Tuesday 22 July 2014

Models Wanted! For our 1940s Fashion Show!

Hey ladies! We're organising a free 1940s/war time fashion show called 'Puttin' on the Blitz' as part of the Fancy Pants programme of events and the Worcester Festival. It's taking place on Saturday 9th August and we're looking for volunteers to bring the fashions of the past to life!

If you've ever fancied stepping back in time and having a 1940s makeover for the day then sashaying down the catwalk, do get in touch!

You'd need to be available from 10am on Saturday 9th August for fittings and a rehearsal for two shows at 1pm and 3pm. The day will finish after the last show. All ages welcome and we've clothes up to size 16.

Let us know if you can join us, the more the merrier!

Monday 21 July 2014

1940s Fashion

The 1940s were dominated by the war years, which of course was a huge influence on the fashion of the time out of necessity, restrictions and also respect for the war effort. 

Women worked harder than ever but the ‘We Can Do It’ and ‘Of Course I Can’ propaganda of the time meant they also did it with style and pizzazz.

Certain fabrics and materials were scarce and were valuable resources for the war effort, so UK clothing was rationed from 1941 until 1949. Clothing coupons were required, limiting the amount of clothing people could buy. Rationing increased as the war went on as raw materials became scarcer and more precious, and it became harder and for people to buy new clothes.

A Clothing Ration Book source

The CC41 (Controlled Commodity 1941) label was introduced by the British Government and put on clothing and other items including furniture, designed to meet new standards of utility and non-wastefulness. Clothing was streamlined so that there were no unnecessary pockets, buttons or other details.  Hemlines rose again in the Forties to just below the knee for day wear, which meant less fabric was needed to make a dress or skirt. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this meant style was sacrificed, the Government enlisted the help of amongst others, renowned designers Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell (dressmaker to the Queen) to create the compact CC41 range to boost morale. So a working woman could hold her head high in ‘designer’ utility wear.

A CC41 Label

The Forties saw more women than ever before join the workforce, taking up posts previously held men who had gone off to fight and many new fashion styles for working women were born from practicality. Everyday clothing took on a practical, patriotic and even a pseudo military look so Women's suits often resembled uniforms. 

The CC41 tailored, utility wool suit from the Fancy Pants exhibition. It's a great example of masculine tailoring
with feminine touches 
Two examples of 1940s suits as worn by Jo's Nans.

This was the decade for sharp tailoring on a budget. Despite the long lines and wide shoulders of jackets, the emphasis was on the 'nipped in' waistline for a feminine silhouette, the wide lapels and extreme, padded shoulders accentuated this. It's clear to see that the 'power dressing' trend of the 1980s was directly influenced by the strong working women of the 1940s.
A WVS (Women's Voluntary Service) Uniform and Land Army Jodhpurs

Women literally wore the trousers in this decade and ladies who were young and fit enough were required to work in factories and on the land, if they hadn’t already joined the Voluntary Services or Armed Forces. The high-waisted work pants or slacks, usually had buttons at the side. For the first time wearing trousers became more widespread particularly amongst young working women. It was not always a welcome change though, and some women flatly refused to wear a pair!

A lady in the 1940s sporting a smart pair of wool slacks


A pair of original 1940s wool trousers with side fastening and interesting label: 'Laddies - Man- Tailored Slacks'
- purposely drawing more attention the masculinity of the trouser, could this be to market them as fit for 'men's work' perhaps? A pair of 1940s sensible, flat work shoes.

The siren suit on the left in the Fancy Pants exhibition

As well as sombre, military coloured garments there were also new, bright colours too. These attempted to counteract the limitations in clothes manufacturing and jolly-up outfits. Women also became adept at cheering up hats and clothes with feathers, felt flowers, beading.  It was however deemed unpatriotic and in bad taste, to be seen to be looking too extravagant with your wardrobe.

Colourful 1940s dress with bow detail - see this dress in the Fancy Pants exhibition.
Image copyright Worcestershire County Costume Collection & Wearable Vintage Fashion.

