It's been a while since I shared any vintage goodness here. How could I forget to do that!
I'll try to make it up to you.
Today, I am happy to present an issue of one of my favorite Dutch sewing magazines: Bella, het nieuwe modeblad (= Bella, the new fashion magazine). Bella is a favorite of mine because, unlike many other magazines of the time, it includes all the designs which are printed in the magazine on the pattern sheet. Just in one size each though (I have yet to find multi-size printed patterns pre-dating the mid-1960's).
This is the first (of two) January issue of 1954. I'm not sure this coat with the crazy chest pockets is a Bella design. The covers of Marion always showcase designs readers could make for themselves but Bella is a bit inconsistent with that.
On the reverse of the cover, we have this "big sister, little sister" feature. The looks for the big sister are in small(ish) lady's sizes.
Then, there are sporty coats for men and children,
and this issue's "four variations to draft from these instructions" feature (I once made a blouse using one of these. It worked way better than I had expected. You can see the blouse itself here. I shared the pattern for it in this post and another one, a dress in a larger size, here).
If you are wondering if there is something wrong with the illustration because the skirt on the dress on the left seems wider than the other ones, there isn't. This pattern includes instructions to turn the skirt form sort-of-pencil to A-line.
This is another "one pattern" two options feature. It includes two patterns for what is basically the same design in different sizes. They both have a dropped shoulder which can be used on its own or with an added three-quarter length sleeve.
This spread includes some of the most interesting designs in this issue. You may even have seen it before because I tried out one of these patterns for last year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. The toile I made of the second dress from the left is still on the dummy in my sewing room. I still don't really know what to do with it. I've just never been able to decide on the right fabric for it.
Then, there are designs for children,
and the inevitable nightwear. Really, it never ceases to amaze me just how often all these vintage magazines feature "lingerie", by which they usually mean pyjama's and nightgowns. Maybe I should try one of these designs some day but... meh. There are so many more interesting things to sew.
And then there is a knitting pattern. And quite a serious one at that. A whole dress, with a full-ish skirt. Did anyone ever really make one of these? It must take forever to knit and surely that skirt would be quite heavy... I really should ask my grandmother.
And after that, on the inside of the back cover, there are the most glamorous designs: Two cocktail dresses with a stole and a bolero. They are supposed to be made from silk with details in georgette, organza or tule.
If only I ever had excuses to wear things like this...
Are you enjoying summer weather yet? (if you are in the northern hemisphere, of course) Do you have to try and keep every-day-life going in the heat or are you longing for sunshine?
Here in the Netherlands, the weather is still only a bit summer-y and, on some days, we get quite a bit of rain. I'm not great with hot weather so I don't really mind. But I did think it was time to share some seasonal vintage goodness.
So today, I have this for you:
French Elle from 14 July 1955 (it was a weekly magazine back then, can you imagine? Thinner than it is today but still a fairly thick magazine. And I'm surprised the magazine was published on "Quatorze Juliet". Surely printers, postmen and magazine sellers didn't have to work on the national holiday...).
I'll mostly stick to showing you the fashion pages but I thought you might like these ads:
Playtex lingerie and a glamorous lady in a beautiful bathing suit to sell suncream.
Despite the cover which suggests sun-soaked beach holidays at the beach, the contents of the magazine are rather more normal.
There are two spreads on the practical combination of dress and jacket to get a lady properly dressed through the whole day. Some of these are really nice but to me, those jackets just look very warm for France in July.
This feature, about the influence of science on fashion (in the development of new textile fibers) is very common throughout the 1950's. Usually, they are singing the praises of things like nylon dresses...
And we get the low-down on 1955's hit-dress-shape: the drop-waist. This style is pretty elegant and actually even better at showing off a tiny waist than the more common shape with the seam at the waistline. I always wonder about the practicality though: To make it look good, the bodice has to fit closely but how does that hold up to normal wear?
The answer is given here, at the corner, bottom right.
I've enlarged that bit for you. This is how you wear a dress like this: closely fitted over the right kind of lingerie corset. Of course, that would work. This way, the lingerie will take the strain of your body's movements and the dress just sits on top of that. Of course it would be a bit confining for the wearer (although many ladies in 1955 were probably quite used to wearing this kind of thing). And warm.
