#garmentdesign

Party Wear Early 1930s, Or Just Look at Those Seams (low whistle)

Fashion does not actually work by decades, so these early 1930s gowns for sale at Augusta Auctions have some of the hallmarks of the loose torsos that we associate with the 1920s, and the handkerchief hemlines too. But by the late 1920s, skirts were lengthening down wards from their mid-20s high point above the knee and belts had crept up from the hipline to reach the waistline again.

These two silks evening gowns are from the early 1930s, glowing in crepe back silk satin in what they call "ashes of roses" i.e. a greyed rose and in what they identify as pale pink which shows dark cream on my screen. I am featuring some of the close-ups, so you can see how they were draped just below the waistline, a feature that would draw attention to the sway of a woman's hips.

And you can see the complex piecing of the skirts. See how the cream dress has a diamond shape set into the bodice, and then multiple angles cut into the skirt which echo one end of the diamond. These look like cuts and seaming that include multiple bias choices which takes both careful cutting of the fabric and careful seaming so as not to overstretch the elasticity of the cut edges. By using bias-cut fabric around the hips, the designer gives a woman a bit more room to move, and also adds an erotic feature as her movements are closely followed by and revealed by the fabric. With such a sheen to the fabric, these movements would have just that much more slinky glamor in the days before stretch fabrics.

The Gored Skirt in the 1970s: Butterick 4139

This skirt pattern shows you how some basic cuts come back again and again, with slightly different emphasis, to serve current purposes. In the 1930s, gores--that is, pattern pieces widened from the waist to the hemline--only flared towards the lower-calf hemline. The gored look of the 1940s had more width as hemlines crept upwards and easy movement became a priority during World War II with gas rationing and more walking and talking public transit. The width of gored skirts grew enormously with the New Look in 1947, and hemlines dropped again as fabric was no longer rationed. The A-line silhouette of much of the 1960s meant that gores were not much used in mini-skirts, and simple cuts--skirts of 2 seams only-- were popular.

In contrast, this pattern from the 1970s makes the most of the 8 gores to give width and movement to the fabric of the skirt. It is fitted only at the waist and top of the hip line, then flares out from there, and ends around the knee, which reminds me of 1940s skirts. The idea of easy movement is implied by the slight sway of the pale orange skirt on the right. The style flexibility of the gored skirt is apparent in the range of blouses as much as in the lengths. The long, party skirt is for an evening out, shown here with a white gathered blouse trimmed with lace. But a bowed blouse and two collared blouses indicates that it could be worn as a shorter skirt for work or for spectator sports. In fact, the shorter blue skirt's is worn by a woman holding binoculars, as if she was at the races.

Gored skirts require two things for sewing success: fabric with drape in a solid color or a small, non-directional print. The first to allow a graceful sway as a woman moves. Think crepes or challis. The second to avoid matching a print and to allow a close placing of the pattern pieces. If you have to lay each piece with the hemline oriented at the same end, you end up need a lot of fabric. If you can nestle them close toe each alternating pieces hemline near waistline, you can use a lot less. The shorter versions only take about 1.5 yards and the long 3 yards for 36" hips.

Fashion Patternmaking Techniques: Technicality and Whimsicality

This technical volume by Antonio Donnanno is one of several by Promopress which show both a garment and how it would be worked out as a flat pattern. This volume’s title equates haute couture with very dramatic evening styles which overlooks all of the neat little suits and daytime dresses couture houses have ever made for their wealthy clientele. (Other volumes treat those kinds of garments). But then most of us only know famous couture houses today because of the dramatic dresses worn at well-publicized galas and ceremonies, so this may explain the approach.

A chapter on pleats, drapes and frills gives us the dress with the short layers of skirt upon skirt, while another chapter on ruffles, flounces and jabots both describes the basics of those design elements and gives us Dress with Collar Flounces and a very deep, and probably impractical V-neckline in the back. Notice the whimsicality of the blouse whose sleeves are then attached hem of its blouse. But what happens when you need to scratch your head, which is what I was doing while pondering this sketch. There are chapters on garments with raglan sleeves, with cut-on sleeves and then later ones consider tailoring and basic draping. There is also a chapter on painting on fabric, and that is the only embellishment covered.

So, this is definitely a volume that will get you imagining evening and cocktail dresses and some of the more dramatic ideas for necklines, skirts, even sleeves, if that kind of garment is your obsession.

