Monday, May 21, 2012

In Search of Style - 1940s Elegant Nightgown

This beautiful nightgown pattern, Mail Order 2607 from the 1940s, has soft, feminine details - just what its owner was looking for!


Tucked inside the envelope were the following two newspaper clippings:


The clipping on the left features a short bed jacket with lace-trimmed square neckline. The clipping on the right features a long fitted nightgown, also with a bed jacket, and a low V-neckline in back. Can you guess which features she was looking for? :)


Sunday, May 13, 2012

Scraps from the Past - 1940s Candy Stripe Blouse

It's time for another great scrap from the past, and it is such fun to see what fabric the original owner chose for a pattern. Today's feature is this sweet jumper and blouse combination from Hollywood patterns and 1943, which came with a collar piece from the original seamstress. The fabric has the feel of cotton and may well come from a feedsack.



So, the seamstress sewed a cute red-and-white candy-stripe blouse to go with this charming jumper. Any guesses on the jumper color? The jumper is sweet too - note the underarm side button closing and the  swing-length dirndl skirt. Without a blouse, it makes a perfect summer pinafore sundress. I'd call it winning war-time fashion!

Friday, May 4, 2012

It's Tulip Time!

It is spring here in the Pacific Northwest (at least I try to tell myself it is spring, it has been so cool and damp), and the tulips in my garden are in bloom! So I thought I would dedicate this post to the tulip, a popular motif for women throughout the decades. Women in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and beyond loved to adorn their dresses, skirts, and aprons with applique tulips, and used multiple methods to decorate household linens with tulip motifs. :)

1940s Tulip-Adorned Frock

1950s Skirt 

 1950s Apron (note the bib itself is tulip-shaped)

1960s Dress
Lovely tulips decorated household linens using colorful embroidery, and even crocheted edgings.





And now, for the real thing - a few tulips from my garden (on a grey, rainy day in Seattle). :)




Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Mother-Daughter Fashions - What a Delight!

Mother-Daughter Fashion month was great fun! A bonus for all who purchased a mother-daughter pattern was a free 1950s pattern for mother-daughter purses.

If you didn't find a mother-daughter pattern that you liked, but *would* like the free pattern for the mother-daughter purses, just send me a message via Conversations on Etsy with your email address. I will gladly send you a copy.

Let me conclude with a few more of the mother-daughter patterns that you might have missed: