Periwinkle 1930s House Dress

I've been promising myself I'll do more 1930s sewing, and this is the first of several - my first 1930s dress. I've made a few blouses and have a nice collection of patterns, but somehow never got around to sewing a dress until now.

 

It is a comfortable dress for wearing around the house, and I like the finished length.

 

It has a high waist and belt cut in one piece with the front center skirt piece, which led to some interesting sewing instructions for how to put it all together.

 

It has some classic 1930s elements with the unusual back belt and the sleeves, which I took from another pattern. I have not seen sleeve darts like this in any other pattern so far. And I felt kind of dumb when I left an opening on the wrong side for the zipper. Kind of awkward to zip up on the right side instead of the left!

 

Being a trial dress, I was anxious to find out how the skirt would fit. 1930s skirts always look so slender on impossibly proportioned sketched models. Yet I know that real women did wear these styles so I had a feeling that once it was actually sewn it would fit. It is more fitted around the hips than later styles, yet I found it not too snug for comfortable wear, so that makes me a little more confident about trying 1930s dress patterns in the future. 

 

I'm not well supplied with 1930s shoes, especially ones suitable for pairing with a house dress, so I ended up wearing these simple leather pumps with a slightly slower heel.

 

This was also one of my first trials of a 1930s hairstyle. Usually I just brush my hair out and take what comes, unless I go for a more elaborate '40s style. I still am not satisfied with it since I feel it falls short of the sleek, sculpted hairstyles I've seen pictures of. And while the most common style for this era was an off-the-face style, I did find enough examples of a face-framing 1930s hairstyle to feel that that part of it is accurate at least.

 

So while this is not my super-favorite 1930s pattern ever, it was a fun, not too challenging trial dress for my first attempt at a 1930s dress and certainly fills an everyday dress gap in my wardrobe. More 1930s sewing to share soon!

Comments

[Esther]

This dress is SO gorgeous, Kristen!! The style suits you perfectly, and I love all the quintessential 1930s details!
Oh, and just for the record, you made my day with the right-side-zipper admission. Because I just did that very thing on a dress I made recently. So thank you for that! ;)
Lovely job! And I love the back buckle - I have yet to do that on anything but it looks so fun!

[Gina White]

This house dress is so charming and looks like it would be so beyond comfy! I also love the fabric print, it is so sweet! I can't wait to be done with the musical costuming so that I can get back to vintage sewing! I think I need to add a house dress to my "to do" list! Great inspiration!
Blessings!
g

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Oh, Esther, that is funny. At least we know we're not alone in our face-palm moments! I wasn't sure about the back buckle at first, but I've decided I like it.

Thank you, Gina! Yes, I like the fabric print too. It's the sort of fabric I always try to find since it has a print but it's subtle enough that the print doesn't disguise the dress details. I prefer most patterns best in a solid fabric, but on the other hand I'm always finding prints I love...and then have a hard time finding a pattern to pair with the print! It's a hopeless case.

[Sarah A.]

Lovely classic style and it is inspiring me to get on with my own ventures into 1930's sewing this year. :) Love the unique style with the back belt and all.

[Christa Green]

So lovely!! It is beautiful and very well done. You look great in it! Absolutely love the does too!!