"In France, Poise Counts" (Woman's Journal, January 1939)

 "It is with a sigh of real gratitude I register the passing of ugly hats", opines Moma Clarke in the January 1939 issue of Woman's Journal.

The danger of the hour lies in the short, tight skirt.  If a girl has legs too sturdy and hips at all broad, a very short, tight skirt can be unsightly.  A good many flared skirts are worn and as many pleated ones. Coloured dresses look cheerful at a tea or bridge party, high necks persist, and long, tight sleeves are worn more than any others.  They give a nice slender line to the figure and admit of a good splash of brightness in a bracelet at the wrist...

As discipline is the mot d'ordre of the day for all of us, I make no excuse for bringing it to the fore in such things as dress and fashion.  You simply cannot be well dressed if you are not disciplined...

Little did she know just how much discipline would be required in the near future, and how little fashion would count in the great scheme of things!

But back to 1939.

Alix, better known for her postwar label of "Madame Grès" was once described as a "columnar" designer, who used pleats and draping to create vertical effects reminiscent of Ancient Greece.  Here she is in a more conventional mode, but still using pleats to create a slender effect.

A skirt which sways like a willow in the wind is Alix's tribute to grace, and so she puts her fullness in the front of her skirts to make them swing gently in movement.  This grey duvetyn model is perfect in its simplicity and slim line.  The ideal background-to-accessories dress.  The rust coloured woollen frock has a skirt as straight at the back as the front is full, a kindergarten bib, and a Scotch belt—delightful mixture!  More tartan comes in the unusual full gathered blouse, which goes beneath a black suit, and has its basque front pulled through a slot in the jacket.

Bridal Couple (Between 1883 and 1886)

This photograph has a connection to one of Australia's lost department stores!

Inscribed on the back is the name and address of the studio where the photograph was taken:

 GEORGE & GEORGE'S

FEDERAL STUDIO

11, 13, 15 & 17 Collins St East

MELBOURNE

George and George's Federal Emporium was located at this address between 1883 and 1888.  The photographic studio was one of the services they offered, along with products such as "Dress goods, Manchester goods, soft goods, &c, &c".  George & George's Federal Emporium became simply "George's" sometime after the turn of the century, and it remained Melbourne's most fashionable high-end department store until it closed in 1995.

The back of the photograph also gives us the name of the photographer:

F.E. ELLIOTT

PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST

F.E. Elliott was Florence Elliott, a photographer who worked at the Federal Studio between 1883 and 1886.

I don't know if the bridal couple are wearing anything bought at George's (the lace? the veil? gloves? the outsize bouquet?) but it would be nice to think that they did!

Styles of '65: Separates (Marcus Clark's, Autumn and Winter 1965)

 Some styles are classics.  The skirts and twin sets below could just have easily been worn in 1955—or 1975!

B27W4—Fully fashioned pure wool Twin Set with fancy rib band trim on V-neck cardigan.  Short sleeve Sweater with Turtle Neck.

B28W4—Pure wool check Skirt.  Box pleated all round with welted seams, firm, narrow waist band, side zip.

B26W4—Pure wool Skirt with box pleats, stitched & welted seams.  Neat band.  Side zip fastening.

B25W4—Fully fashioned, pure wool Twin Set.  Button to neck Cardigan, Crew neck Sweater with long sleeves, narrow ribbed basque, turn back cuffs.

Family Photograph (circa 1896 or 1897)

 I found this in a secondhand ("disposals") shop in Adelaide.  It looks like a family gathering, but there is nothing to say who these people were or on what occasion the photograph was taken.

I assigned it a date of 1896 or 1897, mostly because of the size of the women's sleeves.  As you can see, they are still puffed at the top, but they are not the exaggerated "balloon" size popular in 1894 and 1895.  By 1898 sleeves were much smaller, and by 1899 the only reminder of the big sleeves was a some material gathered at the sleeve head.  Here, the width of the women's shoulders are emphasised by the use of revers, epaulettes and frills.

The woman in the centre of the photograph is wearing a broad ribbon tied in a bow at the back of her neck—a fashionable touch in the mid-1890s.

The babies in the photograph are wearing elaborate long, white gowns, while the little girl sitting at the far right is wearing a loose, smock-like dressed falling from a high yoke.  For everyday wear, children's dresses were usually protected by pinafores, but it is absent here—possibly suggesting that this photograph was taken for some kind of special event?

Both the men have nearly identical moustaches and are wearing wing collars and tie.  The man at the back is wearing a suit with a "lounge" jacket (clearly the ancestor of modern suits) while the man at the front is wearing a jacket and trousers in different materials.

