Four Blouses and a Hat from January 1924

After showing sketches of Paris fashions for January 1924, it seems only right to show some simpler garments: four blouses and a cloche hat which could be made from Butterick patterns. (The two embroidered blouses are luxurious and not an overnight project, but all four are “do-able” home sewing patterns.)

Butterick blouse patterns from Delineator magazine, January 1924.

“The long blouse and godet skirt are new entries in mid-year’s styles.”  From the left:

Butterick 4933 blouse pattern, from 1924

Butterick blouse pattern 4933, Delineator, January 1924.

Like the other blouses in this illustration, it buttons at the hip band. Imagine how fabulous — and relatively easy — this would be in printed velvet, as shown.

Butterick 4941 blouse pattern, from 1924

Butterick blouse pattern 4941, Delineator, January 1924.

Butterick sold embroidery transfers and beading patterns as well as sewing patterns. To see a vintage early 1920s blouse, embroidered and beaded on sheer fabric, click here.

Butterick 4935 blouse pattern, from 1924

Butterick pattern 4935, Delineator, January 1924.

Two of those blouse patterns were available in larger-than-average sizes. (The normal range of Butterick patterns in the 1920’s fit bust sizes 32 to 44 inches.) To see more embroidered garments from the 1920s, click here.

Another blouse from the same issue of Delineator magazine is more tailored, intended to be worn with a suit; Butterick also sold the pattern for making the model’s charming cloche hat decorated with a ribbon cockade:

Butterick blouse pattern 4965 and Butterick hat pattern 4973, Delineator, January 1924.

Butterick 4965 blouse pattern, from 1924

“For wear with the two-piece suit this blouse with a one-button effect is very smart. It may be worn inside or outside the skirt. Make it of silk broadcloth, heavy crepe de chine, pongee, wash silks, or dimity. . . . The blouse is new for ladies 32 to 44 bust.”

Butterick cloche hat pattern 4973, 1924

Butterick’s cloche hat pattern No. 4973, for Ladies or Misses. Delineator, January 1924.

“One of the newest-shaped hats has a gored crown and hand-made ornaments at the side. One usually sees them in velvet, satin, duvetyn [a brushed wool] or wool jersey. For later wear down South, use chintz or gingham for view C. . . . The hat is attractive for Ladies or Misses.” I never thought of a chintz hat as a twenties’ authentic style, but here it is suggested by the Butterick Publishing Company.  Although Butterick sold many children’s hat patterns, hat pattern No. 4973 is not for children  — even when made from chintz or gingham.

Cloche hat trimmed with a gathered self-fabric cockade, probably bound in ribbon or bias-cut silk. 1924.

You can see more 1920’s hat patterns and hat trims by clicking here.

 

 

Dresses for Flappers, July, 1926

Butterick Patterns for Misses Age 15 to 20. Delineator, p. 27, July 1926.

By the summer of 1926 the “look” we associate with the 1920s – short skirts, no waists, and a horizontal line across the hips – was truly the dominant fashion. These dresses for Misses – i.e., women aged 15 to 20 – look fresh and youthful, especially in contrast to the long, tubular fashions of 1924.  Seeing these designs in color is a treat, and a reminder that the clothes worn in silent movies were not actually black and white.

Top of Page 27, Delineator, July 1926

Misses’ Pattern Sizes in the 1920s: “What Does Size 16 Years Mean?”

In Butterick patterns, a Misses’ size was shorter than a Ladies’ size. Misses patterns were sold by age [!]; Ladies’ patterns were sold by bust measurement. For most of the 1920s, “Size 15 years” equated to “petite with a 32″ bust.” “Size 17 years” meant a petite with 34″ bust, “19 years” fit a 36″ bust, and “20 years” was a petite 37.” Often a style is described as “For Misses and small women;” several of these styles say they also come in Ladies’ sizes 38 and 40.

The usual run of Butterick Ladies’ sizes in 1925 was 33″ through 44.” Articles in Butterick’s Delineator magazine sometimes gave fitting advice for short women, but special patterns for adult women who were 5″ 4″ or shorter had not yet appeared.

Bottom of Page 27, Delineator, July, 1926.

Flapper Dresses

The dresses on page 27 were for young women – for flappers. Styles for mature women were subtly different, as were the proportions of the fashion figures that illustrated them. These two dresses appeared on pages 27 and 28 of the same issue.

A pattern for Misses (# 6924) and a similar pattern for Ladies (# 6914.)

Obviously, the Misses’ illustrations are much less distorted.