Not Going Anywhere Fast in 1950, Vogue 1964

This 1950 ensemble with sleeveless dress and matched caplet captures the other skirt silhouette introduced by Christian Dior in 1947: the long and narrow. We tend to think of the long, wide skirt as the New Look of the post-war era, but Dior also offered long, narrow skirts that year as well. Both had the small waistlines and soft shoulders you see here in a Vogue Pattern re-issued in modern sizes.

I was intrigued by the shape of this dress  The bodice has a deep horizontal tuck whose purpose seems two-fold: decoratively, it both echoes the deep stitching that holds the capelet’s self-lining in place and makes the waistline seem even narrower as the eye notes the pleat is wider than the bodice where it hits the skirt (that portion is gathered).

Then, the skirt of the dress has deep pleats at the waistline which create more space for the body and seems easier to wear. But look at the sketch of the pattern piece, and you see that the pleats are not meant to add walking easy. Instead, the skirt narrows from those pleats at the waistline down to the low hemline.

Looking at the fashion illustrations, we can see that walking was never the point. This ensemble was a dressy afternoon outfit, or an evening out ensemble. Think concert, cocktail party, dinner out. See the large, black hat and long, black gloves, the corsage, and pearls around the neck to the right, and the long white gloves worn with a veiled hat and again pearls on the right. Standing, chatting, flirting, and sitting were the main activities, not walking, which is why this is not a practical day ensemble with walking ease, but one where the waist pleats help show off the small waist and the roundness of the hips. A quiet, but effective means of drawing attention to the figure.

Nope, That Is Not a Blouse: Simplicity 9817

This set of re-issued accessories from the 1950s has some expected items and some unusual ones. Collars and cuffs that could be switched out, and thus give some variety to one dress, were a standard feature from at least the late 19th Century onward. Here, you see two rounded versions and one designed to look like lapels on a blouse.

Hair bows too date way back although this is a bow on a headband which was a newer look in the 1950s. The bias-cut sash, which you see on the bottom row in red and in green stripes is also a traditional idea and here it is pulled through a buckle.

A newer idea was the dickey that looked like a blouse. These were often recommended during World War II when fabric was hard to get. A woman could use just a small bit of fabric, maybe a remnant from a bigger project, and could give a new look under a dress that could not be replaced. It was also possible, as it is suggested by these illustration to wear a dickey under a suit as you see in the lower right hand corner with a two-color version. Yes, it looks like a wrapped blouse or a halter top, but this item actually has back and no sides and ties at the waist. I am not sure I see the point unless you had a desperate lack of fabric. Wouldn't it be no more difficult to make a halter top, or a sleeveless blouse? And surely, wearing an actual top would be more comfortable and less awkward, and allow you to doff your jacket if you liked.

You can find this pattern at your local fabric store or online here:

Peachy Keen: Evening Ensemble by Christian Dior, 1950s

This lovely ensemble is part of an upcoming auction on September 20th, 2023 at Augusta Auctions which specializes in vintage fashion and textiles. The color alone makes me sigh as I am soooo tired of black for evening wear and I am always charmed by the way silks catch the light. This color silk satin will make the woman wearing the cocktail dress and short jacket simply glow.

This is a clever way to pair a strapless dress with a jacket that keeps the neckline bare, but still allows a bit of coverage or of warmth when you want it. It has the clearly marked waistline that was so popular in the 1950s, coupled with the pleated skirt front and back that allowed a woman to worry a bit less about the size or her hips. And the pleats at the front of the bodice, paired with darts, help balance out the hour-glass silhouette then preferred.

The dress has a separate belt made of the same material which closes with a hook and eye. I have come to think that making matching belts for dresses, whether evening or day dresses, is the easiest way to finish them off. It avoids the sometimes fruitless fishing around your belt collection for something that harmonizes or matches. The large bow on the belt was created beforehand--in fact, almost all such bows attached to dresses were created beforehand from what I can tell--which saves the wearer trouble and the fabric wear and tear. This one probably has interfacing within it to keep that nice, large spread. These are practices well worth adopting when you want a decorative bow.

Augusta Auctions tells us that the dress is "lined in silk organza, boned bodice & interior construction typical of Dior couture." Partly this was to create the shape of the dress and partly for the convenience of the wearer. When an evening dress was custom made, the mark of haute couture, a woman did not usually have to search around for the right strapless bra to wear underneath it; the dress itself contained what amounted to a bra. Interestingly, the label tells us this dress was not made in France but in England and then it was sold by a Canadian retailer which tells you how easily Paris fashions crossed the Atlantic at a time when that city was still the center of all western fashion.