Elite Styles, May 1925

 Elite Styles (1897-1929) was a pattern magazine for professional dressmakers, though home dressmakers could also buy their patterns if they thought they had the necessary skills to make them up. 

Not surprisingly, Elite patterns made no concessions to beginners or the less skilled, as shown by the evening dress pictured below.  However, the mixture of satin, lace, beading and flying panels which would have made it difficult to cut and sew, would also have made it a delight on the dance floor.  Imagine how it would have looked in motion, as the wearer stepped out doing one of the energetic dances of 1925!

Fashion lends an attentive ear to the call of exquisite laces.  A costume that lends an air of girlish grace and Parisian chic to the wearer combines sheer silk lace of delicate pattern with soft crȇpe satin ; the bodice has pointed outline at hip, the points being defined with ornamental braid or beading ; short, kimono sleeves ; other interesting details are the pointed collar and scarf, the latter being made of crȇpe satin and trimmed with lace.  The straight foundation skirt is made of crȇpe satin ; gathered lace panels with pointed hemline are posed at front and back, while panels of crȇpe satin appear at the sides.  Fastens at shoulder and under the arm.

"For the Lighter Side of Life" (Delineator, December 1916)

 The First World War was raging in Europe, but fashion still went on its merry way.    

You'll note the new wartime silhouette—wide skirts, now well clear of the ankles, and an absence of tightly laced corsets.  Fashion historians often claim that this more relaxed style was a result of the war itself.  Women doing war work needed clothes that didn't hamper them.  However, looking at this picture it becomes clear that the new styles were also perfect for dancing.  Ragtime had already made its mark, and now these young ladies look ready to foxtrot and one-step their way into the Jazz Age.

From left to right:

The Isles of Greece never produced anything quite so smart and fascinating as design 8832— a dress in Grecian style made for a modern goddess.  The one-piece gown can be drawn in, in Empire fashion; or a lower waistline, if more becoming is equally good style and effective... A dress of satin, veiled with tulle is very beautiful for Winter functions.

Keeping step with Fashions's swiftly revolving wheel is easy work when one chooses such a model as design 8824-8820.  The basque effect in the waist is very pretty and becoming for evening wear.  And the standaway, flyaway look of the new collar is extremely smart and striking.  A slightly raised waistline is always becoming, but a regulation one is also offered.  The soft fulness of the handkerchief overskirts contrasts prettily with the bodice lines of the waist.

When is a dress not a dress?  When it is a smart evening frock (design 8813-8820).  Says that leading lady—Fashion—there is a subtle distinction that gives this model its chief charm.  The girdle, which can be cut in two different outlines at the bottom, gives individuality to the waist.  A sleeve made in cape effect is very unusual and striking... One or two handkerchief overskirts make the skirt...

What We Wore in '74: Hostess Gowns (David Jones, Spring-Summer 1974)

 Hostess gowns.  Worn between the 1930s and the 1970s they were full length gowns for entertaining at home.  Not as formal as full evening dress, these versions from 1974 are fashionably loose and made up in vibrant prints.  The counterculture of the late 1960s has influenced their design—for example, though the catalogue doesn't describe it as such, the dress in the centre of the top picture is clearly a kaftan!

A. An exciting new American print on cool Arnel jersey, styled to a floating A-line empire featuring long front zip, self tie and lots of interest at the back.

B. Glamorous American model copy... the new-look float in breezy Arnel jersey.  All-in-one body and sleeve for a slim, easy fit and featuring contrast trim with ric-rac braid.

C. A fabulous border print and winged cape sleeves make a perfect combination in this flowing design.  Fitted to the waist, with high front neckline and slightly lower back.

"Your Easter Outfit" (Home Fashions, May 1933)

Who wouldn't want a little something to cheer themselves up in the midst of the Depression?  For women who weren't quite destitute, but had to watch the pennies, Home Fashions offered an opportunity to create this economical spring wardrobe in 1933.  All the patterns described were offered for free in the May issue of their catalogue (though doubtless they hoped that their readers would buy some new patterns from the catalogue too!)

The newest jacket suit, a gay little blouse, a coat-frock, an afternoon dress, and a tennis dress, all made up for under 55/-.

I do not supose there is one of us who hasn't set her heart on having a brand new outfit for Easter.  So I set out this month to show you how you can defy the "depression," and set yourself up with the  most entrancing and comprehensive new outfit for Easter, spending no more than you would on one mediocre ready-made garment!

(I'm going to leave out the editor's suggestions for specific fabrics (which came complete with prices).  The magazine was having a cross-promotion with Ashley Russell Fabrics, whose main store was located in London.)