Then, we get the sewing projects! Back in the day, Vogue offered designs for which readers could order the patterns.
In this case, there are two mix-and-match sets of four pieces each. I like the first one best because it offers the greatest variety in shapes. And who doesn't love a good stripe?
Oh, and these pictures are blurry because of anything I did. The colour printing in these old magazines is often less than great and this particular spread really suffered from that.
And then, finally, there is a page dedicated to holiday wear. We're still not getting anything for the beach though.
Lovely dresses for work in the garden (top left), vacation in the countryside (bottom left) and in town (right). But you could order the sewing patterns for these too!
Oh, and if you noticed the line on the cover about a "new Barbar". Here is it:
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.
If you follow me on Facebook, you may already have seen my latest vintage pattern purchase: A whole stack of Bella magazines!
All 24 issues from 1952 and about 15 each from 1951 and 1953, to be precise. I haven't bought any new-to-me patterns in a while but I just happened to check my local auction site in an empty moment and this lot was just too good to let go. Bella is a great sewing magazine because it came with all the patterns, instead of just a few, like Marion.
Of course, I intend to sew from these magazines, and maybe to try and share some of the "draft according to instructions" projects here. For now though, I am just looking at the pretty pictures and I thought you might like to join in. So, today we have Bella magazine March II 1952:
This is actually the cover from March I. I just added it because it is so very elegant.
This is the cover from March II. Normally, the illustrations in Bella, both for the cover and inside the magazine, are quite pretty but this one turned out rather unflattering.
The "draft from instructions" project is this time a stylish dress for bust 104 cm. And as usual, there are four different views with the instructions on how to make them from that same pattern.
The next page is titled "Mother's eldest". So: Teenage fashion. In Bella, that can mean either children's sizing (expressed in ages, which can go up to 16) or small women's sizes (which normally start at bust 88 cm but in these teenage features can go as low as 80). Obviously, these two sizing methods have a big overlap but it is not easy to figure out how much because there are no sizing tables included.
Size-wise, I am actually at the bottom end of the women's sizing table and at the top of the teenage size range. As a result, in some magazines the only patterns in my size are those designed for girls half my age...
Early 1950's teenage fashion isn't hugely different from the styles made for adult women. Usually just nothing too fussy or formal (which is a shame for me because I am quite a fan of 1950's fancy, formal and fashion-forward)
Then, there are popular dress styles for adults (which are not very different in style to the teenage dresses)
And little girl's stuff: Dresses decorated with smock-work.
Sleek suits and wide short coats.
I do not usually take pictures of the content which is not about sewing but this is quite interesting: Bella's spring contest! They showed these separate bodies and hatted heads in several magazines in a row and readers had to match them correctly. They show styles from 1900 up to the 1950's. Can you imagine a modern-day sewing magazine running a contest which involves fashion history?
And the grand prize? An electric sewing machine!
And then patterns for the man in one's life! Bella doesn't always include menswear but more often than many other magazines.
The exact distribution of space in the magazine between men, boys, girls, teenagers and women of various ages and sizes varies from one issue to the other.
And this time, the girls are lucky: Even more dresses for them. Although I guess these are between the earlier little girl stuff and the teenage dresses in size.
It has been a while since I have shared any random vintage loveliness. So, today I have for you Bella magazine from January 1951:
Bella was a Dutch magazine which was (as far as I know) at least published from the late 1930's to the late 1950's. It is essentially a more glamorous cousin of Marion: It is larger in size, includes news about high fashion AND a tracing sheets with patterns for all the designs in each issue (although still in one size only).
This was the fashion news, with photographs! One design by Jacques Griffe, one by Jean Peton and two by Maison Alwyn (ehm, obviously you don't get patterns for designs in the fashion news...).
Griffe is the only one of those three design houses I am familiar with and this great evening gown is his creation. With pockets and a huge collar!
I also adore the Alwynn creations:
This gloriously draped jersey dress,
a
nd the special suit with fold-back details.
And then, there are the magazine's own designs and this month starts with the most eye-catching ones possible: Wedding gowns. And, on the far right of the page, some pretty great dresses for the mother of the bride.
After that, it is on to more every-day wear:
Blouses
Every issue includes a pattern which is shown in many variations. This time, it's a dress.
Boy's clothes
Coats and dresses.
