I just added this pattern to the Etsy shop, and I am surprised. It’s from 1980! When you think of the 80s, you probably think of huge shoulders and Dynasty-esque fashions. That is partially right, as those types of styles started showing up around 1984 or so, but the cusp of the 70s and 80s had some very soft, beautiful fashions. The most popular Gunne Sax patterns were from 1979-1981, so there was a lot of gorgeous stuff before it got all serious.
That being said, I would’ve put this one in the late sixties or early seventies. It has a Game of Thrones or Renaissance vibe to it because of that cape, and those weren’t seen commonly in the 80s. If you take the cape away, it’s a distinctly Victorian vibe as was common in that time period. That cape definitely IS the look. Make the dress in a deep color with metallic trim and it could be Mother of Dragons cosplay. Am I wrong? Maybe, but it’s a stunning combination nonetheless.
I listed this pattern the other day in the Etsy shop. I’d never seen this series before. It’s called the Sew for Fun series, and the patterns came out in 1974 and early 1975. The styles are the cute boho/cottagecore patterns so popular in the time. This one features a maxi dress with Gunne Sax vibes. It can be made in the shorter mini length as well.
Note: I had a pair of clogs exactly like the ones in the photo.
The patterns featured mainly dresses and tops, are were made in both Miss and Misses’ sizes, with different pattern numbers for each. There are at least two that are unisex: one is a top and the other is for a swimsuit/swim trunks. But the funny thing is those little extra patterns.
This particular one features a stuffed mouse, because every cottagecore girl of the seventies wanted a stuffed mouse, right? I thought at first that it was a pincushion, which obviously any sewist could use. And a young beginning sewist might be pleased to create her own personalized mouse pincushion, right? Only it’s not. It’s a stuffed animal, which seems a little odd paired with the cute dress. But it gets weirder.
Some of these patterns are paired with hats or purses, which makes sense to me. Hats were big in this era, and everyone can use a sun hat. Purses are also a no-brainer. But there are also odd items like garment bags, a wind breaker (for sitting on at the beach, not the jacket), and even a tent. Each of them has a little sewing lesson with it, which is great, but the projects they include are so weird. Like the wind breaker one. If you want to teach someone to make a casing, have them make a pair of elastic waist shorts. But I don’t make those decisions.
I wonder who came up with these little extras, cause they just seem so odd. I get that they were trying to make sewing fun, especially for the Miss crowd, but somehow I am not sure that they thought it all the way thru. It’s one of the more random ideas put out by the sewing pattern companies.
I came across this pattern in a 1906 issue of New Idea Woman’s Magazine. “For stout figures the bust supporter is almost indispensable, as it gives a trim, firm effect to the figure. It is worn over a corset, and may take the place of a corset cover, though many women prefer to wear a chemise or corset cover with it.”
The front is two sections, a top yoke and a lower boned portion. There are five bones which are eight inches long each. The back buttons at the top of the back, and the tape wraps around from the back to tie in front. I’m not sure the purpose of that tape? It is shown plain but some would also embroider it to make it more dainty, as per the dainty fashions of the era. These were made from coutil (corset fabric) but could also be made from heavy linen or heavy muslin.
Edwardian women wore so many layers, I really don’t know how they could survive in the heat. I am NOT a summer person at all, and never have been, and I think I would’ve been in a swoon all the time. I would like this as a stand alone undergarment if I were not a stout woman though. I think it looks super comfortable if it were made without the boning. God knows it looks more comfy than a bra, yes?
I love this little blue robe. I’d trim it in eyelet, because I just love eyelet. That being said, the shorter version is cute too, isn’t it?
My first question is about the pocket placement. It seems high, especially on the blue one. I think that the way it’s cut means that they need to be placed high, but doesn’t it look a bit wonky?
My other question is, what the heck is that girl pouring? Purple Kool-Aid? Was it a Netflix and chill day, or was she giving Sissy Kool-Aid for breakfast? Is it some weird science experiment? I need to know.
