#VintageEveningwear

[professorpski]

Evening coats are largely a lost garment for many of us. I think some people would think such items a luxurious indulgence, but the Dress Doctors urge even the college woman on a budget to make herself a simple cape to wear for evenings only.

This one has the tubular 1920s shape, which is not my favorite silhouette, but it also has an intriguing technique and one while worth borrowing: elaborate lace over solid-colored silk, and the solid silk is then the inside of the collar and shows up as a tie as well. Think of all the different color harmonies and contrasts, and your mind will be humming.

This was part of a sale at Augusta Auctions, a house which specializes in vintage fashion and textiles.

[vivianvintage8]

Sneak Peek! Black tafetta & ribbon 1950's Beauty! #vintagedress #1950sdress #cocktaildress #vintagefashion #vintageeveningwear #vintageeveningdress #formalvintage #promdress #vintagegirl #retrogirl #1950s (at Detroit, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/vivianvintage8/p/Bu4bholAz56/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7zbfd9bhxc3b

[vintagevarla-etsyshop]

For just $44.00 Rainbow Sequin Top Vintage 80s ROB HILL for Mister Jay Women's Size Small Sparkly and very colorful... Perfect for your next holiday party! Multi-colored sequins are on a semi-sheer backing. Wide elasticized waistband-see photo of the inside of top Label: Rob Hill for Mister Jay Era: 1980's Vintage Condition: Excellent The size tag has been removed, see photos for measurements. Measures as a small Bust: 33"-35" Length: 22" Message any questions, I'm happy to help! Ships within 24 hours upon payment-many times the same day.

[janeclarkethings]

This thing needs to be walking down an aisle. Note the hand tailoring. I love this level of detail. #vintageeveningwear ##vintagewedding #vintageweddingdress ##1950s #silksatin ##beaded #sequined #couture #elegant #formal #vintageparty #redcarpet #ameliasretro #ameliasretrovogue #ameliasretrovogueandrelics#youwish #newbohemia #backroom

[balgazr]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Union made vintage sequin sparkle top cocktail.

[professorpski]

The Fairy Dress from the 1930s at Indiana University

This charming dress made of layers of silk netting made me think of a slender young woman dressed as a fairy. It is part of the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection and shared with me by the Director/Curator Kelly Richardson. While the bouquet at the center is what catches the eye, I want to blog today about the garment cut and construction which I found instructive.

The silhouette of this dress was long and slender, but shaped. Which dates it to the the mid-1930s when women’s waistline reappeared after disappearing in the 1920s. Also, during the 1920s, both day and evening wear where the same length, around the knee or above if you were daring. By the 1930s, day dresses’ hems dropped down to mid-calf and floor-length evening wear came back in fashion. This long dress has a sweeping swirl of net by the time it reaches the floor.

A netting dress needs a slip, of course, and you can see pinkish one that went with it, and was clearly meant to enhance and lighten the color impression made by the dress. Look closer and you will see that the straps of the slip were made of a different fabric, more of a dark cream color which was supposed to disappear against the flesh of the wearer. This would have added to the lightness of the impression made by the dress and is a forgotten detail worth remembering. Little lingerie straps with tiny snaps can just be seen at the top of the photo of the two garments. Also notice that netting was simply cut, not hemmed, as you can see in the close up. This also added to the impression of lightness.

In order to get into a dress that was fitted at the waistline, they added a snap placket, a much lighter choice than even today’s plastic zipper. Zippers on clothing were a much touted innovation of the 1930s, but they were made of metal and could not hang nearly as well as the snap placket. A hook and eye were placed at the actual waistline to take the greatest tension. Then the belt of ribbons came from just under the bust line and around the back.

 I will feature the bouquet applique tomorrow.