Interestingly enough, no-one in this photograph is wearing a hat!

House Dresses (Peterson's Magazine, October 1862)

 By the beginning of the 20th century a 'house dress' was a simple dress in washable fabrics, designed to be worn while doing housework.  These dresses, made in silk and trimmed with velvet, are obviously very different.

Fig. 1—HOUSE DRESS OF AZULINE-BLUE SILK—Around the bottom is a fluting of black ribbon.  The body and sleeves are trimmed to correspond with the skirt.  Head-dress of black velvet and lace.

Fig. 2—HOUSE-DRESS OF GRAY SILK, SPOTTED WITH BLACK—A heavy black cording passes down the two breadths on each side, as well as around the bottom.  The sleeves are also corded with black velvet, and, like the body, are trimmed with narrow black velvet bows, with a steel buckle in the center of each bow.

On the other hand, these dresses look comparatively simple (by Victorian standards).  It's entirely possible that the readers of Peterson's Magazine could have adapted the designs in cheaper and sturdier fabrics for everyday wear.

Australian Home Journal, August 1958

Are the two dresss illustrated on the right hand mother-daughter fashions—or older sister-younger sister outfits?  Either way, the artist has emphasised the similarity of the designs by drawing them as if they were made up in the same material.

The Australian Home Journal still offered fashion advice to its readers in 1958, though its suggestions were far less detailed than they had been earlier in its history.

Now that Spring is "just around the corner", you'll find a frock in fine wool, crepe or silk indispensible.  Give it "top interest with a crossover fill-in, diagonal bands, an eye catching bow, or three or four small buttons placed one above the other on each side of a V neckline.  You'll be in the mode, too, if you cover up with a jacket-cardigan when the air turns chilly, for the dressy character of much of todays knitwear puts it into the fashion class...

Among current styles, the dress which looks like a suit with a scalloped jacket is one of the best investments a teenager can make.  For a "fashion extra," make a little handbag of the same fabric as your hat; or—if you like to go hatless, and prefer skirts and blouses to frocks—add matching touches to your separates to give them that smooth, ensembled look which spells smartness.

Styles of '65: Chanel-Style Suits (Simplicity Pattern Book, Autumn-Winter 1965)

 If there was one garment that persisted throughout the 1960s, it was the "Chanel-style" suit.  Consisting of a collarless, cardigan jacket and a straight skirt reaching a little below the knee, it was an almost  timeless style.  

To quote Chanel herself, "Fashion changes, but style endures".

The suit pictured above is not a Chanel original, but an imitation produced by Simplicity patterns made up in a natty houndstooth check.  An original Chanel suit was meticulously tailored, taking around 150 hours of manual labour to complete.  A chain was stitched into the hem of the jacket so it hung properly, and a ribbon around the waistband so it sat flat and the blouse could not become untucked.  Best of all, the pockets in a Chanel suit were real pockets, large enough to carry, keys, a handkerchief, a purse.

Hilda, Rosina and Almira (Weldon's Ladies' Journal, July 1897)

 To end the month, I thought I'd take a look at some Victorian fashions as pictured in the July 1897 issue of Weldon's Ladies' Journal.  In the 1890s, Weldon's named all of its designs.  Here we have Hilda, Rosina and Almira and their costumes.

Because Weldon's Ladies' Journal sold dressmaking patterns, the descriptions accompanying these illustrations were heavy on technical details.  Suffice it to say that a lot of interlining was involved (often in horsehair cloth) to achieve the shapes of those skirts and those sleeves.

As with all good fashion magazines, Weldon's had a lot to say about current trends. 

Australian Home Journal, July 1962

 In 1962 the Australian Home Journal was on its last legs as an independent pattern magazine.  In a few years it would start promoting McCall's patterns, and a few years after that it would switch its focus to interior decorating.  Meanwhile in July 1962 the magazine offered three free patterns: a blouse (in two views, both with ruffles), a simple shirtwaister with a slim skirt, and a skirt and jerkin sized for a 10-year old girl.

Unfortunately, by the early sixties Australian Home Journal was no longer offering fashion news and advice to its readers.  Fortunately there were plenty of other magazines taking up the slack.

"Checks, Please!" (McCall Fashion Book, Autumn 1941)

 If McCall Fashion Book can be believed, the "must-have" fabrics for coats in 1941 were plaids.  Every coat listed in its Autumn issue was illustrated in a plaid version, often with a caption pointing out how suitable plaids would be for making it up.

To modern eyes, these coats appear decidedly formal.  The writers of 1941 spent a lot of ink telling us how casual they were.  This, more than anything, tells us how standards have changed since then.

