Is anyone big on wearing clothing from the 1920's...or 1930's?

[Daisy Buchanan]

Yes, the late 30's and early 40's do seem to blend into one another. One way to decipher the era's, and I'm sure you ladies all know this but I'll let you know anyway, is to look at the type of closures the outfit has. If your dress closes by snaps it's probably 30's, zippers became more common a little later. Although, some thirties dresses that had snaps had zippers put in them later.
My favorite era is definitely 30's, but I do have quite a few 40's day dresses. I truly love Edwardian and have about 5 early 20th century dresses, but I reserve them for special occasions. They are delicate and complicated to wear. To me, nothing beats a cute 30's swing dress or the glamorous gowns of the 30's.
Here's a few of me. The first pic is my favorite day outfit. I usually wear it with a belt, don't know why I didn't have one on when this pic was taken.

This is a dark blue velvet gown from the 30's. There are tiny little buttons up each sleeve, and the belt at the waist is a rhinestone clip. All the button's and rhinestones are still in tact and the velvet is still quite sturdy.
My favorite little red dress. This has great patterned flowers at the neck line that didn't come out in the photo
This is an early 40's cocktail dress. I actually only know this because it still had the tags when I bought it and it had the date of when it was made on it. It has silver thread running through it, the top is ruched and the back is a fishtail.

 

[~landgirl~]

You all look lovely!

These 30s/40s frocks you are all wearing, how do you get on with the length (for anyone over 5'5 that is) I am 5'8 and saw a gorgeous full length dress on e-bay, but it would have looked a little strange clinging onto my thigh [huh] The ladies were a lot shorter back then :eusa_doh:

 

[pigeon toe]

Landgirl, where are you finding these short dresses? I'm 5'2" and normally I feel like I'm 3'2" because everything is so long on me!

For some odd reason, there's no one around to take full length pictures of me, so here's my late 1930's dress in parts. You'll have to use your imagination!

Here's how it looks with my head attatched!

It's all handmade, which makes it even more stunning to me. I paid a pretty penny for it, but it's totally worth it. Fits like a dream, and though there are some minor imperfections, it's my new favorite dress.

 

[~landgirl~]

You are so pretty Pigeon Toe! And that dress is adorable!

Well the last dress (full length) was on ebay. It was a 1940s dress. I asked the seller for the length and then had bf measure me and it would have ended too high up and this dress NEEDED to end at the ankle!

Also I had had problems with sleeves being too short.

 

[Camille]

I'm definitly a proper early 30's fanatic. My height, however (I'm 5'11 and very slim, kinda hard to find dresses that doesn't end mid-thigh or are large as tents.) makes finding proper vintage dresses very difficult.

For some reason, blouses and skirts (or a pair of slacks if you feel particularly daring and modern. ) works just perfectly! And that's better for everyday wear anyway.

I don't wear vintage to work or on everyday basis, but then again there are so much vintage-inspired fashion these days that it keeps me perfectly satisfied anyway.

 

[Miss Sis]

Wow, I absolutely love the blue dress Miss Sis!

However, as for the 20's, I doubt that would ever work for me.

Thanks for the kind coments, ladies. The lady in the blue dress is my friend Tottie (fellow lounger when she has time) She has as much of an obsession as me for vintage. She calls that dress her 'Airhostess frock'! She has 'blamed' me for turning her from the 40s from the 30s lol

I am quite tall at 5' 9" so I don't have too much of a problem for the general shape of the 30s clothes. I have a small waist to my bust and hips, so I can wear 40s stuff well but I just love the 30s things more. I do find some things are shorter than the are meant to have been originally but not in the way many 40s frocks are. I made the maid's dress myself from a vintage pattern so I made it the right length and it has the most enormous hem.

I can't wear 20s as the shape is terrible on me. Anything falling in a straight line from the bust to hips makes me look huge and rectangular. Not very flattering!

 

[RaasAlHayya]

I also love the feminine, curvy styling and interesting details of thirties fashion for ladies.Twenties is cute, but doesn't go with my hourglass figure. Forties tends to be a bit mannish for my tastes.

