"Farmer & Co." Fashion Advertising in Vogue (1974)

"Farmer's" was a Sydney department store that has since folded.  Back in 1974, however, it was still prosperous enough to afford to take out a number of full-page ads in Australian Vogue.

These styles from 1974 give a nod towards 1930s nostalgia with their sleek lines and geometric prints.  However, they are made of 1970s synthetic fibres, and these advertisements do their best to sing the virtues of Estacel (an acetate fibre) and Celesta (a polyester blend) both trademarked by Courtaulds.

“Super separates blended for action” by Sportscraft in “silky-cool Celesta… Celesta loves machine washing and stays bright forever.”

“Fit the scene in action-loving Celesta—a superb combination of natural-based fibre and long-wearing polyester” in dresses by Compass.

A “streamlined … simple skirt” and “straight-cut” pants by Compass.  In Celesta, of course!

 “Sun-loving body shapes” by  Image in “Estacel’s fine silky easy-care knit.”

 “Take a natural based soft silky fibre and blend it with polyester for easy care and long life and you have beautiful, cool, comfortable, colourfast, machine-washable Celesta.”  Knitted garments  designed by Crestknit.

Day Dresses from "McCall Style News" (August 1933)

Paris was still the capital of fashion in the 1930s, but Hollywood was giving it a run for its money—at least as far as the average woman was concerned.  A few privileged women bought upmarket fashion magazines like Vogue, but in an era when most people went to the cinema at least once a week a great many more got their fashion ideas via the silver screen.  The studios also used to release publicity photos of their stars and starlets, dressed to the nines by their in-house designers, to be published in the fan magazines.

While the patterns in this booklet aren't direct interpretations of movie costumes, they show a definite Hollywood influence.  The most obvious is their use of organza ruffles, made popular by an Adrian design for Joan Crawford in "Letty Lynton" (1932).  Indeed, the "Letty Lynton" dress became so fashionable that it inspired dozens of knockoffs and reinterpretations at all price levels.  The broadening shoulders in these designs were also a Hollywood inspiration (once again from Adrian designing for Crawford).  Lastly, the emphasis on design details (such as bows, jabots, etc.) framing the face, surely came from the requirements of designing for the movies—where actresses were often filmed in medium- or close-up and embellishments lower down on the costume would be lost.

"Frocks in the New Bridge Length"

"Shoulders Going Up Via Flouncing"

"Tailored Types for Street Wear"

"Bows and Jabots at the Neckline"

"The Fashion... Cape or Jacket Atop a Frock"

... "Its Advantages... Twice Useful, Twice Chic"

"Organdy Rustles Around the Neckline"

"Interest and Width Above the Belt"

"Simplicity and Slenderness Below"

The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine (1870)

The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine was launched in 1856 by Samuel and Isabella Beeton (of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management fame).  It was one of the earliest "women's service magazines", publishing a soon-to-be standard mixture of domestic advice, fiction and fashion.

July 1870

The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine was published in two editions—a shilling edition which came with a colour fashion plate, and a sixpenny one which came without.  It was also one of the earliest magazines to include paper dressmaking patterns with each issue.

September 1870

Here we see depicted the fashions of the early 1870s, an era when more was definitely more.  Each model is depicted wearing elaborate confections of bustles, bows, flounces and trimmings in situations (on a beach, travelling) where you'd expect simpler outfits to prevail.  The whole effect is rather upholstered: our pretty models remind me of nothing so much as a pair of ottomans that have somehow managed to escape from a Victorian parlour to roam the streets.

Wartime Fashions in Australian Home Journal Part V (1944)

1944: and the beginning of the end is in sight.  In Europe the Allies open up a second front on D Day.  In the Pacific US and Australian soldiers push the Japanese out of New Guinea.  And in the narrower world of the home front, women are still coping with rationing and renovating.  It's not that fashion was banished for the duration: it's just that it had to take a back seat to thrift and practicality.

January 1944

B Coupons
The Minister for Trade and Customs has sounded a warning about B coupons which became current on 15th November.  They may have to last longer than six months.  People should not go in for a coupon-spending orgy that might be regretted later.  Present indications were that stocks would allow a new coupon issue in June next year, he said.  Australia, however, was entering a vital stage of the war in which still greater demands might be made upon our productive capacity and stocks of raw materials, including textiles.

