New Year Party!!

With the New Year fast approaching, I thought we might look at some fun party, cocktail, and evening dresses through the ages!!  You really can't be too well dressed when you ring in the New Year.  Right? :)  Want to see how ladies have celebrated through the years?  Yes?

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Let's get started:

The 1930s

Dreamlike 1930s

The 1930s featured a lot of puffed shoulders and random shirring.

1.)  Hollywood 1160 @ Fancywork

2.)  McCall 3406 @ DRC Rose Patterns

3.)  New York 966 @ Grey Dog Vintage

4.)  Simplicity 3128 @ She'll Make You Flip

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The 1940s

Chic 1940s

The 1940s were all about asymmetry, as you can see by just these 4 choices from our team!

1.)  Simplicity 2094 @ Sydcam 123

2.)  McCall 7142 @ DRC Rose Patterns

3.)  McCall 6598 @ Redcurlz's

4.)  McCall 7604 @  So Vintage on Etsy

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The 1950s

Stunning 1950s

These stunningly sexy 1950s dresses would be sure to knock 'em dead at any party!

1.)  Simplicity 1833 @ Floradora Presents
2.)  McCall's 3297 @ People Packages
3.)  McCall's 3992 @ So Vintage on Etsy
4.)  Vogue 4977 @ Vintage Needle Finds

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The 1960s

Dramatic 1960s

No less dramatic are these dresses from the 1960s... Who wouldn't want one?

1.)  Simplicity 5703 @ Fragolina

2.)  Vogue 5480 @ Selvedge Shop

3.)  Weigels 2502 @ Sew As It Was Patterns

4.)  Simplicity 3717 @ Bluetree Sewing Studio

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The 1970s

Comfortable 1970s

The 1970s were about being comfortable while still looking great!  You could dance the night away under that disco ball in these!

1.)  Butterick 6700 @ Grandma Made With Love

2.)  Vogue 1318 @ Cloe's Closet

3.)  Vogue 9063 @ Mbchills

4.)  McCall's 3396 @Erika With A K

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The 1980s

Over-the-Top 80s

Big glamour was back in a big way in the 80s.  A proliferation of bows, ruffles, gathers, crinolines and asymmetry were again back in style.  Everything feminine in the last 50 years of fashion got thrown together into a whole new style!

1.)  Simplicity 8309 @ Retroactive Future

2.)  Vogue 9893 @ Fragolina

3.)  Vogue 1623 @ Clutterina's Shop

4.)  Simplicity 7842 @ Vogue Vixens

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Is everybody ready to ring in the New Year, now?

What will you be wearing?  I'll probably be wearing an ugly Christmas sweater and lounge pants, to be honest, but maybe one day I'll go to a party chic enough to wear one of these! :)

Happy New Year!

Let's Do the Twist!

Chubby Checkers’ “The Twist” came out in 1960 and became an international dance craze until The Beatles came out with “Twist and Shout” in 1964. The preferred Twist fashion styles then were still the form-fitting sheath dresses and pencil skirts of the late 50’s, but with a fun, more youthful feel. The little black cocktail dress turned up a lot.

Here are some great little numbers from the Pattern Patter Team.

1. McCall's 6085;  sewbettyanddot

2. McCall's 7245;  DRCRosePatterns

3. McCall's 5658;  CherryCorners
4. Marian Martin 9175;  RebeccasVintageSalon
5. Vogue 4112;  sydcam123
6. McCall's 6571;  Fragolina





Another popular style was pencil or cigarette crop pants with a cute little top.

Check out the plaid crop pants on Jane Mansfield!

Girls still had to wear dresses to school, and pants were considered a little racy, so it was a lot more daring to dance in pants.

Here are some fun patterns if you'd like to make your own "Twist" pants.

 1. Else' of California Precision Pants;  ErikawithaK
 2. McCall's 7248;  ThePatternSource
 3. Simplicity 4487;  pattern memorie
 4. Simplicity 3435;  SelvedgeShop
 5. Simplicity 3703;  Redcurlz
 6. Simplicity 3428;  GrammaMadeWithLove

           

Full skirt dresses also made a showing, although they were on their way out when "The Twist" was in full swing.

