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The Tent Dress Goes Glamorous: Vogue 1947

The term tent dress is usually used as a kind of insult for a dress that has no fit at all. True, this has a “tent-shape” being narrower at the shoulders and flaring from there hitting well over 2 yards of width at the hemline in the short version. Despite this lack of shape in line, it was supposed to be glamorous as you can see from the illustrations.

The only shape added to the dress is the belt to be tied at the waist, but the huge sweeping collar, a borrowing from more restrained 1930s Bertha collars and cape collars, gives it glamour. As do the fabric suggested for it which include matte jersey and I thought immediately of Quiana, a Dupont product made of nylon that was pricey at the time it was introduced in the late 1960s and was oh-so-slinky. They also recommend crepe and challis which also have a lot of drape. All of these fabrics would allow the cape and the skirt to swing easily as you moved. The touch of pockets in the two front seams are so Seventies too, implying a nonchalant attitude despite the glamour.

Of course, the lines of this dress would look especially good on the tall and thin models that dominated the 1970s runways when fashion shows had turned into public spectacles, and were no longer the intimate showings to wealthy women and the fashion press gathered in salons to take a look. On a more petite woman, the cape would overwhelm her unless it was cut down to smaller proportions.

You can find this re-issued pattern at your local fabric store or online here: https://somethingdelightful.com/vogue-patterns/v1947

Flouncing Out of the Room: Vogue 9726

I was leafing through my skirt patterns looking for one with some walking ease when I found this one, and realized something strange: it offers only a back view. Most pattern envelopes offer only front views of front and back views. So why only the back?

The skirt is relatively plain in the front, although many fitted skirts are plain. From the front, you can only see the corners of the large single flounce, or the pleats, as they come around from the back of the skirt and wrap over to the front. The back gets all the attention because it has all the drama. It can have a a large flounce, a large, sheer chiffon flounce on the longest version which shoots it into evening wear category, or a set of graduated pleats which made it perfect for office work wear. Notice how the illustration pairs the collared blouse with the pleated version, another nod to work wear. This is a 1997 pattern, a time when women had been climbing the corporate ladder enough that their work wear was moving away from the era of giant-shoulder pads, and a skirt with some crisp details was considered appropriate.

It has no waistband; instead the designer suggested merely running seam binding along the inner waistline seam where the lining and the fashion fabric at attached to one another, and then the side zipper has a hook an eye at the top. This struck me as too flimsy a closing, so I borrowed a feature from ready-to-wear: a waistline facing, and a tab with flat button on the inside across the zipper closing.

The fabrics recommended are wool crepe, which I have made before, and which has just the right amount of body and drape for the short flounced version. I would add a good quality ponte would probably work too, as it would have the drape and the body. They also suggest gabardine, which seems best for the pleated version, and lightweight tweed which would work for the flounce if not tightly woven. And then silk chiffon or georgette for the larger flounce. I haven’t made the chiffon version, but you can imagine the charm of its longer, fuller sway as you walk across the room.