The Individual Dresses with Their Descriptions

6913 — Embroidery splashes the white frock with color. Work in Satin-stitch. For this slip-over one-piece princess dress with inverted tucks or shirrings use Georgette, silk or cotton voile, batiste, radium, taffeta, satin crêpe, etc. of one material, etc…. Lower edge 58 inches…. For misses 15 to 20 years, also small women. [I confess that I love this dress – and the appliqued hat. You wouldn’t need to embroider the sleeves to reproduce it; # 6921 shows that making lower sleeves from a different fabric was in style.]

6935 — A transparent hem, rising in front, is the latest Parisian offering in evening frocks This slip-over orange dress closes under the left arm, has a basque and a lower edge scalloped or straight. Lower edge 2 7/8 yards…. For misses 15 to 20 years, also small women. [This dress is interesting for many details. It is an early example of the short-in-front-long-in-back evening dresses of the late 1920s. It is clearly inspired by Jeanne Lanvin’s robes de style. And it has a side seam fastening – presumably snaps – under the left arm, which should be of interest to vintage dealers trying to date dresses with side openings.] Dress 6935 may be described as “orange” in the text, but it really did look yellow-gold in the magazine.

 

6921 — The Gipsy girdle encircles this attractive slip-over frock with touches of jade-green. It has a straight gathered skirt and is delightful for radium or satin crêpe with contrasting organdy, batiste, or Georgette, etc. Lower edge 60 inches…. For misses 15 to 20 years, also small women.

6904 coat dress — Cool and very smart in town is the coat frock with its saddle shoulders and straight gathered skirt attached at a low waistline. The separate one-piece slip has a camisole top. The color is fuchsia…. Lower edge of slip 44 inches…. The coat dress is for Misses 15 to 20 years, ladies 38, 40 bust.

 

6927  — Green-striped, smartly bosomed, this one-piece slip-over frock gives the effect of a two-piece style. A cluster of box plaits is inserted at the front. Use flat crêpe, Canton crêpe, satin crêpe, heavy crêpe de Chine, silk broadcloth, shantung, washable silk crêpe, etc. Lower edge, plaits drawn out, 57 inches. The dress is attractive for misses 15 to 20 years, also small women.

6903 — Tiered circular ruffles are attached across the sides of this slip-over one-piece tan dress. Plain or printed silk voile, crêpe Roma, etc., with taffeta tie collar, etc., or satin crêpe with reverse side, are smart for it. Lower edge 44 inches….Chic for misses 15 to 20 years, also small women.

6924 — Crêpe de Chine, heavy Georgette, silk or cotton voile, silk-and-cotton crêpe, pongee, etc., with smocking or shirring and contrasting collar and cuffs are smart for this type of one-piece slip-over frock with straight lower edge. The colors are pervenche blue and tan. Lower edge 51 ½ inches. …For misses 15 to 20 years, ladies 38, 40 bust.

6902 — A new silhouette, hip-flared, is illustrated in the slip-over blouse of this two-piece bois de rose frock. The straight skirt with a box pleat at front is attached to an underbody. It is smart for flat crêpe, Canton crêpe, heavy crêpe de Chine, satin, etc. Lower edge, plait drawn out, 51 inches…. For misses 15 to 20 years, also small women. [An underbody means the skirt hung from the shoulders, not the waist. The back view — at the bottom of this post — shows a flared peplum. The color “bois de rose” was very chic,  a grayed red, less coral than it appears here. ]

Design Tricks to Make Twenties’ Dresses More Flattering

Designers are aware that a horizontal line across the widest part of a woman’s body – the hip – will add pounds, visually. That’s why late twenties styles can be so cruel to a less-than-boyish figure.  Pattern manufacturers were aware of this problem; Butterick patterns in average sizes assumed that the hip was two inches larger than the bust, as they do today.

So it’s useful to pay attention to the many ways these authentic 1920s designs drew attention away from the horizontal hip line that defined the era. Notice all the optical tricks that direct the eye toward the face, or create a slenderizing vertical line to add height and draw the eye toward the center of the torso.

Long bows and ties lead the eye up and down.

A row of vertical buttons; a vertical center front closing emphasized by a white frill.

A strong color – or white – near the face; a V neck; a contrasting collar. The green ‘buckle’ at the center of the dress on the left is also a clever way to draw our eyes to the center of the body.

A center front opening that runs from the neck to the hem, creating a strong vertical line.

Back Views and Alternate Views

Back and alternate views of page 27 patterns, July 1926.