#Joy Spanabel Emery

[professorpski]

Variation on a Theme: McCall 8311 from 1935 from COPA

I love the mid-1930s blouse patterns because one pattern offered so much variety. Yes, you would have the same bodice shape, but the necklines came in completely different moods for the same pattern. So here, you have a lavish big bow that says, “Party!” While the simple version uses a brooch or fabric tab to take the same high v-neck and say, “I am off to work.” Perhaps it was the Great Depression which began in 1929 and lasted until spending in World War II lifted the economic which inspired designers to make sure that a single pattern could serve a woman for all times of the day. Or perhaps the urging of the Dress Doctors to draw attention upwards towards the face were being heard? More women were working in offices by the 1930s, at least until they got married, and they needed work wear. A blouse with some presence and a skirt was considered a formal enough outfit for the work day although executives were likely to wear suits and dresses.

I found this is the Commercial Pattern Archive at the University of Rhode Island, a wonderful resource for vintage patterns which was started by Joy Spanabel Emery.  You can find more info on it here: https://copa.apps.uri.edu/

[professorpski]

Thirties Blouses: Variations on a Theme: DuBarry 1522B

I once wrote, and I still believe it, that you can find more variation in dress collars and necklines in two pages of a pattern book from the 1930s than you can in an entire department store these days. They are a wonderful inspiration. For once you find a blouse pattern you like, you can ring on the changes, as it were, on the collar alone and create everything from the sweet to the sporty model.

You see here a DuBarry Pattern from 1936. Like most blouses before the 1960s, they eliminated a front opening in favor of a side snap opening. In fact, you can sometimes skip the side opening if your head and shoulders slip through the blouse easily without it, and then you draw up any blousing at the waistline with a belt. Removing the front opening means you no longer have to cope with a long row of buttons down the front and allows for a simple bound slit or a faced one--as you see here-- at the neckline, so that you can get your head through. These slits came at the back or at the front as they opted for here. This raglan sleeve pattern has a two versions and the designer meant them to serve most any occasion. Notice how the fabric suggestions range widely from fancy silk shantung to everyday cotton gingham to sophisticated wool crepe. 

A slightly dressier blue version with a scarf tie that allows you to brighten it up with white buttons and a white buckle on the belt, and then puffed sleeves with cuffs. You can imagine it for evening in a fancy silk with rhinestone buttons and matching belt buckle worn with a long skirt. Then, there is the sportier version: the raglan sleeves are left open at the hemline, which is also cooler if you make this for summer, and “plain collar” worn with a simple contrasting ribbon is used instead. Realize that any number of collar versions could work on this basic pattern: from full ties to make into extravagant bows to a flounced collar trimmed with lace. Play with plain muslin version to figure out the best proportions, then draw pattern pieces to cut out your fashion fabric.

You can find this pattern and many others at the Commercial Pattern Archive at University of Rhode Island, the beneficiary of many donations, but the brainchild of Joy Spanabel Emery. People can now register and search the archive themselves:  https://copa.apps.uri.edu/index.php

[professorpski]

Figuring It Out: The 1950s Blouse,  McCalls 8877

I had spotted this blouse in a McCalls pattern magazine some years ago, one of the many detailed blouses of an earlier decade that put our t-shirts to shame. Many vintage blouses have so much presence that you can easily see them making it to the office without the need for a jacket. The care taken with the vintage blouse designs make them appear more formal a garment than our simple button-front shirts.

The 1950s believed in the hour-glass figure and liked a fitted bodice and waist to show it off. This blouse also has a deep v-neckline, a raised back neck that is cut-on and both darts and soft gathers at the bustline to shape it to the body, further enhancing womanly curves. The sleeves come in several styles. The puffed version is for the young and for playful parties. The more restrained, slim three-quarter and long sleeve are fitted to the arm and make more sense as either after-five wear for the sophisticated woman, think silk, or as work wear in fine, crisp cotton.

I thought in idle moments about drafting a copy, since I do know a bit about drafting and it isn’t exactly the most complicated garment. (I did spot an original pattern for $50 and thought, hmmm, that’s a bit steep and it’s not even my size).

What has given me a boost to actually doing that drafting is discovering that I could see the sketch of the original pattern pieces through the online collection called COPA, the Commercial Pattern Archive at the University of Rhode Island. As you can see, the sketch is a kind of cheat sheet for drafting a pattern from scratch as they indicate how the pieces were laid on the grainline of the fabric and whether there are facings or other pieces to consider. Working from a basic sloper--the flat pattern pieces--for a bodice in my size, I can cut, slash and spread the pieces and recreate this blouse much more easily. Stay tuned on that for future posts.

COPA is the brain child of Joy Spanabel Emery, a scholar of theater and costume design who amassed an enormous collection of sewing patterns. These are now available to the public through a simple sign-up and you can search by pattern number, date, type of garment, etc. What a wonderful resource for anyone interested in sewing and garment design. In other words: Woo hoo! I will definitely be sharing more finds from COPA in the future.

You can find the COPA here: https://copa.apps.uri.edu/index.php

To read about Joy Emery Spanabel, who passed away last year, and her work, go here:  https://www.averystortifuneralhome.com/obituary/joyce-emery