Fitting your body

Madame Grés fitting a model in the 1940's

Last Wednesday we had our first tailoring meeting. The usual difficulties in getting a time when everyone is able to come, applied, so it was just Pimpinett and Betty and I, meeting up at my place. After scones and tea, we talked tailoring and Pimpinett worked on her jacket and I on my first mock-up. Which is bringing this post, as some of the, for me usual, fitting issues applied. It is also partly inspired by this post by Pimpinett.

A great thing with sewing for yourself is that you have the chance to make clothes that actually fits you. Ready-made clothes are, by necessity, made after a standard figure, a figure that very few of us possess. But to make your creations fit, you also have to take a long hard look at your body and address the way you look without fibbing. If you ignore something because you don’t like the way you look, the result will be badly fitted clothes that probably will highlight what you want to hide.

This is what I see when I look at myself: From the front I look like an X. My bust and hip measurement are rather equal, with a waist that is significantly smaller. But from the side I look much more like a B. Basically all excess weight I carry around are placed on my bust, hips and tummy, but I have a very flat derriere and also no sway to my back to talk about. Other important points are my high waist and rather narrow back. This is what I look like. I may, and I do, like some parts of my body better than others, but they are all part in how my figure looks and I need to take them all in account.

Clothing Construction Lab, 1943

When I was new to pattern construction I regularly lengthened the waist on my patterns too much. The pattern pieces looks so odd having such high waist, they looked better proportioned, as pattern, with a longer waist. This invariably led to wrinkles at the waistline, as they got too long for my body. That’s what I got for ignoring what my body actually look like.

My jacket, after Pimpinett has helped me with the fitting, has few alterations in the front, the waist darts has been tweaked a little. The side seams are left as they were, but the back has some drastic changes. The waist darts have been tweaked, and the whole back shortened, which has also lead to a new armscye. An excellent example on what a large bust can do- here it is eating up length in the front. Another option is to make a full bust adjustment, but I think it will be easier to change the back. The jacket is also too long, which plays havoc with my proportions- my legs look shorter and the lower body longer.

 

Regardless of body shape, clothes that fits you well, makes you look better. And if you know your body, you have a much easier time when it comes to choose a fit that looks good on you. To use myself as an example once again, a jacket shouldn’t be too short either. My narrowest point on my body is my waist, and a jacket that ends there, makes me look bigger than I am. A reason to why I rarely use this faux fur jacket, despite liking the style a lot.

Tailoring a jacket

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Am I right in thinking that everyone who enjoy sewing clothes, there are one thing that completely daunts you? Me, I have never dared to tailor a garment. I know the theory, but I have never dared to try it. My wardrobe list, however, contains several suits, jackets and coats and I have known for quite some time that I really need to do something about my tailoring fear. Luckily for me I am not alone in my longing for something tailored, so a couple of friends and I are going to gang up together to help and support each other. Tomorrow we are going to meet up for the first time.

 

My immediate needs are a brown suit in silk noil, a grey suit in wool flannel and a brown jacket for a sport suit. As the silk noil suit probably shouldn’t be overly tailored and I don’t have any wool flannel yet, the sports jacket it is. I also think it may be a good idea to start there and work up for a more fitted jacket for the grey one. I have a pattern, a reproduction one from New VintageLady.

 

I have fabric as well, dark brown wool with a discreet plaid pattern in thin off-white lines. I need to make a mock up so I can get some fitting help tomorrow and I also need to sit down and think through what I need more like lining, buttons, interfacing, etc. I’m also going to read through New Vintage Lady’s own account of making her pattern.

 

Also, if you have managed to miss it, check out By Gum, By Golly's tailoring project.

 

 



Spring/summer 1944

Thoughts on the spring/summer wardrobe

I have been mulling a bit over my spring/summer wardrobe. I spent yesterday cutting out the yellow and white sundress with a jacket, shorts and blouse. I love the fabric, yellow with tiny little umbrellas and I think it will look very nice and summery. Originally I had planned to use this pattern from NVL for the skirt, blouse and bolero:

Sewing update

Most of my vintage patters have been purchased from New Vintage Lady. Even if I could change smaller patterns to fit me, I’m a bit too lazy for that and NVL specialize in larger vintage patters, even if she has smaller sizes too and I have always been very pleased with my shopping experience. Yesterday I got a few new patterns.

