leading actresses are wearing wool frocks created by famous designers at present, states a special message to the Australian Wool Board.  Maggy Rouff, who dresses many stars, has just designed a frock in lime-green wool for Simone Renaud to wear in "Liberte Provisoire", one of the successful stage hits of the moment.  Made with ruched-up elbow-length sleeves, it has a novel hipline belt which comes from a low line at the back to edge slanting hip pockts and finally buckle in front at the natural waistline.

From France
Revelling in the return of fine woollens, French milliners are using them lavishly for draping turbans and even to cover brimmed shapes, while wool jerseys are being stretched or draped into beret and muffin toque shapes to match winter suits and coats.

Jersey Frocks
Perfect styling in jersey frocks depends on simplicity, and Pierre Balmain shows many models with slim skirts, perhaps with a hint of back interest.

Of course the wool industry was the mainstay of the Australian economy at the time, so perhaps the Australian Home Journal had a patriotic interest in ensuring that women used as much wool as possible!

Australia's Lost Department Stores VIII: Boans (Spring-Summer 1958-59)

 Most of the department stores I've discussed so far have been clustered in the big cities of the east coast, but now I'm heading to the city of Perth in the far west of Australia.  Western Australia is separated from the rest of the country by immense stretches of desert and Perth lies over 2,131 kilometres from Adelaide, the nearest capital city.  However the story of Boans is fairly typical for an Australian department store.  It begins in 1895 when Harry Boans arrived in Perth and set up a "grand palace of drapery".

(The cover depicts Boans's new—in 1958—suburban store at Cannington:

Boans Waverley, with its 35,000 square feet of space containing 80 departments, will be open from 8.35 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8.35 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Facilities included free parking, a playground, a hairdresser, a subscription library, dry cleaning, shoe repair and a chiropodist!)

What We Wore in '74: Denim Jeans (Winns, Autumn-Winter 1974)

When I wake up in the morning light
I pull on my jeans and I feel all right
I pull my blue jeans on
I pull my old blue jeans on (cha, cha)

David Dundas released this song in 1976, but it's just as appropriate for 1974 (or for that matter, 1978).  For the young, the 1970s was truly the Age of  (Blue) Denim. 

D. Wide denim jeans with banded top, loops, contrast stitching piping on side seams, back-yoke and slanted pockets.  Comes in navy.

B. A splash of embroidery on brushed denim jeans, give a whole new look.  Fly front, slotted waistline, finish the pants line.

In 1974, fashionably cut jeans were relatively high in the waist, fitting tightly from the buttocks to the knees, and from the knees down, flared.  Ideally they were somewhat faded.  Teens and twenty-somethings whose new jeans weren't tight or faded enough often took matters into their own hands and "customised" them by wearing them in the bath until they shrank to fit!

Australian Home Journal "Winter Fashions" (1960)

 

I was looking at my files the other day, and realised that if I wanted to I had enough materials from the 1960s to post about nothing else for the next ten years!  While I'm not going to go that far, I thought it was time I revisited the decade.  Here, then, are some illustrations from the Australian Home Journal's winter pattern catalogue from 1960.

The catalogue has a minimum of information about each pattern illustrated—you are given a one or two-word description of the garment, and the amount of material needed to to make up the pattern sized for a 36-inch bust.

Fortunately the patterns themselves would have contained more information, including an instruction sheet and some general hints on the back of the pattern envelope.  However, we can only guess at what kinds of materials would have been used to make up these patterns.  (Some of the dressmaking guides of the time suggest that some of the "new synthetics" were hard to sew, so it's possible that home dressmakers used a lot of natural fibres!)

There seems to be an equal mix of slim and bouffant skirts depicted here.  On the whole, fashions are more formal and more fitted than they would become later in the decade.

There are two evening "frocks" on this page (one very formal), but the others are accessorised in a way that hints they may have been worn to cocktail parties or to a restaurant.

