And so we reach the end of our Christmas countdown. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Lest we think that the 1970s were all polyester pantsuits and denim jeans, here is an evening dress in the grand manner from 1973. It was made by Detlev Albers in Berlin.
DETLEV ALBERS, BERLIN
Distinguished evening dress with long fringed shawl made of pure silk.
Continuing our Christmas countdown, we take a look at a gala evening dress from 1953. In some ways the 1950s was a backward-looking decade, with fashions leaning towards old-fashioned formality, femininity and glamour. However, it was also the first decade to fully make use of modern easy-care synthetics for clothing. The dress below illustrates this paradox beautifully. It would not look out of place in Victorian ballroom, but it's made of nylon!
Evening beauty in nylon. Atrima from Harrods.
If party dresses in the 1920s were youthful and exuberant, evening dresses in the 1930s were slinky and sophisticated. Here is a glamorous duo from 1933, depicted at "An evening at the casino".
ROBE en organdi ave petit collet à volants. La robe simple, décolletée avec bras nus, est garnie d'une ceinture en ruban drapé et noué sur le côté. Jupe à deux volants trѐs amples superposés. La cape est mobile et peut s'enlever à volonté.
[Organdy DRESS with small ruffled collar. The simple, low-cut dress with bare arms is trimmed with a draped ribbon belt tied at the side. Skirt with two very loose, superimposed ruffles. The cape is mobile and can be removed at will.]
ROBE en crépe Georgette vert jade. Corsage orné de découpes symétriques devant et derriѐre. Petit effet de col berthe. Robe de forme princesse, trѐs large du bas. Echarpe de mousseline imprimée.
[DRESS in jade green Georgette crepe. Bodice decorated with symmetrical cutouts at the front and back. Small berthe collar effect. Princess-shaped dress, very wide at the bottom. Printed muslin scarf.]
As the festive season kicks off and we all start celebrating, I thought it would be a good time to look at the party clothes we wore in years past. First up, some dresses from Butterick in 1923:
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4883—For Holiday dances this slip-over dress which drapes around the figure and is held in front by a hand-made chou, is lovely in moire, crȇpe satin, plain crȇpes, satin crȇpe, lace, etc. The straight skirt is joined at a low waistline.
4851—A slip-over dress of chiffon velvet, crȇpe satin, satin crȇpe, plain or printed silk crȇpe, or crȇpe de Chine, printed silks or lace has a two-tiered straight skirt with drapery and joined at a low waistline. It closes under the left arm and the long body lining has a camisole top.
4899—A full, straight skir with either five or three rows of trimming gives the tiered effect to this slip-over dress with a draped basque which has an armhole in two depths. It closes under the left arm and the skirt joins a slightly long underbody with a camisole top. There may be a straight drop skirt. Use moire or taffeta with lace edging frills and a hand-made ribbon bow and flowers, etc.
In the late 1940s "peasant" skirts and blouses became very popular for casual wear. Usually consisting of dirndl skirts in brightly coloured prints and puff-sleeved blouses that could be worn on or off the shoulders, these outfits were popular for picnics, the beach, and informal daytime parties.
Here are a few examples as advertised by Wakes of Melbourne in 1947:
ELASTIC TOP'D AND CUFF'D BLOUSE in 'Celanese Celshung'. To sun or show your shoulders by day or night, just slip elastic top to shoulder point. Sweet puffed magyar sleeves, frill and bow finished.DANCE WITH THE WIND DIRNDL, TREMENDOUS SKIRT. Multi-gore skirt with huge hem, fluted drape in Wakes exclusive spotted bow printed cotton linene. Zip back placket, interlined corselet band.ROSEBUD BAYADERE BRAIDE ON 'CELSHUNG' ELASTIC TOP PEASANT BLOUSE. Sun or show off your shoulders by day or night in this launderable peasant blouse. Elastic too on peasant puff sleeves.FLORAL BORDER DIRNDL SKIRT. LAUNDERABLE MULTI-COLOR SPUN RAYON in gay colors to make a peasant skirt with daisy-chain border. Double waistband, full gathering all-round.
