Different types of dresses in the 1930's? How to dress for each one?

[Lauren]

As far as I can see, and this is the simple version, a house dress is only worn about the house. This would be for chores, making meals, hanging out at home. A Hostess gown would be worn at home for intimate gatherings, like having friends over, only at home. A day dress could be worn out for running errands or doing daily things that take you out of the house, or to morning functions- maybe an informal flower show, etc. An afternoon dress is a fancier version of the day dress, to be worn getting to more formal things like meeting at restraunts, teas, etc, and generally was in more formal fabrics like rayon crepe, where day dresses could often be cotton. The last dress you posted is an afternoon dress. And, of course, an evening dress was worn for formal evening funtions. Afternoon dresses could also be worn for informal evening functions- a little fancier version of this, to me, is a coctail dress, though I don't believe that term came in until later. A ballgown was an evening dress worn for dancing and usually had a skirt with a larger sweep. And just because a fancier dress was in a more informal fabric does not mean it was not an evening dress. Evening dresses were usually full length but it was popular thoughout the 1930's to have them made up in cotton or organdie for summer evening functions like dances or cruises.

 

[NicolettaRose]

So what's the difference betweena cotton day dress and a cotton house dress?

 

[Lauren]

It's usually all in the cut. A housedress was often tied about the waist or was a wrap dress, or later in the 30's zipped up the front, where a day dress was more tailored generally and had more construction.

 

[NicolettaRose]

Ahhh ok, so a lot of people that have been listing "house dresses" on Ebay, have actually been listing " Day dresses" and visca versa.

Hey, Does anyone have any links/scans of any 1930's catalogs? I'd love to see what women were wearing then....

 

[Lauren]

From the Vintage Martini site:

This one is probably from 37-38 and shows on the far right a housecoat, on the upper left it is shown as a beach coat, and on the lower left as day dresses:

The one on the left is a beach coat, and on the right is a hostess gown:

A day dress:

On the right left this pattern is made into an day dress on the right an afternoon dress, from 34 or 35:

Another day dress and afternoon dress, probably from around 34

A day dress. The one on the right could also be worn as a housedress, from about 1939:

A summer evening gown:

 

[Lauren]

From the Woodland Farms Antiques site:
A housedress:

On the left as a housedress and on the right as an afternoon dress:

This one has me stumped. It could be a housedress or a day dress:

A housedress:

Housedresses:

An afternoon dress:

Day and afternoon dress:

And I have some on 30's sportswear on my old site:
http://shopbluemagnolia.com/sportswear01.htm

 

[crwritt]

So what's the difference betweena cotton day dress and a cotton house dress?

From my observation, of just the dresses shown here, the house dresses have usable pockets, and are made of easily washable fabrics. I can understand having utility clothes for doing housework and dressier garments for being out and about.
I still don't have a good handle on what age group/ social class needed to make the distinction between Day dresses and Afternoon dresses. This would have to be a notion of the leisure class. Most people who worked for a living would have dressed in the morning and gone about thier day, wouldn't they?
My grandmother wore house dresses, they were cotton print and usually zipped up the front and were worn with an apron, literally an outfit worn while keeping house. She would never have left the house that way.To go out or to work (she taught school) she had tailored rayon print dresses. She reserved her newest ones for church, but I don't think she ever had more than four of five dresses at a time.

 

[NicolettaRose]

Thanks, Lauren, Great stuff! have you made any of those dresses?

 

[Lauren]

You're welcome No, I haven't made any of those, they're for sale at some vintage sites.

 

[NicolettaRose]

You really have a great talent! Your dresses that you have made on your website are absolutely marvelous, they must take so much work.I love all of the Victorian/18th century gowns. You should be getting paid big bucks in Hollywood to do what you do. Makes we wish I could sew...

 

[Renee]

My grandmother wore house dresses, they were cotton print and usually zipped up the front and were worn with an apron, literally an outfit worn while keeping house. She would never have left the house that way.To go out or to work (she taught school) she had tailored rayon print dresses. She reserved her newest ones for church, but I don't think she ever had more than four of five dresses at a time.

This is what my grandmother did, too. Though near the end of her life, her daydresses were all polyester double-knit. She just loved that stuff, because she never had to iron it. She even made a quilt for my mother out of leftover polyester double-knit patches! LOL

The aprons my grandmother wore were the type that are generally referred to as "canning aprons" - big aprons that were almost like a smock, complete with pockets. Wonderful things!

 

[LizzieMaine]

One of the things that's always characterized a house dress for me is the easy-on, easy-off feature -- a zipper or wrap front, as has already been mentioned, or a full button front. The idea was that you'd be changing out of it once the day's chores were done, so house dresses were generally made to be easy to put on and take off, without a lot of fuss.

Also, one way to distinguish a cotton house dress from a cotton day dress might be the prints used -- house dresses tended toward brighter domestic/novelty patterns than day dresses, which were a bit more conservative. If you could use the same fabric as curtains in your kitchen, then it's safe to call it a house dress!

 

[Elaina]

Lauren the one you're not sure about is a combination pattern. It shows it as a hybrid on the cover so the ladies could see it as a house dress (the large patch pockets), or a day dress (the ruffle detailing.)


I was taught that pockets/sahses/ties generally made then house dresses and belts/ruffles/trim made it a day dress.

 

[Lauren]

Wonderful! Thank you, Elaina!
And ditto what LizzieMaine said- a lot of times the "feedsack" fabrics were used for housedresses. I have one example around here somewhere that I picked up years ago that's a feedsack cotton with a tie around the waist and cute decorative pockets and collar on it. I'll try to track it down and take a pic to post. Feedsack were litterally cotton prints made into sacks of grain or flour, etc during the depression so housewives could use the fabric to make things for the home, or if you had enough, dresses for themselves or their children- and they were often in the bright, fun deco prints of the time. Here's a history of feedsack fabrics- and you can find feedsacks repros by the bolt everywhere now since they're such a trend in quilting if you want to make or have made up a 30's housedress
And thank you very much for your compliments, NicolettaRose! I love this stuff

 

[crwritt]

This is what my grandmother did, too. Though near the end of her life, her daydresses were all polyester double-knit. She just loved that stuff, because she never had to iron it. She even made a quilt for my mother out of leftover polyester double-knit patches! LOL

The aprons my grandmother wore were the type that are generally referred to as "canning aprons" - big aprons that were almost like a smock, complete with pockets. Wonderful things!

They call them Cobbler aprons too. I can understand why a lady who had grown up with fabrics such as cotton and rayon which take such time for maintenance might be drawn to easy care fabrics such as polyester.

 

[Elaina]

And I bet she STILL wore the aprons.