February 1944

Snappy Styles
Fashion styles for adults this season have a snappiness that is all their own.  It may be, of course, that folks who have to "make do" with the material available have made up for this disadvantage by a smarter cut and much greater care in the trimmings and etceteras.

August 1944

About Overalls.
Overalls for domestic and war work are being catered for on a more colourful basis.  At one warehouse we saw one- and two-piece slack suits, one-piece coveralls and overalls of sturdy washable fabrics principally in blue and shades of blue.  With the coveralls and overalls, V-necked cotton blouses in stripes and colours predominated.  

Material Shortage
From the evidence given before the Quota Commissioner it will be noted how coupons are only worth while as long as goods are available in exchange for them.  This is a further argument for the making of children's clothes from the partly worn garments of their elders.  Children go through clothes quickly, and there is not enough material to provide them with new dresses or suits all the time.

September 1944

Plain and Patterned
The alliance of plain and patterned material is always effective, and this season it will be more and more in evidence.  It is a change from the usual one-colour dress, and with most of us is compulsory.We note this idea exploited by one of our movie actresses.  She had a brightly-patterned floral blouse with red and blue sprigs on a white background, and a plain blue skirt.One friend of mine who copied the idea retrieved the best bits from a former dance frock for the bodice, and picked up a short length of material at an oddment counter for the skirt.

November 1944

Changing Ideas
... Don't hang onto that old frock; you know you never liked it much, the material was too heavy.  Why not make a smart new skirt, plain enough for morning wear, yet dashing enough for afternoon?

New Hats.
The flattering little new hats worn by smart women are definitely the badge of evening fashions.The smart, right look is the combination of a pretty but simple little black dress or suit, with a confection of a hat that does everything possible to flatter the face, complexion and coiffure.

December 1944

Exchange Children's Shoes
In countless cupboards throughout the country, children's shoes are lying idle, not because they are outworn, but because they are outgrown.  What a help it would be if mothers would pass these shoes on to a friend, whose child could wear them.  Or perhaps the local school, local store, welfare clinic or some local women's organisation may already be running a children's shoe exchange—or planning to run one.  It's worth finding out, anyhow.

Poor Materials
Be very careful of the material you buy.  Some stuff has arrived from overseas that is just absolutely shoddy.  Good appearance, but no wear.  We had brought before us a little boy's shirt; it had been washed once and collar and neckband has started to fray.  This class of material should never have been granted an import licence.

Shopping in Edwardian London ("The Lady", April 1913)

Some years ago I acquired a battered copy of The Lady: A Journal For Gentlewomen, published in 1913.   The covers are missing and the staples rusty—but it is still full of lovely goodies, including over 50 pages of advertising, and an illustrated feature on the latest fashions available in the big stores of West London.  Altogether this magazine provides a fascinating glimpse of the big department stores and how prosperous women shopped for clothes in Edwardian London!

Before we go any further, I’d like to make a few notes on the money in use at the time.  (People who already know this stuff are free to skip ahead.)  A pound (£1) was made up of 20 shillings (20s.) which in turn consisted of 12 pence (12d.)  A guinea was 21 shillings—£1 1s.   Professional fees were traditionally paid in guineas.  The average wage in 1913 was around £67 a year—that is, £1 5s.  You can see from some of the prices I’ve quoted below that the goods on sale were definitely not for the average shopper!  The shops we're talking about here most definitely catered to an upper-middle class customer base—"the carriage trade".

By 1913 the well-heeled ladies who shopped in the big stores could expect to be surrounded by luxury.  The stores were equipped with the latest and the most modern fittings—plate glass, lifts and escalators.  (Harrods was first in this field, installing an escalator in 1898.  On its first day of operation they stationed an assistant at the head of the escalator with smelling salts lest the experience make anyone feel faint.)  The stores were well-staffed: customers could expect service from the moment they walked through the door (opened by a doorman) and they were met by a floorwalker (who'd gently encourage them to buy rather than just browse).  Purchases would be delivered to the customers' homes as a matter of course.

And if the customers chose to make a day of it, there was plenty else to do besides shopping.  To take Harrods as an example again, they provided a gentlemen's club, restaurants and a ladies' hairdressing court.  In-house fashion shows had also become fixtures at many of the stores.