To learn more about the this collection, which is at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, go here: https://eskenazi.indiana.edu/exhibitions/sage-collection/index.html

[professorpski]

Variations on the Date Dress in the 1950s: Simplicity 9738

At first glance, the green and the red-orange versions of this dress from the 1950s seem identical. Both create the hour-glass silhouette which was so popular during the decade. Both use princess seams to shape the fitted bodice and waistline and then flare to a long and wide hemline, over 2 yards in diameter. Both have ties at at shoulders to hold the dress up and both can be worn with the the little bolero jacket with cut-on 3/4 sleeves, with a small, rounded collar.

But the green version offers the slightest bit more coverage. See how instead of the notched front alone at the top center of the bodice, a little strip of contrast fabric runs along the top of the front and back underneath the notch. It is such a small change, and yet for a woman who felt self-conscious about how the notch might expose more than she liked, it would make a difference.

The designer imagine this dress in a range of woven fabrics. So cottons, linens, even rayons, which strike me as having too much drape were recommended. So, cottons and lines are perfect for a summer dress that was not too fancy. But then, you might also use fancier silks, including taffeta which has a stiffness which works well for a flared skirt. The jacket could match, of course, but it could also be dressier and warmer in brocade or velvet which are much thicker. 

You can find it at your local fabric store or here: https://simplicity.com/simplicity/s9738

[professorpski]

Big Blooms Print with Organza Silk Over Dress, or So Much Work, So Worth It

The overdress is a garment popular during the 1950s for formal wear which has fallen out of our style vocabulary but well worth bringing back in. After all, you can wear it over more than one dress. But, next time I plan a dress with a overdress, I must remind myself that this will take TWICE as long to complete. Because really, you are making two whole dresses, even if one of them closes with only ties.

On the other hand, so worth it. The results are a celebratory in a sophisticated mode, perfect to wear to a family wedding this spring. The whole to wear during the ceremony and the reception, and then the overdress comes off for dancing. I could not be happier with the results.

The pairing of fabrics was a happy accident. The embroidered silk organza was bought years ago at a drastic discount with no purpose except my curiosity about working with a silk sheer. I got it from Farmhouse Fabrics which specializes in fabrics and trims for formal and informal clothing for children and a lot of nice cottons for everyone. The other fabric was another purposeless purchase for little money from FabricMartFabrics which offers an extraordinarily wide selection from fabrics that make you both say--”ah yes, there is a reason this is discounted,” and, “Oh my goodness, what a bargain!”

The dress is Butterick 6582, and the underdress is the skirt of 6582, widened and lengthened, and a bodice which is a drastically altered Simplicity 8252. Drastic because I cut it with set-in sleeves which I borrowed from another 1950s overdress Butterick 3607 which I will blog too.But then I took those sleeves and flared and shortened them to 3/4th. I used the slash-and-spread method for flaring them, which I should explain in another post. So I suppose I could just say I drafted a new bodice and sleeves.

BTW if you want flared sleeves you want to make them shorter or you risk dropping them into every plate and food tray you come near. You do not want have to think that much about your clothes when you are at a party.

[professorpski]

The Evening Cape, A Lost Look: McCalls 5362, 5350.

The highlight of the red evening cape 5350 of this pair is clearly the back. McCalls Magazine from August 1928 called it “a butterfly” evening cape because of the draped piece which flows from a center gather down over the shoulders to a point at the bottom. The front was only featured in the small sketch and it shut only with a little at the top, leaving the wearer to clutch the side closed.

The recommended “rayon transparent velvet” which was a lightweight velvet with a silk or rayon back and a rayon or acetate pile according to The Language of Fashion dictionary by Mary Brooks Picken. It draped particularly well, hence its use here. They also recommended “crepe satin” by which they must hae meant what Picken’s called crepe-back satin, as in crepe on one side, satin on the other. In silk or rayon, again it would have good drape.

5362, the cape on the left is brocade for the center pieces and then the “wings” as they call them of are velvet or satin. “The graceful effect,” they claimed, “was of two capes” which sounds kind of silly to me, but I can see the pleasure of harmonizing the patterned brocade with a solid fabric.  You can see that they used several rows shirring around the back neck to narrow the fabric there. Long, wide, ties come down the front; they do not show them tied, but you can imagine a woman would tie them as otherwise this cape must be clutched to the body.