... And some more smart "frocks" on the back page.  Though there are four models in the illustration, in fact only two patterns are depicted here.  Dressmakers had choices in how they adapted the patterns for their own use: different waistlines, different necklines and wide or slim skirts.

"The Ideal House Dress" (Girl's Own Paper and Woman's Magazine, October 1920)

 "... Sure to be Popular.  Notice the Absence of Openings, and Hooks, and Buttons"

By the 1920s The Girl's Own Paper had become The Girl's Own Paper and Woman's Magazine.  At this stage it was aimed at a readership of young women, whether married or single, and carried a mix of fiction and articles on homemaking, potential careers, cookery and crafts.  It also advertised its own dressmaking patterns in each monthly issue.  

One pattern would usually be singled out for description in detail.  The chosen pattern would not necessarily be for the most fashionable of garments, but for clothes the editors of The Girl's Own Paper thought its readers might find useful.  The picture and the description below is for a "house dress", or the working costume of an ordinary housewife.  

All home-dressmakers on the look-out for a really practical design for making a comfortable house dress will welcome with pleasure this pattern we are illustrating on this page.

Besides being easy to make and easy to put on, this little design combines all the essential qualities necessary to the comfort of the housewife when engaged in household tasks.

The dress slips on over the head, has no openings to get untidy, no gaps at the waistline, no tight belt, and no pinning or hooking to keep bodice and skirt decently joined.

The back is cut straight—hanging from the shoulders, and the front is made like a bodice and skirt joined with a belt at the waistline; the belt then extends free across the back—holding in the fulness to the figure—and fastens at the underarm.

By this means the bodice is able to be given the requisite fulness, without giving the bulky appearance below the waist-line, unavoidable in in the ordinary straight one-piece dress.  Another advantage this gives over the ordinary frock is, that when stooping, the belt adjustment prevents the skirt from dropping and getting under the feet—a great gain for a working garment.

The dress is also an economical one, as it only requires 3½ yards of material 36 inches wide.  Poplin, gingham, print or cotton crȇpe would all be good fabrics for the making.

The collar can be made of a contrasting material to the frock, if desired, and would look well in white if the dress itself is of dark fabric.  Saxe-blue with a white collar is a pleasing combination, or some of the pretty striped fabrics now so popular would be becoming for this design.

If the collar is white, it should be made detachable from the frock, so that it can be removed when the dress requires washing.  This can easily be done without much extra work, and as the neck of a dress is always the first part to get soiled and crushed, it is always an advantage to have the collar detachable and able to be laundered apart from the frock.  All that is needed is to bind the neck edges of the dress and collar in position instead of neatening the two edges together.  Half a yard of material will be sufficient for the collar.

Frock and Jacket from Paris (New Idea, March 11 1959)

 

Almost exactly 65 years ago, The New Idea published this pattern for a paired dress and jacket.  Home dressmakers who want to add a touch of fifties glamour to their wardrobe, should have no trouble in following the pattern today.

If you are a working woman or a housewife on a shopping spree, this is just the suit for you to wear to the city.  This outfit is simple in design and the instructions are easy to follow.

You will be perfectly at ease, without that negligent look, in this dress and jacket.  The outfit is quite suitable for this time of year, with its short-sleeved jacket and tuxedo lapels. 

MATERIALS:  2 2/3 yards of 56 inch flannel; 14 in. zip fastener.
CUTTING: Reproduce the pattern on paper marked with four-inch squares.

TO MAKE THE FROCK; Place the pattern on the unfolded material.  Make the bust and back darts.  Join the front and back by the side and shoulder seams.  Try on the frock and make any necessary alterations for the fit.  Join the neck facings by the seams AA and the armhole facings by BB and CC.  Place the facings right side against right side and sew.  Turn the facings inside and hold them in place by hidden stitches.  Make the hem at the bottom and place the zip on the left side from E to E.