--Leslie

 

[Glaistig]

I'm obsessed with the 20s. I have found that there are some amazingly nice "modern" versions of drop waisted dresses from maxstudio.com, BCBG, even Target. And Zappos has some nice retro t-straps and Mary Janes. (I'm still looking for the perfect Spanish heel.) My fashion bible is Laubner's comprehensive Fashions of the Roaring 20s.

I'm in the process of compiling some DIY flapper links for the crafty-minded. So far, I've made 2 knitted & felted cloches using this pattern. Here are two more links:

- Free vintage beaded bag & sautoir patterns (scroll down for scanned books)

- Free vintage 1920s dress instructions

Though I lean towards the '20s, I find the '30s to be particularly glamorous. What lovely clothing you all have posted!!

 

[Lauren]

You guys have seen these before, but here's some of my mine:

(the coat is 30's)

The coat is late 30's

(borrowed from Hemingway Jones) Late 30's dress

(borrowed from Valarie's myspace) Late 30's velvet dress and cape

 

[RaasAlHayya]

(borrowed from Hemingway Jones) Late 30's dress

The dress looks lovely...I'm sure it doesn't look nearly as good on Hemingway Jones!

--Leslie

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Moi in 1920's

That dress is a LOT like the silk 20s dress that I have!! When the in-laws go home and I have my computer back (instead of this laptop!) I'll probably truly contribute to this fabulous thread. Probably when this thread is on the second or third page of this forum

 

[Babydoll]

fftopic: I'm a bit confused. I'm watching Antiques Roadshow now, and one of the appraisers just said something that (for me) doesn't jive with one of the terms that's being used here. I'm hoping that one of you more knowledgeable ladies can shed some light on it for me (as this isn't the era that I know the most about).

The appraiser corrected the person she was appraising for that the diamond-and-platinum necklace pendant she had that was made in New York in the ninteen-teens wasn't "Edwardian", but rather it was "Belle Epoque". Edwardian refers to the reign of King Edward in England, and therefore items that are "Edwardian" are from England. Because the item was made in the States, it was "Belle Epoque".

Does that align with your definition of those two terms?

(Yeah, I'm a geeky type that needs definitions for the words I don't know.)

 

[Lauren]

That is technically right- but that would also mean Victorian wasn't a right term except in England during that reign. I guess England still rules as general terms for eras... [huh]

 

[marquise]

Oh my. The Thirties is absolutely my decade; & I rarely stray from it, in terms of collecting/wearing/listening. Primarily the late '20s to around 1937, when hemlines got shorter and music went into big-band mode (which I'm not quite fond of). It's perhaps my favorite time in general history-- the political climate, the aesthetics of both high art and ordinary objects, architecture, mass-produced goods, culture; music, radio & film. And clothes, clothes, clothes, of course. I'm all about the hand-made, knits and housedresses, scarce feedsacks; and have a deco wardrobe-full. I try to collect generic, personal items which tell stories.
My boy is all about it, as well; he's now doing the vintage, as inspired by me. We just started a band called McClelland & His Dustbowl Bride. Him on banjo, harmonica & guitar, me on a bass ukulele, washboard and vocals. Lots of dustbowl ballads and 1930s reefer songs!

Since we're doing pictures, here are some of my silly attempts at Farm Administration photos:

Not so Dustbowl-ish:

 

[marquise]

And, what the hair looks like when it isn't windblown-- loose fingerwaves:

 

[pigeon toe]

I love your aesthetic Marquise!! You're absolutely gorgeous and have such a lovely style. Do you have a myspace for your band or some other way we can listen to your music? It sounds just up my alley!

 

[RetroModelSari]

Ladies, so many lovely photos!

I´m not in it for the 20s cause it doesn´t look good on my figure (and believe me I tried) but I love the look of the late 30s. I don´t have much from that ero though, but I got me some patterns and will give the style a try And if it suits me I might get me some originals, too.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

The dress looks lovely...I'm sure it doesn't look nearly as good on Hemingway Jones!

--Leslie

*****Daisy, Mr. Jone's roommate, giggles uncontrollably for 10 minutes at the picture of him in a dress!*****

Hmmmm, should I start going through my closet and making sure everything is still there!!!!

 

[ShooShooBaby]

wow.

i'm not into 20s/30s clothes for myself really, but i wanted to stop and and say how GORGEOUS you all look!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Marquise -- great shots, great look, and great locations! If those were b&w, I'd swear they were originals.