Jumper styles and shapes from the 30's to the 60's

It is interesting to look at how jumper styles changed through the decades. Before starting to knit you really need to look at the pictures of the finished items and ask yourself the quetion: Will this look good on me? We all have different body shapes and let's be honest, not every garment accentuates the best parts of it. The models, even from 100 years ago seem to have the same, slender body shapes with tiny waists which makes every item look wonderful on them. Frustrating!

When it comes to making vintage inspired garments I think you need to know which era produced the most flattering patterns for your body type.
As you might know by now, I prefer the 40's. This is why:

• The accentuated shoulders are perfect to disguise the lack of shape in the waist. 
• The 30's could also be a good choice because of a wide variety of embellishments, for the same reason. 

I also know which parts to adjust:

• Those era's are well-known for the high necklines. I lower them a bit because of my round face. 
• Since I am high waisted I know it is more flattering to add extra width above the waistline to create a slightly blousy shape.
• Of course, I lengthen the tops too, because a very short jumper with a high waist is not a good combination...

The 60's are not my fashion era, simply because of the lack of shaping in the garments. I can imagine those garments would look fabulous on a thin person with small boobs, but with my swayback and broad shoulders they'd just look shapeless sacks on me. The 50's have a question mark in my book, because the hourglass shape which I simply don't have...

Which fashion era do you prefer and which one looks best on you?
Sloping shoulders or elevated ones, dolman sleeves or puff sleeves, fitted tops or relaxed ones?

from designer dresses to body image

   

So, what's wrong with these dresses?
Whenever I see a red-carpet picture of a celebrity the first thing I check is the fit of the garments. Not he total look, the accessories or the colors. Is that weird? One thing I often see is designer garments which somehow seem to be out of proportion, mostly regarding the length. As discussed in another post here designer outfits of celebrities are most of the time samples and not made to fit.

proportions
When we see the garments on the runway or in promotion pictures we see the tall and thin fashion models of 5'9" (=180cm) high and taller. Celebrities come in every size, and although they often are (too) thin, because 'everyone looks bigger on screen' (yeah, right...) most of them don't have the height of a runway model. Often, the petite actresses are wearing the prettiest runway designs. This means, when a garment fits them in the width it will be automatically too long as well. Let's take a look at two examples:

Claire Danes wore this Dior S/S 2014 dress about a week ago. The original runway dress below has a fitted bodice and a high waisted pencil skirt with an elegant, just-below-the-knee length. The pockets add an almost sportive detail. The actresses skirt has an odd length which hits her somewhere between the calves and the ankles. (and it is not only because the picture is made from another angle!)
   

Keira Knightley wore this vintage inspired Chanel dress recently:

Keira's dress looks out of proportion too.  The fit of the bodice is ok, but the skirt is way too long for her. Laura Ingalls, anyone? I couldn't find the runway picture of this dress, but I'm sure it is not intended to look like this. The seam hits her legs at the ankles which gives the dress an oversized, and rather matrony look. A shorter length would be much more youthful and flattering for her. How about a shorter, pretty tea-length?

the intention of the designer
The interesting question is of course, what was the intention of the designer? Would shortening the skirt ruin the total proportions of the garment (bodice vs skirt) or would it help to achieve the right proportions: a skirt with the right length in combination with a well-fitting bodice?
We all are familiar with the never-ending debate about the length and weight of fashion models. Who wouldn't remember the famous declaration of Kate Moss: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" and the controversial "little too fat" comment of Karl Lagerfeld on the weight of singer Adele. Just look at these idealised design drawings - Miley Cyrus tour costumes by Cavalli and Pucci tour costume design for Beyonce. We know, both ladies have a slender figure, but how ridiculously long are those legs?! Spiderwoman is born...and reborn...


body image and marketing
We are still talking about celebrities, but how does this influence of our,  'average' people's body image? The University of Bath conducted a survey in 2006 about how women felt about thin fashion models in ads. The results were quite surprising (or not?...)

"Researchers from the University of Bath found that two-thirds of women they interviewed reacted favourably to print advertisements featuring thinner female models whereas less than a third liked models of a larger size. Those who preferred thinner models tended to believe that weight can be controlled by dieting or exercise. They tended to think the thinner models were more elegant, interesting, likeable and pleasant."

The population they interviewed consisted of 460 undergraduates, so sadly, this is the way young women felt about beauty back in 2006. I'm sure this image didn't change during the past years.

weight loss
Weight loss seems to be the theme of our times. Not surprisingly, even back in the early 1930's advertisements promoted weight loss all the time. Nothing has changed, they promoted 'simple' methods to lose weight, of course 'without dieting or exercise'. Below two ads from 1934 and 1935. Watch the marketing strategy: While one is quite rude, talking about "unnaturally bulging hips", "unlovely waist" the other refers to health hazards associated with obesity like a high blood pressure... (they didn't tell you don't get high blood pressure from a few extra pounds 'ugly fat' and called their product 'Youth-o-form' which suggested you even could look younger by losing weight:
   

