40s vintage sewing patterns are a reflection of the times.
If you think about it the correlation between the past and present is always lingering. Just have to stop, think and notice. I appreciate the so-called “DIY” movement and those in it following the “recycle, reuse, re-purpose and refurbish” mantra. It’s not a new phenom.
During World War II the government asked Americans to practice thrift and economy to help win the war. Indeed to “waste nothing”. Using less and preserving more was the tide of the day. Americans embraced the request whole-heartedly.
Forties fashions didn’t mean overlooking style and good taste for war efforts. It meant conserving and avoiding “radical” changes in fashion like going from short skirts to long skirts or adding unnecessary flourishes like cuffs to pants. Home sewers and designers alike were asked not to waste material on the extremes-instead to let the silhouette stay about “where it was” and allow American ingenuity to make better with what was available.
To:
- Keep short skirts short, but not outrageously so.
- Make hemlines neither very wide or very narrow.
- Keep bodices and sleeves simple.
- Design patterns with as few pieces and less fabric as possible.
Making due with what she could afford, Chanel, one of the greatest designers, used inexpensive jersey fabric (before WWII) in making her earliest designs. She turned a fabric that at the time was only used in making underwear into outerwear simplistic glam.
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