Tag Archives: sewing

Sewing for the Apocalypse

If you follow a lot of sewing blogs, you’ll know that some people have used the new reality to ramp up their sewing practice.  Not me.  I was already in a sewing slump before Covid 19 changed our lives.  Standard … Continue reading

Posted in 2020s, General | Tagged , | 7 Comments

A Dress Made from a Sari, 1971

I was lucky that a year was printed on the back of this photo, since the dress itself would have been hard to date. The TV is most likely from the sixties, but people used to keep their sets for … Continue reading

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Home Sewing, 1955

These days many of us who sew have entire rooms dedicated to the process.  (In my house, I lay claim on parts of many rooms—just ask my husband his opinion of my expanding sewing empire).  But here we see that … Continue reading

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The Olive Cycle

Although I have vowed to stop buying books, I couldn’t pass up Elizabeth Strout’s the new novel about Olive Kitteridge. I read it in a flash and then decided to read the two books–Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again–one after another.  … Continue reading

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A Skirt with Fur Trim, mid 1910s

Here’s an elegant update to a classic style. This older woman wears all the components of the classic shirtwaist look–a white blouse and a dark skirt–that had been an American fashion standard for years. However, the fur trim added to … Continue reading

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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

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Building a Better House Dress

If you have spent any time bemoaning the fact that ordinary clothes don’t fit older women’s bodies, you are not alone.  I have found complaints stretching back to 1900, the start date of my research, and I am sure that … Continue reading

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A Lover of Stripes

If you sew, you know that you can do a lot with stripes.  They can go every which way, making all kinds of interesting patterns.  I’m not sure that the dress on the left is homemade, but the wearer is … Continue reading

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The Hip Shelf

I’m guessing the photographer, Marjorie Collins, chose this particular composition for the contrast in textiles.  Or maybe it was for evidence of just what women were willing to take off on a hot day—with shoes, stockings and jackets strewn in … Continue reading

Posted in 1940s, General | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Vogue Patterns and Half Sizes

Vogue Patterns came late to the half size dress business.  I’ve found offerings from McCall’s, Simplicity, and Butterick from the early fifties, but Vogue only decided to take this step at the beginning of 1960. Moreover, it was a very … Continue reading

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