Day to Date Dress - 1950

These images come from an ad for Wyner worsted wool jersey fabric in a 1950 magazine. Our clever secretary has made a sleeveless dress from Simplicity pattern 8307 in this versatile fabric that will take her from a long day at the office to a date in the evening.

Here, she wears the dress over a jewel necked pullover and matching belt. Now if her boss would just sign the darned letter, she could get changed and meet her date.

Here, our gal-about-town has removed the top, and traded her watch for a bangle bracelet. Her velvet cap adds a touch of elegance while sipping martinis with her man. But wait!! Isn't that her boss? Why yes, yes it is. There was no money in the budget for a second male model, I guess. Oops.

The original 1950 pattern is available for purchase from The Cupid and The Swan at Tias.com for $35.00. It's not often that I find an exact pattern match for garments featured on my blog. If you like what you see, grab the pattern quick, because there is only one!

1950 Fashion Silhouette #4 Bell-Shaped

The full skirt - introduced by Dior after the war with his New Look collection, and worn into the early 60's. This dress is a shirtwaist with very full sleeves to complement the fullness of the skirt. The full sleeves are set onto a dropped shoulder line, which makes the dress look more grown-up. A full gathered sleeve set into a normal armsceye might make this dress look too girlish.

This dress was made from Simplicity pattern 8269. The model is wearing a wide belt, which again accentuates that narrow tiny waist and wide curving hips. She has on a tiny pillbox style hat with a full veil covering her face. Here's a look at the back view:

Get the look with this taffeta check dress available in our EBay store. It's got the same dropped shoulder line, the same full skirt, the same Peter Pan collar, the same shirtwaist styling. But this one comes from a high-end Boston boutique named Jay's. Click the pic to see the listing!

1950 Fashion Silhouette #3 Tubular

Of course, we would call this "wiggle" today, but the Fall-Winter 1950 issue of Simplicity pattern magazine defines this as a Tubular Silhouette. Doesn't sound all that attractive or complimentary to me. Since, the 1980's, a tube dress is considered one that is made from a circular knit tube that is very stretchy and tiny so it stays on and contours to your curves.

But back to this outfit. The article states the smooth sculptured look of the sheath dress is the most important of all the evening silhouettes for 1950. And the most sexy, I daresay. This is actually two pieces - a satin tank top made from Simplicity pattern 3263, and a super slim velvet skirt made from Simplicity pattern 2937. So, is the skirt really that skinny at the knees? Not according to the back sketch on the pattern envelope. Honey, you know once the fashion stylist gets the model pinned into that skirt, she's not walking anywhere! But it sure makes her hips look super curvy, doesn't it?


That tank top is darted to fit the waist though.


The thing I love best in this photo is those lace gauntlet gloves. They are by Aris, and wouldn't they be perfect for this season's focus on all things lace for evening? Oh la la!

1950 Fashion Silhouette #2 The Tent

Commonly referred to as a swing coat today, the Simplicity Pattern magazine for Fall-Winter 1950 calls this a tent silhouette. During WWII, there were strict restrictions on the amount of fabric that could be used to make garments. This is one of the main reasons for the shorter lengths, slimmer styles, and relatively plain garments of the 1940's war years. After the restrictions were lifted, suddenly designers were using as much fabric as they wanted, which led to this full silhouette.

This coat is a clutch style (no buttons) with a shawl collar, raglan sleeves and deep sleeve cuffs. Full enough to wear over the widest skirt, the fullness starts at the shoulders and continues to flare out to the wide hem. The back of the coat is fuller than the front, which you can see in the back view below.

This coat was made from Simplicity pattern 8217. It is interesting to note that Forstmann wool was available to the home sewer, as well as being used by some of the finest coat manufacturers of the time. The model is wearing a tight fitting helmet or calot hat, cuffed gloves with her wrist watch over the glove, and a Glentex scarf tied a the neck.

Get the look with this swing coat trimmed in Persian lamb from the late 1940's. Available at our website, click the picture to see the listing.

1950 Fashion Silhouette #1 The Hourglass

The Fall-Winter 1950 Simplicity Pattern magazine has a feature on the 4 most important fashion silhouettes for the season. We'll take a look at them this week.

Looking feminine with clothes that glorified the female shape was all important during the post WWII years, when most women had the goal of getting married and making a home. Fashions of the time emphasized a woman's curves and allure.

Take this suit, for example. The jacket is belted and the hip pockets have large flaps. Both tend to exaggerate a tiny waist, which was made even tinier with the firm control of a girdle. The jacket also flares out below the belt, and the skirt is pencil thin, giving the impression of more curves at the hips.

This suit was fashioned from Simplicity patterns 3327 and 3027. The sketch for the back view of the jacket shows that all the shape comes from the belt. Very interesting. I never would have guessed that from a quick look at the photo above.

Sweaters and Skirts 1950

Sweaters and skirts from the 1950 Fall-Winter issue of Simplicity Pattern Book. Its time to go back to school!