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Tag: 1950’s Housewife

My Recent Vintage Store Finds

It is so nice in Toronto right now, so it is pretty much impossible to stay home at night. So on one of those beautiful nights I took a walk down to my local antique store for some treasure hunting. I was pretty excited to do this because normally I'm with my husband and he is not much of antique shopper and so I usually get 5 seconds in before he starts giving me the “please can we go!” look! Not tonight though he was working so I was free to take my time.

My plan… To find some amazing 1930s-1950s real-life pictures of well dressed people as this has recently become my obsession. I just love seeing how everyday people dressed as opposed to movie stars who had lots of money and designers on demand (not that I don't enjoy those photos too, Oh I most certainly do!). Tonight though was about the regular folks and I scored huge with the following 4 images.

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Photo number 1: A wedding photo from the 1940s, clearly during war times. Don't you agree that the bride and groom are so gorgeous together that they could have been movie stars?? Sigh…so fantastic!

I am just swooning right now over the handsome groom in uniform and his equally handsome best man in his navy uniform. Love.

1940s wedding photo

Now the lovely bride. That dress is making me just drool all over my ipad right now with envy. The cut, the sequined design on the bust and that corsage..wow! Just beautiful. In my mind the dress is a gorgeous blue or maybe green! And how adorable are the peep toe shoes (on both ladies)?? This gal has style and her maid of honour is just as stylish too! I want a 1940s suit badly and honestly one like this would make my day. It is such a nice fit on her and I think she made a wonderful choice by wearing this.

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Photo number 2: 1940s woman. This photo was the first image I found and I nearly died from how amazing this image was. Like seriously, how could you look at this photo and not think “Wow that woman has style!”? I don't think it is possible and that was the exact words that came out of my mouth.

1940s woman in dress

First off her 1940s gown fits her like a glove, look how tiny her waist is? The detail at the hip adds to the slim look of her waist and I'm just loving it so much (great undergarments I'm sure are helping too). The fabric is just as wonderful with the random flower detail and I envision this dress to be black with the flowers and dots to be silver (do you agree?).

Now let's talk about her hat. Yes her hat is one amazing work of art with a giant pouffy flower (I think) as the embleshment. Even with the giant beautiful corsage on her dress I don't think the hat is too much. Ohh I have a thought! Maybe she is the mother of the bride to the couple above?? Most likely not but she is going some where wonderful enough to wear long black gloves (question: are they gloves if they have no hand part?) and I'm sure will be the hit of the party.

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Photo number 3: 1940s gentleman. This image when I saw it, reminded me so much of Cary Grant or Clark Gable and I just knew he had to come home with me. I was also really drawn to how well his suit fit and how he paired it with a bow tie and two toned oxfords, classy! The hand in the pocket says “yup I'm a man of style”. And yes mister handsome well dressed man, the Vintage Inn agrees.

1940s man in suit

Photo number 4: The final image I found of this 1950s woman playing with her cat, made me want to buy it for 1 reason and 1 reason alone….her saddle shoes. Yes I know saddle shoes are not rare in images from the 50s but what intrigued me even more was the fact that I believe this woman is not a young girl but much older then that.

You don't see very often older woman wearing saddle shoes, in fact I have never seen it and was always under the impression that that style was for the “younger” generation. Now that might be true but clearly this lovely fun loving lady does not care and she is rocking them anyways and for that, I love her style and she deserved to be in this post.

1950s housewife in saddle shoes

So there my wonderful readers is my most recent vintage shopping find. I hope you enjoyed looking at the images as much as I did when I bought them.

Have a fantastic day!

Liz πŸ™‚

 

 

 

 

1940s & 1950s House Dresses- Must Haves For Your Vintage Collection

I have started to notice a trend in my Etsy “favorites“, my eBay watch lists and even my closet, I love 1950s (and 1940s) House Dresses. My current collection is small (3 to be exact) but I would love to add more as they are fun and versatile and some of them are downright stylish.

For example regarding being versatile, today I’m currently wearing my newest find from Cabaret Vintage with a cardigan, belt, ballet flats and simple jewellery. When I leave work today I’m going to put my hair up, scrap the cardigan, add a brooch to the dress and kitten heels and off I go for my evening out. SEE….Versatile!

Here is the dress. Cute pocket at the top and one at the hip and I just love the sleeve with the pleat in it..too cute! The original tag says it’s a “Berkshire dress” but I have not been able to find any info on this line. If you know anything please let me know, as I’m very curious on its original origins.

1950's housedress-1950s Fashion

(hehehe like my pink flamingo phone case that made an appearance here? lol)

House Dresses are also great for Swing dancing as the fabric is usually very easy to clean and due to the room they have, they won’t rip or tear like some of my precious vintage dresses could do. The dress below was my first House Dress I purchased (the fabric is coins) and I’m wearing it a Jazz street fest where I was doing a bunch of dancing. No rips to be had.

1950's housedress. 1950s vintage style.

1940s & 1950s House Dresses

Now lets learn a little bit more about the House Dress (because that is one of the fun things about vintage clothing, learning about its history).


BLOG NOTE: I have also done on a post on the ‘1940s & 1950s Shirtwaist Dress‘ not realizing that they are basically the same style of dress, just called different names. You can find that post by clicking on the name of the post just above.


History of the House Dress

(taken from Wikipedia)

A house dress is a type of simple dress worn informally in the mornings at home for household chores or for quick errands. The term first originated in the late nineteenth century to describe at-home garments designed for maximum practicality and usually made from washable fabrics. It is directly descended from the Mother Hubbard dress.  Such dresses were a necessary part of the housewife’s wardrobe in the early twentieth century and could be widely purchased through mail-order catalogues.