DRAWSTRING COTTON PEASANT BLOUSE. A fine white cotton banded by boilfast cotton bias. Wear as illustrated or with suncatching loveliness of bare shoulders.
"SIESTA", SUN-LOVING COTTON DIRNDL. Exclusive-to-wakes print on colorfast cotton linene. Lazy old peons drowsing beneath their sombreros, against desert cacti, make a gay border. Sombreros and little cacti complete the print. Gathered-all-round dirndl, button waistband, zip placket.
DRAWSTRING BLOUSE, LACE SLEEVES. A combination of fine cotton lawn and all-over lace. Wear the cute drawstring neckline high or low. Oval drawstring back and puffed magyar drawstring sleeves. Longer tuck-in length.
COLORFAST COTTON CORSELET-WAIST, BOW-BORDERED DIRNDL. An exclusive-to-Wakes border print, with with color-spotted white bows encircling hem, more tiny bows on skirt and a collection of coin spots. Many gored skirt with a tremendous width hem. Lined corselet waist, zip placket at back.
Here's yet another long lost Sydney department store: Marcus Clark.
Marcus Clark was slightly different from its competitors, in that it began in the suburbs (in Newtown in 1883) rather than the city centre, and almost right from the start started opening other suburban branches (in Marrickville and Bondi Junction). It was not until 1896 that it opened its first store in the city.
I had something quite different lined up for this week, then I stumbled upon this little gem. Yes, it's time again to look at the evil that can be wrought by a crochet hook.
The idea behind a lot of these styles appears to be "why wait for the moths to eat holes in your clothes when you can do it yourself?"
Our fashion scene opens with a dashing little crochet vest to wear in many ways. Crocheted in shimmering white, we dressed it romantically in a gay peasant mood.
Fine crochet makes this graceful blouse. Lace patterning in the delicate texture of 2-ply, with full sleeves, demure cuffs and collar, and tiny pearl buttons to add a delightfully feminine finishing touch.
Seen at the Yacht Club in these striking crochet cover-ups for after swim or sailing. Brilliant orange for the gaily fringed poncho, or apricot striped with white for the jaunty cardigan-tunic.
(*I checked. The poncho is made in Courtelle.)
Two of fashion's top moods — the trouser suit and crochet combine in this striking outfit to turn all heads on the casual scene. Easy-to-wear tunic top has a cord tie and pretty picot edges match the trousers.
Being a product of the 1970s. this magazine also has some quite—ahem!—interesting knitting patterns as well. But that will be a subject for another post...
Today is Melbourne Cup Day, a day when fashion goes—literally—to Australian women's heads. While women wear their hats and fascinators at the race course today, I thought I'd take the opportunity to look back to an era when hats were for every day, not just special occasions.
5590—In the sprightly and enchanting mood of Spring, the bolero costume... brief, scalloped jacket over a smart, simple dress...
Jacket is photographed in houndstooth check rayon suiting: the dress and jacket trim in Sanchu tissue faille, both fabrics by Burlington Mills.
Hat by Anne Rellie; Gloves by Wear-Right; Jewelry by Core.
Very neat, very accessorised, very 1950s!
Rites of passage have always been opportunities to show off wealth and status. In the 21st century weddings are our favourite occasions for display, but in Victorian times spending money on funerals and mourning dress were equally popular ways of showing off. And given that in the 19th century life expectancy was lower, infant mortality higher, and families larger, there were many (too many) opportunities for wearing mourning.
Not that people necessarily donned mourning only for their nearest and dearest, however. There were carefully regulated graduations of mourning (first mourning, second mourning, half mourning) worn to commemorate everyone from a newly deceased husband to a distant cousin by marriage. At one extreme, a new widow would wear the heaviest mourning with clothes covered in crape (a silk fabric treated to make it lusterless and stiff). At the other the "mourner" would wear fashionable dress in sombre shades.
With all this, it was not surprising that an entire industry sprung up to cater for the mourning needs of the upper and aspiring middle classes. One of the firms which rose to meet this demand was Jay's Mourning Warehouse which was established in 1841 in three large houses on London's Regent Street.