Did you know that back in the 1940's the shape of the mannequins were adjusted for the new fashion trends? Yes, we are talking of the famous Dior New Look, which I personally don't like because the corseted, unnatural lines. (For me, that was the end of my dear, 1940's fashion era) If you read the article you'll discover that the mannequins were made taller and thinner because that was what 'average' women wanted to see. 70 years before the survey mentioned above!

there is hope
Personally, I don't feel good when I try on an outfit which looks fab on the thinner than thin mannequins in the store and looks ridiculously different when I try it on. I'd really prefer to see those outfits on a more 'average'  sized mannequin, and often wonder how would those garments look on an XL body? Don't you? On the bright side, the English department store Debenhams unveiled their size 16 mannequin for a trial in 2013:
   

"Like most retailers Debenhams generally uses standard size 10 mannequins in window displays. But with the majority of women in the UK either a size 14 or 16 it was time for us to take notice and try something a bit different. Our Head of Creative, Mark Stevens, told us about the idea behind this trial: “We are proud to offer a broad and varied choice for women of all ages, shapes and sizes in store. So we thought we should reflect this in our window displays. If it’s popular with customers we would love to roll it out.”

Wow, what a difference! I'd love to see those mannequins everywhere, don't you? Sadly, no other department stores are planning to follow this example. Wonder, what would it take to make that happen?
Anyway, it's time for a recap on the designer outfits and celebrities we started with. We can conclude, that being thin doesn't mean that an any expensive designer outfit would look great on you. I also believe that any garment that is made to fit could look great on you, even if it's not an expensive one.
What are your thoughts on the subject?

Schiaparelli-chic 1937

"Originality, plus simplicity of line is the secret of chic."

Schiaparelli wearing her own design: a shoe-hat (black wool, winter 1937/38)

Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973) was an Italian fashion designer. She ruled the fashion world of the 1920's and 30's along with Coco Chanel. Like Chanel she retired soon after WW2. One of her most famous deaigns is Wallis Simpson's lobster dress which she created in collaboration with Salvador dali. She contributed to fashion articles from time to time, in several magazines/newspapers during the 30's. In 1937 she gave her 7 rules on how to dress chic.

Wallis Simpson wearing Schiaparelli's famous Lobster dress

schiaparelli's seven rules 
On how to dress chic:
1. simple, beautiful lines and good (quality) materials
2. spotlessly clean clothes
3. be tidy, take good care of every garment
4. in color matching garments
5. dress to suit the occasion
6. keep a small stock of matching clothes
7. spend to buy the very best quality of accessories (shoes, hats, bags) you can afford

1934 spring inspiration: the third and fourth models from Schiaparelli: blue wool suit and white cotton blouse with linen lace ending on the jabot, black wool coat with silver fox scarf

The key is to invest in small stock, but matching clothes, made of quality materials. Nowadays it is easy to forget the importance of quality, when we can buy new, cheap clothing for every season. Looking at myself I prefer to invest in just one or two better pieces (on sale) than filling my wardrobe with tons of cheap and 'fashionable' clothes each season. On the downside, I must say, I looooove colors, and little details so often forget to buy clothes that I can wear in different combinations.
I don't follow the newest fashion trends, and prefer to wear my own, authentic mix of vintage inspired and modern day garments, and I certainly invest in good quality accessories. How about you?


Schiaparelli blouses from 1938: pink Vyella fabric with brown leather buttons, crochet hat, Vyella jacket blouse with chinese collar and leather buttons.

did you know that...
...Vyella fabric was a twill weave blend of 55% merino's wool and 45% cotton in the early 20th century? Later they modified the fabric mix in 80% cotton and 20% wool. In the early years, the fabric’s unique selling point was its combination of lightness and fashion, whilst providing warmth and durability.

1939 beautiful felt hats, left a cocoa-brown forward jutting beret from Schiaparelli


Source newspaper image: AWW through trove

Chanel inspiration - The little black jacket (history & patterns)

Gabriele 'Coco' Chanel wearing her own design

"Chanel wore the same tweed suit all day, changing only the scarves and jewelry for the evening." 

Let's start the week with a post about the classic Chanel jacket.
About a year ago Karl Lagerfeld published a book 'The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL’s classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld' filled with black and white pictures of celebrities wearing a classic, black Chanel jacket. Chanel died in 1971, aged 87. This fragile woman, also called 'The Lion' managed to dominate the fashion industry from the 30's until WW2. She retired in 1938 and made her comeback 16 years later because she was irritated that the Paris fashion industry was taken over by men. Today, we associate her name with luxury, elegance and craftsmanship. For more Chanel inspiration in Lagerfelds short movie "Once upon a time" click here.

did you know...
...that Chanel loved to be invisible? With her fashion shows but also in her salon she was often sitting on top of the stairs watching and listening through strategically placed mirrors, so that she remained invisible. 
...that the house models of her salon when fitting had to wear a boned elastic corset-bra  which kept their bust completely flat. 
...that royalty and the famous, like Bridget Bardot and Gina Lollobrigida were never fitted in the ordinary fitting rooms in the salon, they always had private fittings in Chanel's own apartments where she supervised and discussed the clothes?
Source: AWW