Although an informal garment, the house dress, particularly during the 1950s, was intended to be stylish and feminine as well as serviceable. The concept of attractive house dresses was popularised in the late 1910s by Nell Donnelly Reed, who established her house dress company in 1919. The company, renamed Nelly Don after Reed’s retirement, quickly became one of the most successful American clothing manufacturers of the 20th century. Some designers became known for house dress designs, such as Claire McCardell, whose 1942 ‘popover’ wrap dress was equally wearable as a house dress, a dressing-gown, a beach cover-up or even a party dress. The house dress version of McCardell’s popover came with a matching oven glove.

Here is the “Popover” wrap dress with oven glove. How stylish and beautiful is this dress?

1940s Vintage Dress: Clair McCardell Popover dress-1940s Housedress example

Image courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sally Kirkland, in All-American: A Sportwear Tradition, reported that McCardell’s “Popover” dress “sold in the thousands (its low price [$6.95] and was classified as a ‘utility garment’.  In utility achieved with ingenuity, McCardell found a synergy. The modern woman could both be chic and do the cooking (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History).

Let’s explore some wonderful Vintage House Dress Images & illustrations

The below just might convince you to put one on and bake a pie tonight, go swing dancing or just watch Netflix.

(UPDATED May 2024).


Vintage Shopping: I have created a collection of Vintage Housedresses from the 1930s-1960s on Etsy that are for sale right now. The collection is updated monthly and can be found HERE.


Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

NOTE: If you click on any of the items featured below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on the websites. There are 1000’s and 1000’s of items being listed daily.

1950s house dress by La -Mar Frocks with the cutest bows at the collar and never worn!

1950s Fashion: Vintage 1950s house dress, front Zipper, 1950s deadstock day dress by La -Mar Frocks

Source: Etsy-LousyLoversVintage

The dress on the right is a super example of a 1940s housedress and if you are a person who can sew, you can make it today! Digital PDF file avail as of May 2024 HERE.

1940s Fashion: Sewing pattern for a woman's rob & women's 1940s housedress

Source: Etsy – VintagePatternsSewBI

1940s cotton dress with a lovely floral print, great sleeves and pockets. Brand: “The C&D Company”

1940s Fashion: 1940s cotton House Dress with a lovely floral print, great sleeves and POCKETS . Brand: "The C&D Company"

Source: Etsy

1940’s Turquoise Novelty Day Dress / House Dress .

1940s Fashion: 1940's Turquoise Novelty Day Dress / House Dress

Source: Etsy

1940s mint green cotton seersucker dress.

1940s Fashion: 1940s mint green cotton seersucker house dress / shirtwaist dress. 1940s Women's Fashion.

Source: Etsy

Vintage 1950’s Lee Wentley by Wentworth housedess. Love the giant pockets and patterns.

1950s Fashion: Vintage 1950's Lee Wentley by Wentworth Grey and Black Dress. 1950s vintage house dress

Source: Etsy

Late 1940s/ Early 1950s SWIRL house dress with a faux apron gingham wrap. SO CUTE!!

Late 1940s/ Early 1950s SWIRL house dress with a faux apron gingham wrap
Source: ETSY

Vintage 1950s House Dress with Novelty Print.

1950s Fashion: Vintage 1950s House Dress with Novelty Print

Source: Etsy

1950s white cotton floral house dress. Love this!

1950s White Cotton Floral House Dress -1950s Women's Fashion

Source: Etsy

The pattern on this is awesome! I would be taking this one home with me if I could squeeze back into my “pre wedding” weight but that is not the case so it gets to go to another happy customer.

1950s Fashion: 1950's house dress for women. Vintage 1950s dress

Dress from Etsy from Seller “BackinVogue

The colour and the appliqued flowers are wonderful on this dress and I just love the asymetrical design.

1950's house dress in purple with asymetrical design. 1950s fashion.

Dress from Etsy from Seller “ForeverSexy

Lovely 1950s Sewing Pattern for multiple pieces including a housedress with pockets.

1950s Vintage Sewing Pattern for : 1950s Maternity Robe Coat, 1950s House Dress with pockets

Source: Etsy

1950’s housedress sewing pattern illustration with embroidery transfer.

1950's House Dress Sewing Pattern with Embroidery Transfer. 1950s Vintage Fashion.

Source: Etsy

1952 vintage sewing pattern for a house coat and house dress.

1952 Vintage Sewing Pattern for a House Coat and House Dress

Source: Etsy

This design below is another 1950’s design from Time Machine Vintage.

Note: She recently did my two piece 1940’s honeymoon outfit and did an outstanding job. So if you love this dress, go and get it made πŸ™‚

1950's house dress -1950s Women's Fashion

Ohhhhhh….how lovely! I wonder what the “8-Page Etiquette Supplement” said too?

1950's Housedress as seen on the Cover of the 1950s magazine - My Home.

Below is a 1940’s sewing Pattern. As you can see they are much simpler compared to the 1950’s versions but I still think very very pretty.

1940's House Dress vintage sewing pattern. 1940s fashion.

Now THIS is a 1940’s House Dress I would give anything to own! The bows are absolutely delightful!

1940's House Dress as seen in 1940s fashion illustration

Pattern for sale on Etsy from Seller “Paneenjerez”

February 2023 update: House dresses are so great that you can even add a turtleneck on a cold day and still look great! Same dress as the very first image, but several years later. Still doing great and looking good! (Note: hit the little arrow on the right of my picture to see the dress in full)


For more really great House Dress Patterns then jump on over to the blogger “Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing“. She has a wonderful post on House Dresses as well.

Vintage Shopping: I have created a collection of Vintage Housedresses from the 1930s-1960s on Etsy that are for sale right now. The collection is updated monthly and can be found HERE.

Happy Housedress shopping!

FURTHER READING:

Liz πŸ™‚