ABOUT THE DESIGNS

First let me tell you about the designs.  These include a coat-frock in soft, dove-grey woollen with a detachable shoulder-cape and gauntlets in pale yellow—one of the latest colour schemes.  The frock is quite a simple shape, with a four-piece skirt and plainest of bodices, but the skirt is cut with the new corslet waist-line and this, with the fashionable caped shoulders, makes the dress into a little model...

...Next in our outfit is one of the new collarless jacket suits.  We suggest for it soft brown woollen, worn with a gay blouse in brown and white chevron-striped silk, though another colour scheme could be used if brown isn't your particular fancy.  The blouse has the popular scarf neck-line tying in a bow in the approved way.  A slimming, wrap-over shape is the skirt, cut in three pieces and showing a corslet waist-line effect.  The jacket, being collarless and rever-less, is as simple as can be to make, and the blouse is an easy, sleeveless shape, but the chevron stripes give it real chic...

The afternoon frock is made in rose and white printed artificial crêpe de Chine, and shows the new elbow-length puff sleeves.  It achieves the popular broad-shouldered effect very gracefully by means of an added fichu-cum-cape, crossing over front and back alike.  Apart from this and the sleeves, the frock is the same simple shape as the coat-frock...

The final item, the tennis frock, we suggest you copy in spun silk...

Duffel Coat and Waistcoat (Woman and Beauty, October 1951)

 Get out your drafting pencils and sewing machines! This one is for my readers who enjoy making up vintage patterns.

Both this smart duffel coat and they dandyish waistcoat are ideal for autumn.  Both are easily copied from the diagrams and both are in three main pattern pieces.

The duffel has elastic through the waist and draft-proof sleeves.  It an also be made without the hood and worn with a scarf.  The cross-over waistcoat turns a skirt into a delightful outfit.  It opens flat and straps from the fronts button over to fasten at the back.

Cutting Down the Laundry Bill.... (Girl's Own Paper and Woman's Magazine, November 1920)

 ... By Making One Garment take the place of Two

In the days before washing machines—let along tumble dryers and wash-and-wear fabrics—laundry was a hard and time-consuming chore.  You either had spend a full day each week slaving over washtubs, coppers and mangles, or you had to pay someone else to do it for you.

In the immediate aftermath of World War I the poor managed as they'd always done, but the middle class readers of The Girl's Own Paper and Woman's magazine had problems in the forms of higher prices and labour shortages.

One of the many problems the housekeeper has to face at the present time is the every-rising laundry bill.  Some people may solve the difficulty of high charges by having the "weekly wash" done at home, but unless you are already blessed with an efficient helper to undertake the work, it is not the easiest thing in the world at the moment to obtain outside help of any description.

The magazine stepped in with a suggestion: why not send fewer garments to the laundry?

Just take stock of your wardrobe, and see if there is not some way you could make one garment do the work of two you are now currently wearing.

Cami-knickers fastening on the shoulders.  No. 8905

An envelope chemise.  No. 8905

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

 I spent a lot of time trying to decide what to post in my second-to-last look at the styles of 1974.  In the end I plumped for blouses: a fashion staple in every decade since the 1890s.  Of course these examples come with that special 1970s flair.

Figures 1 and 2 are wrap blouses with a v-shaped neckline and ties fastening at the back.  Versions 3 and 4 are top-stitched blouses with a front slash opening collar.

Pattern 6192 was designed to be made in STRETCH knits only and fasted by a back zip.  Version 1 has long, set-in sleeves, while version 2 is designed with kimono sleeves gathered at the wrist.

If I had to say what these blouses had in common, is that they all skim their wearers' youthfully liberated figures: a very mid-seventies look!

Little Black Frock (Woman and Home, January 1945)

 Woman and Home was a magazine targeted towards British housewives.  It contained the usual mix of recipes, household advice, knitting patterns, fiction—and of course, fashion.

By January 1945, however, fashion was pretty thin on the ground.  Even if the magazine's readers had the coupons to buy new clothes, there was very little in the shops for them to purchase.  In this article, Woman and Home comes to the rescue with an article with suggesting ways of making over a worn dress.  All you need is a few sewing skills and a shabby little black frock!

You could alter the neckline and add trimming in worn spots:

Sketch No. 1 shows it with the high neck cut in a "V", the worn underarms covered with curved bands of black satin and a satin tie-belt with a soft bow.  The bands are outside-stitched on to the frock at each side, with the upper bands lapped over the lower ones, and the back the same as the front.