So these evening capes did not opt for the most practical ways of closing a garment, and the most interesting features were not near the face as the Dress Doctors liked. But, Oooooo! Such a striking pair of garments all the same, and a pleasure to cope with when you are feeling in a dramatic and celebratory mood.

Although I could live without the dropped-waist dresses these were shown with,  the evening cape is one of those lost looks that I think we ought to revive and add back into our design vocabulary.

[professorpski]

As Mary had never had an expensive evening dress before she found it difficult to choose among so many, but Agnes took command and made her have a soft flowery confection. Agnes herself was going to have a white lace dress. Mary immediately wanted to change her mind and have one like it; but Agnes was firm. 'Don't wear lace or velvet while you are young, Mary, ' she said earnestly. 'Girls always want to, and it is so foolish.'

While the character Agnes is besotted with her children although completely incapable of disciplining them -- as task left to their Nurse--she comes across as a bit of a mental lightweight in Angela Thirkell’s Wild Strawberries from 1934. And yet Agnes is also apparently wise on dress.

The Dress Doctors held that clothing choices should reflect the personality of the wearer which included their age and energy. A “soft flowery confection” was probably made of some kind of light weight silk which would flow around young Mary at the dance and make the most of her movements. the mid-1930s gown often had large, draped collars which echoed the flirty gores that flared out from the bottom of the gowns. In contrast, lace is a complicated and elegant fabric but not know for its drape; Agnes, as a young matron, had far less interest in dancing or in making a splash at the dance party, so she could sit looking lovely.

Mary is a poor relation visiting a very well-off family and, as in most of Thirkell’s works, she is interested in the wrong man as a potential life partner until she realizes whom she really should choose instead. You can find more of Thirkell’s novels at Virago Books: https://www.virago.co.uk/?s=thirkell

[professorpski]

Mrs. Brandon with a charming and quite illusory air of fragility wafted herself into the drawing-room in a chiffon cloud of every soft colour of sweet pea.... 'This dress fluffles our very nicely and if I sit on the little green settee, there won't be room for anyone unless I choose to make it.'

I don't know what part of this is the most fun. A silk chiffon evening dress of every color of sweet pea flowers? That fluffles is a verb? Or that Mrs. Brandon could use her dress as a tool during a party to facilitate or prevent intimate conversations?

This is from Cheerfulness Breaks In by Angela Thirkell published in 1940, set in the English countryside, so right on the eve of war. Mrs. Branson was a recurring character in a series of novels with many recurring characters and they grow up and grow old across the books. Although we tend to think of 1940 as a time when stricter, tailored looks for women were both fashionable and required--some of the women don trousers for their war work--evening dresses offered a range of styles. So something in chiffon, a sheer, delicate fabric would have been stylish for a grown woman like Mrs. Brandon who had the sophistication to carry if off.

[professorpski]

Wrapped Versus Wrap: Simplicity 8876

A wrap or stole is both versatile and in need of some looking after. The Dress Doctors recommended it only for the sophisticated woman of thirty or more years, and not the overly energetic even older than that. A kind of draped dressing, a wrap can be hugged closely around the neck and shoulders for warmth or allowed to flow off the shoulders in a more romantic look. But it must be handled to work well.

Attached wraps, as you see here, and shaped wraps showed up especially in the 1950s, although they clearly started in the late 1940s when the romantic New Look of Christian Dior with nipped waist, soft shoulders, large hiplines, and long skirts triumphed in 1947. The attached wrap takes away some of the complications of handling a stole as its movement is controlled via the garment itself. Here the wrap is attached at the front, goes around the shoulder and is then tucked under itself. It creates a flexible draping, which is easier to make than a draped feature that must be fitted to the shoulders. You could leave it loose, for example.