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| 1858 |
At the return of the present period, we submit to the public a series of ENGRAVINGS, embodying the Fashions of the Season. It will be observed, that although there is considerable variety of form in the MANTLES here illustrated, they nevertheless preserve that unity for which Parisian invention is remarkable; and it is also well worthy of remark, that in Paris, at the present time, Black and White enjoy a decided favouritism.
In agreement with the requisitions of our Patrons, we have afixed Prices to the costumes, although it will be obvious that these must ultimately depend on the materials employed and the making up. The price, therefore, may be lower, if it be so desired; or it may be higher than that which is given. It is necessary to explain that the subject of the Illustrations are made up in various materials, suitable either for Ladies who adopt Mourning, or for those who wear Black in accordance with the taste of the day.
(The picture above depicts a mantle of cloth trimmed with velvet, a dress of poplin and a bonnet of terry and silk.)
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| 1861 |
MOURNING FOR A WIDOWPARAMATTA DRESS, deeply trimmed to the waist with crape.
RADZ-DE-MORT SILK MANTLE, trimmed with crape.
CRAPE BONNET, with deep veil.
TARLATAN CAP, COLLAR AND CUFFS, white.
DINNER DRESS of Radz-de-mort Silk, deeply trimmed with crape.
WHITE LISSE cap.
MOURNING FOR A PARENT
MORNING DRESS of Paramatta, trimmed with two deep tucks of crepe.
CRAPE COLLAR AND CUFFS, OR SLEEVES.
WALKING DRESS of Gros Royal Silk, trimmed deeply with crape. MANTLE to correspond.
CRAPE BONNET, with Black Cap. JET ORNAMENTS.
MOURNING FOR A BROTHER OR SISTER.
MORNING DRESS of French Twill, or Paramatta, with three or five tucks of crape.
BLACK COLLARS AND SLEEVES.
WALKING DRESS of Gros Royal or Berlin Silk, with Mantle to match.
SILK AND CRAPE BONNET.
NET VEIL, with crape hem. JET ORNAMENTS.
SERVANTS' MOURNING
BLACK, OR GREY AND BLACK, GLACE DRESS.
GLACE MANTLE, or GRENADINE SHAWL
WHITE CRAPE OR CHIP BONNET, trimmed with Black.
WHITE NET COLLARS AND SLEEVES.
Finally, I'm escaping Sydney. I'm heading to Melbourne this post to visit The Mutual Store.
As its name indicates, it began as a cooperative store. It was founded in 1873 to provide members (who had to hold at least three shares) cheap provisions and household goods. It got off to a somewhat rocky start, with members of the public writing to the papers to complain about the quality of the goods (or were they rival retailers trying to discredit the competition?) However, it soon grew to be something much larger and very different.
19W1. Fur Trimmed Coat in newest Angora coating, with luxurious collar of American Opossum. Perfect fitting, fully lined, unique trimmed sleeve effect.
26W1. Young Matron's Hat, in Fur Felt, new season's style, in all colours and fittings.
23W1. Maid's Light Woollen Frock, smartly cut, with belt and button trimming, pleats in skirt back and front. Green tea (as photo), Fawn or Rose.
26W2. Maid's Felt Tam Hat, smart, attractive style, in all colours and fittings.
30W1. Men's Pure Wool Tweed Overcoat, in neat check and overcheck designs in fawn, brown and grey shades—single breasted (as photo) or double breasted style in all men's fittings.
29W1. Men's Hats. The M.S. "Melolite"—a fine pure fur felt Australian Hat in brown, steel, rust, self.
Every once in a while I like to move away from women's fashions and take a look at what the men were wearing. This colour page from a Chicago Mail Order sale catalogue gives us a pretty good idea of what the average male had in his wardrobe in 1933.
cool, snappy, dressy, yet serviceable trousers. Look like expensive "flannels", but are washable and shrinkproof. Fine for dress, sports and all occasions.
These trousers were a trendy 22½ wide at the bottoms.
For younger boys we have yet another suit, a cheaper version of the men's ("½ Wool, Balance Cotton"), a boy's blouse ("Mothers! To sew blouses for your boy when you can buy this good-looking Good Quality Percale blouse for so sensationally little, is indeed unprofitable and unmodern") and a two-piece outfit consisting of trousers with wide cuffed bottoms and a matching v-necked "slipover". As I said above, teen fashions weren't really a thing in 1933. These youths are dressed like little men!