This suit is 2 inches too small over the chest, but I’m not too lazy to change a pattern for that. I really like the jacket and I’m thinking of making this one in brown silk noil for one of my spring suit. I just have to decide on the design of the blouses- there is to be one in brown and one in green for this suit. The jacket has a detachable collar and cuffs, so I’ll probably do those in green too.

White beret

I have now got my spring/summer wardrobe going with buying a white beret. It’s a modern one, found at Village Hats, but I think the felt flowers gives it a nice 40’s flair.

Looking back and forward

A new year is almost here and I realise that I will need to start on my spring/summer wardrobe soon if I am to have anything to wear. I'm a little annoyed with myself for not completing the autumn/winter wardrobe this year, but I shan't be too upset about it. This first year demands more clothes to be fixed than the rest as it assumes that a lot of clothes already exists in the closet when you start. Looking back I realise that I could have made this into a five-year plan instead, splitting the first year into two, but now it feels a bit too late. So instead I will finish the clothes I have already started, but will leave the grey wool dress , the brown wool jacket and the faux fur to next autumn instead. There are also a few details I haven't been able to get to yet.

I don't do New Year resolutions but I will try to focus a bit more on my sewing time. Much too often it gets neglected, which is bad as sewing makes me relaxed and happy (if I'm not stupid enough to give myself deadlines). We're also going to fix the sort-of sewing room up and make it a proper working space both for sewing and writing. Right now the sewing room is a bit of a place to store furniture that really isn't practical to have in a sewing room like a Regency sofa and a 1950's radio gramophone. Beautiful, but really no help at all when you work.

Here's an overview with links to the completed items.

The mysterious laundry dress

First just a link. If you are interested in 1930’s fashion, then hop over to I read Isis’ Wardrobe. I have just made a post with photos on my grandmother from that decade. She was a very well-dressed young lady.

I have a little mystery for you. A very little mystery, I’m sure. On my list for the spring and summer clothes for years one a dress is listed that is called “tvättklänning” which would be laundry dress in English. Now I wonder, what is a laundry dress? I don’t know. My guess is that it is a white cotton dress that you could boil with your white laundry.

I have been nodding around the net and checked old encyclopedias for information. The encyclopedias give nothing. The net have provided a few things, all of them decades older than the 1940’s:

Evening gowns

According to my list, when I start to build my wardrobe I should already possess a simple evening gown in black crepe and for the spring wardrobe an evening gown in a dotted fabric should be added. For the next spring, a blue evening gown is to be acquired, as the dotted gown clearly just lasts one season before it is to be made into a short dress. The blue one though, it is pointed out, is suitable for all seasons. Now having two evening gowns to change between, the authors clearly feel that the evening wardrobe is filled and for year three and four these two gowns will be used as well.

Current sewing projects

Despite talking about a lot of other things, I do work on my wardrobe. I sew diligently, but I also sew slowly, so it takes time. I’m currently working on this housedress from Decades of Style. So far I find the pattern a dream to work with. I had planned to make it in a black and white fabric, but it turned out to be a tad too short. As I didn’t want a forties mini-dress I returned to my stash and pulled out this fabric:

It’s really a late 18th century reproduction in a thin, but nice, cotton and I have had it for years. Somehow I never found the right gown for it, so now it will be a housedress instead.

Year one and two

EDITED
I have realized that as the first year of this wardrobe building consists nearly the twice amount of clothes, I don't have the time to finish it all in one year. So I have decided to make my project run for five years instead, splitting the first year into two.


It struck me as a bit unfair that I know what the four-year plan will yield and not you, it isn't like the book I take it from is accessible for you all. Especially if someone feel tempted to join in. So I'll make four posts with all the eight seasons and then put a "sticky" on them so they will be easy to find.