"The Charleston Slip-Ons" (Modern Weekly, October 23, 1926)

 Modern Weekly was, as it's name suggested, a magazine for aspiring flappers.  It contained fiction, beauty tips, guides to the latest dance steps, fashionable gossip, and of course, fashion.

How to be slim though petticoated!  That's quite a problem, with our new dancing frocks demanding a frilly skirt beneath them and a slim outline above them.  But here it is—a solution for you—a petticoat of four fluttering, picot-edged panels, joined with evening knicks to a long bodice, and made from our Free Pattern of the "Charleston Slip-ons."

Petit Courrier des Dames, March 15, 1856

 Here we have an engraving of a couple of fashionable, very Victorian, outfits.  The wearers are swathed in yards of expensive and  heavily ornamented fabrics, and are covered almost entirely except for their faces.  It's clear that they can neither work nor exercise in such garments.  Their main function appears to be showing of their (husbands') wealth!

Ironically, it was the Industrial Revolution that made such retrograde fashions possible.  Mechanisation meant that fabrics could be produced in more abundance than ever before, and the mass production of hoop skirts meant that they could be sold cheaply and move from the salon to the streets in record time.  Our two well-to-do ladies would have work to do to keep ahead of the hoi polloi.  At this stage that meant wearing more of the most expensive fabrics, and hiding them beneath layers of labour-intensive decoration.

Two more important technological innovations took place in 1856.  The first was the invention of the first aniline dye, and the second was the formation of the Singer Sewing Machine Combination.  Fashion would become louder, faster, and more excessive in future decades.

 

TOILETTES DE VILLE

Chapeau orné de trois plumes sur la passe.—Robe de taffetas à deux jupes ornée d'une greque formée par trois velours.  Sur le corsage, une berthe ornée comme les jupes.  Manches formées par un gros bouillonné d'étoff, terminées par un large pagode.  Cols et manches en dentelles.

Chepeau en étoff et blonde orné de deaux plumes sur la passe, et un large nœd dont les bouts retombent sur le bavolet.  — Basquine en velours garnie le haute dentelle.— Robe en taffetas à trois volants et dispositions de velours. — Col, manchettes et mouchoir, en guipure.

[TOWN COSTUMES

Hat decorated with three feathers on the side. — Taffeta dress with two skirts decorated with a Greek key pattern made in three velvets.  On the bodice, a berthe decorated like the skirts.  Sleeves formed by a large bubble of fabric, ending in a large pagoda.  Lace collars and undersleeves.

Hat in fabric and blonde decorated with two feathers and a large bow whose ends fall on the flap. — Velvet basquine trimmed with fashionable lace. — Taffeta dress with three ruffles and velvet arrangements. — Collars, cuffs and handkerchief, in guipure.]

New Hats For Easter (Ladies' Home Journal, April 1934)

 NEW HATS—NEW THOUGHTS FOR SPRING: Easter means a new hat so take your choice from the cover...

The Ladies' Home Journal doesn't give you any information as to where you can find these oh-so-stylish hats.  However, the back view of the hat on the cover does show the modern reader how the wearers of those shallow, fashionably tilted hats managed to keep them on their heads.  The smaller hat at the bottom left is also dipped over the wearer's right eye: clearly it was the most up-to-date way of wearing one's hat in 1934!

What We Wore in '74: Polyester Double Knits (JCPenney, Spring and Summer 1974)

 Mostly it's the styles that define an era, but sometimes the material they're made of is just as important.  What muslin was to the Regency and "art silk" to the 1920s, polyester double-knit was to the 1970s.  It was stretchy and easy-care—hence it's popularity—but it was also sticky and smelly, unbreathable and uncomfortable.  It went out of fashion after a few years, but meanwhile the shops and mail-order catalogues were filled with a dazzling array of polyester garments.  Like, for example, this selection from JCPenney.

At left: Tailored shirt-style body suit (in polyester double-knit), long sleeveless vest (in polyester double knit), knitted check pants (in polyester double-knit).  Centre: Short sleeve tunic top in polyester double knit.  Kick-pleated pants in polyester double-knit.  Right: Tunic top in 2 sleeves length in polyester double-knit.  Knitted pattern pants, in polyester double-knit.

Groovy Styles in Simplicity Patterns (1960s-1970s)

 I had something completely different lined up for this week—then I stumbled across someone selling vintage patterns out of an old plastic bag at a market stall.  Clearly it was a Sign, and who am I to pass up blog material when it presents itself to me?  It looks like the original owner of the patterns was a fashion-forward young woman, eager to keep up with the latest trends.