Shoulders were inevitably "well-padded", though "rounded"!

CLOTH OR FUR CLOTH
The casual coats all have an excessively casual appearance this season.  The nth degree of casualness.  They are bulky-looking, with wide sleeves, deep armholes, huge pockets.  Like all of them, this coat has the look of slipping easily over anything—dress, jacket or suit.  It has the new smooth shoulder, well padded even though rounded.

"French Fashions Reflect Events" (Woman's Journal, December 1938)

With war clouds gathering, there were plenty of "events" to "reflect" in late 1938.  However, the writers of a fashion column in a women's magazine weren't really interested in reflecting on them (in their Christmas issue, no less!)  Instead, they wrote about the latest designs from the great Paris fashion houses—including the fashions illustrated below.

The dress and coat that will lunch you charmingly in town then transport you to the country—still looking in the picture—are a difficult couple to find.  Molyneux's ensembles have just the right touch of perfect simplicity.  There is this pleated shirt frock of brick woollen, or the purple three-piece of a neat jumper suit beneath an equally neat fitted coat.  Very charming is also the beige jersey dress that shows its pleats under a delightful coat lined with moleskin and complete with hood.

From the mid-1930s to the end of World War II, Molyneux was a London-based designer, with branches in Monte Carlo, Cannes and Biarritz.  He began his fashion career working for Lucile in the years before the First World War.

Styles of '65: Coats

  Winter is here, and it's time to look back sixty years to see how women kept warm in 1965.  These advertisements were all scanned from British magazines published in 1965.

First off, a coat in Terylene, the wonder fabric of the era.  The advertisement implies that Terylene replicates the qualities of Scottish wools.  (Spoiler: it probably didn't.)

"Princess and Semi-Princess Dresses" (The Delineator, June 1909

Fashion turns vertical in 1909, with The Delineator describing these dresses as being on "popular long lines".  They certainly use every trick in the trade to make the wearers look as tall and as slender as possible.  Only the hats add a horizontal note to their ensembles, perching on the tops of their heads like large mushrooms.

... A very pretty design for a princess dress is shown here (3107) which is especially well adapted to development in the softer materials, as foulard, net, and in lawn or batiste... As hand embroidery is to appear on the most stylish garments this Summer, the woman would do well to add a touch of embroidery to this dress between the tucks and in the sleeves.

A design for a semi-princess dress is shown here (3056) which has the popular panel front and back... This design is equally suitable for a wash dress for Summer wear and for the elaborate silk gown every woman wants to have in her wardrobe.

Australian Home Journal, June 1939

 Unusually, the June 1939 issue of Australian Home Journal included an evening dress among its free patterns:

Evening Frock, 4921
Evening frocks look smart in bouffant effect from the hips, and the bodice moulded to the figure, a la early Victorian models.  Skirt is six-gored and gathered round the waist.

More typically, the magazine contained its usual assortment of fashion tips and tricks.  Reversible coats were coming into vogue:

Hard Wearing Coats
The most important place is presented to the hard-wearing warm coat worn for morning, sports and travelling purposes.  Here one notes the new supple winter tissues with reversible wrongside, held in some contrasting tone or having checked or plaid pattern...

Small waistlines were the latest thing.  If war hadn't intervened, we might have got a "New Look" a full ten years earlier than we did. 

How is Your Waistline?
If it is small, exaggerate it with a full bodice, wide, tight waistband, and an extremely full skirt.  That is the fashion advice of Robert Kalloch, noted Hollywood designer for Columbia studios.

Velvet? Very glamorous, very Hollywood.

Velvet Popular
Go in for velvet in a big way, and if it's black, so much the better.

 And a brief look at the shape(s) of things to come:

 Boleros and Tunics
Practical garments for winter wear!  Among the favourites are simple street dresses, besides suits and ensembles...
Bolero, tunic, jumper and tightly-fitting princess dresses come in many interpretations and are very different in cut, colour, fabrics and finish.

Going to All Lengths (Woman's Day August 1970)

In the 1950s, Paris dictated skirt lengths.  An inch or two either way decided whether your clothes were "In" or "Out".  In the 1960s the system came under stress, as the young rushed to wear shorter and shorter skirts and the older lagged behind.  By 1970, the system fell apart altogether, as designers tried to impose longer ("midi") skirts and many women just didn't want them.

What was a girl to do?  Well, (American) Woman's Day had some suggestions (in the form of Simplicity patterns) for fashionable skirts in various styles and lengths.  These ranged from a modest miniskirt on the left, to the longer but slit midi-skirt on the right which allowed you to still flash a bit of leg.