I came across this whilst trying to date another pattern for collar, cuffs and vests from the same time period. I find it fascinating.
May Manton 8462, 1914.
I thought at first that the “vest” is a different garment, but it’s not. It’s attached, and only gives a vest effect. A faux-vest, if you will. I like it in theory, and it’s interesting to look at, especially with the contrasting fabrics, but I think in reality it wouldn’t lay right when you sit, and would probably bunch up at the waist. What do you think?
Description in the ad: “Here is a blouse which shows distinctly new features. It is quite simple and severe enough to be made of linen or pique and is well adapted to the various tub silks and to combinations of materials. Since the washable silks launder quite as well as cotton and linen, it is easy to combine them and the combination is extremely handsome. In the illustration, striped tub silk is made with vest, collar and cuffs of pique but in the back view, white linen is combined with colored. The long plain sleeves are exceedingly fashionable but, in spite of that fact, many women prefer the shorter length and these can be cut off as shown in the back view. There is just fullness enough in the blouse to be becoming while the plain stitched vest gives a tailored finish.”
I have so many questions. First, combining linen and silk when laundering would be a nightmare, yes? Add colors and whites together and how in the world did they make this happen? What kind of laundry wizardry was involved here?
When people mention something is 70s does 30s, or 80s does 50s, for example, do you know what they mean? Fashion has a great way of repeating itself, as seen in this iconic scene from The Devil Wears Prada, where Miranda dresses Andy down like no other:
So when someone says 80s does 50s, they mean that it’s an 80s style, done in the vibe of the 50s. This is how I actually realized I loved vintage, because all of my 80s dresses were done in a 50s vibe, with a few 80s does 40s thrown in for good measure. I had a wonderful white peplum dress with red polka dots that was a particular favorite, which my ex also dumped coffee on during a five hour drive to Boca Raton for a wedding. Nothing like showing up with a huge coffee stain across you lap. But I digress.
This beautiful Bill Blass patter is a great example of 70s does 30s. The disco era is full of echoes from the 30s, with the beautifully cut bias maxi dresses, and this one is no exception. It also has a great tuxedo vibe, which is reminiscent of the Annie Hall look of the same time period. It’s a beautifully draped menswear inspired dress, and that is one hard thing to pull off. Also, because of the jacket, you can wear it in winter if you’re daring, and taking off that jacket would give you a great Grace Kelly “Rear Window” reveal vibe, seen here at :57, in her 50s does 30s top:
Well, maybe not that dramatic, but still — you’d catch everyone’s eye when that jacket comes off.
Do you have plans for the holiday weekend? We don’t, as usual, but that’s fine with me. Our neighbors will be shooting off fireworks way too late in the evening and driving our dogs crazy, but the weather is supposed to be nice so we will enjoy the outdoors during the day and hide with the dogs huddling in fear at night at all the booming around us.
So in honor of the holiday, I wanted to show you this flippy little sailor dress, which is perfect for the holiday weekend. The sleeves and skirt are flared, so it’s perfect for most shapes, and it’s quick to make too. Click here to buy.
Have a great weekend and stay safe with the explosives, please.
Yesterday was just one of those days. I usually use Sunday afternoons to do administrative stuff on the website, like update my records, add and delete links from the wiki, and tedious not-fun stuff like that. I think I sat in my office chair for four hours straight, just working on it. Ugh.
When I finally took a break, hubby asked me to drive him up to Walgreens. He’s currently not allowed to drive, because his defibrillator gave him a huge zap last week, and that takes away driving privileges for three months. I told him fine, as long as he went to my mom’s house with me afterward. Contrary to a lot of guys, he loves my mom, though they rib each other a LOT. Off we went to Walgreens. Halfway there (about a mile), I noticed that my battery light was on in the car. I’ve never seen it come on, but I’ve also never replaced the battery in the nine years I’ve had it, so I figured it was probably ready to be replaced. It was, because when I put the car into reverse to leave, it promptly died. As in that dreaded clickclickclickclickclick of death that you get when the battery is truly dead. Ugh.
