Body Con Before the Word: Simplicity 8645

There have always been some garments that fit some part of women’s bodies closely, see Victorian gowns that fit like wallpaper on the wall through the bodice and waist. The waist was marked on women’s clothing for most of the 20th Century with some time out in the 1920 and 1960s when having an hour-glass figure was not the fashion. It certainly was the fashion in the 1950s as these halter tops (one one midriff top) prove in this re-issued patterns in modern sizes.

They range from the jaunty sailor-type collar in red which has a sporty air and contrast top stitching, to the more seductive gathered version in polka dots, which reminds me of the dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in The Seven-Year Itch (1955) which was designed by William Travilla, and finally the more demure version in white with a small Peter Pan style collar which could easily be worn to work under a jacket ready to be doffed for an evening out. The range of styles explains why the tightly woven fabrics recommended range so widely: from cotton gingham and chambray to silk taffeta and dupioni. All three halters are made with boning to keep their shape close to the body.

With such close-fitting style, you either want to make a muslin (which you can do a cheap yet pretty fabric so you can wear it if it works out), or allow for extra large seam allowances, so that you can tweak the fit as you go . You may know you are long-waisted, or short-waisted from making dresses, but more subtle differences and asymmetries of the body are not usually revealed unless you have made something this close-fitting out of a woven fabric already.