TO MAKE THE JACKET: Fold the material in two lengthways and place the centre back on the fold.  Allow extra for seams and hems.  Make the bust darts and join the fronts to the back by the side seams from the armhole to A and by the shoulder seams.  Fold the facings of the side vents back to the inside and hold in place by hidden stitches.  Sew up the sleeve seams and place then with X to the front and B meeting the shoulder seam.  Make the hems at the bottom of the sleeves.  Join the facings by seams C.  Place them right side against right side of the coat.  Turn them inside and hold them in place by hidden stitches.

Just a few strands of pearls and long gloves will transform this dress into a cocktail frock that will be perfect for dinner and a show after a day in the rush and traffic of town.  

What We Wore in '74: Dresses (Simplicity Pattern Book, Spring 1974)

 Dresses are a staple in women's wardrobes in any era, but each era has its own fashion in dresses.  

The mid-seventies was very much an "in-between" era.  The best word I can use to describe the dresses of 1974 is "moderate": not as short and skimpy as the dresses of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and not as long and baggy as the styles of the late 1970s.  Judging by the pattern illustrations below, hems hovered around or just above the knees, skirts had a slight A-line flare to them, and collars were often used as decorative details.

Misses' Dress

Misses' and Women's Dress in Two Lengths

Misses' Short Dress and Two-Piece Short Dress

Misses' One-Piece Short Dress or Short Two-Piece Dress With Detachable Collar and Cuffs

Misses' Dress

Capes and Sleeves (Miroir des Modes, July 1924)

 And speaking of posting pretty pictures... this plate, from Le Miroir des Modes shows how very simple and streamlined women's fashions had become by the mid-twenties.  You would have to go back to around 1800 to find dresses as comfortable and with as few fusses and frills.  

For some reason there were no descriptions of these garments in the issue of Le Miroir des Modes where I scanned this picture.  However, since it advertises Butterick patterns, I was able to take the descriptions from a contemporary issue of The Delineator—but only for the figures on the left and right-hand sides!  

5199—Hand-fagoting at the neck, sleeves and on the pockets of this one-piece plaited frock is very smart.  The dress has a straight lower edge, slips on over the head and has a casing and elastic across the sides of a low waistline.  It may have long sleeves sewed into a body lining. 

5197—The new cape styles are irresistible to the young girls who choose a circular cape to wear with the one-piece slip-over dress.  Use plaid or striped wool with plain cape; or use soft twills, kasha, fine worsteds, wool crȇpe, plaids, plaid, striped or plain flannel for the entire costume.

"Soft Frocks, Won Over To The Cause of Inflated Sleeves" (McCall's, June 1935)

 Sometimes I post things because I have something meaningful to say about them.  Sometimes I post things simply because they look good.   Please enjoy this picture of 1930s summer dresses from McCall's.

TAFFETA is all over the place this season.  Here, in the navy chiffon frock, it makes the collar, bow and cuffs.  And of the various taffetas, the dotted ones are the smartest ones.  No. 8291.

SCARFS are as important as ever, and there are several new ways to wear them.  The white dress shows one of them.  You will notice that the sleeves are gathered into the armhole.  No. 8303.

RUFFLES, the kind that it's a toss-up whether to call them ruffles or capes, make pretty necklines.  The ruffled neck of the dotted dress is both high and low, and pleases everyone.  No. 8301.

"Gowns For Daily Use" (McCall's, February 1914)

 The remarkable thing about these "gowns for daily use" is how smart they are—what a contrast to the everyday fashions of 2024!   By 1914 fashion had well and truly left the curvy Edwardian silhouette behind and women were striving for a flattened and more streamlined look.  Skirts tend to be narrow and taper towards the ankles, but note the carefully placed pleats allowing some wearing ease.

NO. 5687, LADIES' DRESS⸺This is an unusually new model, wide tucks being combined with sleeves in semi-raglan fashion.  This frock, made of deep red serge, would make a practical addition to the winter wardrobe.  Revers of red-and-white plaid silk, with a crushed girdle of the same would be very smart.  Long, tassel-finished sash ends would be an attractive feature.