First, from 1966:

1966

... Blouses, with a choice of cowl- or turtleneck, either long-sleeved or sleeveless.  The blouses were fastened by a zip up the back.

"Charming Bonnets" (The Ladies' Friend, January 1868)

 I've decided to let fashion go to my head again this week, with a look back to a time when respectable women (and not-so respectable women) felt obliged to wear some kind of head covering on nearly every occasion.

The magazine doesn't have a description of the bonnets (or the hats) illustrated, but it does have some general remarks on fashionable headgear:

The bonnet called in Paris the chapeau-capuchon is popular for the winter season.  It encases the hair at the back instead of leaving it uncovered.  The front of the bonnet is a fanchon¹ of colored velvet; the capuchon² is of tulle, and is tied below the chignon with a satin bow which matches the fanchon..

Charming bonnets are now made entirely of velvet flowers and velvet foliage.  A bonnet composed of small vine leaves, in either green or violet velvet, is very ladylike and distinguished.

Velvet bonnets of any color to correspond with the toilet, are trimmed with a gold or silver aigrette laid upon the edge of the border.

For dinner coiffures, lace lappets are added to the flowers and fruit, but these lappets do not form a cap; sometimes they fall over the chignon, sometimes they they are crossed and fastened there by a spray of flowers...

Young ladies almost uniformly wear the flat toquet.³  This somewhat singular headgear, placed on the top of a high chignon, comes sloping over the forehead, and to it is attached a masque voilette⁴ of black lace, coming down just to the lips, and tied in lappets at the back.

This last appears to be illustrated by the figure at the bottom left of the plate, and the dinner coiffure with its lace lappets, appears to be depicted at the top right.  These black and white drawings hardly seem to do the subject justice when you consider how rich and vibrant the bonnets must have been in real life!

(1. Kerchief

2. Hood

3.  The writer probably meant a "toque"

4. Literally "mask veil")

Lady's Coat, Lady's Frock... (Everylady's Journal, September 1926)

 ... Child's Frock (4 years)

These patterns demonstrate how women's clothes had been simplified by the middle of the 1920s.  The "lady's frock" (illustrated under the coat at left, and on its own at right) was made up of only three pattern pieces; the front and the back of the bodice and the skirt.

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

 Though hats had ceased being everyday wear by the 1970s, they were still available for those who wanted to wear them for a special occasion—at the races, perhaps, or at a wedding, or just adding a final touch to a trendy outfit.  

David Jones, Spring-Summer 1974

A: Be a shady lady in this lacy big brimmed beauty from the East.  Fun on any summer outing. 

B: Pack up your troubles with our packable floppy brim hat from Italy.  Comes up smooth and unruffled every time.

C: The snappy cap for sporty new summer looks.  With a gored crown and small visor.  In navy or red denim.

D: Import scarf hat for cool, collected casual wear.  Spun check cotton, with padded front, elastic back for perfect fit.

E: Romantic Italian natural straw, sporting a bunch of ripe red cherries.

F: A hot day special!  Medium brimmed cotton with gore crown.

Seventies nostalgia is very evident in some of these hats.  The deep crowns and shady brims of hats A, B and E recall the fashions of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Concerning Coats VI: 1960s

As the weather turns warmer, it's time to take one last look at coats.  This time we've reached the 1960s!  The fitted coats of the 1950s have gone, but straight and flared (sometimes very flared) coats will remain popular throughout the decade.

Somehow, even the most cheaply made coats managed to look stylish.  The "fur" on the coats below was an imitation made of Orlon.

National Bellas Hess, Fall-Winter 1960

A. PILE-LINED MAGIC BLEND
Glamorous hooded coats luxuriously lined with pure white, soft, fur-look Orlon acrylic pile on a cotton back.  Magic blend coating in white-flecked 85% reprocessed wool, 15% nylon.  Sleeves may be pushed up, if you like; frog buttons close front, vertical pockets.

B.  FUR-LOOK ORLON
The luxurious look of fur—deep, deep cloud-soft Orlon acrylic pile woven on a firm cotton backing.  Becoming clutch style is fashioned with rolled collar, turnback cuffs, vertical pockets.  Inside, a luxurious sweep of acetate satin... just like the linings used in expensive fur coats.  French bottom for longer wear.

C.  LUXURY-LINED FLEECE
What a wonderful way to greet the new season... in a dashing coat that flies its own knit scarf, as an "inside story" too: a deep-pile lining of charcoal-white-and-black striped Orlon acrylic pile woven on a firm cotton backing.  Styled with zing in a warm fleece woven of 35% reprocessed wool, 56% reused wool, 5% nylon, 4% other fibers.  Has smart collar, button-and-tab trimmed pockets, sleeves to wear up or down.

