Suits VI (National Bellas Hess, Fall-Winter 1944-45)

 On the cover of this wartime National Bellas Hess catalog is a suit echoing the uniforms worn by women in the armed forces (and auxiliary services).  The look is tailored and no-nonsense, the emphasis is on practicality.

The Man-Tailored SUIT
Smartly styled and expertly tailored of our best ALL new Wool Shetland-weave, handsome, firm textured—keeps its shape through active wear.  Classic three-button jacket, with darts at the waist for slim, feminine lines; inner flap pockets; full Rayon lining.  The trim-fitting skirt is box-pleated front and back; one-button waistband concealed placket.

The Popular "Boy" COAT
Young, easy to wear, comfortable.  Smartly tailored of rich, firm-bodied All new Wool Shetland-weave, on trim-fitting straight lines.  Single breasted front with wide revers, tailored welt seaming, two deep inset flap pockets, arm straps for over-the-shoulder wear.  Rayon lined, warmly interlined.

With rayon blouse, felt hat and leather gloves.

Suits V (Modes & Travaux, May 1931)

 The cover of this issue of Modes et Travaux depicts a suit by Lucile Paray in green and black wool, with a white blouse made of crȇpe marocain.

The suit displays the pared down chic that was fashionable in the early 1930s.  Style is achieved by cut rather than by ornament.  In typical early 30s fashion, the suit lightly skims the model's figure and reaches to around mid-calf.

"Lucile Paray" was another one of those inter-war fashion designers who has been forgotten today.  Though now obscure, in her time she was well-known enough for her work to appear in the pages of fashion magazines around the world, had her designs sold as paper patterns through a number of major pattern companies, and designed the costumes for one film (Samson, 1936).  In 1937 she merged her fashion house with "Jenny", only to close her doors for good in 1940.

100 Years Ago (The Delineator, August 1922)

 Some clothes are fashionable, some clothes are purely utilitarian, and some clothes fall somewhere in between like these aprons below.  The makers of Butterick patterns were firmly of the view that just because aprons were worn for work, that didn't mean that they couldn't look good at the same time.

On the far left is an apron masquerading as a house frock, decorated with outline embroidery or appliqué. The Delineator advises "young housewives" to: "realize the close relation of sweet tempers and a neat appearance" and choose this apron for their chores.

"Aprons can forget their domestic origins and go in for the Russian" says The Delineator of the third figure on the left.  The apron has a mock side fastening in imitation of a Russian blouse, but it in fact slips over the head and ties with a sash at the back.

 Third from the right is another apron with the appearance of a house frock.  The bodice is made up in chambray and the skirt in checked gingham.  It is tied at the back with a sash.

The apron second from the right is more obviously (to modern eyes) an apron.  "Dusting is a delightful duty if one wears a becoming one-piece apron," promises The Delineator, and while I doubt it, this one is both cheerful and practical.  Like the apron on the far left it can be decorated in either outline embroidery or appliqué.

And finally, on the far right:

"Color is a wonderful brightener for blue Mondays and only the misguided would ever think of choosing somber shades or dull materials for their work-a-day clothes.  This one-piece apron appreciates the advantages of rickrack braid [and] it is most convenient to slip on over one's frocks when one prepares Sunday night suppers.  For the girl who plans for college in the fall it is almost a necessity."

Suits IV (National Cloak and Suit catalog, Spring-Summer 1923)

As in earlier decades, these suits from 1923 are still a comprised of skirts and jackets—but they are no longer styled in imitation of menswear.  Instead they are cut on fashionable lines with asymmetric closings, applied ornamentation and flared and batwing sleeves.

 

On the far left:

"The carefully tailored silk-lined Coat is a fashionable straight line box model with flare sleeves and link-button fastening.  Heavy twist stitching and buttons trim sleeves, pockets and lower edge of back."

On the lower centre left:

"Modish straight lines distinguish the smart unbelted coat, which in addition to its rounded lower edge and side closing also show newest style in the long tapering revers and flare sleeves... Rows of lustrous tailor braid finish the collar, sleeves and lower edge."

