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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Steady Progress- the 1950's

The year is 1950. Five years ago, World War Two ended, and the USA got a new president, Harry Truman, after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In two years, England will have a new monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. As the Cold War begins, the world is slowly starting to recover from World War Two, and fashion is no exception. Haute couture has made a comeback, and progress is back in motion.

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The women of the early 1950's were still enamored with the "New Look" of the late 1940's. Day dresses and evening dresses alike had structured bodices with tiny waists and full skirts.

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This silhouette remained popular for the entire 1950's. Slimmer, suit-like dresses also became popular for day wear in the early-mid decade.

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Collars became a focal point for day wear (and on some evening gowns), with the Peter Pan collar becoming very popular.

A 1950's blouse with a Peter Pan collar.
An evening gown that plays with the concept of the accentuated collar.
A popular trait of evening gowns was the ballerina-length skirt, a skirt with a hem right above the ankle.

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Chiffon and silk were both popular textiles of the time, and decoration, details, and experimentation was back in full force. After the sleek silhouettes of the 1920's and 30's and the austerity of the 1940's, fashion was celebrating unabashed girliness again.

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By the end of the decade, silhouettes slimmed a little, and the boat neckline became popular.

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Hair in the early and mid 1950's was usually worn short and curly. As the end of the decade approached and the mod fashion became popular, the iconic beehives and bouffants came into style.

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Hats were worn less and less frequently by both men and women. The hats that were worn were small and perched on top of the curled coiffures. Often hats came with birdcage veils.

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The 1950's were an exciting time, filled with progress in technology, film (the Golden Age of Hollywood), music, and yes, fashion. It really brings home to me just how much things have changed not only in the 160 years from 1790 to 1950, but in the past 16 weeks in which I've been blogging about these amazing years (not counting that one week where I didn't do a post, we don't talk about that week). To find out more about my passion for historical clothing has been incredible. I've also learned more about the history of the world than I ever though possible, just through researching what went into the clothes people wore. It's truly a blessing to have been through this leg of the Decade Wednesday journey.

Though my 1790-1950 goal has been met, the weekly post element of Sprigged Muslin is far from over. I'm so excited to continue to blog as I learn, and share this amazing world of historical fripperies with you. Stay tuned, lovely things are coming this way.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

1890's Fashion on Doctor Who

So, if you follow me on Pinterest, you've probably noticed by now that I'm a massive fan of the British sci-fi show Doctor Who. I love a lot of things about the show, but one thing that really bothers me is that the Doctor and his companions seldom dress to suit the time period they're visiting. This often results in a merry jaunt through Shakespeare's London or the Old West wearing jeans, t-shirts, tweed, and bow ties. And while it does bum me out a little bit as an historical fashion devotee, as a fan of the show I've gotten used to it.

But then last night, during the newest episode of Series 7, "The Power of Three," the BBC gave me a little gift. Without spoiling too much, there's a (very brief) scene in which the Doctor takes Amy and Rory to the Savoy Hotel in 1890 for their wedding anniversary. And they step out of the TARDIS in period dress.

(All images from the Official Doctor Who Tumblr)


Amy's gown is a textbook example of evening wear in the late 1880's-early 1890's, with a pointed waistline, thin, strap-like sleeves, a low neckline, and a narrow skirt with slight bustling in the back. Even her hairstyle is accurate, with frizzled bangs and a high, curly bun.

My reaction was something like this.


It doesn't happen often, but I really do love it when period costumes make an appearance on Doctor Who. I've seen some evidence that we may have more late Victorian garb on the show in the near future. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Keep Calm and Carry On- The 1940's

In 1939, the world was once again thrown into war when Britain and France (along with smaller countries of the British Commonwealth) declared war on Nazi Germany after Germany invaded Poland. The war lasted for six years, finally ending on September 2nd, 1945, just a day after its six-year anniversary. Once again, women were called to the workforce in the absence of men, perhaps even more so than during World War I. In several allied countries (and in Axis countries as well), it was one's patriotic duty to do something, anything for the war effort. Women's clothing of the decade reflects this with simple, sturdy cuts and textiles made for years of work and wear.

Now, I'm like the majority of people in that when I think of the 1940's, I think of World War Two. It's unavoidable that the war was a defining event of the decade. But now that it's time to look at the 1940's as a whole, I can't help but wonder, how did fashion change in the five years after the war? Let's find out.


Let's start with the World War Two years and work our way to the end of the decade. By 1940, Europe was already a year into the war, and in the early years of the decade, most of the Western World rationed fabric, as well as completely requisitioning all silk and nylon for military purposes. Women entered the workforce in the place of their absent husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons, and those in more hands-on jobs began to wear trousers out of necessity.

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Those who didn't don a welder's helmet or a mechanic's coverall sported simple silhouettes with squared off shoulders, skirts just below the knee, and modest, unobtrusive colors.

