"Manteau de Pierre Cardin" (L'Officiel October 1962)

 

Our cold snap continues, so I thought it a good time to share this picture of a snug but chic woollen coat  by Pierre Cardin.  It fastens on one shoulder with a large button, and is completed by an attached scarf with fur trim.

Land Girl (1917-8)

 This real photo postcard can be dated almost to the year, because the sitter is wearing the uniform of the (British) Women's Land Army.  The Board of Agriculture created the Land Army early in 1917 to replace the farm workers who had gone off to war.  The uniform they finally settled on consisted of a sou'wester had, knee length coat, boots, leather leggings—and "breeches with wide posteriors, tapering to fit tightly around the calves, and sealed by gaiters."  The Land Girl in this photo appears to be showing off her crisp new uniform—and daringly, she is smoking a cigarette! 

Not surprisingly, the uniform was considered shocking, particularly by the older generation:

"The Land Army demanded references, so Annie approached the elderly wife of the canon who lived in her village, to be told: 'Do you know what it involves?  You'll be dressed as a man, and I object to that—it's a disgrace to show your ankles.'  Annie recalled the interview sixty years later, and was still not wholly convinced the canon's wife was wrong, adding, 'And it was [a disgrace], I had my skirts to the ground.'"

From Kate Adie: Fighting on the Home Front (2013)

 

Miss America Models McCall's Patterns (McCall's Home Catalog, Spring-Summer 1961)

 Social media is still young, but the use of "influencers" to push products goes way back.  In this case the influencer is Miss America 1961, and the product is McCall's patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She's not mentioned by name in McCall's Home Catalog, but she was Nancy Fleming of Montague, Michigan.  After her stint as Miss America she went on to get a bachelor degree from Michigan State University and a teaching certificate from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966, which would have put her at the heart of the 1960s student movement! While I can find no evidence of her being involved it would have been an interesting contrast to her early days as a beauty queen.  She worked for a time as an elementary school teacher, before a brief career in show business.  Amidst all this she found time to get married (twice) and divorced (once).

"Lady's Winter Coat" (Australian Home Journal, May 1920)

 While people in the Northern Hemisphere are looking forward to summer, here in the south we're facing shorter days and colder nights.  It's time to start hunting for winter coats—like this one which appeared on the cover of Australian Home Journal in May 1920.

"Over the choice of some new clothes we may be inclined to hesitate, but with the top coat for winter, it is different.  We know we cannot do without it, and therefore do not hesitate in choosing the latest style, with the new folded collar, as illustrated on this page.

"This is one of the newest and smartest of designs.

"Our small illustration shows how the coat appears with the collars and revers thrown back."

Crimes in Crochet I (New Idea, 1975)

 Among other crafts, crochet underwent a revival in the 1970s.  However the patterns of the era were anything but traditional.  Here are a few examples of designs for keen crafters wanting that typically seventies look.

As a part of New Idea's "Winter Crochet Special" model Jan Hopper wears a crochet waistcoat in tricot.  This garment is comparatively sane: other patterns in the same issue include ones for a rainbow-striped crocheted saddle blanket and these remarkable handmade ties:

 

... Perhaps fortunately they've left the colours to our imagination!
 

Also a fine example of seventies weirdness (in full colour this time), this dress above is described as 'a long dress for summer evenings".  Hopefully it wasn't intended for formal occasions, but in 1975 who can tell?   Other patterns in the same magazine included crocheted sunhats with floppy brims.

"Make Your Own Broderie Blouse" (Vanity Fair, March 1962)

 Time for another vintage pattern! 

MATERIAL:
    1 yard embroidered lawn, 52 in. wide
    4 small buttons
    2 yards ribbon seam binding

To make Pattern for Version A (with sleeves)

Cut a piece of paper measuring 26 in. by 36 in.; rule off in 1 in. squares.  Number squares and copy down diagram 1 (each square represents 1 in. on paper).

Cut out pattern, and folding material in half, lay pattern pieces as shown in diagram 1; mark notches in armholes and sleeves to mark back and front, as in diagram 1.

MAKING UP:

Allow ½ in. turnings on all seams.  Sew back to fronts at shoulders, then at side seams.  

Facings: Fold 3 in. wide strip on front marked "Facing" in half right sides together.  Then join neck facings at shoulders and pin to neck right sides together, also joining front facing to neck facing.  (See diagram 2.)  Clip at curve of neck, turn and press.

Sleeves: Join underarm seam in sleeves and ease sleeves into armholes.  Finish off all seams by pinking or oversewing.  Sew ribbon seam binding to hem and lower edge of sleeve.  Turn up lower edge of blouse 2 in. and hem; turn up sleeve and hem.

On right side of centre front, measure down 1 in. from neck edge and make first buttonhole; from there make three more at 4 in. intervals; embroider buttonholes to size of buttons chosen.

To make Version B (without sleeves)

Cut pattern and lay out pieces as shown on diagram 1 but omitting the sleeves and laying neck and armholes facings as shown in diagram 3.

MAKING UP:

Following the same instructions as for Version A, except at armholes.  Simply stitch front armhole facing to look back at underarm and shoulder; pin facing round armhole right sides together; stitch, clip curves and turn right side out and press.

Well there you have it.  As usual, if anyone wants to give the pattern a go, I'd love to hear about it!

 

Sleeveless Dress ("Passap" 1980)

... And so I end my countdown back through the 1980s.

I found this publication in a junk shop.  It was one of a bundle of booklets containing patterns for the Passap Duomatic 80 knitting machine.  I find these old machine knitting patterns to be rather sad relics.  Whereas any skilled knitter can follow an old hand knitting pattern to create their own vintage garment, these patterns are useless unless you can somehow scrounge up the appropriate equipment.

 

And it seems that even forty years ago some people had problems knitting with their shiny new knitting machine.  The people at Passap introduced this book of patterns by trying to address this head on:

"...Some people seem to find the change from handknitting patterns to our machine knitting patterns difficult... we have therefore tried to insert all the required stitch and row numbers in the text as well."

Never mind.  If nothing else, the booklets are filled with amazing photographs like this one.  Isn't this a  perfect example of early eighties fashion?