Flounces, Flairs and Pleats ("Pictorial Review", February 1929)

"The sports silhouette for this spring has the good grace to remain slim and youthful.  But pleats are smarter than ever—especially when grouped and placed rather low—or finished in a chic V at the top—or expressed  in the box-pleat so much in vogue this season.

Scarfs of all sorts are high in fashion—touches of white at the neck are favored by Patou—and diagonal necklines are extremely chic.  Jackets and coats contrasting with their frocks were worn by the smartest women at Biarritz.  And this mode of wearing a very bright printed jacket with a solid-color frock; or donning a tweed coat over a printed silk, is destined for brilliant success this Spring."

The Pictorial Review, February 1929  

The 1930s are usually seen as a complete break with the previous decade, but here we are in the final year of the 1920s and there are already signs of things to come.

For our first set of patterns we have a cluster of day dresses, all with pleats and skirts with hip yokes (which would stay popular into the early years of the 1930s).  Skirts remain short, just touching the knees, and waistlines low, though there are signs that they are just about to rise—belts are now sitting just at the top of the hips.

Next, a selection of dresses for afternoon or formal wear.  (In the 1920s the rule still held that the later in the day the more formal the clothes—at least for women of leisure!)   Dresses are  becoming more fitted than they were earlier in the decade, though the flat and boyish silhouette still holds sway.  There is an attempt to lengthen the dress second from the left by an uneven hemline, and the dresses at either end are draped asymmetrically on the hips.

The picture on the right shows two more afternoon dresses, this time both with flounced skirts.  The dresses on the left are said to be in "the sports mode"—not clothes for playing sports, but easy-to-wear fashions for the modern woman.

More clothes in "the sports mode".  The term "sportswear" originally applied to clothing that was actually worn to play sport, but by the 1920s it referred to "sporty" designs that could be worn for an active lifestyle.  This style was a specialty of the American market.

The clothes above are all pleated from a low hip yoke or panel, and accessorised by narrow belts riding just above the hips.