Sewing that's Retro, Geek, and Chic
Continuing the chronological show-and-tell of my vintage pattern collection… (here’s the 1940s post in case you missed it.)
Ahhh, the Fifties. It’s probably my most favorite fashion decade because of the bright happy colors and the girly dresses.
First up are two Advance brand patterns that I can only date as “early 1950s”:
Advance 5884 Apron pattern
(in my collection of aprons, version 1 is my favorite)
and
Advance 5552 Dress & Slip pattern
(this is definitely on my list of things to make!)
1952 gives us this dance & skating outfits pattern:
Simplicity 4035
Tap Dance Trunks, Blouse & Skating Outfit pattern
(I actually have TWO copies of this pattern!)
A dress with an interesting scalloped inset gored skirt from 1953:
Advance 6509 Dress and Dickey pattern
Two from 1954:
Simplicity 4768 Women’s Vests pattern
(labeled as “Weskits” the informal word for “waistcoats”)
Simplicity 4928
Girls’ Jumper Blouse and Dress pattern
Three dress patterns from 1955:
Butterick 7409
Girls’ Blouse, Bolero and Jumper pattern
McCall’s 3547 Dress pattern
Butterick 7251 Dress pattern
Moving on to 1957:
McCall’s 4136 Girls’ Blouse, Skirt and Shorts pattern
I love the sailor style!
Butterick 8038 Dress pattern
This is another one I need to make!
My one pattern from 1958 is a wonderful pencil skirt:
McCall’s 4606 Skirt
I think version B is my favorite style
but I love the sketched fabric for all three.
A casual dress from 1959:
McCall’s 5219 Dress
I’m currently working on a mock-up of this one.
I have another girls’ dress without a specific year – I could only find that it was from the ’50s when I researched it:
Simplicity 3726 Girls’ Dress and Pinafore
Then there’s this one I can’t definitively date but I believe it is from sometime in the 1950s:
Butterick 6871 Button-Front Dress
I love the little blurb about it on the envelope:
“Coat-dress with many lives: scarf it – jewel it! Soft gathers blouse from the curved yoke; bodice is taut, leads into a beautiful flow of skirt. Fashion focus: splurge on glitter buttons or make your own self-covered ones.”
I think I might need to find some glitter buttons!
My Sixties patterns coming soon…
To read the post about this photo click here
Behind the Scenes: Life As A Costumer
My Sewing Room
Types of Costumers & Positions in a Costume Shop
Shopping For A New Sewing Machine
Info About Wizard Brand Machines
Custom Style 
These are awesome! All of them!
I recently bought myself a fifties style dress, but it would be epic to actually make them myself too…
Thanks! There’s nothing quite like a 50’s style dress to make you feel pretty. =)
Absolutely!
Ah I love 50s fashion, so elegant!
Me too! And it’s one fashion decade that looks good on almost everyone!
I love that dress from 1959 – the version with the narrow skirt could easily be on a runway in 2012. The commentaries on the envelope descriptions from those earlier patterns are really priceless – I definitely think they fueled the creative process – and still do for those of us who sew from vintage patterns!
It’s great that you have a selection of patterns for various “age groups”.
I actually bought that 1959 pattern for the full skirt version (I was looking for style lines that would work with some fabric I already have), but I do love the slim skirt version too! I will probably make myself one of each. =)
I was surprised that more of my vintage patterns don’t have inspirational write-ups like the last one – that one is almost poetic!
Love the pencil skirt from 1958.
Yep, it’s pretty great! =)
That sheer dress with the slip looks absolutely fascinating! The fifties is my favorite era, too, but I can never find vintage patterns in the thrift store…usually it’s all 60s, 70s, and 80s.
That dress really is fascinating! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve just stared at the sketch for that one! And everyone thinks that sheer layering is such a new thing, hehe.
Yeah, they are harder to find unless you look for them online. Luckily, a lot of the retro reprints that the pattern companies are re-releasing are often from the 50’s.
I love these 1950’s patterns, the big dresses and fitted ones are just beautiful! Such cute kids patterns too! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks! I love the 50’s styles too! =)