On the other hand, like any strapless dress, the bodice must be fitted carefully as you are trying to defy gravity. The wrap-less version in the print fabric dress has the same structure. Both dress bodices are interfaced, then boned, and lined, with an inner ribbon waist stay; in short, a structure is built up from the waistline to the neckline.  While the asymmetrical balance from side to side signals that this is a party look, the big, shaped hip pockets seem to need the attached wrap to balance the dress from top to bottom, and since this one is not that hard to handle, why not add it?

They suggest everything from crisp taffeta to crepe, but realize the softer fabrics may need a bit more support--perhaps a crispy underlining?--in order to keep the bodice well-structured.

You can find it at your local fabric store or online here: https://simplicity.com/simplicity/s8876

[vivianvintage8]

Wish us luck. Working on restoring this 1920's Christmas Red Silk Chiffon Dress - Museum Piece. Amazing antique formal wear... A lovely addition to an antique dress collection. #vintagedressforsale #antiquedress #antiquedresses #vintagedresses #christmasdresses #instavintageclothing #etsyvintagefashion #antiquedresses #antiquefashion #antiquestyle #flapperdress #roaringtwentiesstyle #1920sclothes #newyorkvintage #newzealandvintage #sanfranciscovintage #detroitvintagestores #vintageeveningwear #vintageformaldress #losangelesvintage #germanyvintage #londonvintage #truevintage #onlinevintageclothing #etsyvintagefashion #vintageparis #antiqueclothing #chicagovintage #brooklynvintage #hongvintage (at Vivian Vintage 8) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIJtH5bABoX/?igshid=1f99zlkbwl9x3

[vintagevarla-etsyshop]

For just $69.00 1950's Union Made Dress Solid black with crinoline sewn in lining 3/4 length sleeves. snaps on cuffs Pleated front, draped torso with rosette on the waist Fully lined Excellent Condition. *Some photos are brightened to show the details No makers label, or fabric content label There is no stretch in the fabric. I believe it is rayon or a rayon blend with acetate lining. Tagged Size: 7 This is vintage sizing, not modern, Measures as Size 0 or XXS Measurements: (NO stretch in fabric) Shoulder to Shoulder: 14" Bust: up to 30.5" Waist: up to 21" Hips: up to 34" Sleeve length: 19.5" Overall length from shoulder to bottom: 35" Width across bottom side seam to side seam: 18" If you have any questions, please message me. Orders ship within 24 hours of payment.

[vintagevarla-etsyshop]

For just $44.00 Rainbow Sequin Top Vintage 80s ROB HILL for Mister Jay Women's Size Small Sparkly and very colorful... Perfect for your next holiday party! Multi-colored sequins are on a semi-sheer backing. Wide elasticized waistband-see photo of the inside of top Label: Rob Hill for Mister Jay Era: 1980's Vintage Condition: Excellent The size tag has been removed, see photos for measurements. Measures as a small Bust: 33"-35" Length: 22" Message any questions, I'm happy to help! Ships within 24 hours upon payment-many times the same day.

[vivianvintage8]

Listed Vintage Mink Fur Coat Friendly reminder, visit our shop for our 40% off sale. Click on the link in our profile to shop! #vintagecoat #furcoat #vintagefurcoat #vintagefurforsale #vintagefur #vintagecoat #vintageeveningwear #vintageouterwear #vintagefindsyou #vintagefinds #onlinevintageclothing #vintageclothing #vintageclothingfinds #vintageclothesforsale #vintageattire #vintagestyle #vintagefashion #vintagefashionaustralia #vintagefashionista #vintagegirl #vintagewintercoats #buyvintageclothing #buyvintage #shop4vintageclothing #shoppingvintageclothing #rarevintage #wearvintage #instavintagemovement #moscowvintage #londonvintage (at Vivian Vintage 8) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Nj_msgx7a/?igshid=b2qmlywvpcqw