"Dress in Season..." (Girl's Own Paper, August 1885)

 At first glance, the dresses below seem completely unsuitable for wearing on a beach—especially if the wearer is planning on walking on wet sand and exploring tide-pools.  A second look shows that the models' dresses clear the ground—just—and that their bodices and hats are comparatively un-ornamented.  This is probably as close to casual wear as it was possible to get in Victorian times.

The "Lady Dressmaker" who wrote the text accompanying these illustrations, had a lot of advice for her young lady readers who wanted to be well-dressed and up-to-date.

The French style of making dresses at present is anything but pretty; it reminds one of the farthingales of Queen Elizabeth's day, as the skirts are full and the hips are much padded out with an immense dress improver.  The bodice is quite Elizabethan, for it is long-waisted, very tight, and the front darts are placed very high up...

The high neckband is still the principal feature of the dress, and if the dressmaker be not successful in that the effect of the front of the dress at least is spoilt.  They are called straight, but they are in reality curved and cut on the cross.  This is a most useful idea in one way... for the high band is quite protection enough from sunburn and that heated air which is almost worse in its tanning effect...

Bodices are made in several different ways—waistcoats, belted bodices with pleats like the Norfolk jackets, and many bodices trimmed to represent the Zouave jacket.  Many Jersey bodices are worn both with and without waistcoat fronts, and they seem likely to be made up for the autumn with light woollens...

All the varieties of bibs, plastrons and blouse-fronts are as much used as ever just now; white ones are in fashion and are generally pinned on over the bodice front, not fastened in; when really fastened in as a portion of the dress they frequently have straps across of the bodice material buttoned over the fronts.

Stripes continue very popular, and a few dresses have been made of them, but as a rule they are reserved for trimmings and waistcoats, and are sometimes even used horizontally.  Striped and plain materials mixed need great care in the making-up as the stripes must be joined so very accurately, and where the bodice is of the stripes they must neither be too straight nor too much slanted.  I have often noticed in striped materials that they proved most unbecoming to some figures, and wondered why so.  The reason, I find, is that the material has been wrongly used in unskillful hands...

The parasols of unlined lace now seen are the most idiotic of introductions, for they do not give shade, and they do not conduce to the beauty of the tout ensemble...

Butterick Fashion News, August 1930

 We're having an unseasonable spell of warm weather, and I felt like celebrating with a picture of a pretty, summer weight dress.  This pamphlet doesn't advise which materials would be suitable for making the pattern up, but it seems evident that sheer material would be preferred. I'm thinking chiffon, thin cottons, light silks and rayon—which apparently was particularly prized for its ability to "flare" out.

3317  Frock closed at left underarm, skirt having attached bias or straight flare, attached at natural waistline, with or without wrist length sleeve.

It's interesting that the natural waistline is given as a point of interest.  A year or so earlier and the waistline would have hovered around the hips; a year or so later and the natural waistline would hardly rate a mention! 

What We Wore in '74: Knitwear (Myer, Winter? 1974)

 Knitted outerwear has been popular since the early years of the twentieth century.  Fashionable styles vary, of course.  This selection from the Myer catalogue of winter 1974 is classic in inspiration, harking back to the interwar years.  The garments are slim and fitted, but not too tight, and the colours favoured are mostly natural or earth-toned.  Ribs and cables are popular, as are contrasting trims around necklines and hems.

As Myer was a relatively upmarket department store, all these knits are made of pure wool.  A less expensive store would have sold similar fashions made of artificial fibres.

PURE WOOL LONG LINES SHAPE YOU — warm knits styled with fine ribs, skinny stripes.  Wear with pants, skirts, all great colours.
A. Notice the interesting collar.  Cream/navy/tan, navy/tan/royal/cream, cream/burgundy/bottle.
B.  The cute cardigan, finely ribbed to flatter.  Cream/navy/tan, navy/tan/cream, brown/royal/cream, cream/burgundy/bottle.
C.  The sweater with contrast trim again, subtle, stunning.  Cream/navy/brown, navy/tan/cream, brown/royal/cream.

THREE CHEERS FOR WOOL — in high spirited colours — team with skirts and pants for winter '74.
A. The shawl collar is back.  Notice the baby cable jacquard front.  Snug fitting.  Red, bottle, natural, brown.
B.  The crew is high, textures play a big role in '74.  Colours more vibrant — red, brown, magnolia.
C.  Double role neckline, the fine rib flatters your shape.  Warm red, brown, magnolia, bottle.