NO. 5699, LADIES' DRESS⸺The simplicity and good style of this frock would make it especially adaptable for business women.  

NO. 5671, LADIES' WAIST⸺Kimono or peasant styles still hold sway.  They are simple in construction and lend themselves to various styles.  The blouse illustrated, developed in heavy lace with tunic of the same, is very striking.  The fullness of the blouse is gathered at the neck, giving an entirely new effect.  The V-shaped neck and surplus waist is especially becoming to slender figures.

NO. 5697, LADIES' ONE- OR TWO-PIECE SKIRT⸺Dame fashion has given her approval to large waists, exaggerated hips and extremely narrow skirts around the ankles.  We have no model that so fully carries out this fashionable outline as this illustration.  The drapery at the sides of this skirt accentuates the outline of the hip.

What We Wore in '74: Platforms and Wedges (David Jones, Spring and Summer 1974)

 If you wanted to wear trendy footwear in 1974, platform soles and/or wedge heels were a must.   The photographs below show some fashionable sandals from the summer David Jones catalogue.  Cork and rope seem to have been popular materials for the soles.

Kick up your heels!  The new Miss Jones collection for spring and summer has arrived!  Smacking of the sea with nautical corks and comfy wedges, strappy uppers and breezy open toes.

Sandler have the summer sandal scene all sewn up.  Bright colours that outshine the sun, raised up on fun-loving platforms; a look that's totally young and carefree.

Shoes are one of the most important considerations in your summer wardrobe.  they must be ultra-cool (you know how uncomfortable hot feet are!) yet they must be able to stand up to the rugged wear of summer.

People who remember the era tell me that these shoes were very noisy on uncarpeted floors!  By the end of the decade, however, bulky platforms were "out" and fashion had swung to the opposite extreme, with strappy stilettos being the footwear of choice.

Flair, January 1964

 Sixty years ago, Flair featured this cheerful "playsuit" for wear on the beach.

Our Cover: Looking sunwards, a playsuit of spanking white Arnel sharkskin, amusingly stencilled  with a giant-sized sunflower [you can reverse the jacket back-to-front if you wish . . . makes no difference]; made by Aywan, the set is priced at about £6:15:0...

"Sharkskin", thank goodness, is not made from the real skins of real sharks.  It is a twill-weave fabric with "a distinctive sheen" and can be made from many kinds of fibres.  In this case "Arnel" was the trademarked name of a brand of triacetate fibre.

"Lastex Swimsuit" (Distinction, Spring-Summer 1957-8)

On the cover of Distinction we have a:

 Strapless lastex swimsuit, shirring at top and shirred pants.

As you can see, it's a fairly structured garment.  Though we aren't given any details, it's clear that a lot of internal scaffolding was needed to hold the swimsuit up and mould the wearer's figure into shape.  Lastex had been introduced in the mid-1930s, but was only just becoming popular for swimwear.  Cotton was another popular material for swimsuits in the 1950s, and nylon was starting to make a splash (first used for swimwear in 1956).

Distinction was a bit of an oddity of a magazine.  Published in Sydney between 1948 and 1972, it set out to describe what was in fashion with few words and lots of pictures.  It carried no feature articles and no advertisements, but sold a few dressmaking patterns through its pages.  Its pictures were largely uncredited (which makes me wonder whether some of them were pirated from other magazines).  While it's a great reference for mid-century fashions, I'm left wondering who was its intended readership.  Perhaps it was aimed at people in the rag trade looking for designs to copy?

Anyway, here is some of the magazine's advice to readers in the Australian Spring and Summer of 1957-58:

Waistlines have moved again; this time to a position 2 or 3 inches above the natural waist, demanding attention by high placed belts, wide cummerbunds, draping and short jackets...

Shorter sleeves will play an important role for warm weather practicality.  Capelet and balloon sleeves vie with the dolman, set-in and unmounted styles for popularity.

