1940s Twill 2 Piece Summer Suit

Since I've been enjoying how versatile the 2 piece outfits I've been making are, I added another one to my closet with this coordinating 1940s suit in cotton twill.

 

It has simple, classic lines. The skirt is a common style found in suit patterns from that era - just 2 main pieces, with darts in the back and a pleat in the front. The jacket has princess lines, with a bit of unusual detail in the gathered front. 

 

But since I can hardly stop with a plain garment - seeing instead a canvas for some fun addition - I added top stitched bands on the shoulders. I love how they turned out, and to me they add a very 1940s finishing touch. One band is the skirt fabric, and the other is a white-on-white print intended to make this jacket also match the late 1930s white twill skirt I made earlier! 

Nothing like mix and match. And I have leftovers of both fabrics, so potentially I can make yet another piece to add in.

 

I also avoided the traditional row of evenly spaced buttons, using a photo from my 1940s suit article as inspiration to use these navy blue glass buttons in sets of 3 instead. I really like how it looks! 

 

I added a snap above and below the buttons to keep the jacket in place. 

 

I must say I was very pleased with the fit since I had to size this pattern up quite a bit. The princess lines made it a lot easier!

 

I love the floral twill (from JoAnn - the same time I got the big floral print for my late 1940s princess style dress). It's a cheery, dark print perfect for summer wear. The plain navy I don't like quite as well since it shows iron marks more quickly, and shows dust and catches lint very easily. 

 

White seemed to be the right color for accessories, along with my favorite brown beret which I wish I could find in every color!, and my brown and white Peggys from Royal Vintage were the perfect summer pumps. 

 

I love the perfect classic 1940s silhouette of this outfit.

Comments

[Rebecca Young]

A lovely classic outfit!

[Carol]

Stunning!

[Dee]

Love the button placement and shoulder bands!

[Kate]

I love the button placement on this and how you added in the white on white fabric to make it match another skirt too. What a great idea!