Clothes for Christmas

Another part of the world of vintage patterns, which is now available thanks to the Internet, are old copies of the Vogue Pattern Book magazine.   Published 6 times a year by The Conde Nast Publications, Inc., this magazine featured current and up and coming Vogue patterns, articles on construction and notions, a “question and answer” section,  news on just about anything having to do with personal sewing, and wonderful ads for fabric and sewing machines.  (By the way, it’s still published 6 times a year!)  I’ve been able to purchase a few issues from varying months and years, and sometimes I find a pattern featured which I have already bought on eBay or Etsy.   The December 1957/January1958 issue, which I recently obtained, devotes 8 pages to “The Ladies Love Clothes for Christmas.”

Here is the cover of the December 1957/January 1958 issue.

It features patterns for young girls and for teenagers; there is a section on lingerie and sleepwear; and finally some suggestions for the lady who presumably will be doing all this sewing!  Here is a sampling:

Suggested dresses to make for your little girl and one for your young teen.

There were patterns like this to make slips - for yourself or as a gift!

This billowy peignoir and matching nightgown would turn anyone into a vision on Christmas morning! The pattern cost 75 cents.

Here is the empire nightgown. I hope you can see that this lovely lady, now sans peignoir, is standing under the mistletoe!

This bolero cover-up, lined in polka dots (no wonder I love this!), would be perfect on New Year's Eve.

Or - if you are really in a festive mood, they suggest you make this cape in "ruby-red velvet lined in white silk."

Here is my favorite suggestion, and I quote: "You might give this pattern and enough camel's hair wool to make this coat, to someone who loves to sew." The pattern was priced at $1.00

Here is another suggestion, next to a picture of its pattern envelope.

This robe is very easy to make! (I wonder what is in the long wrapped present she is holding behind her back? A rolling pin?)

This pattern makes up beautifully into an elegant robe! It has additional pattern pieces and instructions for lining it, as well.

Yes, I purchased this pattern last Spring and have already made it up in the “lower calf” length.  Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of it before it went to its new owner, but here is a shot of a small bit of the silk charmeuse left over from this project.

This silk is really more orange-ish than it appears here. I washed and dried it before I cut it out, so that the finished garment would be washable - much more practical for a bathrobe!

The reason I am showing you this, is that last week, Pantone, the color guru of the fashion world, declared a color very close to this as its Color of the Year for 2012.    Specifically, that color is called Tangerine Tango and its number is 17-1463-TCX.

Personally, I have come to appreciate various shades of orange a lot more than I once did. I particularly like to see orange (or coral or tangerine or whatever name you want to give it) paired with hyacinth blue or leaf green or charcoal gray.  Although I am not one to feel like I need to be dressed in the current “fad” color, if I get the opportunity to use it in my sewing this coming year, I definitely will.

Well, I am digressing from my Christmas theme here, so back to the robe in bright green polka dots.

This statement says it all!

If I could ever find such a fabric in a lovely silk suitable for a bathrobe, I would buy it in a minute and make myself this robe in the long version!  For Christmas morning I’d pair it with a long and flowing red silk sash…

Here’s to a fashionable, fun Merry Christmas for each and all – and warm wishes for a colorful New Year!