1930's Hooverette

I had grand plans when the "robes and robings" Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge was first announced. But since this challenge fell on the first week of school and after a busy summer of sewing for Costume College, I ultimately decided to take it easy on myself and make the most stress-free garment that I could come up with. And I'm so glad that I did, because I ended up falling in love with a quirky little subset of 1930's house dresses as a result. May I present the fabulous Hooverette!

It all started when I was flipping though the book Everyday Fashions of the Thirties as Pictured in the Sears Catalogue a few weeks ago, and I was looking for traditional house robes as a possibility for this project. In one 1935 listing, I saw something that looked very much like my idea of a robe, but it was being sold as a dress, and the ad called it a "Hooverette". So what the heck is a Hooverette? Well, I discovered that it was a simple housedress with a robe-like sash and wrap front, and the wrap could tie on either side.  That way, if you got your dress dirty while working around the house, you could just switch the overlap and quick as a flash, your dress was presentable again.  Considering how often I get stains on my clothes, I thought that was pretty darn brilliant! 

I poked around a little online, and found tons of examples of these dresses under a wide variety of names. The term Hooverette or Hoover apron seems to have been a trendy name in the mid-30's (BTW, the book Making History - Quilts & Fabric From 1890-1970 by Barbara Brackman offers some fun theories on how the garment got its name), but they were more often called more simple names in ads from the 1920's through the 1940's such as apron frocks (or dresses), wrap frocks, coat frocks, or house frocks. Amusingly enough, I never found the word "robe" being used to describe them, even though they totally look like robes to me. But after reading lots of ads for these dresses in period newspapers and catalogues, it seems like GREAT importance was placed on women looking nice and completely pulled together from the moment they rolled out of bed every morning, so what could be better than wearing a glorified robe that everybody had agreed to classify as a dress?  Here are a few of my favorite ads. Can you imagine having this much pressure on you to look chic while scrubbing the floors and cooking breakfast?

No longer will you have that "zero hour" feeling when the alarm clock rings, and you "haven't a thing" to slip into. Just reach for this Marian Martin wrap-around fock, tie the adjustable belt, adjust your puffed sleeves, give a finishing pat to your crisp ruffled collar - and you are "all-set" for a lot of admiration from your family.
Gettysburg Times - Feb 9, 1937

Open it out flat for ironing and keep it fresh and clean, ready to slip into at any time.... Frame your face with a snowy white collar edges with a dainty, feminine frill. You will be the picture of efficiency and charm all the time you are working.
The Telegraph - Jul 3, 1939

Every woman who loves her home and wants to look pretty in it at all times will love the flattery of the dainty frill that outlines the armholes and yoke-effect... Your family will admire your smart appearance if you choose a fabric of cheery and becoming colors. 
The News and Courier - Mar 16, 1937

Several ads mention that these dresses were nice enough to wear to the market or when visitors come over the to house, so to me, these dresses are sort of like when modern women wear their baggy sweats or yoga pants to run errands (but so much more stylish!)  Various patterns and ads also mention that they could be worn by professional women such as nurses or beauticians, and one listing mentioned that this type of dress is great for maternity-wear.  Others point out that they are a smart style for plus-sized women, with one pattern offering sizes up to a 52" bust.

So after learning about these amazing all-purpose garments, I was excited to try making one of my own.  There are several pattern diagrams online that show the shape of wrap-dress pattern pieces (here's a very simple one from the 20's), and for most dresses, it appears that there is just a front, a back, a sleeve, and sometimes a collar and/or a pocket.  Easy peasy.  I took bits and pieces from 4 different 30's dress patterns in my collection and cobbled together a single dress that looked similar to the examples that I had found online.

My dress is made out of orange and cream cotton houndstooth fabric that I've had in my stash for years.  I had a very small amount of fabric, so every part of my dress has piecing in it somewhere, which I love because I think it feels even more authentic for a depression-era garment.  I added some large vintage rick-rack for embellishment around the collar and pocket, and the only closure on the garment is a single vintage button on the back of the belt.

I'm really thrilled by how my dress turned out, and it is so comfy and easy to wear.  I can definitely see myself throwing this on the next time I need to make a quick run to Walmart!  :)

Whew!  Pretending to be a good 30's housewife is hard work!

You can find many more historical examples of these wrap-style frocks on my Hooverettes and Housedresses Pinterest board, and I have a few more pictures of my dress on Flickr.

30s Beach Pajamas

For this week's Sew Historical Fortnightly challenge, we were supposed to make something that fit the theme "peasants and pioneers".  I decided to take a slightly less literal approach with this one and use it for a project that I've been dying to make for a few years now - a set of 1930's beach pajamas.