Above and centre:

"Fashioned from the popular and handsome All-Wool Poiret Twill... it displays exceptionally charming style in the modish jacquette blouse effect coat.  Note the smartness of the very new style sleeves and the narrow diagonal revers... Rich looking embroidery in harmonizing color trims collar, cuffs and hip band."

Right:

"Here's one of Fashion's newest ideas in tailored suits, the unbelted coat model... Very new features of the jaunty coat are the flare sleeves; the long narrow graduated revers and the rounded-up lower edge which meets the revers to form a fashionable side-closing with a large fancy clasp.  Fancy braid on collar, sleeves and lower edge adds a pleasing note of bright color."

All the suits on this page were made in navy blue wool. 

Suits III (Weldon's Ladies Journal, April 1911)

 A decade further on, and we can see how the skirt suit continues to evolve in line with other fashions.  These late Edwardian examples from Weldon's Ladies' Journal combine rather masculine jackets with straight skirts reaching the instep.  The effect is severe, but the outfits are topped by some extravagantly feminine hats!

From left to right:

"In our variable climate a tweed coat and skirt is always a necessity to our wardrobe, and here is show a most useful style for spring and summer tweeds and suitings..."

"A smart little suit for morning, country, or seaside wear, made in spring tweed, serge, fancy or plain cloth... Three gored skirt and semi-fitting double-breasted coat."

"...the pleated skirt is an excellent model for tweeds, serge, homespun, etc.  Four-gored skirt, pleated side and semi-fitting coat."

Once again from left to right:

"One of the new coats for the new spring woollens... with velvet faced collar."

"A most useful style for cachemire, tweeds, fancy woollens, hopsack, serge, cloth, trimmed braid.  Six-gored skirt, pleated panel back and front.  Semi-fitting coat."

"A dressy coat and skirt for ribbed serge or tweed... Two piece skirt with inverted pleats at side.  Semi-fitting coat."

Suits II (McCall's Magazine, October 1900)

 As we move into a new century the skirt suit is still going strong.  As ever, it is shaped on fashionable lines, but it is noticeably less ornate than the dresses of the same era.

 

 

 

The figure on the left shows a model wearing a jacket made from McCall's Bazaar Pattern no. 6171 and a skirt from Pattern no. 6169.  The two become a suit by being made up in the same material.  The vest is part of the jacket, and is made of the same material as the insertions in the skirt.

At left we have a Misses' Eton Costume.  Except for the length of her skirts this is very like the suits worn by her adult counterparts.  At centre is "an up-to-date coat and skirt costume", the jacket of which "may be composed of material matching the skirt".  At right is a Ladies' costume made of "pebble cheviot in the new gray and black shade".
 

Suits (The Delineator, May 1896)

 suit 

/su:t/

noun

1. a set of outer clothes made of the same fabric and designed to be worn together, typically consisting of a jacket and trousers or a jacket and skirt.

Women had worn matching skirt and bodice combinations before the 1890s (sometimes described by contemporaries as "suits") but it wasn't until the last decade of the nineteenth century that the classic pairing of skirt and jacket came into vogue.  The costumes illustrated below have typically tiny Victorian waists and sweeping skirts—not to mention those fantastic balloon sleeves—but they are undoubtedly plainer and more... businesslike than anything that came before.  Women were gradually moving out of the home and into the wider world, and their clothes reflected that.

Ladies' Jacket and Skirt. "...The jaunty box fronts are lapped and closed in double breasted style with button holes and buttons placed at the throat and below the waist... The collar is in military turn-down style and is inlaid with black velvet."

Ladies' Eton Costume.  "The newest style in the popular Eton costume is here illustrated, brown mixed cheviot being shown in the jacket and skirt and figured red silk in the blouse-waist."

Ladies Basque and Skirt.  "The toilette is here pictured made of cadet gray cloth and stylishly decorated with black braid, gilt buttons and black silk cord."

Ladies' Jacket and Skirt.  "The toilette is a most desirable style for the promenade and general outdoor wear and includes a covert jacket and a stylish skirt.  Light-brown broadcloth was here selected for the jacket which is skillfully shaped to give a long effect to the waist..."

Ladies' Toilette  "This toilette is somewhat severe in style, but is given much distinction by its military air.  It is here shown made up in a Scotch mixture and decorated with braid and buttons."