From left to right: 

THE SHORTEST ZIP in bold acrylic plaid.  Simplicity pattern 8739... Garland's clinging pumpkin sweater...
SO LONG KNEES—hello pleats, in wool flannel, newly-colored teal.  Simplicity patter 8842... Lady Arrow's frontier shirt...

THE WRAPPED SLASH in purple tweed-printed corduroy.  Simplicity pattern 8749... Over a cat-lady body stocking, by Irene for the McCallum Boutique...

THE BUTTONED SLASH in native-striped washable wool.  Simplicity pattern 8925... With Lady Arrow tab shirt... Also divine over one of your mini-dresses, giving you a split-level costume, another new look.

And if you were going out in your new skirts, you needed something to wear over them.  Woman's Day suggested coats, cardigans, capelets and capes you could buy.  From left to right:

SPONGE-IT-CLEAN TOPPER, in canvas, wipes clean with a damp sponge.  By Gangsters by Valstar of London...

STRING-BEAN CARDIGAN in chenille knit hs the elongated good looks just right for longer skirts.  By Garland...

KNITTED CAPELET with buttons down the front and swaying fringe is updated Victoriana for boutique fanciers.  By Garland...

PONCHO CAPE in henna-colored loden cloth is a versatile coordinate, has white topstitching.  By White Stag...

Styles of '65: Knitted and Crocheted Dresses (Stitchcraft, January and March 1965)

 Let's head back to 1965 again!  In this year, Stitchcraft featured patterns for full-length dresses on a couple of its covers. The simple lines of 1960s dresses would probably have meant that they were well within the power of the average amateur to make—though perhaps a bit more than average time and patience was required!

January 1965

 January 1965 features a knitted sweater dress—in double knitting!  For the non-knitters among you, double knitting is method of producing a fabric of double thickness using two sets of needles.  OK, maybe this pattern did take that little bit of extra skill, but the results would certainly have been warm and cosy! 

March 1965

In March we have a crocheted shift dress (so no need for shaping) in a fairly simply cluster stitch with fringed neck- and hemline.  Cluster stitch produces a double-sided fabric, so it's possible that this dress could have been worn inside-out.

"Paris Plays With The Eternal Feminine" (Woman's Journal, November 1938)

 Now for another look at high fashion in the final months leading up to World War II.

Creed

A year of browns, but all sorts of warm, alive browns, and a year of long coats, and all sorts of outlines in coats.  These three from that great tailor Creed show one fitted, and two straight and concealing.  There is a Magyar cut in the tweed coat on the left with a silk cord fastening twisted round the golden seal collar.  The centre model, in a brown that Paris calls brick, is one of those neat tailored sports coats of which no one tires.  The third model shows the new trim waist and the favourite seal fur on blue and beige tweed.

"Creed"was a French firm founded by an English tailor in the 19th century.  In 1938 most of the fashions produced by Creed were designed by the founder's son Henry and his grandson Charles.  Looking to the future, Charles Creed relocated to London after the fall of France, where he became the the first elected member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers.

Australian Home Journal, May 1948

 In May 1948, the Australian Home Journal offered its readers patterns for three "frocks" (depicted below) and its usual budget of fashion tips and news.  As you can see from the cover, the patterns were for dresses that were longer and fuller than their wartime predecessors, but still a long way from Dior's "New Look".

Here and There.
High rising necklines are accepted on day-dresses but are not particularly liked because they are not comfortable.  They are not wanted for wear after five.  It is felt the lower neckline is more appealing.

Everybody loves long sleeves, and hates capes because they expose the sometimes unattractive underarm and layers of underclothing.  Long sleeves are wanted on everything because they add to the long slim look of this season's favourite line.

Longer hemlines are selling well; in fact they started selling last season and are going well now.  They are popular on all type dresses because they are felt to be fashionable and make the wearer look slimmer.

Customers do not especially like dressed-up wool dresses.  They are buying jerseys and wools with sequin trim and detail because they can find nothing else.

It would appear that many women weren't satisfied with the clothes available in the shops!  Perhaps the magazine was hinting that they would be better off buying an Australian Home Journal pattern instead.

Found Online: Vogue, 1910-1919.

 Some generous soul (or more likely, institution) has put the complete run of Vogue  from 1910 to 1919 online at the Internet Archive.  That takes us all the way from the last Edwardians to the first flappers!

In 1909 Conde Nast bought an ailing weekly called Vogue, dedicated to recording the doings of high society (and their clothes).  Nast took this uninspiring magazine, gave it a new look, issued it fortnightly instead of weekly, added a dash of arts and news reporting, and expanded its readership.  In short, he turned it into the Vogue we know today (though fashion and Society remained at its core).

