1920's - Day Dress Tutorial

For this post, I am going to do a tutorial for how to make a 1920s day dress.

Note: this will not be a 1920s, flapper, bright young thing dress, but the kind of dress that women would wear every day, such as to work or to visit friends. 

I am no sewing expert, although  I have made a couple of items of my own clothes before, so I will do my best to describe my method in a way that can easily be recreated. 

The advantage of 1920s dresses is that they are a relatively simple style of dress to create, and can easily be made by upcycling old clothes. Overall, the most important parts of a 1920s dress are the dropped waist and lack of fitting to the bodice.

For more information about 1920s day dresses, please see my earlier post:

http://thatssolastcentury.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/1920s-day-dresses-overview.html

The easiest way to make this style of dress requires:

A simple, preferably plain top with little to no fitting

A skirt in a matching or complementary colour. Ideally this skirt would not be too flared and be about knee length. Pleats were popular throughout the decade so I decided to go for a pleated skirt

A strip of fabric that will form the waist line. This should complement the colours of the top and skirt.

Ideally the same fabric should be used for all three sections but that is not always possible, for example my fabric strip is made of a lighter cotton. This can make the attaching of the pieces harder.

In terms of pattern, block colours were common, as were simple geometric, floral and art deco patterns so depending on the level of accuracy you want try to stick to these. I decided to go for a plain top and skirt as this was easier to find, with a complementary patterned strip to provide contrast.

Colourwise, darker colours would have been more common for work, such as in shops or industry. However, paler colours were also popular, especially for visiting and other instances where there was little risk of getting dirt on your clothes. My colour choice was limited by what I could find in charity shops.

First cut your fabric strip to the correct size. Remember when measuring to include a seam allowance of around 1 inch or 2cm. I made mine 10cm high (not including seam allowance), and measured around the bottom hem of my chosen top to give me the required length. Do not measure around your hips for the strip of fabric as the straight up and down nature of the dress means that this would make it too tight.

Next, try on the top. The aim is for the strip of fabric to sit on your hips, emphasising the dropped waist effect. Find the point on the top, below which you want the fabric strip to sit.

Remember to leave a seam allowance of about half an inch or 2cm.

For me I found it best to line the bottom of the fabric strip up with the bottom of the top

Note: if the fabric you are using for the strip is particularly fine, or lace, it may need to overlap your top for its entire height.

Pin the top and strip together, with a seam allowance for both, remembering to pin with the two 'right' sides facing each other. Do the same for the skirt and strip, again with a seam allowance and 'right' sides together.

Try on the whole dress before sewing and check that the strip and hemlines are where you want them to be. If not, the height of the fabric strip can be changed. It may also be necessary to hem the skirt, or cut off the waist band to make it fit the top of the dress properly.

Once you are happy , sew the three pieces together.

Depending upon the edges of your fabric it may also be a good idea to do some zigzag stitches to prevent fraying

 

You should now have a completed 1920s style day dress:

I am wearing my dress with some black cuban heels and skin colour tights. I decided to wear white gloves and a grey cloche as it was still convention for women to wear hats and gloves when out in the 1920s. My grey cloche is a personal favourite of mine and was a large part of why I got into 1920s fashion and I did choose the colours for this dress so that they could be worn together. I am also wearing a long, dark green cardigan with bishop sleeves that would also pass for 1920s style, the belt can be used to accentuate the dropped waist of the dress. Although short, my hair is too long for true 1920s bobbed hair, but will pass. Otherwise, it could be worn back in a bun, or curled to make it shorter. In terms of make-up, I am only wearing foundation. For the majority of women, only face powder was worn everyday in the 1920s.

There will be some inaccuracies, obviously by buying the base clothes from a charity shop it is unlikely that what you will find will perfectly recreate 1920s styles with 100% accuracy. However, I think that I managed to get fairly close.

 

Eleanor

1920's - Everyday Dresses Overview

Everyday Dresses from 1928

Examples of 1920s Day Dresses

The 1920s was in many ways a decade of drastic change, and this was reflected in a sweeping change in women’s fashions. The majority of this change is attributed to the lingering repercussions of the 1^st World War. During the war women were forced to work in many jobs that had previously belonged solely to men and once the war was over they were reluctant to return to the role of housewife. Film stars and other celebrities were also gaining in popularity and influence and there was a greater demand for looks imitating the latest stars amongst the lower classes. As a result, there was a huge rise in popularity for the newly created ‘La garconne’ look, peaking 1926 and popularised by many including Coco Chanel, where a boyish figure was preferable to the more traditional feminine curves. Hairstyles also reflected the youthful and androgynous ‘la garconne’ style, with bobbed and shingled hairstyles becoming the norm by 1926, whilst longer hair was worn up. Hats were still a requirement of female respectability, and in the 1920s the cloche hat dominated, worn low over the brow.

Finger waves were a popular hairstyle

Natalie Kingston Bob Hairstyle

A Selection of 1920s Cloche Hats

Fashion became dominated by straight-cut, chemise dresses, the line of which hung from the shoulders, whilst the waistline was lowered to hip level. In the early part of the decade, gathers at the waist created some embellishment, whilst later in the decade this changed to pleated skirts, which aided in freedom of movement. It was only during 1924-25 that the simple tublar shape was common for daywear. One advantage of this simple cut was that it allowed easy recreation by the less well off in their own homes. It only required two or three meters of fabric to make one dress, which could vary depending upon what the wearer could afford. Patterns were sold by magazines and pattern companies, allowing the average housewife to copy the latest haute couture from the comfort of her own home.