WOOL'S A WINNER — you're a great success.  Vibrant colours livened by ribbing — contrast trims — all part of the great looks for '74.
A.  Knife rib polo, trimmed dashing detail.  Superb fit — shows your shape.  Fabulous brown, red, emerald, magnolia.
B.  Shaped long-line jacket look.  Flat rib flatters.  Heartwarming colours of red, brown, emerald, magnolia.
C.  Slade's crossover V-neck classic.  Triple rib shows your shape.  Brown, red, emerald, magnolia. — stunning.

Concerning Coats V (1950s)

 The 1950s was a fairly conservative decade, and overcoats, being an expensive wardrobe investment, tended to be fairly conservative too.  Except for a few minor details, such as buttons and trimmings, coat styles mainly stayed unchanged through the decade.

There were three main coat shapes in the 1950s: fitted, flared and straight. 

Wakes, Winter 1950

CORDED BACK "FASHION AWARD" DRESS COAT in pure wool gabardine  A superbly styled dress coat with divinely slender, perfectly balanced lines achieved by expert tailoring and craftmanship.  Double breasted princess front with new high buttoning rolled collar and two bound "button-hole" pockets.

Cabinet Card Photograph, (between 1871 and 1872)

This cabinet card, depicting a fashionable young lady, was produced by the firm of Vandyke & Brown—"Artistes in Photography"—of Liverpool.  From the addresses printed on the back of the photograph it was almost certainly taken in either 1871 or 1872.

 Since this is a portrait, not a fashion photograph, we only see part of the sitter's dress, and that mostly from the waist up.  It's enough to establish that she's on trend for the early 1870s.  Her stylish pagoda sleeves are lined with white frills, which probably would have been part of an undersleeve that was  detachable for laundering. 

The sitter also wears a number of large cameos in the form of bracelets and a necklace.  We can't tell if they were antiques or Victorian imitations from this photograph, but from The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine of June 1869 we learn that:

... patent convex jewellery has caused some sensation among gem collectors and lovers of cameos and of antiques... This kind of pendant is now fashionable, and is worn upon a fine Venice or English made chain.

From other sources we learn that cameos framed in jet were fashionable, and that jewellers in Germany had devised their own methods of making imitation cameos. 

Cardigan Jacket (Make It Easy, 1984)

 Real Life™ is getting in the way this week, so I don't have time to do anything fancy.  It therefore seems like a good time to post Pattern 5 in the "Make it Easy" sewing course.

For those who don't remember, "Make It Easy" was a sewing course/magazine issued by Marshall Cavendish in the mid-1980s.  Each successive issue had a slightly harder selection of patterns for the novice dressmaker to try her hand at making.  This cover features a "cardigan jacket":

Super simple to make, this casual jacket with a traditional cardigan shape, has set-in sleeves and optional neatly-finished pockets with piped-edge openings.

There were detailed instructions for making up the accompanying pattern inside.

Australian Home Journal, July 1963

 The editors of this issue of the Australian Home Journal offered their readers patterns for two staples of the mid-1960s: an overblouse and a lightly belted shift.

Overblouses were versatile garments.  A quick look at the fashion magazines of 1963 show them being worn with everything from beach shorts to cocktail suits.  Materials could range from gingham to lace to fake leopard-skin print.  In short, overblouses were considered suitable for every occasion from a beach picnic to meeting royalty.

The pattern illustrated on the cover of this magazine has long sleeves and a collar, so it was clearly intended for day wear.  Depending on what it was made of and what it was paired with, it could have been worn at work or for housework.

What We Wore in '74: Brushed Nylon Nightwear (David Jones, Autumn and Winter 1974)

 Anyone who lived through the 1970s probably experienced it: brushed nylon nightwear.  The advertisements told us it was soft (it was) it was warm (it was) and it was light-weight (it was).  What they didn't tell us was how much static electricity it generated.  Rolling over in bed was enough to create a small storm of crackles and sparks.

Until manufacturers worked out that people didn't enjoy sleeping in nightwear that lit up like Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory, designers created brushed nylon nightwear in every style and for every age group.  Here are a couple of "romantic" and a couple of "fun" examples from a David Jones catalogue of 1974. 

Norman Hartnell luxury

Presenting a superb range of leisure and night wear designed by the Royal Couturier himself, Norman Hartnell.  Sheer romantic glamour for your leisure hours at prices that are very affordable.

