Spring in Vogue patterns

In a development which will surprise no-one (apart from me, apparently) the sewn piece which I am making for my coursework is taking longer than anticipated! The submission date is fast approaching, so it's another mostly pictures piece for the blog.

Because it's Easter, and also still (just) March, I'm looking at this issue of Vogue Pattern Book.

February/March 1957

There's a lot about what colours are 'in' this spring, and a handy chart on what to wear with them.

Your pressing glove colour questions answered (click to enlarge)

Several of the colours appear in this feature on things to make for spring.

Grey

I thought that the dress on the left looked familiar. Sure enough, it's this.

9025 reissued as 1044

'Copper' seems to cover quite a range, with the third item on the left looking rather like my recent fabric purchase. According to the chart, amber is suitable jewellery to go with this colour range, so the earrings I bought pass muster with Vogue!

Copper

Blue is suitable for any season of any year, as far as I'm concerned!

Blue

Which is not something I can say for this colour.

Beige

Salad greens do not appear in this feature, just as a small part of one on what fabrics to buy.

Salad greens

On to Easter brides, and Vogue recommends wedding dresses which can "double as a ball gown later".

These would always look like wedding dresses to me . . .

. . . especially if made in "stiff white faille" as suggested

On to trousseau suggestions, and another familiar pattern.

1084, originally issued as Special Design 4737

The housegown (main photograph) is described as being for "early-morning glamour". I can safely say that 'early morning' and 'glamour' have never gone together in my world, not even on my honeymoon!

Trousseau suggestions

Speaking of honeymoons.

Lovely, but a honeymoon with a lot of ironing?

Finally, for spring, the latest Vogue Paris Originals.

Grés, Heim and Dessès

Lanvin-Castello, Griffe, Fath and Patou

Of the original eight designers, only Heim and Fath remain. The House of Fath closed in 1957, three years after the death of its founder, so this may be the last Fath pattern to appear in the Paris Originals. Perhaps aware of this, in this issue Vogue has added Mme. Grés to their list of Paris designers for the first time.

Suits

I am actually doing some sewing, and really enjoying it, but it isn't something which I can share here just yet. So instead, here is another section from my January 1960 Vogue counter catalogue - suits.

A whole section, and quite near the front of the catalogue

The idea of a section devoted solely to suits seems bizarre now, but it isn't a minor part of the catalogue. It runs to 57 pages, and contains 88 patterns. Don't worry, I'm not going to cover them all!

Some of the styles on offer

A few, such as this one, have longer jackets and more fitted lines.

This looks far more modern than 1960 to me

But most have shorter jackets, and variations on the classic 1960s boxy shape.

That's more like it

A couple of pages, as well as the front page of the section, are photographs. Oddly, none of them are of especially new patterns. The latter two had appeared in Vogue Pattern Book so presumably, after going to the expense of colour photography, Vogue was getting maximum use out of the artwork.

A less structured style

Chunky cord and a fur collar seems like an odd combination

The majority of the patterns are Vogue Special Designs. I'm not sure if this was because of the tailoring involved, or if by 1960 suits were mostly made and worn by the sort of women who bought more expensive patterns.

Nice symmetry, and another big fur collar

Most of the suits are for daywear, but some could also be made for evening by using a different fabric

The evening option is just suggested at the top

Others are specifically evening wear. This pattern is also a Vogue Special Design, but the logo has been omitted from the page. Oops.

This is very much evening only

A jacket and skirt is the usual combination, but there are a few jacket and dress combinations.

Killer pattern matching on that tweed!

There is even one with a waistcoat, if you wanted a three-piece look.

The pink waistcoat looks a bit out of place

Some include a blouse as well.

Whereas this blouse goes well with the jacket

Including this pattern with a hood/cowl neck, which featured in a 1959 article in Vogue Pattern Book.

Hoodie, 1960 style

One thing which almost all of the patterns have in common is straight skirts. Gathered skirts only appear in patterns for girls or teens, and even flared skirts seem to be intended for younger wearers.

Definitely younger figures

I'm often struck by the subtle details which illustrators are able to bring to pattern art, and Vogue 4053 is a perfect example.

Subtle shading

The notes say that the bodice is cut on the bias, but the skirt can be cut on the straight grain or the bias. Without having to resort to anything as obvious as stripes, the two plain dresses illustrate the difference. You can almost hear the rustle of the yellow shot silk which view A was undoubtedly made from.

A short cut to fashion

I'm going to be busy with course work for the next few weeks, and not much sewing or knitting will get done. So, following on from last week's quick skirt, I'm looking at the "very easy to make" section, also called "short cut to fashion" in my January 1960 Vogue counter catalogue.

The earlier sections of the catalogue have photographs on their front page, but the later ones have illustrations.

Charming

The back of the page also has an illustration.

It's actually a wrap-around

Which is of this dress.

It's more obvious in this drawing

Most of the patterns have a schematic showing the pieces, to emphasise just how easy they are. There are several shirts like this one, made from a single piece of fabric with either one seam or a wrapover, plus a waistband and optional pockets.