To corset or not to corset—that was the question in 1921. The answer was yes... and no.
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| American Lady Corsets, 1921 |
The Corect Corset
Girls in general, says a writer, are divided to-day into two classes—those who wear corsets and those who don't!
Both, I think, are wrong, or rather, both are sometimes right and sometimes wrong, for corsets are like all other garments—there's a time to wear them and a time to take them off—even in the daytime. Everyone should wear them in the daytime, and, this, for two reasons—if you don't you lose the support they give and therefore get twice as tired. And also if you don't you will—whatever you like to say—get bigger, I mean, of course, bigger round the waist.
But—don't wear the terrible arrangements which some misguided people fasten themselves into.
Your corset should be short as possible, and above the waist be made of only a narrow band of elastic. They should, when on, come barely above the waist.
And below it they should be very, very short. As short as possible.
When evening comes and you get back from business, dress for dinner, go to the pictures, or do whatever you do of an evening, take them off. Never wear corsets with an evening dress.
It's perfectly true that corsets, in reality, should be made of muscle—your own muscles—and not of whalebone, so, if your muscles are in proper working condition, you'll see no difference in your silhouette. Which strikes me as a rather a nice way of putting it.
If you do see a difference—for the worse—it means that you haven't been doing those daily exercises you swore you would do—and so it serves you right.
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| National Style Book, Spring-Summer 1921 |
In the early 1950s, women's suits were very fitted and very structured. This left the average woman who wanted to wear a suit in a bit of a dilemma... buy a ready-to-wear suit in standard sizings (that might or might not fit) or try making her own? McCall's obviously preferred the latter, and in this issue of McCall's Style News it even offered a few hints on how to make a success of it.
Above: McCALL'S 9248. The diagonal swing of the jacket closing is something new. Notch collar, two-piece sleeves, slim skirt.
First was the vexed problem of shoulder pads:
So much is said about natural shoulders. Should I make my suit jacket without pads?
Definitely no. Use thin pads. The new smart shoulder pads are delicate, beautifully shaped and excessively thin. You need just that amount of padding in the shoulders of your suit. Don't use any old pads, they are probably all wrong.
Interfacing was another worry. It was clear that some dressmakers would prefer to do without it:
Is it necessary to put interfacing into a suit when the material is firm in itself?
Definitely yes. Especially in the collar, revers and through the shoulders. Often down the closing. Your pattern tells you where, and that is expert advice. Don't make hard work of it. Hair canvas interfacing is easy to work with—it's a woven material, not stiff or hard and the needle slips through as lightly as through silk.
Wouldn't interfacing make the points of collars and revers bumpy?
No, because you do not carry the interfacing up into the corner.
Keeping everything in place was another problem:
What can I do to keep the waistband of a suit skirt from wrinkling down?
Make a belt of boned belting in the same width as your skirt band is when finished. Sew hooks and eyes on the ends, and stitch this belting belt to the top edge of your skirt band.
And there in a condensed form you have it—the not-so-simple art of making a woman's suit in 1953. I suspect less experienced dressmakers would have given up at this point, and turned their attention to making something easier!
Here we are, a couple of months out from the First World War, and looking at these summer blouses it's clear that the process of simplifying women's clothing is already well under way.
Pattern No. 18,998... an example of the newest and simplest shirt blouses. The smart roll-collar is so arranged that it can be rolled high or low as desired.
Pattern no. 18,999. The top centre figure represents a pretty crossover blouse, with the sleeve set in. The collars and cuffs of a contrasting material form a pleasing finish.
Pattern No. 19,101 shows the popular new yoke which is cut in line with the sleeve. The fronts cross over slightly, while the wide revers add a smart touch to the blouse.
Pattern No. 19,100, a dainty design for embroidery. Cut all in the one-piece, with added collar and cuffs.
"Last year coming home from Europe," writes Mrs Chalmers,
I crossed on the steamer with an attractive young married woman... a lithe, active figure in a well-cut, well-tailored suit in the daytime and radiantly lovely at night in a black chiffon Empire dress that she had had made in London.