At this date there was a growing trade in ready-to-wear clothing in Britain, even though clothes sizing was in its infancy.  Retailers were beginning to advertise the convenience of being able to walk into a shop and buy ready-made clothing.   At the upper end of the market, however, many customers preferred custom made  clothes.  It was sometimes possible to buy an outfit in either ready-to-wear or made-to-measure versions—for a premium ("Made to Measure 10/6 extra".)  Each of the big London stores had its own workrooms where they carried out dressmaking on a large scale.  They turned out clothes both for individual customers, and as stock for the shop floor.

OK, everybody.  Ready to go shopping?

 

Ribbons at Dickins and Jones.  UPON ribbons at their prettiest some of the smartest hats of the present season rely...  These and countless other novelties grace the ribbon department at Dickins and Jones's, Hanover House, Regent Street, W., which additionally boasts a fascinating array of lovely scarves of the newest type...

 

Harrods: Spring Tailor-Mades  It is quite refreshing to come upon a tweed suit that is really "tweedy" of aspect, for materials have undergone a rather severe refining down...  Five guineas is the price of this coat and skirt... On the right we have another of those most attractive of particularly plain suits at 98s. 6d. with which Harrod's excel...

 

Blouses of Useful Type at John Barker's, Kensington.  The veiled fashion in blouses, which permits the introduction of a second colour, either to tone or to contrast, continues in high favour.... Messrs. John Barker are distinguishing themselves with numerous variations on the theme.  

 

Graceful Gowns at Harvey Nichols and Co.'s.  Not only for its grace of line, but also on account of its really charming colour scheme would the left hand gown sketched above be readily singled out.  Only 11 guineas is asked for the gown... and actually but £4 19s. 6d. for the frock on the right....

 

New Tailor Styles at Peter Robinson's, Oxford Street.  TAILOR-MADE styles, a prominent feature of the spring modes, are the subject of much consideration at Messrs. Peter Robinson's, Oxford Street, W.  Some extremely smart suits have been prepared for the coming season, and two of them are illustrated on this page.

 

The Lingerie Blouse at D. H. Evans.  Of delicately fine white fabric, a triumph of hand-stitchery throughout—inset laces and all—the present-day lingerie blouse has taken up a unique standpoint of indispensability.  How triumphantly it fulfils its obligations no one need be told to-day.  Perfectly and appropriately it provides accompaniment to the smartest spring or summer tailor-mades, or in hot weather gives compelling note to the white linen or French pique skirt for tennis or river work...  This dainty group illustrated on this page has been selected from a most alluring collection at Messrs. D.H. Evans...

 

Dainty Silk Robes at Shoolbred's.  Spring raiment—or rather, the choosing thereof—declines to be put off any longer.  One necessary item is a pretty afternoon frock to supersede the velvet or cloth one that now wanes daily in its suitability, and poplin de soie proves a softly-draping fabric upon which one's choice may well rest.  It is smart-looking and dainty, but exceedingly durable withal, so those charming one-piece robes of poplin de soie for which Messrs. James Shoolbred are so widely known have everything to recommend them.

Distinctive Frocks at Robinson and Cleaver's.  ... The embroideries are beautifully done by hand (in common with most of the dainty enhancement of stitchery that is such a feature of Messrs. Robinson and Cleaver's productions)....  On the other hand, there are lovely lace gowns for summer, fȇte, and reception wear—of hand made lace throughout—price £12 15 s., and anything but expensive at that.

 

Charming Blouses at H. C. Russell's.  Plenty of novelties, many of them quite captivating, greet the eye in H. C. Russell's blouse showroom...  There are "curtain-ring" fastenings for instance—ivory bone rings that slip over the big coloured ball buttons so much in vogue.... Another novelty of the season is the extremely baggy fashioning of the sleeve at the Japonaise shoulder-line....

 

The Exclusive Note at Frederick Gorringes. ... The draped coat (left-hand figure) justifies to a degree the strongly avowed feeling this season for hand-beaded coats on a transparent foundation...  The coat in our sketch is very delicately sewn, as regards the upper part, with tine black bugles, which merge lower down into an encrustation of crystal beads and thence into gun-metal tone, with quite a waterfall effect...

 

Smart Spring Attire at Spence's.  ... A superior tailor-made costume of tan-coloured cord suiting is sketched on the right. The immaculately simple lines and excellent finish of this suit (it costs £4 19s. 6d) are augmented by a restrained scheme of braiding, narrow satin pipings, and a group of six "shot" glass buttons...

