Recreating A Fashion Look - 1942

There is a certain art to bringing back to life an outfit that I've seen portrayed in a vintage magazine.  I feel like I am learning a lesson in history, art, form, discovery, connections…the list goes on.

A couple months ago, I was wandering the lockers of ebay and I came across an auction for a butterfly skirt.  This skirt looked very familiar, then a rather large wave of epiphany hit me, this is the same skirt pattern from the butterfly image by Louis Dahl-Wolf.  The image below was originally printed in a 1942 Harper's Bazaar fashion spread in very rare color form.  You could buy the skirt from B.Altman.

Thie skirt that was worn in this iconic image was way before its time.  The sweeping nature of what was to become the 1950's circle (full) skirt look.  But, it is not just the skirt, it is the whole impression that just lingers and is one of those fashion images that leaves an imprint.  The composition is perfection and so is the lighting, not to mention the beauty of the model (Bijou Barrington), it's like all forces of nature were aligned to bring this image together in color.

So, when the auction ended for the version of the skirt I am wearing above,  I fell off my chair when I won it for $18.  I did have to have the side button holes fixed but well worth the investment.  It is a cold rayon skirt and still very vivid in print.  I also bought a yellow linen kind of short sleeve cardigan that I believe went with this skirt.  But, that is for another day.

Then, my quest began, to find accessories to match this creation that would be similar to the vintage fashion image.   Isn't it crazy that this image is from 1942??

I really did want to recreate closer to the exact image but my skirt isn't full enough for the effect.  So, I opted to photograph near a rounded arch doorway in a Spanish influenced entranceway.

The interesting vibe I really like about the jewelry in the 1942 fashion image is the metallic nature.  I think we so often think of Bakelite and rhinestones but there was also a big movement of warm earth tone metals.  Some of these bracelets and earrings carry with them a great mid-century modern overlay.


Outfit Details:

Earrings:  I found by looking for "pearl and metal" and came across these wonderful  Hogan Bolas screw back earrings from Etsy shop Classic Mid-Century.

Bracelets: Various sources keeping to the theme of the 1942 photograph.

Butterfly Clips:  Even better in person and appear to be made from feathers.  Olgadesigns

Blouse:  Made by me, vintage pattern Simplicity 2127.  I actually bought this pattern as a size 30 bust and it's still crazy big.  I think if I ever made it again I would certainly bring it in.  Pattern went together pretty easy and I made this pattern because there was nothing similar out there for what I was looking for.

Skirt: Ebay 1942 cold rayon with butterfly motif.

Shoes:  Gave me blisters:)  Really need to break them in but they were free with Amazon rewards points:)

Sew For Victory Blouse Completed

My Sew For Victory blouse is complete!  This was the project that I worked on at Gertie's retreat.  This is my "first draft" wearable muslin and I did (do) have plans to do a blue polka dot shirt from vintage material with just enough fabric to complete a top, just like the ladies from 1942.    I'm very pleased with the way this blouse turned out.  This will be my entry into Sew For Victory.

My inspiration from the blouse came from a pattern and swatch book from Advance from 1942.  You can read more details here.  This was such a wonderful find and jam packed with wonderful information about 1942 styles.

Advance 2948 Pattern:

Below is the blouse that I sought inspiration from:

Outfit Details:

Blouse:  Advance 2948, with period vintage buttons (40s)

Pants:  Freddies

Shoes: Remix

Bracelets:  Bakelite, with exception of polka dot bracelet.  White Bakelite bracelet bought at BrighterBakelite (Etsy)

I also wanted to show images of the blouse tucked out.  The most difficult part of this blouse had to be the lapel line.  I also did take in the cuff width slightly and tapered the waist slightly.  The pattern also called for built in sleeve padding which was kind of interesting to work on.  I am in need of some high waisted dress pants so maybe this should also be a future project.

View from the back.

Woo hoo!  Blouse completed!

For a future blouse using the same pattern, I wanted to see if I could use vintage material of a similar type to the pattern swatch above and I found this wonderful blue polka dot material with just enough material to make a blouse!  No room for error:)  It looks very similar in composition to the pink polka dot fabric above.   I laid out all the pattern pieces to see if it would fit.

My next project is a 40s maxi skirt.  I have the pattern for a skirt.  The image below is my inspiration.  Love the wrap top.  I'm hoping one day to find a pattern for a 40s wrap top.  This image is from 1942.  Isn't it grand?

Stitch or Ditch and Sew For Victory, Are You In?

I'm going to try for a simple blouse for  Sew For Victory.  It looks like such a fun event and I figure I should just go for it.

Any of you fine ladies joining in?