That's Brigitte Bardot in the left photo.


Here are some great full skirt patterns from the early 60's.

1. Simplicity 2646;  Fancywork
2. McCall's 5417;  sandritocat
3. McCall's 5784;  ShellMakeYouFlip
4. Butterick 9563;  SewAsItWasPatterns
5. Advance 3194;  PeoplePackages
6. McCall's 7333;  mbchills


Last, but in no way least, there was beach party "Twist", with girls in the now widely accepted bikinis and enough hairspray to keep that do in place on the outside chance any water touched  it.






Make your own retro bikini with these patterns.






1. Vogue 6490;  BluetreeSewingStudio
2. Simplicity 8785;  Clutterina
3. McCall's 8289;  GreyDogVintage
4. Vogue 6175;  AtomicRegeneration
5. Butterick 3546;  FriskyScissors
6. Simplicity 6547;  RosesPatterTreasury


So, get out those early 60's LP's, put on your dancing shoes (or take your shoes off and wiggle them in the sand), and sew up a wonderful outfit to show off your Twist moves!

Designer Looks from Vogue... November 1960

Vogue November 1960 - Designer Looks

Let's welcome November with some super-classy looks from VOGUE!

Vogue 1543

Here is the lovely Vogue 1543 a designer evening coat and dress combination with ultimate class by the House of PATOU.   Patou himself died young in 1936, so this was designed by one of several in-house designers who took over the fashion line after his death.  The catalog calls that interesting seaming "Sunburst seaming" and the pattern sold for a whopping $5.  What gal wouldn't feel glamorous in this?  It's red-carpet worthy!

Here are some House of Patou patterns from the Pattern Patter Team:

1.)  Vogue 1358 from Wits End Design.
2.)  Vogue 1482 from Grey Dog Vintage
3.)  Vogue 1461 from Sydcam 123

Vogue 1536 and 1535

Here we have Vogue 1536 by SIMONETTA and Vogue 1535 by LANVIN.  The brochure says they're perfect for a night at the theatre... what do you think?  Glamorous indeed!

Simonetta, a designer in her own right (and a duchess, but that's another story) was married to another couture designer, Fabiani.  Of course, Fabiani also had patterns for Vogue and remains incredibly popular!  Lanvin died in the 1940s but her fashion house continued with house designers.

Here are some Simonetta patterns from team members:

1.)  Vogue 1954 from Redcurlz's
2.)   Spaeda S-215 from DRC Rose Patterns
3.)  Vogue 1090 from Sew As It Was Patterns

Here are some Lanvin patterns from team members:

1.)  Vogue 1213 from People Packages
2.)  Vogue 1395 from Purple Plaid Penguin
3.)  Vogue 1602 from Bluetree Sewing Studio

Vogue 1532

Here is Vogue 1532, a classy suit from BALMAIN.  His fashion house was founded in the 1940s and he was called The King of French Fashion.

Here are some Balmain looks from Pattern Patter Team members:

1.)  Vogue 2060 from Erika with a K Vintage
2.)  Vogue 2845 from Pretty Pattern Shop
3.)  Vogue 2827 from Cloe's Closet

Vogue 1540

Look at those fabulous lines!  The designer touch is evident in Vogue 1540, a coat and dress combo from HEIM.

Heim died in 1967 and his fashion house closed shortly later in 1969.  

Here are some Heim fashions:

1.)  Vogue 1919 from Purple Plaid Penguin and Grey Dog Vintage
2.)  Vogue 1427 from Purple Plaid Penguin

Vogue 1542

Vogue 1542 is a 4-piece suit combo from RICCI. Ricci was an Italian designer and passed away in 1970, but her fashion house continues.

