My sentiments, exactly! Whenever I start to question if I really need another blouse for casual wear, I remember this feature in the February/March 1954 Vogue Pattern Book Magazine.
And while both casual and dressy blouses are shown in this 2-page spread, it just gives me more reason to love making blouses. One of the aspects of a crisp cotton blouse which really appeals to me is how tidy they look, even when slightly wrinkled. Knit tops, while comfortable and easy to wear (no ironing!) can, over time, sag and pull and cling. Not so with fine quality cotton wovens. They keep their shape, and they wear and wear and wear without looking worn out. So is it any wonder I have added two more classic blouses to my summer wardrobe?
It always seems the process of making one of these blouses begins with Farmhouse Fabrics. I see a fabric on their website I can’t live without, or one which is so classic, it begs my attention. I know the quality will be superb, as that is what Farmhouse does. So – two fabrics, which produced two very different looks from the same (old) pattern I have been using for quite a while.
The uneven plaid of the green and blue fabric posed some layout questions for me. I even thought, briefly, of using the cross grain in order to balance that strong blue stripe, but once I saw a photo of it, I went back to the straight of grain.
Taking a photo of something always helps me make decisions. Those bold blue stripes on the horizontal made the fabric look completely different. The photo helped me determine which orientation would be best.
At that point it seemed logical to use that bold blue stripe for the center front and center back.
I used a spread collar for this blouse. I positioned the collar so the green blocks of the fabric would “point” to the green stripes to the right and left of center front.
The only way for the back yoke to look good was to place it on the bias. I interfaced it so its stability would be intact. I think this was a good solution for a situation where it would have been impossible to match plaids.
I will confess I had been looking for a narrow candy stripe, cotton shirting fabric (to pair, one day, with another fabric waiting its time!) Peppermint stripe is another description often used for red stripes on white. Both names tell you exactly what they are – red and white stripes of some variety. There are a lot of wide candy stripes, or candy stripes with alternating widths of the red lines, but I had some difficulty finding a narrow-striped cotton. So I grabbed it when I found it.
This blouse was very straightforward. The only change I made from most of the previous blouses I have made from this old, altered pattern was to revert back to a pointed collar.
Here is the pattern which I have altered and used so many times.
I used 3/8” vintage pearl buttons for both blouses. One really can’t go wrong with those. And I used woven, non-fusible interfacing in the collars, cuffs, front facings and yokes.
I love this small 1950s silk neck scarf paired with this blouse.
Now I am thinking it is time to move on to another style of blouse and retire this pattern for a while. Although I doubt I will ever have too many of these “men’s style” blouses, there are other ways of looking tidy and neat in a casual way. Think I can do it?
fiftydresses 