"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.