You can imagine my surprise when I met her, several months later, driving in Central Park with a most bewitching baby. We had sat at the same table, lain in parallel deck chairs and had really seen quite a bit of each other on the way home, and yet, as I told her, I had never suspected it for a moment.
Once upon a time, "baby bumps" were not for showing off, and maternity clothes not only had to allow for expansion, but also conceal the wearer's condition. The moderns of 1909 thought this was an improvement on the old way of doing things:
The new maternity garments conceal the figure perfectly and allow women to go about in a sane, natural manner. The old morbid, recluse-like banishment that women used to accept as their common lot is rapidly becoming one of the antiquated ideas that belong to a less enlightened era.
(Imagine how much time Victorian mothers of large families must have spent hiding themselves from public view!
The first thing that a woman will need is an every-day out-of-doors dress or suit of some kind, for it is most important that she should keep in the open air at least a couple of hours a day. Most women use a skirt and shirt-waists—a combination that I do not altogether favor, for, as I said before, a complete dress with the weight resting on the shoulders is a far more healthful sort a of garment than one in which the skirt is supported at the waistline.
"I do not advise," the author continues
a skirt of one color, and waists of another. It draws a sharper line of division in the figure than a one-color scheme carried out as shown in the first illustration...
The waist has a little fulness at the waistline in the back, which should be drawn into a belt tape that you can fasten around the waist, holding the fulness at the front. The belt tape is much better than the belt stay, which would have to be altered from time to time.
(The illustration above shows the belt tape.)
For a shirt-waist suit the skirt should be cut in the round length—never shorter, unless you are going to use it merely for rainy days. A short skirt is awkward in a maternity dress and makes a woman look worse than is at all necessary. The method of making the skirt is the same as for any gored skirt pattern except that there is no need to fit it to the figure over the hips and at the waist. It is mounted on an elastic band run into a casing—a sort of self-adjustable affair that takes care of itself quite nicely.Next comes a suit that is really a maternity dress:
While the shirt-waist suit is very neat and practical I lean toward the maternity dress shown in the second illustration. At first glance it looks quite a little like a semi-tailored suit. In reality it is a dress consisting of a seven-gored, high-waistline skirt mounted on a French waist-lining, and a coatee that can be of the same material as the skirt if one uses it for an every-day sort of dress, or of dried lace, net soutached tulle, etc., if one wants it for reception or formal occasions.It's good to know that pregnant Edwardian women (unlike their Victorian counterparts) were allowed to have a social life.
... one should have some sort of a long coat or wrap for traveling, driving, etc. I should advise a straight slightly fitted coat made with generous overlapping double-breasted fronts. (Illustration no. 3) It is an easy thing to move the buttons, and the coat will always look well. It is a very simple coat to make, for it is very slightly fitted and extremely severe in cut...
The little house dress in Illustration 4 is a pretty thing and can be put to any number of uses. Décolleté and with short sleeves, it makes a graceful sort of dress for home dinners in any soft material... High necked it makes an excellent day dress... The skirt, I think, for this particular kind of an outfit, is better gathered, as shown in the illustration, than tucked, though it can be used either way. The gathers are softer and more disguising.
Illustrations 5 and 6 are excellent types of wrappers and matinées for maternity needs. The empire styles are far and away one's wisest choice wherever it is possible to use them, not only because they are pretty and protecting to the figure, but because the weight of the garment falls on the shoulders. I would make the belt of the dressing-sack about six inches longer than the usual size and draw it in on a ribbon.
In 1930, the questions on every fashion pundit's lips were, "Where was the waistline going to settle?" and, "How far were skirts going to lengthen?"
And the waistline—another very important question! This is as it has been for the past few seasons, a moveable feast. Some dresses show the old normal waistline, in others, the waistline is creeping up to above the hips, giving a different proportion to the silhouette.
The only position the waistline has not yet achieved is under the armpits. But who knows? This may probably be in fashion next autumn.
Australian Home Journal, June 1930
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| Weldon's Ladies' Journal, December 1930 |
In other words, belts were going to be literally, as well as figuratively, tightened during the straitened 1930s. My sources indicate that tweed was the most popular material for coats, though other fabrics were worn too.