You may notice that the lists looks a bit odd at times, and I'm not sure what it means when a similar garment are already on the "what you have"-list and the "what to get"-list. Or the notes just repeats what has already been said. The cut of the clothes are sometimes suggested, but it is the colours and materials that are the most important. It is also clear that the suggestions are based on a rainy Swedish autumn followed by a cold winter and then a rather warm summer.

YEAR ONE
Autumn/winter

Dresses and blouses
Grey wool shirt dress
Simple, long evening gown in black heavy canton crepe. I made a little switch here and will make the black evening gown later, here is the blue one instead.

Housecoat with a belt in thin cotton

Black wool dress

Coats and suits
Coat in grey lamb fur
Brown sport suit in three pieces, jacket, trousers and skirt.

Red Sweater

White sweater, adapted to be a stone-coloured one.

Raincoat in a "natural" colour.

Shoes
Heavy boots
Brown sport shoes
Black walking shoes
Black evening shoes
Rubber boots

Hats
Grey beret
Brown felt hat, well, I made a hat out of fake suede instead.


Accessories
Brown bag in reptile skin
Black bag in suede
Brown knitted gloves
Homemade knitted mittens

Notes
1. Every colour is beautiful with a grey fur coat.
2. The grey shirt dress should be tone in tone with the fur coat and with grey buttons. Then it will look great with brown accessories
3. The sport suit should be made in water-proofed gabardine.
4. A black simple evening gown is suitable for most occasions.
5. All the green things should match each other.
6. A tweed overcoat is practical all year round.

Spring/summer

Dresses and blouses
Black wool dress with short sleeves. Not a wool dress, but a cotton one, in my case, from Heyday.

Brown dress in silk noil, in three pieces. Here are just the shirt and the skirt:

Dress in artificial silk, patterned with small flowers
White washable shirt dress

Coats and suits
Grey/brown tweed overcoat. I couldn't found any born/grey tweed I liked so I bought a grey wool coat instead.

Grey suit in flannel
Raincoat in "natural" colour

Shoes
Black pumps
Clogs
White fabric shoes

Hats
Grey beret

Black beret
White beret


Accessories
Brown bag in reptile skin
Black bag in suede
A bag in "vindtyg" (My English fails me here. "Vindtyg" is a fabric that is wind proofed, does that makes sense?)
White "laundry" gloves

Notes
1. A white washable dress is always pretty in the summer.
2. The brown silk noil dress consists of a skirt, a blouse and a jacket.
3. For summer an evening gown in a patterned fabric is the best.
4. A sandy colour is a good neutral for a coat and can be used with black dress and beret or brown dress and beret.
5. The sundress in white and yellow should be be finished with white details. With shorts and bolero it will be suitable both for the beach and for bicycling.
6. The green silk noil blouse will look good with the brown shantung skirt and jacket.

YEAR TWO
Autumn/winter

Dresses and blouses
Nice black dress in wool

Coats and suits
Grey/brown overcoat in tweed. I couldn't found any born/grey tweed I liked so I bought a grey wool coat instead.

Shoes
Black pumps
Green shoes

Hats
Black beret, made from the same fabric as the black dress
Green hat in felt


Accessories
Belt, scarf and clip in green

Notes
1. A tailored black wool dress should always be in your wardrobe.

Spring/summer

Dresses and blouses
Green blouse in silk noil (the same colour as the green winter hat)
Yellow and white sundress with a jacket, shorts and blouse
An evening gown in a dotted fabric

Coats and suits
Sand coloured coat

Shoes
Brown walking boots
Yellow sandals in leather

Hats
Sand coloured felt hat
Remodel the green felt hat

Accessories
Bag in the same fabric as the coat
Brown gloves

Notes
1. For summer an evening gown in a patterned fabric is the best.
2. A sand colour is a good neutral for a coat and can be used with black dress and beret or brown dress and beret.
3. The sundress in white and yellow should be be finished with white details. With shorts and bolero it will be suitable both for the beach and for bicycling.
4. The green silk noil blouse will look good with the brown shantung skirt and jacket.