The latest series of The Great British Sewing Bee started this week, and the made-to-measure challenge was a dress with cut-outs. Sadly, no-one chose to make Vogue 8884!
 |
| Proving that there is nothing new under the sun |
This is the first pattern in the 'evening and graduation' section of my
1940 Vogue counter catalogue.
 |
| The front page of the section |
 |
| The patterns available in larger sizes |
Although this is mainly dresses, there are a few patterns for outer layers as well, such as Special Design 4264.
 |
| I must admit that this looks like a very upmarket dressing gown to me! |
Most of the dresses have the straight skirts which I associate with
1930s styles, and ruching features heavily.
 |
| 8837 (dress) and 8839 (jacket) |
However as with the
Couturier patterns, some have much fuller skirts.
 |
| 8825 has a circular skirt |
Several come with 'extras' such as a shawl or in one case, a
guimpe.
 |
| 8757 (top) and 8712 (bottom) |
Some patterns, such as 8371, look to me oddly casual for an evening dress. In fact, all of the designs on this page can be made short or long.
 |
| 8371 is here styled to look like a blouse and skirt |
This option seems to be omitted for some patterns, however. Special Design 4206, for example, is only shown full length.
 |
| Left to right - 4206 and 4213 |
But it also appears in the 'daytime dresses' section, where it is shown full length as well.
 |
| 4206 short version, and 4210 |
Although the front page for the section only states 'evening and graduation', the side tab expands this to 'evening, bridal, graduation'. Unlike nowadays, none of the dresses are shown as bridal only. For example, S-4250 is shown as an evening dress.
 |
| Showing a hint of back, and the dark colour obscures the cut of the front |
And then on the facing page, with the addition of a train and more buttons up the back, as a wedding dress.
 |
| The bridal version |
S-4205 gets even more extensive treatment, running to three pages. First of all, it's shown as an evening dress - albeit with a bridal line drawing.
 |
| As an evening gown |
Several pages later, it too gets the full bridal treatment. Complete with suggestions for maid of honour, bridesmaid, and flower girl dresses.
 |
| With short puffy sleeves and long gloves |
 |
| With long slim sleeves and a train |
Judging from the pink outfit in the first picture, dressing your bridesmaid like a 1930s crinoline lady was a thing in 1940!
As with the Couturier patterns, I suspect that rationing was soon to make wedding dresses with long trains a thing of the past for most people. But I'll finish as I started, with a dress with what look like cut outs on the shoulders - even if the back view shows that they are not.
 |
| S-4164, actually a V back and a tie neck |
The passion for big skirts and crinolines in 1940 was likely a result of the mania for Gone with the Wind, which debuted in 1939. The drawings of the Crinoline Lady Coffee Tray could be taken straight out of the garden party scene that opens the film!
ReplyDeleteOf course! Because the pattern prices are given in shillings and pence as well as dollars, I tend to forget that this catalogue was actually printed in the US and so reflects what was going on there at the time. The crinoline lady in an English country garden had been a popular image for craft projects in the UK for much of the thirties, but was probably a British phenomenon.
Delete