There is a dashing touch about the coats of this year, suggestive of out-door sports more than sober city occupations. Every flapper sports a tweed coat, or its nearest counterpart. Flannel, by the way, can be obtained in attractive designs, and looks very well when smartly tailored. The great advantage, of course, is that it looks well- and costs less than a good tweed. Particularly smart, for flecked tweed is a style with narrow belt, deep pockets bound with braid, and a scarf collar that can be worn loose, or caught with a pin. Another style has full raglan sleeves, with broad, buttoned cuffs, a very full skirt finish, and stitched inverted pleats at the back.
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| Chicago Mail Order, Fall and Winter 1931 |
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| McCall Style News, November 1932 |
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| Modes & Travaux, July 1933 |
A new style of coat was introduced in 1933: the swagger coat.
The new "swagger" coat needs no introduction... There will be many of these swagger suits worn.
"Spring Shows Its Influence", Everylady's Journal, August 1933
Coats, even the full length ones, fall from the shoulders, and every designer in Paris shows some version of the three-quarter, bell-shaped coat, hanging coolly, even if it is not so full in the back, while quantities of box jackets are shown everywhere. There is another type of coat that looks new this season. It just meets up the front, instead of overlapping, is frequently buttoned from the top nearly to the knee, and in walking opens below to show the frock.
"Fashion Gossip from Continental Centres", Everylady's Journal, June 1933
Examples of both kinds of coats are shown in the illustration above. The "swagger" or bell-shaped, falling straight from the shoulders, would be a fashion staple for many years to come!
Petit Echo de la Mode, October 8 1934
1934 sees the same mixture of full (but not full length) coats and more fitted coats reaching to the hem of the wearer's dress. All these examples from Le Petit Echo de la Mode are embellished with fur collars and cuffs.
The fashion icon of the day was Marina, Duchess of Kent, and we are told that "Marina blues and greens are all the rage" and
When, however, winter finally comes, coats will be worn that have a still fuller line at the back, and will be often of materials with quilted effects, though corded materials will also be used. Big checks are featured in dull colors and pastel shades which are "delicate without being wishy-washy."
"New Fabric Trends", The Australian Women's Weekly, 9 March 1935
Singer Easy-to-Make Wardrobe, Fall-Winter 1935
In this pamphlet, Singer encourages women to take up sewing by selecting a few paper patterns to make up a complete wardrobe, and comparing the cost of making each garment to the price of buying ready-to-wear. For a coat, Singer chose Pictorial Pattern No. 7927, a swagger coat, and had it made up in "luxuriously soft Kapco all-wool tweed". The estimated price: $6.96, as opposed to an approximate ready-made price between $25.00 and $29.75.
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| National Bellas Hess, Midsummer Sale 1936 |
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| National Bellas Hess, Fall-Winter 1937 |
All the coats in this catalogue from 1937 have raised sleeve heads (looking almost like leg o' mutton sleeves in some cases), extended shoulders and elaborate collars (some made of fur). Belts seem to have come back into fashion, though they are wider than the belts fashionable earlier in the decade.
National Bellas Hess captioned the first coat "Stand up and Cheer" and the second "The Sweeping Beauty". A particular selling point seemed to be their flared skirts, and the "swagger" appears to be temporarily in abeyance.
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| Weldon's Ladies' Journal, November 1938 |
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| Petit Echo de la Mode, October 1 1939 |
These coats featured in Le Petit Echo de la Mode have a definite (and literal) flair. All the fashion indicators in 1939 pointed towards narrowing waists and broadening skirts.
One look at these new coats will give you their idea; they are shorter than ever and definitely racy.
Most of the coats are quietly and plainly fitted from the waist up; all of them, like everything else this year, are full skirted.
Newest shape is the coachman's coat, a tight-waisted coat cut with a bunch of fullness at the back. And you can't miss the checks; they are as bold and colorful as the parrots at the zoo, done in vivid greens, purples, reds and yellows.
"The New Coats", Australian Women's Weekly, 22 April 1939
However the coming war would put these trends on hold with rationing and shortages—but that's another story. And as spring is around the corner in Australia, I might put this series on hold until the weather turns cold again.