Hemlines for street dresses remain approximately the same position, perhaps an inch longer, but certainly no more.

More detail is given to skirts, they look freer and easier, but it really isn't so—they are still basically slim.  This illusion is created with pegged skirts being curved at the hipline but tapered below...

The mood for absolute femininity is expressed in fashion by the use of soft clinging fabrics...

Fun In The Sun (Vogue Patterns, January 1948)

Recently I got hold of a Vogue Patterns counter catalogue from 1948.  Needless to say I'll be posting a lot of scans from it in the future!  For today I thought I'd start with some pictures of bathing suits and beachwear from the catalogue's "Work and Play" section. 

5766 One-piece Bathing Suit

A one-piece bathing suit with interest added by shirring.  The pattern was designed to be made up in either rayon or wool jersey.  By the 1940s there were swimsuits made of new, water repellant fabrics—such as lastex—but they don't appear to have been available for home dressmakers.

The Lammermoor Dress (Girl's Own Paper, January 31, 1891)

 The "Lammermoor" dress was probably named for Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor.  The jacket is styled after an early 18th century gentleman's frock coat, with wide skirts, flap pockets and deep cuffs.  The little tricorne hat perched on the model's head completes the effect.   However, there are also many details that mark the jacket as being from late nineteenth century, including the basque bodice, the leg of mutton sleeves, and the deep revers exposing the high-necked bodice beneath.

The Lammermoor coat was available as a pattern from the Girl's Own Paper:

In our illustration of the "Lammermoor Dress" we show one of the long-waisted jackets such as that unhappy bride is supposed to have been arrayed in; and for our paper pattern we have selected the same, as these long coats or jackets, with their long coat-basques, will unquestionably be worn for some time to come.  They seem becoming, too, to nearly all figures save the very short and stout, and they go well with the plain skirt which is now worn...

The paper pattern for the month, as we have said, is a "Ravenswood", or a "Lammermoor Jacket",  which will be suitable for serge or cloth, and for use as a walking or indoor jacket, to be worn on mild days with a boa or ruff.  There are twelve pieces, and great care must be taken to bone the bodice firmly, and put in the linings evenly and neatly.  The long basque will need lining with silk, or if not, with sateen; and unless in the hands of a good fitter, the home dressmaker may fail in both the ways suggested, unless very careful.

(That last is somewhat discouraging advice for home dressmakers!)

What We Wore In '74: Beachwear (David Jones, Spring and Summer 1974)

 This year I'm going to do a series of posts looking back fifty years to the styles of 1974, an era which seems at once strangely modern and a very long time ago.    And since it's now the Australian summer, what better place to start than looking at what we wore at the beach?

F: You'll have it all wrapped up in this nifty beach wrap.  Drop shoulder style makes for comfort and of course it's styled in Bri-Nylon—what else?

G: Itsy bitsy, teeny weeny bikini.  A little nothing to turn heads on the beach this season.  Elasticised under the bust and back strap.  Fibre filled bra to give shape while still looking natural.  Bri-Nylon.

A: Handy chenille cover-up...

B: Comfortable hip-length cover-up...

C: Cool bias stripes on jersey...

D: Snappy shift to match bikini...

E: Ada jersey bikini.  Fibre filled bra, 3" side brief.  Fully lined...

F: Long-singlet shift in carefree cotton/nylon towelling.  Crisp stripes on white with flattering neckline and silver ring trim.

In spite of the number of "cover-ups" for sale, 1974 was the heyday of the deep, dark, fashionable tan.

Bikinis are front and centre in this catalogue, though a few one-piece swimsuits lurk around the edges.  You'll notice that there are no "string bikinis" for sale.  They had just been introduced in 1974 and were presumably still so new that David Jones didn't have time to include them in their catalogue.  However, The Australian Women's Weekly had things covered (or not so covered), with a pattern for a string bikini included in it's October 30 issue.