Called my son. He was out of town with his girlfriend. Called our bestie. No answer. Texted one of our friends, no answer. No Uber in our town. So I resorted to the Buy Nothing group for our town on Facebook. If you’ve never participated, it’s great. You can offer stuff up to give away, request stuff, ask to borrow something or services, all kinds of things, but there can be no mention of money. Everything is totally free. So, for the first time ever, I posted a request to see if someone could rescue us, and man, did she come through! Showed up five minutes later, with her MECHANIC husband. They jumped us, he gave us some suggestions, and we got his card. All for free. And they were great people. Off we drove to Auto Zone, where we were waited on by a guy who I’m pretty sure was a robot, because he had the most flat affect of anyone I’ve ever seen, and he simply would not engage in any type of conversation. Their tester was broke, so I just paid for a battery, which Mr. Robot installed for me. (Husband had gone in to talk to them originally, and I sat in the very roughly idling car, which promptly died after a few minutes. That battery was DEAD dead.)
Well, the battery light is still on, so I’m thinking now that it’s probably the alternator, which sucks because yeah, more money. Ugh. But we do have a backup car so I’ll be driving that till I can get the main car looked at. Never did get my husband over to my mom’s, but I unwound with her by doing a new puzzle. If you’ve never bought a puzzle from Puzzle Warehouse, do. We found that it really helps with my widowed, elderly mom’s anxiety and it’s fun too. When I order from them, I get the puzzle the next day! They have excellent customer service too. And no, I do not get a kickback from them for this. I just really like the company and what they have to offer.
This was definitely a day to put a bag over my head and hide, so of course I thought of this amazing Sew-Knit-N-Stretch pattern from the 60s. It’s perfect for those days where you just don’t want to interact, or when you want people to stare, or when you want to impersonate a Japanese beetle in your tree. I’ve truly never seen anything like it before, though I did have a gorgeous makeup cape at one point. If you love this, and you want to help a girl out with an alternator, you can purchase it in my shop here.
This is what my afternoon looks like. This truck is currently heading toward my house, ETA in two hours, straight from Texas. It contains five sewing pattern cabinets (YAY – I need them!) and ten thousand new-to-me vintage patterns.
TEN THOUSAND PATTERNS.
Dear Lord, what have I done to myself? Oh well, one grabs these things when one grabs these things, so I’m actually pretty excited. Husband, not so much, but he hasn’t really spoken badly of it. No matter, it’s my work to do anyway. It’s taken six months of planning this in the middle of a pandemic and a broken supply chain (and a knee replacement for the person at the other end of the delivery), but we persevered and now it’s happening. I’ll be interested to see what I find in there, and you’ll be seeing more lovelies, I’m sure.
Pray for me. Light a candle. Send good juju. I’m gonna need it in order to fit all of this into my workspace! More will be revealed after the unloading.
No sooner had I posted the last post about Cut-Ready to Sew week, then I found the five patterns the store would cut for you. These are all Pictorial Review, from 1931.
Pictorial Review 5506, pajamas ensemble of silk shantung. Sold for $7.62.
Pictorial Review 5514, sport ensemble of white shantung. Sold for $5.09.
Pictorial Review 5701, afternoon frock of printed voile. Sold for $1.01
Pictorial Review 5755, town frock of Picardy crepe. Sold for $3.46.
Pictorial Review 5391, play suit of Zephyr print. Sold for 95 cents.
I think I’d buy both the 5506 and the 5701. I love the seams in that dress, but picture myself lounging in those pajamas. Keep in mind that the prices listed included the pattern AND the fabric, and the cutting was done for free. What a deal!
The Vintage Fashion Librarian 