Do you remember Mrs. Exeter, Vogue’s older woman of fashion? I recently came across her again in a Vogue Pattern Book from 1962. By that time, she had all but disappeared from the fashion magazine. Apparently editors believed she was still sewing, though, and occasionally indicated patterns that they thought a stylish but not too adventurous older woman would like. “Mrs. Exeter, never fashion’s pawn, takes a cool, composed look at the possibilities of the new season,” starts a three page spread on her fall choices.
It is worth noting that none of the recommended patterns is listed among the “new shapes for Fall.” If you include the outfit portrayed in the black and white photo, Mrs. Exeter gets three suits, five dresses, and one coat for the season. The colors, when they are mentioned, are quite subdued—black, white, gray, brown, and taupe.
What kind of life would support this kind of wardrobe? I guess lots of lunches, museum visits, and women’s club meetings. She is hardly a night owl. Only one outfit, the suit with the pill box hat depicted above the second “E,” ranks as evening wear. Unless she wears a cast off dress from years back, she doesn’t do her own housecleaning. (If so, let’s hope the skirts are a little wider.) And it goes without saying that she doesn’t wear pants.
Always interesting to read about Mrs Exeter! I’ve long wondered how much the US and UK editions of Vogue Pattern Book had in common, so I looked out my 1962 issues. Nothing like this article appears in the autumn, but the June/July issue does contain a two-page spread of “Mrs Exeter’s Summer Schedule”. This consists of three suits with blouses, three one piece dresses, a coat-dress, and a one piece dress with jacket.