A Sign of Times 1930's

Graciously shared by Anna Espindola, our Canadian Sure-Fit Designs Distributor - www.surefitdesigns.ca

Hello Everyone, Today's topic is the 1930’s.
“What did women wear in the 1930s?”

The fashion of the thirties is usually overshadowed by the great depression, but the 1930s were full of glamour and style.

The fashion industry underwent many changes during this decade in response to the severe economic hardships of the time.

Factory-made garments (what we now refer to as “ready-to-wear”) became popular because clothing could be mass produced for far less than made-to-order custom garments. The insurgence of ready-to-wear fueled the buy at home catalog market.

Here is a cool video of what it was like in the 1930s: https://video.vogue.com/watch/sarah-jessica-parker-narrates-the-1930s-in-vogue-vogue-by-the-decade

This is a small summary of all that was happening:

1930’S

OVERALL MOOD
Desperate, dire times Make do and survive

POLITICAL & HISTORICAL EVENTS
Stock Market Crash (1929)

ECONOMY
Catastrophic
The Great Depression
Unemployment, little money, financial hardship

TECHNOLOGY
Rayon and acetate fabrics
Easy care wash and wear fabrics
Zippers

LIFESTYLE & SOCIAL VALUES
Frugality, conservatism
Escapism (the need to get away from the harshness of reality)

MASS MEDIA & THE ARTS
Hollywood influence; stars and designers
Big bands, swing music Art Deco Movement Surrealism

INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
Femme Fatale Movie Stars: Bette Davis, Jean Harlow, Greta Garbo
Amelia Earhart
King Edward and Wallis Simpson

KEY DESIGNERS
Coco Chanel
Elsa Schiaparelli
Madame Grès
Madeleine Vionnet

RESULTING FASHION TRENDS
Fashions were slow to change
Housedresses
Soft fabrics with structured shape and clean lines Wedge silhouette (cinched waist, narrow hips, broad shoulders)
Longer hemlines returned
Bias cut dresses
Muted colours
Pantsuits, pajama pants


I hope you enjoyed the 30's, Next week I will be back to talk about the 40's.

Thanks again, Anna!

Happy Sewing, Everyone!

Glenda the Good Stitch

A Sign of Times 1920’S

Have you ever had the curiosity to learn more about what women used to wear in the past and why they had the style of clothing they did?
I am sharing a number of blog posts on the history of fashion written by our Canadian Sure-Fit Designs Distributor, Anna Espindola (www.surefitdesigns.ca). I hope you find these as stimulating and interesting as I have when I read them.

Each type of clothing in a 1920's closet had a certain set of guidelines as to when they were to be worn.
What were the “rules” for morning dress, afternoon dress, and evenings? What about going to school or working?

1920s House Dresses

Street Wear, Outing Clothes

Vogue prepared a special on the different eras , here is the 1920s:

https://video.vogue.com/watch/vogue-125-anniversary-video-twenties-fashion-history-sarah-jessica-parker 

Here is a summary of what was influencing the fashion in the 20's: 

1920’S

OVERALL MOOD
The “Roaring 20’s”
After the darkness of war, people needed fun Frivolous, happy times

POLITICAL & HISTORICAL EVENTS
Post WW1(ended 1919) Voting rights for women Prohibition

ECONOMY
Booming

TECHNOLOGY
Improved mass production
The birth of Ready-to-Wear fashion
Talking Movies

LIFESTYLE & SOCIAL VALUES
Modern freedom for women: Drinking, smoking, dancing, daring looks and behavior
Women cut their long hair off: the “bob”
Party time at Speakeasies

MASS MEDIA & THE ARTS
Modern art, music (Jazz) and literature
The Charleston
Talkies

INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
Movie stars Flappers

KEY DESIGNERS
Coco Chanel Madeleine Vionnet Jean Patou

Thanks, Anna! Stay tuned everyone for the next installment.
Happy Sewing!
Glenda, the Good Stitch

Sway Back Solution

www.surefitdesigns.com

Do you have a sway back? What is a sway back?
We all have a natural 'S' curvature of the spine.  It dips in at the low back/waist circumference of our body.  This is normal.  But some folks have a pronounced 'S' curve that dips in more than normal.  It might look something like this:

When a sway back occurs, it often results in excessive fabric in the center of your back which pushes up and causes horizontal folds and fullness.

The side seams appear to be the correct length, but center back of the bodice needs to be shorter.  This can become even more pronounced when it's a one-piece garment, like a dress with center back on the fold of the fabric.

You definitely need to check that the hip circumference of your pattern is large enough to hang comfortably on your hips.  If not, this can be a culprit in pushing the fabric upward, but if the hip circumference is hanging smoothly and without restraint, then you most likely do have a sway back with excess length in the fabric at center back.  There is an article in the Sure-Fit Designs Learning Center that discusses the causes of excess fabric pushing up into your low back.  You'll want to make sure you eliminate these causes before you make alterations to your pattern.  Please click here.

Traditional method to achieve a sway back alternation usually involve pinching out a wedge of excess fabric going to nothing at the side seam.  This works well if you have a waistline seam and possibly at center back seam to help shape the fabric to your curvy 'S' curve.

But what if you want center back to be on the fold of the fabric and you don't have a waistline seam to use for any shaping?  I've just recently released a video showing you how to remove excess length at center back at the waistline.  This process does compromise the shoulder slope, however, when the garment is on your body and the neck and shoulders are sitting where they are supposed to, this process will definitely shorten center back.

Please click on this video link to watch this informative video.  I'm sorry I can't get the videos to play directly from this blog, so simply CLICK HERE

Give this a try!  You never know...it might be the perfect solution for your sway back.

Kindly,
Glenda the Good Stitch!