So let us take a look at the women of the 1910s and their fashions as seen in Vogue.  Hang onto your hats, gentle readers, because this is going to a helluva long ride. 

1st April 1910

Styles of '65: Pinafore Dresses (Simplicity Pattern Book, Autumn-Winter 1965)

 The pinafore dress (or jumper) was usually considered to be a youthful fashion, so naturally it was popular during the youth-conscious 1960s.  These designs from Simplicity Pattern Book of Autumn-Winter 1965 were intended to be worn by sub-teens, teens and juniors.

6098 - Sub-teens', teens' and juniors dress or jumper

6134 - Teens' one-piece jumper with two necklines - Simple-to-sew

Pinafore dresses were also easy to make, which made them perfect for girls just learning to sew.  The designs above were both part of Simplicity's "How-To-Sew" series of patterns.

"New Ideas in Jumper Costumes" (McCall's Magazine, April 1908)

 I had something more elaborate planned for today, but Real Life™ stepped in.

In American parlance, a "jumper" or a "jumper" dress is the same as a pinafore dress in British or Australian English—that is, a sleeveless dress made to be worn over a longer sleeved blouse or top.

[Left] This lovely gown is made with a blouse waist of white China silk, with a narrow pointed yoke and and a stock collar of Irish lace.  The sleeves are short, reaching just below the elbows, but long sleeves can be used instead if preferred.  Over this blouse is worn a most attractive over-blouse of the skirt material, a soft shade of pink chiffon broadcloth.  This is edged with narrow black velvet ribbon, set off by a line of soutache braid and trimmed with tiny ball buttons.

[Right]  One of the new princess jumper skirts, worn over a waist of allover lace, is illustrated on the colored plate... A fashionable green and white checked woolen was chosen for the jumper skirt, but the pattern is suited to broadcloth, cheviot, serge, Panama, as well of fancy woolens of all sorts... The waist or slip in our model is of allover Renaissance lace, but any variety of lace, China, taffeta or fancy silk, allover embroidery or lingerie can used for its development if desired.

"All-Day Frocks" (Weldon's, 1934?)

 This publication doesn't have a date, but the original owner cut some of the free pattern pieces out of newspapers.  Searching Trove for some of the articles printed on the pattern pieces ("RAILWAY PILFERING.  Forty Bottles of Beer Stolen") I managed to date them to 1934.  This would indicate that Weldon's All-Day Frocks pattern brochure was published no later than 1934 (though it could have been published a year or so earlier!)

6248—Smart Dress with Draped Collar.
6249—Pretty Dress with Puffed Sleeves. 

Two delightful frocks, so easy to make and smart in any of the lovely Ferguson crêpes—such as crêpe Fersyl or Rosemary crêpe, or in Courtauld's satin, etc., either plain or patterned weaves, such as San-Toy.

The editors of this catalogue made a lot of suggestions for brand-name fabrics! I leave it to my readers to decide whether they were paid promotions or not.

Australian Home Journal, April 1956

Let's look at some of  the ladylike fashions of the mid-1950s, as depicted on the cover of the Australian Home Journal.  In Paris, couturiers produced an endless succession of "lines" and "looks" each season.  In the towns and suburbs of Australia, however, fashion in the 1950s took a more "steady as she goes", approach.  

Thoughts of what to wear in the coming months, as Autumn deepens into Winter, are uppermost in the minds of most of us just now.  Although there are no revolutionary changes in line, the new season's styles offer infinite variety to the home dressmaker.  The slender silhouette is a fashion leader.  Other styles, by concentrating attention on the hips, achieve the longer line which is so flattering to those who lack height...

The use of tabs for ornamentation as well as practical purposes is a feature of many autumn styles.  Artfully used at focal points they add importance to the line of a frock or coat.

A Glimpse of Stocking (Montgomery Ward, Fall & Winter 1929-20)

 Victorian and Edwardian women's stockings could be surprisingly decorative, but they were not for public display.   In the 1920s, however, skirts became very much shorter, and legs (and the stockings covering them) became a focal point.  How did this change things?  I'm going to take a look at the stockings advertised in a Montgomery Ward catalogue from 1929 to find out. 

The first thing I noticed was that the stockings on offer were plainer and less colourful than their 19th century counterparts.  Victorian women could wear stripes, checks and embroidery under their petticoats.  The modern woman of 1929 was offered a subdued palette including black, "tansan" (dark tan), nude (light tan), pearl blush, gunmetal and medium gray.  Clearly the wearer's legs were the focus, rather than her stockings!