B. Utterly luxurious long nightgown to wear when you want to look and feel your most beautiful.  In soft, looped brushed nylon with glamour trims of lace and deep button opening: also the waistline at the back for perfect fitting.

C. Generous raglan sleeves are the feature  of this long gown tailored in luxury-look looped brushed nylon.  The waist is shirred and trimmed with fancy lace for extra glamour.  All this beauty is fully washable and so easy-care in feminine colours...

Weldon's Ladies Journal, June 1897

 "In this joyous June we are to celebrate an historic event with which the whole world is ringing,"

Weldon's Ladies' Journal was referring to the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.   Naturally the readers of the Journal would want a pretty outfit to wear to the celebrations, and the magazine was happy to oblige with a selection of patterns for dainty, ultra-feminine garments.  (Ironically, most of the fashions featured originated in Paris.)  Below are a couple examples:

Concerning Coats IV (1940s)

 Last (southern) spring I paused a series of posts I was writing about coats, saying that I'd pick it up once the weather turned cold again.  Well winter has well and truly arrived.  I'm picking up the narrative thread in the 1940s.

With the first half of the decade dominated by war, practicality and economy were the fashionable watchwords.  

Farmers, Autumn-Winter 1940

Four coats and two fashionable ways of wearing them 1940.  On the left, swagger style (in marl coating and boucle wool).  On the right, also in marl and boucle, two belted coats, with necks that could either be worn buttoned up as shown, or open as revers.  "Shoulders are smartly squared... Featuring the new tucked and flared umbrella skirt."

Can Can Skirt (Flair, April 1958)

 A lot of magazines published sewing patterns for garments that their readers could make at home, but this issue of Flair included instructions for making a circle skirt without a pattern.

The instructions are fairly simple. A modern dressmaker's main problem would be finding a suitable substitute for the fabric recommended in 1958!

On page 24 and 25 we showed you the dual personality skirt made from Comspring's "Can Can" bonded cloth, which is 72" wide.  We made our skirt in a reversible black and marbled grey . . . and incidentally made it in a matter of minutes.  It's easy!  All that has to be done is to buy a piece which is twice the length of your skirt length measurement, plus twelve inches, which is the diameter of the circle you will cut out for your waist.  Then double the fabric lengthwise, and fold in half across the width.  This gives four layers of fabric from which, at the corner that has all the folds of fabric, you cut a quarter circle, by measuring six inches down from the corner and tracing an arc from point to point in tailor's chalk.  Next step is to measure down from the waist arc, the length of your skirt and again cut in an arc.  When the fabric is opened out, there is your skirt in a full circle with the waist opening in the centre (this should measure approximately 37 inches).

To gather in the waist without a placket (necessary if your skirt is to be reversible without a lot of bother with zips and hidden fastenings), buy a length of soft 1" wide elastic (black in our example) which is the same measurement as your waist is.  Then, stretching the elastic as you work, proceed with very loose stitches, to hand-sew the cloth to the elastic.  The stitches must be loose to enable them to expand with the elastic when the skirt is pulled on and off.  So there is your skirt — made with a minimum of cutting, a minimum of sewing, and no seams or hems to bother with.  Wonderful!

What We Wore in '74: Coats (Myer, Winter? 1974)

 The fashions of the 1970s often inspire mockery (I've made my share of jokes) but these coats are classics. I'd happily wear any of them today.

WOOL WOVEN AND WARM — Lean racy lines, accent on camel.  Trimmed and terrific.  All cut to really swing.

A. Donegal tweed, belted, detailed.  A go-anywhere style in winter's fabulous camel, black brown, green and red. 8 to 16. $60

B. Classic over pants — elegant, comfortable.  Easy-tie belt.  Saddle stitching features.  In camel only. 8 to 18. $60

C. Camel again, flattering double breasted, half-belt back.  Notice the superb cut.  Sizes 8 to 18.  $60.

ALL OURS ALONE BY DOMINEX

"Our Cover Girl Wears" (Vanity Fair, May 1955)

 Vanity Fair featured a simple dress by "Polly Peck" on the cover of its May 1955 issue.

OUR COVER GIRL WEARS... the shirt dress of the season, to wear on vacation and after you get back—in hyacinth blue and white striped cotton, satin bowed and belted, its skirt a rush of gathers at the waist, by Polly Peck...

Polly Peck was a ready-to-wear firm established in the 1940s by husband and wife time Raymond and Sybil Zelker.  Sybil did the designing, while Raymond managed the business.  It was one of a number of businesses set-up postwar to supply a growing market for good-quality women's ready-to-wear clothing.