Did you know that Avon sells clothes as well as makeup? Me neither—until I found this Avon clothes catalogue from the 1976 Holiday season.
As in many of the catalogues of this era, Avon has a section for His and Hers Fashions, illustrated by photographs of couples wearing matching outfits. Well, it's true that nothing says True Love more than dressing like your honey... and I admit I was only a kid in the seventies, but I never saw a couple dressed like this in reality. "His and Hers" was probably a marketing ploy, though the clothes were real enough.
...a screen-print futuristic fashion, uniquely engineered to flatter every size.... Two different contemporary scenes front and back in 100% Enkalure® nylon that's cool and comfortable to wear
...in brushed cotton denim. Side panels with narrow strips that are worked horizontally inside the panels. Results? A slender silhouette, a great fashion maker. Match them with our his/hers denim trimmed shirts and you've got an unbeatable "boutique" look outfit.
At last, a lost department store I can remember! Though Grace Brothers was taken over by Myer in the 1980s, it continued trading under its original name until 1999.
ME91R—Ensemble of British Delustered Crepe Rayon for smart Matrons. Frock features the new treatment of self plaiting on shoulder and soft shirring on bust. Self covered buttons and loops to waist line and pleats in front of skirt. Matching coat with self plaiting on shoulder and sleeves.Known as "The Model Store", Grace Brothers began in 1885 when two immigrants—J.N. and A.E. Grace—opened a small shop in Sydney. Two years later they moved to larger premises on The Broadway, Glebe, and their story from that point was one of expansion—first outwards, into neighbouring premises, then upwards into a purpose-built, multi-story building.
It's 1883, and we're well into the "second bustle" era. Or, as the Girl's Own Paper prefers to call them, "dress-improvers":
So far as "dress-improvers" are concerned, they are extremely moderate in size and generally consist of a few steels run into the back of the dress, which is then tied back with strings... In fact, in the present style of dress there seems nothing exaggerated or immoderate; and both faults, if any such appear, arise from the bad taste of the wearer, not the fashion.
All the newest bodices are cut with much shorter basques than they were in the spring, and all have a waistcoat as a general rule, or else a full chemisette which bags over below. The soft gathered plastrons, often added to cotton morning-gowns, are called Molière, and the first figure of our illustration, dressed in a sateen of the deepest “ crushed strawberry ” hue, wears a basque-bodice, with a Molière front. The lace at neck and sleeves matches the dress. This figure represents the probable style of making-up thicker dresses for young girls, for the autumn, with six or seven narrow flounces, and no extra trimming. Sleeves do not appear to be worn quite so much puffed into the armhole as they were, nor so high at the top of the shoulder, but it is impossible to say whether this change will last.
In the austere 1940s even Vogue was not above suggesting a bit of creative making do and mending. Here, from the tail end of the war years, is a pattern for making a warm waistcoat from "the unworn parts of a plaid rug, an old tweed suit or coat, or ¾ yd. of 36 in. fabric".
Materials—¾ yd. of 36" material, one buckle. For bigger measurements, enlarge pattern on dotted line. Cut front twice, taking care to cut once for left front, and once for right, and back once, from diagram allowing ½" all round for turnings. Be careful to match pattern. Make darts in front pieces. Join shoulder seams and 2" of side seams up from lower edge. Turn under ½" round neckline and armhole and hem. Mitre one end and attach buckle to the other. Join upper edges of belt to waistcoat, easing back into belt to required size. Press all seams well.
The 1920s begin where the 1910s left off: with coats being worn loose and enveloping, with belts, large pockets and lots of trimmings.
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| Perry-Dame, Fall and Winter 1920 |
6C2350—There are few fabrics that are better fitted for a general utility coat than WOOL-MIXED VELOUR—the material used for making this smart top coat. This coating is warm, moderately priced and durable. The coat is made with a handsome collar of soft, silky, Kit Coney fur. The back, below the all round belt, displays two deep side plaits trimmed with buttons. Buttons also trim the novel shaped pockets as well as the cuff effects.