Look, no side seams

The 'easy' patterns of some other brands only list the main pattern pieces, so a two-piece dress pattern could have lots of extra little bits, but these Vogue patterns are exactly as they are described.

Only four pieces to this top . . .

. . . and to this dress

Even the most complicated only have eight pieces, which is a far cry from some designer patterns with well over 20 pieces.

Sleeves and collar can be omitted to make it even easier

Not that the number of pieces is the only thing to consider. The view D collar piece in this pattern doesn't look like it would be straightforward to make or attach.

So many tight curves in that collar

Most of the dresses and skirts in this section are straight, but there are a few fuller-skirted options.

Simple flared skirt pieces

Also, "easy to make" doesn't have to mean 'basic'. For example, this jacket is fully lined.

Simple but chic

There is some ingenious shaping to keep the number of pieces to a minimum.

I suspect this would look terrible on me

It took me a while to work out how this jacket comes together.

All in one

But now that I have, I'm wondering if I could draft a version myself. When I have more time, obviously!

Memories (or lack of)

This coming week's seminar on my course is titled "Fashioning Memories", and we each need to bring in an object which evokes a personal memory. Initially I had intended to bring in the oldest item of 'acquired new' clothing in my wardrobe; a top which I made in the 1980s. But unfortunately, and unusually for me, I realised that I don't have a single firm memory attached to either making or wearing it!

Batwing sleeves a go-go!

The pattern dates from 1982, the year I went to university. I made view 1, in a checked cotton. It was sewn on a machine, so isn't one of the garments I sewed by hand during term time. However the raw edges, now firmly matted by years of washing, suggest that it wasn't sewn at home on my mum's Husqvarna Viking either, as I would have zig-zagged the edges. In my second year at university we got a (second hand) sewing machine at my hall of residence, as quite a few of the girls sewed, and the slightly iffy quality of the stitches makes me suspect that this top was sewn on that.

Not the most perfect stitch tension

The biggest mystery however is how both the top and the pattern survived my various clearouts over the 40ish years since I made it. Many items with far greater sentimental attachments have been culled in that time, so why not this? I have no idea.

Until I realised the fundamental flaw in my plan, I had intended to wear the top to the seminar, so made a simple skirt to go with it. It's just two panels of plain dark blue cotton, with a zip on one side and a pocket on the other, pleated onto a waistband. Worn here with the top, and a belt and earrings also from the 1980s, it makes for a real blast from the past.

Time travel

To be honest it's fairly unflattering (I couldn't bring myself to photograph it full length), and I doubt if it will ever be worn outside the house, but it's comfortable and practical and made the year's first inroad into the stash.

It's a start

I do have something to talk about in the seminar and it is, of course, home sewing related, but that's another story.

Shrewsbury again

Yesterday I had a day out in Shrewsbury, and while browsing in a fabric shop spotted this in a remnant bin.

Jaunty!

Now I like the colour yellow, but sadly it has never much liked me. I also seem to be getting (even) paler as I get older so things which I could wear before, like my Big Stitch dress, no longer work with my colouring. Which is a shame, because even I like to wear something other than shades of blue occasionally! But this is definitely at the warmer end of the yellow spectrum, so I wondered if it was something I could wear. I tried holding it up to my face and, even with the unforgiving lighting of the shop, I didn’t look as though I only had hours to live. So, despite my best attempts to not acquire more fabric, I promptly gave in and bought it.

Whoops

It's a viscose, but with more weight to it than the fabrics I used for my two New Look 6594 dresses. It didn't shed any dye when I pre-washed it, which is always a good start, and it drapes nicely.

Some body, but not too stiff

Shade-wise, it's quite similar to the yellow of Vogue 2787 (which also has a noticeable amount of red in the overall print). Depending on the light, the background colour can actually look more peach or orange than yellow. The selvedge printing shows just how many different colours there are in the print, and how they are all in the red/orange/brown family.

These are always so useful for matching colours

I also called in to Maggie Mae's Vintage. It's always lovely to see the ladies there and have a chat, and while the chances of my finding any vintage items which fit my short-waisted self are incredibly slim, they do have some haberdashery and of course jewellery to look through as well. I struck lucky - not only did they have some splendid yellow earrings, I also found a buckle in a very pale peach shade which exactly matches one of the colours in the fabric.

Perfect!

I'm not sure yet what I'll make, but it will probably be a 1950s dress with a full skirt to use up all the yardage and make the most of that swishy drape. For now, I'm just delighted to have found a yellow that I can wear.

None of this was the reason for the trip, however. My Dahlia shawl has finally reached the point where it is impossible to continue knitting it on straight needles, but the only circular needles I can get locally have metal ends and for this yarn I definitely prefer wood. So it was time to pay a first visit to Ewe and Ply in Shrewsbury, which turned out to be an absolute treasure trove of knitting wonders. They sorted me out with wood tips and a long cable, which have made things much easier.

All spread out

I can definitely see more visits to Shrewsbury in the future!