Le Petit Echo de la Mode, 31 Mars 1935

It's cold, wet and blustery outside.  What I really need is a smart, weatherproof trench-coat - like these French examples from the 1930s!

Butterick Home Catalog, 1971

Next to brown, purple appears to have been the most popular colour of the early 1970s.  It predominates on the covers of at least one third of the pattern catalogues I own from that era.  This example (another one of my acquisitions at "Love Vintage" fashion fair) dates from 1971.

However, purple didn't have quite the staying power of brown.  By the end of 1972 purple appears to have been overthrown and large checks taken its place on the cover of the world's pattern magazines.

Simplicity Pattern Book, Autumn/Winter 1969

I went to the "Love Vintage" fashion fair yesterday, where I picked up a big bundle of late '60s-early '70s sewing pattern magazines.  The example I've posted above is from 1969, but it looks boldly ahead to the 1970s with the model wearing a pants suit in brown - that most typically 70s colour!

If I hadn't broken the bank buying magazines at the fashion fair I could have had myself decked out from head to foot in vintage styles from any dates between the 1920s to the 1980s.  There was a stall specialising in hats - and a stall which offered to do people's hair 1940s style.  There were people selling  vintage stockings and corsets and jewelry.  Instead, after gawking at all the fair had to offer, I found myself watching a jitterbugging exhibition.  It's strange to think how an era which produced so much misery could also have generated so much nostalgia!

Vogue Pattern Book, 1952

The theme of the Vogue Pattern Book for August-September 1952 was "Summer into Autumn", and a seasonable dress in tan and brown tweed illustrates this idea on the cover.

Ironically the sticker on the bottom left hand corner of cover indicates that this particular magazine was for sale in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand - all in the Southern Hemisphere, and all about to experience the transition from Winter into Spring!

Philipsborn, Fall-Winter 1909

... And with more rainclouds looming, it seems appropriate to go back to the beginning of last century and post some pictures of raincoats.  These utilitarian garments are smartly designed, though I suspect they wouldn't have looked quite so elegant in real life.  As for the hats the models are wearing - oh dear!   They appear most impractical as rain wear.  Can you imagine what would happen to those feathers in a downpour?

Lana Lobell, Fall 1967



Once more on the theme of autumn: this simple knit dress from 1967.  It looks like it would have been perfect for those in-between fall days!

Myer Festival of Fashion, 1978

Autumn has officially started in Australia, and outside my window it is wet and miserable with rain, rain and more rain forecast for the weekend.  To cheer myself up I've decided to post a scan of this catalogue cover full of warm Earth tones from Autumn 1978.    It was originally published by Myer - an Australian department store - as a supplement to the Adelaide Advertiser of February the 27th, 1978.   Locals can probably spot that it was shot on location at the Adelaide Festival Centre!