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Source. This collar was very popular during wartime.
According to Wikipedia, several fashion magazines gave instructions on how to remake men's suits into women's outfits. After all, they were just hanging in the closet, and it was free fabric. The government encouraged reusing clothing with slogans such as "Use it up, wear it out, make it do!" and "Make do and mend."

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In addition to dresses and suits, trousers were carrying over into the fashion world (but they wouldn't be widely received until the 1950's). Vests, skirts, and blouses were also popular.

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 The war finally ended in 1945, and the wheels of fashionable progress were turning once again. In 1947, Christian Dior released a style of dress that was dubbed "The New Look." These dresses foreshadowed the 1950's, with longer, fuller skirts, accentuated tiny waists, and full busts. To top it all off, Dior used an exorbitant amount of fabric to create these new dresses, which was a far cry from the strictly rationed fabric of the first half of the decade. Luxury fabrics like silk and colors also came back in full force, almost like a celebration of victory and the joy of being on the other side of the worst war the world had ever seen.

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Source. Very I Love Lucy.
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Evening wear was also revolutionized in 1947 , when strapless dresses with long, full skirts and plenty of decoration and details first hit the runways.

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Hair was commonly worn in shoulder-length curls, with popular "victory rolls" on the top of the head, or waved bangs framing the face, or low buns at the nape of the neck with pin curls. Women experimented with intricate hairstyles that all had one thing in common: lots and lots of curl.

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Hats were much like those of the 30's, medium-sized, with creative decorations and worn at a jaunty angle. While everything else during World War Two remained simple due to rationing, the materials used in hats were not rationed, so milliners continued to make them fancy and fun. Here's a WONDERFUL article on hats during World War Two.

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Next week, we'll take a look at the 1950's, the Golden Age of Hollywood and (for those of you keeping score at home) the last installment of this leg of the Decade Wednesday journey. Tune in next week for the dramatic conclusion! Until then, flip through a LIFE magazine from 1942, and experience World War Two in real time. See you next week!

Monday, September 17, 2012

User Error! (+ links)

You saw nothing just now.

That was not the Decade Wednesday post you were looking for.
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Just a quick explanation for any of you that may have seen this week's Decade Wednesday post a bit early. Chalk it up to my absentmindedness. ;) Hope you enjoyed the preview. If you didn't catch my slip of scheduling, have some links to tide you over until Wednesday.

This fun site has several Regency themed generators such as character names, romance novel plots, and names for estates.

Foyle's War is coming back. I'm a huge fan of the show, but I'm a little apprehensive about this new series (set to air in 2013). After seeing Series 7, I'm rather of the opinion that the show should have ended when the war did. Still, I can't help but be a little excited that we'll get to see Michael Kitchen and Honeysuckle Weeks puttering around in 40's-50's England again.

One of my favorite websites, ImprovEverywhere.com, has two missions involving people impersonating historical figures (specifically Anton Chekov and King Philip IV of Spain) in public places. Hilarity ensues. Just a tip, though, don't click on the witness account of the Anton Chekov Improv, it gets a little rough. ;)

Hapy a lovely week!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

In Which Designers have a Field Day- the 1930's

Last week in the 1920's, we had straight, tunic-like dresses that were meant to disguise a woman's figure. In the 1930's, we see a return to structure and tailoring in garments, with emphasis on the shoulders and waist. The film industry and celebrities also began to influence fashion for the first time, and vice versa. "Let's poke it with a stick."

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In the late 1920's, long skirts were coming back into fashion. Designers eased back into them, and by the 1930's, they had lowered from just below the knee to just above the ankle.

Bette Davis.
The skirts on most evening gowns went back to floor-length.

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Shoulders became a focal point of both day and evening dresses. Volume was the important thing, not how it was achieved. Designers experimented with different ways to get that added poof.

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The most common way to accentuate the shoulders was to have lighter fabrics that were loose around the shoulders so that they fluttered out (seen above).

As I mentioned before, waistlines came back into existence and cinched in at the natural waist.

An evening wear example
And an (upscale) afternoon example. Check out the birds, I love them.

In addition to focusing on the natural waist, several dresses and jackets emphasized the empire waist.

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It seems to me that this was really a time for experimentation as far as textiles and embellishments go. Though chiffon and other light fabrics were popular, I've seen a veritable smorgasbord of different fabrics used in different ways.

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The short bobs of the 1920's remained popular during the entirety of the 1930's. For those who opted to keep their hair long, buns were worn at the back of the head or the nape of the neck, with curls that foreshadowed the 1940's.

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Cloches stayed popular until the early-mid 1930's, when they were replaced by small hats that usually tilted over the forehead at an angle.

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As one last shout out, I've been watching a lot of David Suchet's Poirot adaptations lately, which (in addition to being brilliant adaptations of Agatha Christie's novels and short stories) really showcase the fashion, art, and architecture of the mid 1930's.

Gorgeous.
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At the end of the 1930's, World War II broke out in Europe, which will lead us into next week's look at the 1940's. Once again, we'll see a near stand still of fashion progress (like in the Regency Era due to the Napoleonic Wars), and a return to simplicity that always comes around by necessity during wartime.