Still lower prices for the Golden Crest full fashioned stockings that were such a sensation last season!  Choice of clear, sheer chiffon or service weight  silk—both in the new narrow French heels or slender pointed heels that make ankles so chic—so charming.  The chiffon are dainty, sheer silk from top to toe with cleverly reinforced silk covered foot to give extra wear and elasticity; fine lisle strengthens the inner surface at points of wear.  The service weight is strong, highly elastic silk well over the knee to the serviceable hem of fine-knit mercerized lisle.  Slipper soles, toes and heels are same fine lisle.

Styles of '65: Blouses and Overblouses (Spiegal & National Bellas Hess catalogs, Spring-Summer 1965)

It's the first of the month, so I'm heading back to 1965 again to look at blouses as advertised in two American mail-order catalogues.

Firstly, Spiegel offers blouses with Bermuda collars, and blouses with ruffles.

Spiegel, Spring-Summer 1965

Left side, top to bottom

GINGHAM WOVEN CHECK; all combed cotton.
PASTELS WITH DACRON*; lustrous, easy-care broadcloth of 65% Dacron polyester, 35% prime cotton.
'SHAKESPEARE' PRINT... sure to be a lively conversation piece!

Right side, top to bottom:

TINY WOVEN CHECKS... they're delightfully dainty in fine all combed cotton.
PASTELS WITH DACRON*, silky-smooth broadcloth of 65% Dacron polyester, 35% combed cotton.
INTRIGUING PAISLEY PRINT; lustrous Avril® rayon and cotton broadcloth.

"Correct Clothing and How it Should Be Made" (Girl's Own Paper, March 31, 1883)

Let's venture back to the early 1880s.  As you can see, the "second bustle" era is getting under way, though at this stage the Girl's Own Paper is only talking about skirts being "fuller" at the back and not about the adoption of "bustles" or "dress improvers". 

 All skirts are decidedly fuller in the back-breadths, and short skirts are worn on all occasions, save very state ones; elderly ladies should wear them touching the ground indoors, and just clearing the ground when walking...

The other thing to note about this era in fashion are the "short" skirts.  From the late 1860s all through the 1870s, fashionable skirts trailed on the ground.  Even the shortest walk out of doors must have left wearers with filthy hems! In the 1880s, skirts would either just touch the ground or just clear it.  The 1890s and 1900s would see long trained skirts return, only to disappear forever in the 1910s.

Waistcoats are used with every style of dress, both for morning and evening. 

In the young girl's walking-dress for the spring the most useful and sensible form is given that I have seen.  It is a kilted skirt, finishing in a flounce, and where the flounce begins there is a gathered puffing.  The overskirt is quite plain, and gathered like a shawl from the left side.  The Breton vest and jacket are intended for walking in, and are so simply braided and made, that it is within the power of any of our girls who have tried to make their own dresses to manage it...

The child's coat is made of a broché cloth... edged with velvet, and the hat is of felt with two silk tassels and a silk cord for its sole trimming.

"Paris Smiles" (Woman's Journal, July 1938)

Here is the first in a series about high fashion in the months leading up to World War II.  

Recently I got hold of a bundle of issues of Woman's Journal from the late 1930s.  Each issue of this British magazine, marketed to a well-off, middle-class readership, contained several pages of colour fashion illustrations.  Some depicted clothes that you could buy, some that you could sew.  But always a few were dedicated to showing the latest designs from the couturiers of Paris.  

As to styles, they are very youthful.  You can have your skirt for the morning tight and short, or short and pleated, with your coat cut to suit your figure—that is very important.  Some girls look right with a hint of a waist-line, others don't.

Paquin

Woman's Journal described these as: "For romantic evenings when we dine out of doors by the light of the dipping sun."

Adorable dress and bolero in bluebell-coloured shirred chiffon with big hat to match, or full skirted white chiffon with fascinating trimmings of tiny jet sequins.  More loveliness in a dress and jacket of yellow organdie—the yellow of sun-ripened corn.

Madame Paquin founded the House of Paquin with her husband in 1891.  She was known for her "rich, glamorous, romantic" clothes during the Belle Epoque and her "tango dresses" during the 1910s.  However, by 1938 she was no longer in charge of the business having retired in 1920.

Australian Home Journal, March 1940

 Let's take a look at another issue of Australian Home Journal—this time from the war years.  As usual it's full of advice for women who are both fashion-conscious and budget-aware.

Dearer Materials.
Quite a number of mothers are wondering if the dress materials will be dearer this season.  Yes, they will be dearer, there is no question of that, and they must remain dear for a long time.  Exchange, freights and war risks have added to the cost of all imported goods, and Australian-made materials are also advancing in price.