The "peasant" part of this challenge comes from the blouse, which I made out of a printed feedsack that I picked up in an antiques shop years ago.  The feedsack was only 46" long, so it took some very careful planning and piecing to make it work from just one bag.  Printed feedsacks like this one were a popular money-saving choice for home seamstresses during the Great Depression and WWII, so it seemed like a great choice for this challenge.  I'm no expert on dating feedsacks, but I'm guessing that this print with its happy little cherries is actually from the 40's instead of the 30's, but shhhh... let's keep that secret between ourselves!  ;)

I used a New York pattern with the blue eagle NRA stamp on it, which means that it was sold between 1933 and 1935 under the umbrella of Roosevelt's New Deal recovery programs.  I love finding little clues like this to help date patterns, and I thought that using an authentic depression-era pattern would also fit the peasant challenge perfectly.  The only change that I made to the pattern was to make the collar open instead of closed with a bow, which seemed a little prissy for beach-wear.

For the "pioneer" part of this project, I decided to honor the fashion pioneers of the 30's who finally began breaking the gender barriers that had always been associated with women's pants.  A few brave women had been experimenting with various forms of trousers since the bloomer era, but it was really the 1930's that marked a turning point for this article of clothing.  Although I like playing dress-up in pretty frocks for my costuming work, my real-life wardrobe is made up of slacks, capris, and jeans about 99.9% of the time, so this is my little tribute to those amazing fashion-forward women of the 30s who paved the way for a trouser-loving girl like me.

I have always adored the super-wide legged look of the 30's.  I think they are so glamorous and fun, and I've been dying to make a pair for myself.  I used an Anne Adams pajamas pattern from the mid-1930s for my pants, and luckily, they fit me perfectly with no alterations needed except for the length.  Some modern costumers seem to be a bit freaked out by the fit of 30's pants, but I really love the way these look on me.  I admit that the crotch is crazy low and the waist is crazy high, but somehow it all works.  I made these out of linen canvas from my stash, and I used vintage mother-of-peal buttons for the sides.

The only problem is that it is hard for me to decide whether to wear the blouse tucked in or out.  I think it looks a little more leisure pajama-ish with the shirt out, and more beach pajama-ish with it tucked in.   I have to admit that I'm more comfortable and less self-conscious with the shirt out (did I mention how crazy high those pants are?), but I miss seeing the buttons on the pants when I wear it that way.  But I'm sure I'll wear it both ways from time to time just depending on my mood.  It's good to have variety.

For more beach pajama inspiration, check out two of my favorite photo blogs - Giant Pants of the 30s and La Mode Pyjama.  I also have a few additional photos of this outfit on my flickr.

Retro Ice Cream Fun!

Yesterday was the DFW Costumers' Guild 20th c. Vintage Ice Cream Social.  I'm starting to sound like a broken record after every event, but once again, I had a blast!!!  We had a really great group of people come out for some sweets, shopping, and socializing, and everybody looked fabulous in their retro outfits.  You can find all of my photos from the afternoon on flickr.

For my costume, I decided to make my first foray into 1930's fashions.  I used one of my recent lucky pattern finds - a mid-30's Anne Adams day dress.  I used some vintage rayon that I had in my stash for the dress, and I bought some silk noil for the contrasting sections.  The button and buckle are vintage mother-of-pearl.  This dress was a dream to put together, and I didn't even have to do any alterations other than lengthening the bodice by an inch.

And I am happy to report that my second version of the hat tuned out much better than my first.  It is made out of heavy linen and I used the brim pattern from the first hat and the crown pattern from the second hat in these directions.  I interlined the brim with heavy interfacing, and I wet the whole hat and let it dry while stretched over a hat block to make it nice and smooth.  I'm so glad I stuck with it - I think the hat is my favorite part of this outfit!

So after my first time wearing 1930's fashions, I must say that I'm hooked! It was such a fun dress to wear, and I felt both glamorous and relaxed at the same time. I'll definitely be making more outfits from this era in the future!

reality bites

The costume guild has a 20th c. retro ice cream social coming up next weekend, and I decided to make a mid-30's outfit to wear to it.  The dress is coming along nicely, but finding a suitable hat has been a challenge.  I have a number late 30's hats already, but hat styles change drastically at this time, so nothing I have is really "right" for a dress from earlier in the decade.  Plus, I'm picky, and I really want something white, which makes the hunt even harder.

So brilliant me - I decide to make a hat!  I found this fun pattern on one of my favorite sewing blogs, Sewing Vintage.  It only took 2 hours to make, but sadly... reality is not nearly as charming as the picture.  *sigh*

Of course, this happens a lot when working from vintage patterns.  The reality of what the pattern looks like when made up is never as perfect as the idealized illustration.  I could try to shorten the crown so it isn't so puffy, but I doubt the little slit parts will ever stay neatly closed like you see in the original picture.  Maybe I just made the cuts come up too high or made the selvage too big thanks to the vague instructions.  If anything, I'll probably switch out the slit crown for the solid one in the second view from this pattern... or maybe I'll ditch it and try something else entirely.

It was still fun to try though, and I LOVE experimenting with hats, so it was a fun little project even if it wasn't a complete success.

pattern love

I added all of my 30's and early 40's patterns to my flickr set.  I hope I get around to making some of these soon, but in the meantime, it's fun to look at all of the charming fashion illustrations.  Some of them are so beautiful!