History of Sewing - 1960s Vintage Pattern Sizes and Body Types

 At the end of the 1950s, seamstresses hopefully had adjusted to the "new sizing" changes that occurred in the mid-late 1950s. But in the 1960s, more changes are afoot. New figure types will be added (junior petite and chubbie girls), some figure types will be merged (sub-teen or pre-teen and teen become young junior/teen), and at the end of 1967 another complete sizing shift will occur.

Revisiting the End of the 1950s

To refresh your memory (if you don't want to review my post on 1950s pattern sizes),  here are pattern sizes from a 1959 Butterick Sewing Book. Note that there are separate pattern sizes for sub-teen, teen, junior, miss, woman, and half sizes. Note also that the Junior figure type IS considered a fully-developed (or mature) figure type, not a youthful (that is, teen-like) size. The Junior figure is simply relatively higher-busted and shorter-waisted than the Miss figure type (and maybe a tad shorter).

 

 Early and Mid 1960s

Although sizing from the end of the 1950s through the mid-1960s remains consistent, note that the sizes are NOT consistent from one pattern maker to another. Compare the Butterick sizes above, with those from Vogue (Vogue Sewing Book dated 1964) (Note that the "New Sizing" referred to here are the size changes from the late 1950s.):

McCall's Easy Sewing book from 1964 provides sizes and figure types similar to those of Butterick, but replaces Sub-Teen with Pre-Teen, and adds the Junior Petite figure type:

 

And in 1966, McCall's sizes are still the same. This McCall's Step-by-Step Sewing Book provides a nice comparison of the Misses figure type with each other type.

1967 - Time to Change to New Sizes!

In late 1967 sizes change yet again!!! Effective November 1, 1967, pattern companies made the shift to new sizes developed and approved by the Measurement Standard Committee of the Pattern Fashion Industry. The pattern sizing change was made to correspond more closely with standard ready-to-wear sizing (at that time). Was access to better or more food a factor in the size changes of the late 50s and this change in the late 1960s? A good topic for research and discussion!

The sizes affected Misses, Women's, Half-Size, Junior, and Junior Petite. Teen and Pre-Teen sizes were replaced with a new size range - Young Junior/Teen.

Sizes essentially shifted downwards. For example, for the Misses figure type with bust 34, the size changed from 14 to 12. The ratio of hip to bust remains the same (bust 34, hip 36), but the waistline is reduced by a half inch (a full inch for some sizes): Before: bust 34, waist 26, hip 36 - After: bust 34, waist 25-1/2, hip 36.

McCall's Step-by-Step Sewing Book from 1968 does a great job providing a comparison of the former sizing with the new:

 

And here are the "new sizes" as published in a Simplicity Sewing Book from 1968, which includes a  "Chubbie" figure type for girls: 

History of Sewing - 1950s Vintage Pattern Sizes and Body Types

1950s Pattern Sizing

In this, my third post on vintage pattern sizing, it's time to examine the 1950s. The decade starts out looking much like the 1940s, but in the middle of the decade, things will change!

In the early and mid 1950s, pattern sizes remain consistent with sizes in the late 1940s. Categories remain the same: Women (or Ladies), Miss, Junior (or Junior Miss), Teens, Girls, Children, Infants, Boys, Men. And sizes remain the same for these categories. The Half-Size is still a relatively "new thing" but makes gains during this decade.

Misses and women's sizes run in even sizes from 10 to 46, and a size 16 is still a bust 34, waist 28, hip 37. Teen and junior sizes run in odd sizes, from 9 through 19. The junior figure is defined as a shorter-waisted figure than the miss, as well as slighter in other respects.

Pattern sizes from McCall's Complete Book of Dressmaking 1951

 An early 1950s Junior pattern from McCall's

A Note about the Half Size

The junior figure is not to be confused with the half size figure. Half sizes are defined as figures that are shorter than regular size figures, and are usually slightly larger at the waistline and hip line. Half-size gals had the option to either buy a half-size pattern or purchase a regular pattern and alter it, using the directions in the following image.

 

Sizes Change in the Mid 1950s!

In the mid-to-late 1950s pattern sizes begin to change, apparently in response to size changes issued by the US Bureau of Standards. I have read various sources on the Internet that place the date of this change variously in 1957 or 1958, but when I view the patterns themselves (and their copyright dates), I see the change starting to occur as early as 1955 and definitely implemented by 1957. Regardless of the precise date, the effect of the change has hips at only 2 inches (5cm) larger than the bust. Bust 34 is now a size 14 instead of size 16. The waist drops 2 inches and the hips shrink one inch. Here is a comparison:

1930s-1955		1955+
Size 16		Size 14
Bust 34		Bust 34
Waist 28		Waist 26
Hip 37		Hip 36

Body Types

From Vogue Sewing Book 1958, you can see the familiar body types that we know from the 1940s: Junior Miss, Teen, Miss, and Women:

The Vogue Sewing Book 1958, like sewing books of all eras, provides instructions on how to measure yourself.

 Pattern Sizes

But now note the new sizing!

History of Sewing - 1940s Vintage Pattern Sizes and Body Types

1940s Pattern Sizing

In the early 1940s, not much has changed from the 1930s in pattern sizing, aside from dropping the reference to "years". Categories remain the same: Women, Miss, Junior or Junior Miss, Girls, Children, Infants, Boys, Men. However, we begin to see the Junior Miss with odd numbers for sizes, while Miss sizes are even numbers. But as the decade progresses, pattern manufacturers begin to pay attention to figure types. This will result in some fine tuning of sizes, as described below.

This summary of body sizes is from the Butterick Sewing and Dressmaking book from 1944.

The 1944 Butterick Sewing and Dressmaking book provides these descriptions of different body types: Full, Tall Angular, Short Full, Junior Miss, Miss, and Average. While at this point, pattern sizes don't address the tall angular or the short full figures, it points the way to the half size patterns that begin to appear later in the 1940s and the future "proportioned" patterns that will appear in the 1950s. It also points out that the Junior Miss is a type not an age - an important distinction.

Sizes in a 1948 Vogue book on sewing are similar to the sizes described in the Butterick book, but shortens Junior Misses to Juniors.

A Simplicity sewing booklet from 1949 adds Teen and Half Sizes to the list of body types, and actually provides more detail to explain the differences. This is the first time we see the Half Size, which is a great addition that addresses the needs of women with a shorter than average body type.

Note how Woman's sizes are essentially identical to Misses, but simply extend to higher sizes and provide both youthful and "mature" (also referred to as "matronly", meaning older than "Miss") designs.

Pattern manufacturers continue to produce their patterns in compliance with government-defined standards (extremely important during World War II), but the addition of body types is a great acknowledgement that we all aren't "average". The  beginning of producing pattern sizes that address those different body types is a boon to seamstresses in reducing the amount of work to adjust a pattern to fit.

I hope this information helps those of you sewing 1940s vintage patterns. Just keep the proportions in mind as you purchase and sew patterns from this decade. And knowing the differences can allow you to purchase a pattern in a size type that you might not normally purchase for yourself (Teen or Junior Miss for example), with an expectation of how you can alter it to fit.

Happy sewing!