 World War II is only a few months old, but it's already having an effect on prices.  Things will only get worse in the coming years. 

Styles of '65: Paisley Prints (Vanity Fair, February 1965)

 It's time to take a walk on the wilder side of the fashions of 1965!  Vanity Fair (the version published in London between 1949 and 1972) had always marketed itself to the "younger, smarter woman".  By 1965, with youthful styles in the ascendant and London starting to swing, Vanity Fair had a front row seat to the newest and grooviest in fashion.

Head over heels in love with prints: paisley in pink is a clinging dress in Tricel jersey with headband and stockings to match; paisley in blue is a loose sweater topping a slim skirt, headscarf and stockings to match.  All by Martha Hill.

To a modern eye, these outfits look like tunics worn over leggings.  However the "leggings" are  described as "stockings"—not "tights"—implying that that they are separate garments held up by some kind of garter belt.  The models' skirts, however, fall well above their knees.  This is the dawn of the age of the miniskirt, though at this stage it had yet to percolate out from London and Paris to the wider world.

Martha Hill was a fashion designer and skin care specialist.  Described as having a "kooky manner" she was in fact a generation older than the baby boomers, and started designing in the 1930s.  However, her clothes hit a sweet spot with the young trendsetters in the 1960s and 1970s.  Which goes to show, I suppose, that it's never too late to have one's time in the sun.

Madame Weigel's Journal of Fashion (February 1930)

 I bought this copy of Madame Weigel's Journal of Fashion at the same time I acquired the copy of Cassell's Family Magazine I wrote about last week.  Madame Weigel's Journal was published to promote Weigel's patterns, and this issue celebrated its 50th anniversary under the proprietorship of Johanna Weigel (yes, there really was a Madame Weigel!)

Inside the magazine are pictures and descriptions of fashionable clothing as worn by middle-class Australian women.  At this stage, only a couple of months into the 1930s, styles looked very much as they belonged in the 1920s.  But change was on the horizon, as noted by Madame Weigel's London correspondent: 

It is really extraordinary to see the way in which fashions have changed since last season.  It is very seldom that such a definite change is made in such a short time, and it is very bad for our purses, although most advantageous for the designers.  But last summer's frocks really can't  be persuaded to do duty again this winter; their whole line is wrong.  All the new frocks fit the figure very closely to the hips, and the waist-line and the hip-line are tightly defined, while below the hip-line the skirt flares out into draperies and panels and flounces.  You have to be thin to wear these dresses successfully, and yet you mustn't be too thin, for there must be a suggestion of curves.

But there's a caveat:

Of course I am only talking about evening frocks and very special afternoon dresses.  For morning and street wear and for sports there is not much change to report; skirts are still short and, for the most part, straight hanging.

"Letter From London by an Australian

Now onto the patterns!

First, the free pattern for a "Lady's Coat" (size medium).

"Chit-Chat On Dress" (Cassell's Family Magazine, February 1895)

I managed to pick up another bound volume of Cassell's Family Magazine the other week.  This one is from 1895, but people who have been following this blog for a while might recall I own a similar volume from 1888.  In 1888 the magazine published a monthly "Chit-chat on Dress" column describing the latest fashions from London and Paris for its female readers.  By 1895 its emphasis had changed: it was still interested in fashionable dress, but it also offered dressmaking patterns so its readers could attempt to make their own versions of the garments described.  (Given the complexity of some of the garments, I suspect many readers enlisted the help of a local dressmaker.)

The February 1895 column begins with the following pronouncement:

SELDOM has Fashion so favoured the contour of a figure that has lost its youthful slimness as at the present moment. 

But let's take a look at a couple of the featured patterns. 

Lounge-Gown for Invalid
Our design... is made in old-rose pink velveteen and Irish point lace, with over-dress of cashmere in either light maize or grey.  The whole of the upper portion, that is, the yoke and sleeves, is made separate and mounted on a short-waisted lining reaching just below the armholes, and the over-dress, cut square back and front, is slipped over the head and fastened on each shoulder beneath the ribbons.

"These Patterns..." (Australian Home Journal, February 1949)

 Fashion can sometimes offer a window onto social and technological change.  For example, the February 1949 issue of the Australian Home Journal advises readers on what to pack for one of those exciting new aeroplane flights. 

Don't Overload
If you are flying—and this is a popular form of travel to-day—you have to whittle your luggage down to essentials because you are only allowed 44 lbs. of luggage—and excess luggage becomes an expensive proposition.
If you plan interchangeable clothes, you'll have less luggage to carry and the right things for the time and the place.

