Monday, November 25, 2024

"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...

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