When I've had the opportunity, I have been working on my 1940 Simplicity dress but it's not quite turning out how I imagined.   Here's a link to the first muslin.  This is what happens when you add extra things into the mix.   I'm wondering if I should just scrap this dress and start over or maybe I should just continue it for the learning experience but I'm not that happy with all the "poof".  Difficult decision. I think if I do scrap, I may not actually do this pattern again.

My problem is the piping,  I thought this would be a great extra touch to accent the front blouse but I didn't foresee extra tucks to the corners that are unavoidable.  I think it just adds "to the pucker effect".    The original pattern didn't having the piping in it (now I understand why).   So besides the extra pleats the pattern calls for in the bust area I also have an extra bit of "poof" to the corners because of the piping.  The reason for this is that this pattern called for the collar area to have an outward flap so the piping had to be adjusted to compensate for this.  It might turn out better as I progress but I'm not the most happy with this outfit at the moment.  Also, I am now having to separate it into a top and skirt due to pattern alternations.


Here's some WIP pictures..
I haven't quite stitched down the right side so the piping isn't flush yet.

Here's the pattern below:

The poof is a killer!  lol  I might just look better with the sleeves and actually on and tucking it under the piping a bit.

I'm taking a break from this pattern and going to try the Sew For Victory, even though I normally do like to complete one pattern at a time.


Are any of you planning to join Sew For Victory?

Next post, I'll share my pattern and fabric ideas for Sew For Victory.  I just found both the pattern and the fabric but the fabric is cutting it awful close in amount needed, no pun intended.    Hope it works!  Going for the 1942 look.

Future Projects And Vogue Pattern Book 1951

I missed the "Fall For Cotton" challenge.  As I begin to type this blog post, I have surrounded myself with a bunch of patterns trying to decide what I might do next.  I thought I had a particular pattern I wanted to do but had too much perplexity about finding a fabric for it so I guess it just isn't this pattern's time.  It sometimes becomes overwhelming to find just the right fabric.  I find myself wanting to pick out the same types of styles as what is on the pattern envelope because one of the reasons I bought the particular pattern is because I like the complete style:)

I was very fortunate to happen upon a copy of Vogue's New Book For Better Sewing at a decent price.  Of course, it isn't in the best of shape but I paid probably half of what they go for so I'm quite happy to have this copy.  I thought in getting this book it was about tips and tricks to sewing but it is actually a detailed look at some various patterns that were out in 1952.

You can see all the images to the pattern styles on Gertie's website.  I'm not sure if Gertie ever did find all the patterns from the book but she certainly made some beautiful things.

As I was scanning through the pages of this wonderful book,  I came to this image and thought how much I really loved this dress and thought that this would be the one I'd most like to make out of the book.  I thought that I would one day like to find this dress pattern.  So, I began to search around and I realized quite quickly that it is not easy to find the patterns from this book!  I wonder if anyone out there actually has them all?

Then a few weeks after buying this book, I was searching around for the above pattern and found it.    Oh joy!  This will be a fun dress to learn from. This pattern will certainly give me practice on covered buttons.  I wouldn't mind to have this dress in every common core color.  Hey, why not throw in a couple of novelty prints too?  

I am quite sure it would take a lot of skill to match up the seams on this dress with the striped pattern they show on this envelope.  Gosh just look at how the stripes would need to be matched up!  I think I'll stick to a solid color for the first go around.

I find in addition to vintage fashion magazines that Vogue Pattern Books are a wealth of fashion information.  It is amazing how well these dresses were designed.  So much different than going into a shop today and buying a dress.

As I was browsing through this book from 1951, I saw this image below and immediately fell in love with this dress.  How grand is this dress???  I just love to see the actual dresses on models, so this was indeed a rare treat to not just see an illustration.  So, I set out to see if I could find the pattern.

Low and behold, I found one lonely copy of this pattern!  So, this will certainly be a dress that I will try out in the future.  The sleeve caps are so interesting.

Within this pattern book was also the below images,  how cute are these bow accents on this dress?

There is this wonderful dress again in shades of green.  Although, I do prefer this dress in red.

I can only dare to imagine how much some of these patterns below would command today!!!

In all honesty, it would be difficult for me to wear a saucer hat with a little stick sticking out of the top.  Have any of you worn hats like this?  But, I can also say this model looks glamourous and gorgeous none the less.

A Schiaparelli Pattern, I dare to guess the amount this would sell for today too!

My next post, I will share scanned images from a 38/39 Vogue Pattern Book.     I'm not sure of the exact year as I bought it coverless.  But, it contains a wealth of great images to share!  I'll also share a couple of patterns I am thinking about starting on next.  I don't think I am quite ready to start out on the patterns above but they are high on my list.  I still haven't quite yet decided what to do.