I love Mid-Century Swimsuits!

Mid 20th century swimsuits are such fun! I love the ingenuity of how designers and home-sewers got around working with non-stretch fabrics (usually pure woven cotton), and all the pretty details you find on old bathing suits. It wasn't unusual for a home-sewer to sew her own swimsuits; I remember my mother making bikinis for us both (I have fond memories of a yellow gingham bikini with broderie anglaise trim).

It seems to me that contemporary swimsuits are much less ingenious and interesting, design-wise, and less pretty, due to the laziness that comes with lycra, I suppose, and also with mass-production. I have to say, though, the larger manufacturers have finally got the hint that we really love VINTAGE and are now offering super cute, up-dated versions of vintage-style swimsuits (a gorgeous VELVET - yes, velvet! - swimsuit offered by modcloth is a case in point). They're making lycra versions with cute vintage detailing, like high waists, frills and bows, 'modesty' skirts, ruching, nautical inserts and wrap ties; however, I've yet to see any made from woven fabrics.

So, like a few other handmade garment sellers, I've decided to make a more serious foray into making woven cotton vintage-style swimsuits. They'll feature shirring and elastication (with swimsuit elastic), boning, longer leg lengths, bias cut bottoms for ease, sarong skirts, white cotton linings, zippers, buttons, and removable, button-on straps! Although not necessarily all on the one suit ;)

Here's the first, a Hawaiian Sarong Swimsuit faithfully made from a hard-to-find vintage 1950s swimsuit pattern:

It's made from vintage fabric (35" wide cotton) sporting the classic Hawaiian motifs of skiffs, palm trees, islands and waves in a restricted palette. It has a zip and hook and eye up the side and is fully lined in soft, white cotton, just like the originals.

It has really interesting darting at the centre bust of a kind I've never seen before and which produces almost a bullet-bra point (hard to see due to the busy print). A cute pleated sarong skirt covers the built-in bias-cut bloomers.

I'm really happy with this suit! My model loved it and really enjoyed wearing it for the photos. It's for a size 42" bust - go here to check it out in my store:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/151974637/authentic-1950s-swimsuit-pattern-repro?ref=shop_home_active

Next post: Vintage swimsuit No. 2!

VIntage Vogue 5643: Young Fashionables

After years of admiring and acquiring vintage patterns and amassing quite a substantial collection, I've decided that I'm finally going to take the time out to make up some of my favourite vintage designs for myself (and anyone else who may be interested). My daughter's recent school graduation dinner was the perfect opportunity to make something glam, so I promised myself that once I'd finished my daughter's dress (an original design, and quite ambitious for me) I'd quickly run myself up something new to wear to the event. I chose  the gorgeous vintage Vogue Young Fashionables 5643 (featured in Vogue Pattern Book December 1962/January 1963 and Vogue Pattern Book June/July 1963). I love the mod shape of this design, not to mention the back view - I love any dress that gives such good back!

I'd had squirelled away some very psychedelic, 1960s orange tie silk (yes, that's 'tie', not Thai - men's necktie fabric I found in a warehouse, only about 20" in width), and just knew that the fabulously architectural silhouette and seaming would really sing made up in the mad, over-the-top swirls and whorls of the brocade. I decided to eke out the very narrow brocade with some donated shot orange/pink silk dupioni, as the angled lay-out of the pattern pieces and very narrow tie silk meant I'd end up using about 7 yards of fabric otherwise! I also thought it'd be fun to highlight the great triangular central skirt panel in a contrasting fabric.

I'm really happy with the result - not least because the whole project, including pattern, cost me less than $25! The brocade gives the dress great structure and really maintains the triangular shape nicely. I did underline the dupioni panels. One thing, I was surprised to find that I had to take it in about a size, even though the original size 14 (Bust 34) of my pattern paralleled my measurements exactly. I had expected that there would be much less ease, but it seems there was really quite a lot of ease built into the pattern.
All in all, though, it was a joy to make, and I'll definitely be making another, perhaps a bit shorter, and perhaps with a nautical theme, say in red, white and blue linen!