Here are some looks from Ricci:

1.)  Vogue 2789 from Retroactive Future
2.)  Vogue 1501 from Redcurlz's
3.)  Vogue 1376 from Mbchills

Vogue 1544

Look at how versatile Vogue 1544 is!  You can wear it as an evening dress, resort dress, or day dress.

Vogue 1545

Vogue 1545 is equally lovely.. with figure-flattering princess seams and 5 variations in one pattern!  This will never go out of style.

Here's some similar patterns!

1.)  McCall's 2031 from Vogue Vixens

2.)  Simplicity 6701 from Pengy Patterns

3.)  Grit 8246 from Fragolina

4.)  Butterick 4795 from Sandritocat

Vogue 6615

On the back cover Vogue 6615 is featured.  A pretty great wrap coat!  Great for your wardrobe then and now.  You can see the slightest hint of the coming "mod" trend in that hat!

Here are some wrap coats you can make right now!

1.)  Simplicity 8854 from Vintage Needle Finds

2.)  Knitting pattern from Pattern Memories

3.)  Vogue 5089 from Erika with a K Vintage

WOW!

What a beautiful way to waltz into autumn. :)  I hope you'll share!  Let us know what featured designer you like best.

McCall's Fashion Digest - July 1960 - $5 or Under Fashions

McCall's Fashion Digest - July 1960

$5 Fashions

Today we'll take a look at McCall's Fashion Digest from July 1960.  This pamphlet featured patterns that could be made for $5 or less.  Wow!  Let's look inside.

The cover's pretty boring.

Here we have McCall's 5471... can you believe you could make this for only $4.50?

Here are some similar patterns from Pattern Patter Team Members:

1.)  Grey Dog Vintage - Simplicity 3796

2.)  Vogue Vixens - McCall's 6225

3.)  Pretty Pattern Shop - Simplicity 2627

Here is McCall's 5470, a slim shirtwaist you could make for only $3.25!

Here are some similar patterns from the Pattern Patter Team!
1.)  Crafty Paneen - Butterick 9971
2.)  Sandritocat - Simplicity 5037
3.)  Grandma Made With Love - Simplicity 3554

How about this nice blouson dress that could be made for $3.50 in 3 hours?   VERY EASY.  Of course, fabric used to be 96 cents a yard...

Here are similar patterns from Pattern Patter Team Members.

1.)  Erika With A K Vintage - Vogue 9584

2.)  Fragolina - Advance 8895

3.)  Vintage Needle Finds - Butterick 3066

A simple sheath was even cheaper to make at only $2.70 when made out of 89 cents a yard fabric!

Here are some similar patterns from Pattern Patter Team members:

1.)  Pattern Shop - Simplicity 7010

2.)  Bluetree Sewing Studio - Simplicity 4518

3.)  Redcurlz's Patterns - Butterick 8213

These economical sheaths are super stylish!  You could still wear these today and knock 'em dead.

Laguna Lane has McCall's 5468 in stock!

5490 has a contrast waist band that helps the waist look smaller.  5465 has sleeve interest.

More similar patterns from team members:

1.) Rose Corners - Butterick 2137
2.)  Clutterina's Shop - Simplicity 4804
3.)  Frisky Scissors - Simplicity 1993

I love love LOVE 5431.. what a beautiful sundress!  If you love it too, team member Violet Crown Emporium has it in stock.

Some more similar shirtwaists from Pattern Patter Team Members:

1.)  Laguna Lane - McCall's 6262
2.)  Sydcam123 - Simplicity 4182
3.)  Pattern Matters - Simplicity 1683

The drop-waistline seen in 5445 was really popular in 1960.  All the pattern companies had it prominently featured.  It didn't last very long though!

Some similar patterns featuring the low waistline / skirt yoke:

1.)  Frisky Scissors - Vogue 8489

2.)   Keepsakes Studio - Simplicity 1086

The last page features even more dressy looks that cost less than $3 bucks in 1960 money!

The back cover features McCall's 5486.

I hope you enjoyed this look at McCall's July 1960!  Please comment about which one you like best!

And visit all the shops of the Pattern Patter Team!