Happy Mother's Day: Mother-Daughter Fashion from the Mid-1940s

With Mother's Day only a few days away, it seems timely to post about that wonderful fashion trend of the 1940s and 1950s, Mother-Daughter fashion! This trend to dress mothers and daughters in matching outfits certainly provided charm for the ladies in the family. In this post, I feature mother-daughter dresses from the mid-1940s that are perfect for spring and summer.

Mother Fashion - Simplicity 1553

Daughter Fashion - Simplicity 2068

A dirndl skirt in swing length and artfully puffed short sleeves - very nice! Add sash ties or not. The style looks especially cute when contrasting fabrics are used. I rather prefer view 2, myself. :)

A Salute to Boating Season!

The first Saturday of May is coming up soon and it's the official First Day of Boating. Port cities (like Seattle) usually have a parade of boats all tricked out with banners and pennants to celebrate the occasion. In honor of this annual event, I am beginning to post nautical-styled patterns in my shop. Here are just a few patterns for ladies and children, from the 1940s to the 1970s, to pique your interest:

Aye, aye, mates! Enjoy some timelessly great nautical fashion!

Summer Fashion from 1938 - High-Waisted Skirt and Bolero!

A doff of the sun hat to this fabulous high-waisted skirt with front-crossing suspenders - with its matching bolero, it's1938 summer fashion that's yummy!

Notice the shirring on the short gigot sleeves?

1938 Playsuit for Summer Fun

With a bare midriff and flared culottes, this charming two-piece playsuit can be slipped over a bathing suit or worn for leisurely sunning. Such charming style from 1938!

Spotted in a Shop Window - Butterfly Beautiful Formal Gown

I spotted this gorgeous formal in Monarch butterfly style in the window of Luly Yang's in downtown Seattle. Fabulous haute couture fashion I can only dream of. :)

Day Dress from June 1950

A pretty pleated spectator dress, with blouson bodice and breast patch pockets - perfect for every day! Note the perfect alignment of the lines in the fabric, from the matching of all horizontal lines to the pleating on vertical lines - very impressive. Courtesy of June 1950 edition of Women's Home Companion magazine.

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: 

Keeping Warm in Great Style with Vintage Coats

As winter approaches here in the Northern Hemisphere, my thoughts turn to overcoats and especially the beauty of vintage coats. Some of my favorite styles are from the 1940s and 1950s. Wonderful tailored details make me simply drool. :D  Swing backs, trapeze silhouettes, deep cuffs, chic collar treatments, and more - enjoy this review of coats, long and short, for women and girls, from the 1940s and 1950s.

Misses 1940s

 

Girls 1940s

 

Misses 1950s

 

 

Girls 1950s