 

 Further Reading:

Alison Adburgham.  Shopping in style: London from Restoration to Edwardian elegance.  (London: Thames & Hudson, 1979)

Alison Adburgham. Shops and shopping, 1800-1914: where, and in what manner the well-dressed Englishwoman bought her clothes. (London: Allen & Unwin, 1964)

Elizabeth Ewing.  History of 20th Century Fashion. 3rd edition.  (London: Batsford, 1992)

Simplicity "How-To-Sew" Patterns, 1965

In the mid-1960s Simplicity introduced their "How-To-Sew" pattern series.   They were simple designs, suitable for novice dressmakers, and they each came with a step-by-step "tissue lesson chart" on one aspect of making the garment in question.  Most of the patterns seem to have been aimed at  "teens" or "juniors" (evidently older women were assumed to know how to sew already!) though some were made in adult sizes.

I own the Spring and Autumn/Winter issues of Simplicity Pattern Book from 1965 where a number of these patterns were promoted.  The pictures below were scanned from these issues.

• The lesson: How to attach a collar.

Pattern 5285 - Misses' Blouses

• The lesson: How to apply a neck facing

Pattern 5655 -Women's and Misses' and Women's Half Size One-Piece Dress

 

• The lesson: How to sew special fabrics and leather.

Pattern 5656 - Misses' Pullover, Sleeveless Jacket, Pillbox and Bag

• The lesson: How to apply a waistline stay.

Pattern 5848 - One-Piece Dress with Two Skirts in Women's Sizes and Misses' and Women's Half-Sizes

• The lesson: "How to make a long bias dart"

Pattern 5850 - One Piece Dress and Scarf in Sub-Teens', Teens' and Juniors' Sizes

• The lesson: How to set in a sleeve

Pattern 6052 - Blouse in Sub-Teens', Teens' and Junior Sizes - Simple to Sew

• The lesson: How to apply trims.

Pattern 6096 - Teens and Juniors' One-Piece Dress with Detachable Collar and Tie

• The lesson: How to make and turn a tab and tie belt.

Pattern 6098 - Sub-Teens', Teens' and Juniors' Dress or Jumper

•  The lesson: How to join skirt to bodice.

Pattern 6103 - Jumper, Skirt and Blouse in Teens' and Juniors' Sizes

• The lesson: How to face a neckline.

Pattern 6134 - Teens' One-Piece Jumper with Two Necklines - Simple-to-Sew

• The lesson: How to line a skirt.

Pattern 6139 - Sub-Teens', Teens' and Juniors' Skirt in Two Lengths

"The Australian Women's Weekly Paris Parades 1959"

The Australian Women's Weekly was once THE best known magazine for Australian women.  (It can be found archived online here.)  It published all the usual standards of women's magazines—fiction, celebrity gossip, advice on homemaking and child-rearing, recipes and knitting patterns—as well as regular features on fashion.

After the Second World War The Weekly, in partnership with some of Australia's major department stores, began sponsoring fashion shows that brought the latest Paris fashions to Australian women.  The first was in 1947, and they were still going strong in 1959 when these "Paris Parades" were held.

This supplement presents a preview of the Paris couture collections of spring-summer fashions which The Australian Women's Weekly, in conjunction with the Myer Emporium and Mark Foy's Ltd., is presenting in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

COVER
"Giumauve," by Carven, orange velveteen evening coat worn by Monique.

 

The Essence of Spring
"Hortensia," a romantic rose-printed cotton satin ball-gown, by Nina Ricci.  The dress is moulded at the waist with a wide self-material belt and finished with a sheer white cotton fichu and cluster of roses.  Collars are important in this house.

 

The summer dream bride 
"Roy Aumont", designed especially for us by Madame Carven.  The material is white organdie scattered with self flowers.  The shaped skirt silhouette and fitted form bodice create a perfect bridal confection.  The white tulle veil adds more Gallic Romance.

 

"AIR INDIA": Easy-fit travel coat and chalk-white chiffon headscarf by Lanvin.  The coat, made in cotton corduroy with a fancy weave surface, is collarless and fastened with white pear buttons.  Four large patch pockets are the only trim.

 

Resort elegance—Dior-designed
"MARPESSA": Herewith, beach elegance assured in clear-cut navy-and-white cotton.  The sleeveless top, tucked neatly into slim trousers, is worn with a chic long-in-length matched coat jacket.  The curve brim beach hat—in navy lined with white—is also by Dior.