"A Dress To Make By Guy Laroche of Paris" (Woman's Journal, January 1958)

 Couture was not for everyone: even in the 1950s only the super-rich could afford one-off, custom-made designer garments.  However, less wealthy women also wanted to wear the latest styles from the salons of London and Paris.  How did they do it without breaking their budgets?  Well, they might have bought mass-produced copies of couture fashions.  The couture houses made a large part of their income by licensing copies, and further down the line there were people selling pirated copies of the copies.  The materials and the workmanship were poorer, but the general style remained.

Alternatively, the would-be fashionista could have made her own version of a couture garment, using an authorised pattern.  In January 1958 Woman's Journal offered its readers the chance to buy one such pattern (Model Pattern 3556) based on a design by Guy Laroche.  The interesting thing is that the magazine printed a photograph of the original dress as well as a photograph of a version made from their pattern.

Below is the original model we bought and photographed in Paris.  A romantic short evening dress—young as a dream—full-skirted and low-backed.  To get the effect of this warp-printed satin, an excellent material to use would be Jacqmar's warp-printed satin-cotton.

 And ... we show our copy of this charming dress made in beautifully plain duchesse satin... The bodice front of the dress continues round the back to form a strap and ties with a large bow at the back of the neck , while the full skirt forms pintucks down the panels , and the seams are double stitched to give a gored effect to the skirt.

POINTS TO NOTE

1. The full skirt is gathered into waist, and pin tucks are stitched on the wrong side to give a gored effect.
2. The bodice front has a round neck line, and is cut with extensions which are joined to the wide tie-ends to make the large bow on the nape of the neck.  The small, cap sleeves are cut in one with the front and completed with two-piece underarm gussets.
3. The back of the bodice is cut into a low V which is partly filled by the bow.  It is fitted with darts and the waist edge of the bodice extends ¾-inch below normal waist line.