The perennial problem of keeping within one's luggage allowance has arrived!  There are still a few years before our intrepid travellers have to worry about flying "cattle class" or airport security scans, however.  

Styles of 65: "Carefree in Arnel" (Spiegel, Spring-Summer 1965)

 The outfits below are at once relaxed and stylish—and this is why the 1960s is one of my favourite fashion eras!  The coordinating skirts and tops were available in different colours, shown as thumbnails on the same catalogue page as the main photograph.

The garments are all made of "triacetate", a "semi-synthetic" material made of chemically treated wood pulp.  Like fully synthetic materials, triacetate was easy to care for, and like natural fibres it was breathable.  In other words, "carefree"!

"Once More Unto the Beach, Dear Friends" (Rockmans, Summer 1947)

 If in 1929 some people were scandalised by backless bathers, by 1947 some female beachgoers had progressed to two-piece ensembles.  As yet they only revealed a small sliver of midriff, and a matching skirt is provided if the wearer has to preserve her modesty off the beach.

THESE GARMENTS ARE ALL "FRANCIS BOURKE" PRINTS

R1140.  The latest in cotton bathers.  Laced at both sides and gathered in front.  Pants lined with heavy linen.  One-piece back.  In assorted florals and nautical prints.

R1141.  A snappy cotton pinafore with a wide band, fitted waistline, tied at back or buttoned.  In assorted florals.

R1143.  A youthful cotton skirt with wide-fitted waistband.  Cut on cross and very full.  6 Buttons down back.  Assorted floral designs.

"Francis Bourke" was probably Frances Burke, a modernist fabric designer who went into business in Melbourne in 1942.  Among other commissions she designed the fabrics for the Australian embassy in Washington.

"These Patterns Enclosed" (Australian Home Journal, January 1952)

 The Australian Home Journal's free patterns for January were for three summer "frocks".  The magazine gives instructions for making them up, but no suggestions for materials—and come to think of it, no sizes, either.  However, most of the patterns given away in other issues of the Australian Home Journal were sized for a 36 inch bust, and the cover illustration would indicate that printed cottons would be the most likely fabric to be used.

Cool Cottons.
Summer cottons, streamlined for sports, cool for casual wear and becomingly attractive when you feel like dressing up, lend themselves to unlimited variety of designs.  With florals, stripes or plain grounds, they are equally attractive for all ages...

"Bright, Good-Fitting Bathers" (Myer, Spring & Xmas, 1929

Though modest by today's standards, these colourful bathing suits from the Myer catalogue are streamlined and practical.  However, since the lady on the left is wearing a suit made of cashmere, I suspect she wasn't likely to dip it in the sea.

0991—Fine Cashmere.  All-wool BATHING SUIT with plain top and fancy striped skirt.  In assorted colours... Fancy Rubber BATHING CAP.

0992—Gilr's United Style.  All-wool BATHING GOWN: in black, navy and many bright colours.... CAP in smart designs and colours, to tone with gown... COOLIE COATS, in crepe, in floral designs, in bright tonings for maids and children...

Styles of '65: "Fun-In-the-Sun-Clothes" (Flair, January 1965)

1965, and fashion faced in two directions.

On the one hand, Paris was producing some very avant-garde stuff: Saint Laurent designed his "Mondrian" dress, Courreges his "space age" suits and Paco Rabanne his first plastic dress.  Across the Channel in London (yet to be dubbed Swinging London, though it was already swinging) Mary Quant was well established, Biba had opened her first boutique, and John Bates was designing clothes for Diana Rigg in The Avengers.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, a more conservative aesthetic prevailed.  Catalogues were filled with pictures of models sporting Chanel-style suits and bouffant dresses, cocktail dresses and beehive hairstyles.  These fashions don't often make the history books, but the majority of women wore them.  Ideas from the cutting edge of fashion (miniskirts!) gradually filtered into the mainstream.

Confusing?  Don't worry.  Contemporaries found it all equally confusing! 

What is happening to Fashion? 

Well may you ask... because lots of exciting things are happening right now, especially in Paris!  Take the trouser-suit for instance... whether you're for or against it, it's going to cause a strong ripple in the local fashion scene this winter... and so will bonnets, crochet sweaters, feather boas, black velvet, jungle-print stockings and nanny-type alligator shoes!  

COVER: The fresh look of mid-summer fashion is eloquently stated by an overblouse of printed Arnel sharkskin, teamed with plain canary bermudas of the same fabric...

Perfect clothes to wear on a beach... as shown here.  Or at a picnic, a barbeque or any other casual outdoor entertainment.