Sadly, Polly Peck was the subject of a takeover in the 1970s.  The new majority shareholders were less interested in fashion than in turning a quick profit, expanded into areas far removed from Polly Peck's core business, and went bankrupt after a major share trading scandal in 1991.

"Wedded Perfection" by Cynthia Amneus

 Some of the best fashion histories are published as exhibition catalogues.  Wedded Perfection: Two Centuries of Wedding Gowns was produced for an exhibition held at the Cincinnati Art Museum in 2010.

The interesting thing is, that though the title of this exhibition specifically references “gowns”, traditional white wedding gowns are far from being the only garments included here.   In fact, anything women wore at their weddings is featured in this book, including day dresses, evening dresses and suits!

Peterson's Magazine, May 1875

 This week I've decided to skip back a century from the 1970s to the 1870s.  What a contrast!  The fashions of 1875 are ultra-feminine, trimmed (some would say over-trimmed) with ribbons, ruffles, lace and bows.  Skirts trail on the ground—even on garments described as "walking dress"—and hair is piled high in curls and ringlets.  (Fashionable ladies who didn't have sufficient hair of their own could buy "false hair", either sourced from poorer women or from animals.)

The models in this plate are wearing bustles, but 1875 marks the point when the "first bustle" period was coming to an end.  Bodices are starting to become longer, and will soon become form-fitting "curiass" bodices.  The effect is most pronounced on the figure on the far left.

Fig. I—Walking dress of Havana brown silk
Fig. II—House dress of green silk
Fig. III—House-dress of pale stone colored mohair
Fig. IV—Walking dress
Fig. V—House-dress

GENERAL REMARKS...

MANY LATE-PARIS DRESSES are made with but little or no trimming on the skirt; a deep basque or curiass waist, much trimmed serving for the ornament.  But the ruffled and plaited over-skirts have taken such hold of the fancy of many of the fashionables, that they will be retained, though in a somewhat modified form during summer.

ALL THE SPRING DRESSES, as we have said, show a tendency to less trimming, though the inevitable over-skirt is mostly worn in some shape, but very clinging to the figure.  For the house, some dresses with long, narrow trains, have been made.  The waist has wide revers, is rather short waisted, and, in fact, looks very much like fashions that were worn just after the French Revolution, and before the empire style, with its mongrel classic fashion, was in vogue.

What We Wore in '74: Pantsuits (Lana Lobell, Fall 1974)

 If blue denim jeans were the casual wear chosen by young people, polyester pantsuits were the garments of choice for slightly older women.  Though some venues still insisted on women wearing skirts, pants were becoming acceptable in more and more situations.

DRESSES are out, pantsuits are in at the White House, as the Arab oil embargo accomplished what Women's Lib could not.

To conserve fuel, temperatures at the White House, along with other federal buildings, have been lowered to 20 deg. C., so—President Nixon's expressed disdained of women in pants notwithstanding—the dress-up rule has been changed.

The Australian Women's Weekly, 2 January 1974 

NEWEST LOOKS ON TWO LEGS!

1. DOUBLE DOTS PEEK OUT on the cuffs of a solidtone jacket and from a whole shell of them underneath.  Sleeveless shell returns the favor with a sold-color neckline.  Jacket ties with a self belt in front; flare-leg pants pull on with elastic waist.  All polyester doubleknit.

2.  PAJAMA SET pairs a peplum top that ties in front over wide-legged pants that hang loose from an elastic waist... it's today's newest way to dress up!  Fantastically colorful print on a soft matte jersey of acetate-nylon washes beautifully by hand.

"Petticoat", 26th March 1966

 A friend sent me this Swinging Sixties issue of Petticoat.  Judging by the contents, it was aimed at girls between the ages of 16 and 21.  

It also seemed to make a practice of featuring amateur models in its pages: "Loads and loads of pretty Petticoat girls all eager to try their hand at modelling... and making a highly successful job of it."  Well, that was one way of cutting costs, I suppose.  The cover of this issue features "Ruth Stern, 18 years old and a secretary in a large accountancy firm".   In her profile she states "I sometimes have very heated discussions with Lincoln [her boyfriend] and my friends about big issues like racialism, wars and sometimes," she grinned, "equality for women!"

Next to her is seventeen-year old Christine Browne, who is still at school: "I want to work in a research laboratory... I'm very interested in science, it's my best subject at school," and she spends her evenings listening to folk music records.  

Now to the clothes...

Petticoat girls suit their fashion sense in two outfits by Wallis.  The pale blue wool Ungaro-inspired suit... the red-edged-in-white suit... flip-top berets by Kangol...

"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.