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Search Results for: half sizes
Gloria Swanson, Dress Designer
In the 1950s, famous actress Gloria Swanson became involved in the dress business. It’s not as strange as it sounds, since Swanson had designed some of her own costumes for films and even won a Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in … Continue reading
Slim and Full Dresses in the Sears Catalog, 1965
The 1960s saw many fashion battles—pants, pantsuits, miniskirts, etc. But when I was growing up at the time, I thought the biggest showdown was between the sheath dress (modern) and the shirtwaist (not). Imagine my surprise to see versions of … Continue reading
The Roaman’s Catalog, 1971
While working my way through references to half sizes in Women’s Wear Daily, I discovered a new-to-me source of clothing for larger women, Roaman’s. It is an old company, beginning as a store front in Manhattan. The first ads I … Continue reading
Life Imitates Art—Molly Goldberg Fashions
Not long ago I wrote about the play Me and Molly, in which the beloved Jewish-American character Molly Goldberg, played by Gertrude Berg, invented the category of half sizes for America’s older and wider women. Not too long after the … Continue reading
A Gift for my Grandmother, 1965
Not long ago, a friend gave me a 1965 Ward’s Christmas catalog that had belonged to her mother. It is a slim book compared to the usual twice yearly weighty volumes, and of course children’s items far outweigh the offerings … Continue reading
Older Women and Defense Work during World War Two
For the month of October, I had access to an online version of Women’s Wear Daily—what a treasure trove! My first priority was to trace the history of half sizes, but my passion for discovering the history of older women … Continue reading
Harford Frocks and the Older Woman
The 1947 packet for a Harford Frocks saleswoman contained something for almost everyone in the family, from young children upwards. There were school clothes for girls and boys, outfits designed for teenagers, and even a few things for the man … Continue reading
Patterns of the Times
At the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s, the fashion editor of the New York Times, Virginia Pope, sponsored a series of patterns that were written up and advertised in the newspaper. Published by the Advance Pattern Company, … Continue reading
Fashion Advice from a Fashion Photographer, 1967
The Fall/Winter Simplicity pattern book from 1967 contains a ten page spread of fashion advice for older women from the photographer Frances McLaughlin-Gill. I had never heard the name, but she was well known at the time for her fashion … Continue reading
Mrs. Exeter in the Vogue Pattern Catalog
The stylish Mrs. Exeter never had her own pattern line—more’s the pity, I say. But for older women who wanted a quick reference guide to patterns that might flatter their figures, Vogue pattern catalogs started to include a “Mrs. Exeter” … Continue reading