A Selection of 1920s Dresses

Examples of 1920s Skirts

Throughout the decade, hemlines remained higher than they had been for the previous few centuries. Although the fashionable length tended to vary between knee length and mid-calf, they dropped back towards ankle length in 1923 before peaking again in 1927 at the previously scandalous height of two inches above the knee. Hemlines dipped back towards the ankle in 1929, at the close of the decade, a move linked by some to the financial strife caused by the Wall Street Crash.

1920's Day Dresses Hemline Changes

 Another change was to necklines, with the Bateau or scoop neckline gaining popularity. This allowed the dress to be slipped over the head, without buttons or other fastenings being required. This made the dress easier to make and to wear as enhancing the more leisurely feel of fashion throughout the decade. The nautically themed square sailor necks and deep V necks with long ties was also popular throughout the 1920s. Later in the decade, more narrow V’s became popular whilst collars as a whole became smaller and daintier, sometimes even requiring buttons once more.

1920s Day Dress Collars

For day dresses, the sleeves proved to be a defining part of the 1920s feel. The majority of dresses for everyday wear were long sleeved, which can perhaps be attributed to lingering modesty of appearance, however ¾ and elbow length sleeves were also popular. There were three main styles of sleeve, fitted, bell and bishop. Fitted sleeves, were fitted to the arm’s shape and had a straight cut. Bell sleeves were fitted at the shoulder, then allowed to form a triangle or bell shape at the elbow. Bishop sleeves were gathered at the shoulder and wrist, but otherwise allowed to balloon around the arm.

1920s Day Dress Sleeve Styles

A variety of fabrics were used for dresses, including cotton, silk satin, chiffon and wool. Fabrics could be plain or elaborately decorated, often depending upon desired usage. Dresses for work tended towards plain block colours, predominantly black. Whereas, for both tea and evening dresses a variety of boldly patterned fabrics would be used. Patterns tended to reflect the popular Art-Deco movement of the time, or follow more traditional floral or abstract designs. Patterns could also have more international influences, such as Slavic at the start of the decade, brought over by Russian emigres, Egyptian following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 or Chinese later in the decade. Decoration could also take the form of beading or fringing, although this tended to be reserved for evening wear as the aim was to showcase the latest dance moves.

Selection of 1920s Day Dresses

Selection of 1920s Day Dresses

As hemlines rose, so the focus turned to stockings, with the introduction of artificial silk allowing the less well-off to imitate the latest trends as well as giving a more preferable sheen. For both day and evening wear plain colours such as black, beige and white were preferred, but paler colours of stocking became more popular than their black counterparts. On the whole, shoes were still a valuable commodity and therefore retained an air of practicality, with the most popular being Cuban heeled court shoes, or other similar styles with cross straps or T-bars. On the whole shoes were made from leather. Evening shoes could be more elaborate, the leather replaced with gilded kid or embroidered silk, whilst bejewelled or precious metal buckles could be used.

Example of Stockings

Examples of 1920s Shoes

1920s Shoe Detail

Following the trend of affordable fashion, costume jewellery became an acceptable accessory in the 1920s, following the ideals of Chanel who said that jewellery should be used to decorate, not to boast of wealth. This allowed the creation of pieces in colours and sizes impossible in nature as well as making fashion affordable for the less well off. The most common pieces were long ropes of beads, predominantly pearls that would be worn during the day, as well as in the evening.

Coco Chanel Style Outfit

Art Deco Fashion

The 1920s saw the introduction of clothing and shoes made to specific sizes that were manufactured en masse, as we know today. It was a decade in which fashion was made affordable and deliberately marketed at the general public. Women’s fashion became freer, with ease of movement and comfort being as much of a priority as appearance in many cases. Technological advances such as artificial silks, elasticated underwear and zips changed the way clothing was designed and made. The fashion of the 1920s was much more complicated than simply the flappers and bright young things. It was a decade of freedom and availability and exploration that continues to fascinate many to this day.

 

1920s Women

Eleanor 

For more information:

 Vintagedancer.com - http://vintagedancer.com/

Mendes, Valerie D, Amy De La Haye, and Valerie D Mendes. Fashion Since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson, 2010. Print.

Images:

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/557179785126317572/

http://www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/1920s-hairstyles.html

http://www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/1920s-hairstyles.html

http://whataboutbobbed.tumblr.com/post/3777171115/many-color-choices-in-each-of-these-charming

http://www.atelierdejojo.com/2015/10/1920-les-annees-folles.html

https://fascinationstreetvintage.wordpress.com/category/skirts/

https://fascinationstreetvintage.wordpress.com/category/skirts/

http://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-day-dresses/

http://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-day-dresses/

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/284008320226161221/ 

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/519743613224556798/

http://image.glamourdaze.com/2014/03/1920s-Fashion-Flappers-Look-to-your-Legs-posture.jpg 

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/406238828869418044/

http://www.atelierdejojo.com/2015/10/1920-les-annees-folles.html

http://cdn.vintagedancer.com/wp-content/uploads/1928-Simpsons_Page_062-fall-shoes-wm.jpg7

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/eleanor-fashion/

http://fashionableshenanigans.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/1920s-fashion.html

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/292522938270747992/