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The Big Reveal in the 1950s, Or Simplicity 9536

The reveal comes when you take off the bolero jacket and reveal the strapless dress beneath. Notice how the white, strapless version is clearly an important summer event. She has a flower corsage pinned to her belt and strappy, high heels. This fits with the fabric suggestion of taffeta, faille, or shantung which would have been made of silk. The blue and white version has straps and because it is gingham, it is not so daring in its appearance. Notice that the pink version has flat shoes too, an indication this might be a picnic or other low-key weekend event. This fits with the fabric suggestions of chambray, pique, seersucker or lightweight denim which would all be made of cotton.

This combination – bolero over revealing dress–was very common during the 1950s. It solved the problem of going out without revealing much until you got to your destination, or warming up when the evening turned cool. The bolero here is very simple. It has cut-on sleeves, little jaunty cuffs, a single buttons, and darts front and back to fit to the body. The dress is more complicated despite the “easy-to-sew” designation, as sign of a high level of home dressmaking skill at the time. Both the strapped and strapless version are supposed to be boned through the bodice, and both are trimmed with self-trim bias-cut fabric which is able to follow the curves of the neckline. The large pockets have fold-back flaps.

Of course, it was a look that was first popularized by Christian Dior in 1947, the New Look with soft shoulders, small waist, and long, luxurious flared skirts. The width of these skirts also indicates they were worn with a petticoat which fluffed out at the hemline. While lower calf lengths were the preference of Dior that year, the long skirts had crept up a inch by inch by the end of the 1950s. These fall a bit below the knee.

This is a re-issued pattern, so it comes in modern sizes. Find it at your local fabric store or online here: https://simplicity.com/simplicity/s9536

A Little of the Southwest: Simplicity 9538

Perhaps because there was such a big shift of population out west during World War II, perhaps because of movies set in the old west from Hollywood, and perhaps because of new attention to leisure wear, this kind of simple, gathered blouse associated with the Southwest became a fashion trend during the 1940s. The fabric suggestions include gingham and calico which are simple fabrics often worn by very young women, as well as challis which would drape more easily, and just plain cotton. This re-issued vintage pattern comes in modern sizes.

Often paired with a full gathered skirt, or a tiered gathered skirt, which are another very simple kind of garment, this kind of blouse was very ease to make. The sleeves are raglan and the only tricky thing is threading the ribbon or elastic through the neckline and sleeve edges. At the same time this simple pattern allowed a girl or young women a lot of design possibilities: mixing or matching colors for the ribbon and lace trim, adding ribbons or braid along the the bodice and sleeves.

The blouse also allows for two very different looks. See how they offered the black and white sketch to make makes clear that the ribboned version offers both an everyday look and a flirtatious off-the-shoulder look for evening.

Find it at your local fabric store or online here: https://simplicity.com/simplicity/s9538

This comes in modern sizes