period pattern project: utility dresses of the 1940s

[labricoleuse]

I've had these photos for a while, but neglected to post them due to the aforementioned root canal taking up 110% of my time and energy. The period pattern class did a project on the utility dress styles of the wartime 1940s, dress patterns designed to use no more than 3 yards of fabric due to rationing. It was an interesting challenge, i'm sure

Comments

[sparkymonster]

I have a question about Amy Phillip's dress. What is going on with the scalloped collar? Is it a structural element?

[labricoleuse]

It's not integrated, like a yoke would be or something. It's a completely separate piece, like a half-doily attached into the neck seam or something. It doesn't go all the way around on the back. We spent a bit of time talking about that in presentation--whether it was inserted into the shoulder seam or how it was secured on the shoulder, because it wasn't at all clear from the research images (even though she'd found both front and back views).

[anonymous]

Where did you get the patterns to make these?

[labricoleuse]

The students made these patterns themselves, using style designs from the period. That is the aim of the class, Period Patterning: to learn to draft and drape custom-fit patterns from a given period, using period research. I believe some of the images were from the illustrations printed in commercial patterns of the period, but the students didn't have those to work from. Pretty cool!