6CC3675—SILK SEAL PLUSH in all its loveliness fashions itself with grace and simplicity into this luxuriously warm winter Coat. This fabric is manufactured by the world-famous Salt's Company, which guarantees matchless beauty and lasting service in a Silk Plush. The coat is designed with a convertible collar and button-trimmed cuffs of self-material. There are two slot pockets. The belt can be worn half inside or all around outside as desired.
6C1865—That a coat does not always need to be expensive in order to be smart in style and durable is demonstrated by the practical model above. It is made of one of the most practical and satisfactory coatings—ALL-WOOL VELOUR. The coat is designed on smart new lines and made with a large, stitched, convertible collar. The back has rows of pin-cording and button-trimming, as pictured. The cuff-effects and large patch pockets are also button-trimmed. A belt defines the waistline and fastens in front to the pockets.Large, cape-like collars seem to have been in vogue in 1920, and still in evidence in 1921.
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| National Cloak & Suit Co., Spring-Summer 1921 |
The separate coat favors loose, straight lines with a preference for raglan or kimona sleeves. Belts are used on the blouse backed models, but models fitted at the waistline show darts and no belt.
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| Montgomery Ward, Fall-Winter 1922 |
The prophecy that this winter would see more cloth coats than formerly has come true, judging from the variety and quality now ready. Many women want something a little different from the Hudson seal and cannot afford more expensive furs. They will welcome, without doubt, the cloth ones.
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| Miroir des Modes, December 1923 |
For wear about town, the motor or hacking this top-coat with its straight lines and becoming collar is very smart. Plaid coatings are used a great deal this season, although one may use Teddy bear, camel's-hair, tweeds, basket-weaves, fleeces, mixtures or soft pile fabrics ... for this coat.
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| Le Petit Echo de la Mode, Dec. 7, 1924 |
E 123103. MANTEAU en serge mouflonne, forme nouvelle à manches montées, avec col et parements de renard.
[E 123103. COAT in mouflon serge, new shape with mounted sleeves, with fox collar and facings.]
E 123104. MANTEAU en velours de laine, orné de loutre au col droit, aux poignets larges et au bas du manteau.
[E 123104. Wool velvet COAT, with otter decorating the straight collar, wide cuffs and bottom of the coat.]
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| Charles Williams Stores, Fall and Winter 1925 |
With many weeks of cold, bleak weather ahead, we shall be wearing warm coats and costumes, and the girl who does most of her own dressmaking will be sure of having plenty of opportunities for wearing it, if she makes one of the smart wrap-over, straight-up and down, velour or tweed coats, trimmed at neck, cuffs and hem with a band of fur or the popular teazle wool trimming...
To be quite smart and up-to-date, this coat must be as short as the dress worn underneath, which of course is about twelve inches off the ground, and must show only one button as a fastening.
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| Weldon's Ladies' Journal, March 1926 |
74431—A smartly cut Coat for fawn marocain, with roll collar and cuffs of leaf brown.
74428—Face cloth makes this stylish Coat, with flared godets and stand-up collar, trimmed with vermicelli braid.
74429—A new season's Coat and Skirt for reps, with flared godets and rolled collar.
74430—Made on the newest lines is this Coat for black marocain, trimmed with soutache.
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| Weldon's Ladies' Journal, August 1927 |
77398. This Coat of hopsack with collar and cuffs of calfskin is made on straight lines. The belt is cut in one piece with the patch pockets.
77399. For charmelaine, fancy silk or suiting is this Coat. The welted pockets are on the sland and the stand-up collar is topped with fur.
77400. A useful holiday Coat made of light-weight tweed, trimmed with buttons and has pockets at the top of the wide box pleats at each side.
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| Pictorial Review, November 1928 |
While some of the leading couturiers occasionally display coats with circular capes and lines flaring slightly from the waist, it is evident that the slim, simple type is most favored for general wear.
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| Coming Fashions, March 1929 |
Frequently the top coat that is slightly princess in effect has a matching skirt or frock of a lighter weight fabric. A cashmere frock will accompany a llama coat of the exact beige shade, there will not be a shade variation between the blues or the brick reds of the two weaves. When we match our coats and frocks this season we do it very carefully.
