Knowing my fascination with half sizes, researcher extraordinaire Davrie Caro found this short 1963 British Pathė film advertising half size dresses made by the American manufacturer Lilly Lynn. It shows a group of five women touring the offices of the Good Housekeeping Institute, beginning in the appliance testing area and ending up in the makeup room.
The target audience for half sizes—shorter and wider women—is never mentioned directly, but the printed subtitle calls these “dresses for the womanly woman.” Although that should sound double nice, it somehow implies bigger than usual. References to size also come in the chirpy commentary, beginning with the a description of the first dress, which “is styled with the purpose of giving a woman breathing space, reaching room, yet with a trim line.”
In my view, there is only one woman, on the left above, who looks like she might need some extra breathing space. She is also the only one whose outfit has a whiff of the later 1960s, in her short boxy jacket with three quarter sleeves.
Did Lilly Lynn pay for the film? If so, I don’t think the company got its money’s worth. The brand is only mentioned once, despite flattering descriptions of all the clothes. Would anyone remember who designed them? I also wonder if anyone would be inspired by the final line, “Today’s half size dresses make the womanly woman look as trim as she should.”