The most famous piece of garment associated with her name is (next to the 'little black dress') the 'cardigan-jacket' she invented in the mid-50's. It became her trademark. The launch of Lagerfeld's book was not only accompanied by an exposition of the pictures but also by a video on the making of the little black jacket. It is really interesting to follow step-by-step the construction process of designer garments, don't you think? When watching the video, the construction process looks so easy! Have you ever tried to make a Chanel-style jacket for yourself? Which pattern should you use? Before discussing that, let's take a look at the history of the classic, collarless Chanel jackets. (there were many versions with cut-on collars  too!) Through the years there were endless versions made in different fabric and color combinations. Coco Chanel had the shape ready from the 50's, after that slight variations in length were added. The loosely fitted, 'boxy' shape never changed though.

1940 
A blue suit with brick-red accessories. The cropped and collarless, 7/8 sleeved version is born. Here made of jersey, Chanel's favorite at the time. Barely visible are the two welt pockets, placed above the breast-line:


1955
The year the classic Chanel jacket was born. Below a suit from her own collection which was auctioned in 1978 among 40 suits, dresses and costume made jewelry. This suit was made of beige check tweed, with knitted navy edgings:


1959
Left: Printed silk suit. An experiment with other materials, but with the characteristic trimming bands in a contrast color. Also a set of patch-pockets appear.
Right: Pied-a-poulet suit in tweed. Hip-length, barely shaped, and embellished with gold buttons:


1962
The jacket in oatmeal colored, textured tweed, with red and gold trimmings. Open front.


1963 
Variations in printed silk with Chanel's favorite accessory: the bow (left) and in silver lame (right)


1967
Bright yellow in combination with a lining in a bold, contrasting geometric print


the making of


construction details

"Sometimes a suit was made 40 times before it was according to her wishes. She worked over and over the same suit until she was exhausted"
(- from Madame Grumbach, Chanel's closest colleague for the last 14 years of her life. )

From drawing to a finished item: don't you love this kind of making of video's? Especially with such a 'simple'  item as a jacket (I mean simple, in comparison to an evening gown, for example) it is relieving to see that they don't really work that differently than we do. Let's take a look at the construction:

• They start out with an artistic drawing of the design: this one is the classic, collarless, semi-fitted, 3/4 sleeved cardigan-jacket:

   

• The draper or toiliste is the person who really shapes the jacket. She uses muslin to drape the first version and develop the pattern. This involves a lot of pinning! The straight lines of bust, waist, sides are pencil marked. Look how carefully the pins are placed, really close to the seams and edges:

• After the draping the pattern pieces are created. All of the marking lines,  curves and seamlines are drawn over again:

• All the pieces are marked and all the pieces are drawn with the added seam-allowances all around (still can't understand why European patterns, like Burda don't include the seam-allowances...)

• the seamstresses take over, the original muslin pieces are used as pattern pieces now and are pinned onto the fashion fabric...

• ...then every piece is cut by hand:

• Fusible interfacing is used to reinforce the edges. The classic Chanel jackets are usually made out of quite loosely woven, textured fabrics, like rough surfaced tweed or boucle:

• The markings are both chalk-drawn and basted as well:

• After assembling the jacket and the lining separately the two pieces are pinned together:

• The characteristic braid trims are sewn on by hand:

• Placing the patch pockets. Look how neat those pockets look!

• Fitting! As you can see at this point one half of the jacket front is finished and the other one is still pinned. Interesting detail: the length of the 3/4 sleeve is exactly the same as the length of the jacket:

• Another essential finishing touch of Chanel jackets, the chain along the inside edge is hand-sewn as well (the chain adds weight to the hem resulting in a smooth fit)

• Steaming and pressing the seams again and again:

• The finished jacket:

Here on the cover of the book, in the iconic Chanel-styling with the Chanel hat which Coco Chanel wore in the very first picture of this post, layers of pears and gold jewelry:


which pattern to choose?
If you intend to make your own Chanel jacket, there are many patterns to choose from. It is easy to mimic the elements of the classic Chanel styling: the use of structured tweed fabric, trimmings, the patch-pockets and the golden buttons. In 1964 Butterick released a pattern with 6-in-one options to make your own (unfortunately there isn't any internet source of the original pattern or technical drawing)



When looking at the contemporary patterns the next few seem to be the most popular (from left to right: Vogue 7975, Vogue 8804 and McCalls 6041)


But: have you noticed that the figure seams of all of these patterns have are different from the 'real' Chanel jacket from the video above? Just try to look beyond the styling! Have you considered this pattern below, McCalls 6441? Surprise: this pattern looks the most like the Chanel jacket! It has the curved princess seams like the original. You could simply shorten the sleeves, add patch pockets and a button band instead of the zipper, and finish the edges with the Chanel-style bands and buttons (or you could use a brooch to hold the front edges together as Chanel often did)


Below the technical drawing of this last pattern compared to the others:


Burda 8949 is similar too: