Green Early '40s House Dress

I liked this fabric so much I ended up accumulating 3 different dress lengths of it. I used one of the three for this fun early 1940s dress.

 

The pattern was a recent addition. I'm always looking for button front dresses with interesting or unique details, since I wear so many of them and a lot of patterns can look alike. This one had some pretty neck detail, and a skirt with front pleats. 

 

It did not take long to make - nothing too difficult here.

 

I just love the pretty 1930s print! It is a quilting cotton, but has a surprisingly large print for a quilting cotton - and is so very retro. 

 

The plain neck is comfortable for everyday wear, but also makes a good backdrop for collars. I have a lot of vintage ones, so I can switch out the look easily, but ended up making a new one from a free pattern pdf I downloaded from Wildflower Designs. 

 

The pattern shows one with facing and interfacing, but I decided to use this delicate embroidered dot fabric and just do a single layer, hemming the edges instead. 

 

It was very bright out when we were trying to get pictures of this dress, so I'm not very pleased with how I look in the photos, but at least it is documented. After all, we can't look glamorous all the time - and the ladies of yesteryear did not always look perfectly put together either, despite the ads and movies that depict them as such. :-)

 

The dress fit is not perfect, but is certainly wearable. I would make some minor tweaks if I do it again.

 

I liked a chance to use these green vintage glass buttons from my stash as well.

 

I made the last minute decision that it needed a bit of sleeve trim, so added some rickrack under a decorative sleeve band, just half of it showing through. I love the delicate little points it provides - one of my favorite ways to use 1/2" rickrack.

 

The dress was simple to make and wear, so there is not much to tell! I look forward to styling it with different collars in the future.

 

One of my favorite green house dresses made a long while ago is on its last leg, so this may be a replacement. After all, I can't have an entirely blue wardrobe. :-) 

all photos by Elsie's Adventuring, as usual

Comments

[Carla Chapman]

Love it! Green happens to be one of my favorite colors and I'm wearing it today. Your little dress is clean and classy, and the lovely collar adds a really nice touch. Thanks for the link to that collar pattern, by the way. I made a crocheted collar a couple of weeks ago and want to also make some sewn ones.

[Amelia]

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