May 22, 2016

Summer fashion in 1943

The dress I'm making is coming along nicely but it is not finished yet. However, I thought you might like a look inside the magazine the pattern came from.

Beyer's Mode for summer 1943. In more quiet times, this magazine was published monthly but wartime imposed restrictions (This is a German magazine  which came from the collection of a professional seamstress in Noord-Holland. I have written about the consideration of a Dutch woman buying German wares during the occupation before but I think she was always going for magazines with lots of patterns and Beyer's Mode was strictly a-political as far as I can tell from the magazines she owned) and it was reduced to just four issues a year.


Some of the designs are illustrated with photographs.

But the vast majority with fashion drawings. 

There, on the bottom left, is the dress I'm making.

Like all sewing magazines up to the mid-1960's (based on my experience, that is) Beyer's Mode does not include multisize patterns. Each design was available in two or three sizes and included on the pattern sheet in one of those. The bust measurements are printed next to each design and the underlined number is that of the size on the pattern sheet.
My size is bust 88 cm. Which means that this magazine includes several nice dresses for me. And with the first one looking promising, I am starting to eye up others.  

The dress on the bottom right of this page is also in my size. I'm not so sure about the tiered skirt. The bodice would required a soft, drape-y fabric but I think that would make a skirt design like that look a bit sad. I like the bodice though. Such a quintessential 1940's shape. And I think it would also look very nice with a skirt like that of the dress next to it (which is not in my size, but such a shape would be easy to make using the pattern pieces of the dress I am making now).

And then, there is the dress in the middle of the bottom row on this page. So lovely...

And this is the pattern sheet. Quite densely printed but at least the ink is still black. I have an issue from the late 1930's in which it has faded a bit. And I didn't have much trouble tracing that first pattern.
In fact, this magazine originally came with two pattern sheets. Sides A,B,C and D. Only one, with sides A and B is still there. Luckily for me, this one sheet contains four of the five dress patterns in my size (both dresses in the photographs are in my size but the one on the left is not there) and a blouse. The only thing really missing is that cute two-piece beach outfit.
  

2 comments:

  1. Argh! That pattern sheet is scary! I'm glad it wasn't too bad to trace off. Will love to see the dress when it's finished.

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