As promised! The post about our 1920s era clothing that we wore to the 1920s Flying Circus back in September.
I only found out about the event a few weeks before. But I knew right away I could NOT attend without wearing 1920s clothing! But - there was a problem.....I had nothing wearable (not original) that I could wear. Earlier this year I was poking around and researching the era, so I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. I also had the fabric that I wanted to use. The only problem was that I had planned to make a summer frock. The 14th of September is normally safe enough to sneak in wearing a summer frock for the last time for the season. So, I ran with the summer frock idea.
I was working on this gown for several days when Mumsie came to me asking if she could dress in 20s clothing as well. Within seconds I had a vision for Mumsie's outfit. After a few set backs in the fabric department and lack of days (I had less than a week to draft, fit, create, etc), I had a "light bulb" moment!
The Idea Board:
For both outfits I wanted something true to the 1920s. I did not want to go the generic "costume", "flapper", "what everyone thinks is 1920s" look. I wanted to wear something that was actually worn by real people - not upper class, but the average Jane.
Several weeks ago I came across this article on the clothing in the new "The Great Gatsby" movie. Excuse the title, but it's true! This will give you a good idea on REAL 1920s clothing vs. the Hollywood "fake" 1920s clothing. Hems lines, fabric, necklines, foundation garments, hair, shoes, hats etc all play a huge role. You can not have one without the other and in recreating a garment from a certain era, one needs to be mindful of what was actually worn and how it was worn!
1921 fashion is totally different from 1925....radically different. The early 20s exhibited a soft, feminine, approachable look. After 1925, the look turned very boxy, boyish, and in my option...annoying. :-) Here are some pictures to help you out.
Early 1920s styles from Sears Catalogs...
Notice that the hemlines are still rather long (ankle or mid calf) and are not figure hugging. Sleeves are long, 3/4 length, or a funny short style. I have seen some sleeves shorter from the early 1920s....but it depends on the age of the wearer.
Now, check out these below. by 1926 hems were getting shorter and short sleeves became somewhat normal.
Here is the "boxy boyish" look...
What I gathered "normal" clothing in the early 1920s was - feminine,soft, longer hem lines, and not very form fitting. I really like that transition look of the late teens into the early 20s. So - I went with that for myself.
For Mumsie, I decided to go for a 19teens transition look. I like to create clothing around the age of the wearer. For mom, she (if it was the 1920s) would not be wearing something that was the very height of fashion. She would wear something she was comfortable in and maybe updated a little.
We came up with a good idea, but like I mentioned...we lacked time and did not have the right fabric on hand. I then remembered that we had an outfit that my grandmother gave my mom several years ago. It was a "silk" Coldwater Creek reversible four piece dress outfit. It started out as a set consist of a skirt, pants, a shell, and a jacket.
Here is what we started with.
The skirt has two slits up the sides, the pants became a part of the skirt. The lining was taken out of the sleeves. The black part of the pants became a sash, and part of the jacket was folded back for a contrast. I added a band to the wrists to create a mock cuff and added some black bead buttons for effect. With extra black silk, a small ruffle was made and added to the neckline.
The finished outfit...
I have one super cute mother!
My mother has amazing waving hair that is tons of fun to style. We normally do 1940s hair styles, but we played around for a 20s look. We ended up with more of a 1930s look, but it still looked cool. :-)
Mumsie's outfit came together quickly (it had to...I only had less than four days). She was comfortable and we recycled an outfit that was too big for her.
On to my summer frock! I hate posting so many pictures of myself...please please just look at the dress! :-)
I used the 1920s "1 hour Dress" booklet for my base. I followed all the directions for the bodice part and then made up the skirt. I took advantage of the selvages (less hemming!) and used a few French seams. The skirt sits just under my waist and has a sash tied at the side. The skirt is flat at the front and back and it gathered at the sides. It also is layered with one layer just above the other.
The frock started out like this. I played around with the idea of putting flowers at the side waist....but that idea was abandoned. I kept the neckline and sleeves just the way the directions said....a bias binding finishing off the seams. That changed the night before. :-)
Side note: I was unsure about the neckline and sleeves and really wanted to see an original. That did not happen until this past weekend. I was spending the weekend with some friends in a really awesome historic home and the delightful owner and I totally nerded out on the home's historic details and her antique clothing collection. She pulled out some amazing 1920s silk frocks for me and low and behold....one was JUST like my bodice!
I added lace to the neckline and sleeves - it totally changed the look of the dress for the better! The beads are genuine 1920s amber and black beads.
The finished summer frock!
I reshaped a straw hat I had stashed away, added a fabric band and a giant "silk" purple hydrangea.
Cranberry Chutney anyone?
The Hair:
Pretty basic - pin curled overnight, brushed and fluffed, curls manipulated and sprayed, a 1920s era silk scarf placed, and hair tucked up and in to look shorter and styled.
The Slip:
I have many 1940s slips, but they give the wrong look when wearing a 1920s dress vs. a 1940s dress. So, I quickly made one up. It only took a few hours. It's not perfect, but it did it's job!
The idea...
I used this slip tutorial and it was super helpful! My pin-tucks were a bit off....oh well! :-)
That is all for now! The current projects have been a joy to work on and I am super excited to wear them! When they are finished I will do my best to post about them....I will give you all a hint though....clothing is being created, refashioned, and refurbished for Reformation Day and a Masquerade!
Till Then!
No comments:
Post a Comment