It was the era of the 'make do and mend' initiative and everyone was encouraged to make the most out of what they already had, particularly when clothing coupon allowances shrank year by year. Girls became more imaginative creating new looks from something old, even men's suits were cut up and remade as suits for ladies. 

A 'make do and mend' 'Man's to Lady's' suit from the Fancy Pants exhibition
Unfortunately this detail isn't viewable by the public, but inside the suit you can see where
the original button holes on the 'men's side' have been sewn up and the buttons relocated to
make it button the correct, feminine side. 

Handmade accessories meant that women were able to change their appearance for relatively little expense. Hats, gloves, bags, scarves and brooches could all be made at home from felt and other materials. Sewing, knitting and crocheting were popular ways to make new items on a budget. Fair Isle knitting patterns were a particularly popular style in Forties Britain for men, women and children, a traditional style that can still be bought today.

A handmade, felt posy brooch and a handmade telephone wire and button brooch

A pair of handmade gloves made from soft felt, see these in the
Fancy Pants exhibtion.

The tea dress, afternoon dress or floral day dresses are a key look of this era, and one that's often replicated by re-enactors and Forties enthusiasts. They are usually cotton or rayon shirt-waist, or shirt dresses, in a plain or patterned fabric. The shoulders would be wide, the waist fitted and belted, with a slightly flared skirt ending just below the knee. 

A 1940s floral shirt waist tea dress, hand knitted cardigan and straw bag, wool jacket
and turban to complete this daytime 1940s outfit.

Hats were very distinctive in this decade. There were a variety of hat styles and shapes and many hats were homemade from felt or hand knitted, or reconstructed from men’s hats. The ‘tilt’ hat worn angled down on the head was a particular popular hat style, they were often elaborately decorated with flowers or feathers.

The hat display at the Fancy Pants exhibition. There are some decorative tilt hats on show here.

Headscarves we're hugely popular, especially worn as turbans, which were a practical way of keeping your hair clean and tidy during a day in the factory, and were a cost effective alternative to a new hat. Turban scarf hats could be tied more elaborately and decorated with feathers for evening wear or for a smart occasion.

1940s scarves and tied as a turban. Learn how to tie a turban in different ways at the
Fancy Pants exhibition!

Famous Forties hair-dos such as the Amercian 'Victory Roll' were also born out of a practical need for women to keep their hair out of their eyes and out of factory machinery. This is a perfect example of the practical glamour of the Forties: hair wasn’t just scraped back, elaborate new up-dos were invented!

1940s suede and snakeskin platform shoes. You can see these on display
at the Fancy Pants exhibition.


A Forties gal’s shoe collection was nothing like it is today. It would be limited to just a few pairs: mid-heels, or masculine flat shoes for factory and land army workers. There were higher heels, platforms shoes and wedges around in the Forties, but these were predominately reserved for those who could afford them or for stars of stage and screen. 

A sensible CC41 labeled utility shoe with a sensible, sturdier heel.
Practicality was primary for everyday wear during wartime, but as we can see, that didn't mean that fashion was forgotten. So many key styles of the 1940s e.g: shoulder pads, sharp tailoring, head scarves, tilt hats, platform shoes, floral prints, just to name a few, would be revived at different times all throughout the 20th century, as designers were inspired to revisit and rework some of the icons of this decade.

Sunday 20 July 2014

Fancy Pants Set Up Week: Behind The Scenes

It's been a week since Fancy Pants: A Celebration of Style 1920 - 1945, out vintage fashion exhibition in Worcester, opened at the City Museum and Art Gallery! Have you visited yet?!

Here's a few photos of behind the scenes when were setting up the exhibition.

Here Clare is laying out the fabric in the lovely big display case. We used the same fabric that we'd used to cover the top of every mannequin, to create a uniformity:


The idea for the case was for it to represent a shop window display, as the celebration theme is for that era is a VE Day street party, so it continues the street theme. The 1940s room contains more creative, informal display arrangements, this is due in part to it housing the children's activity table. The table is in front of a large, original photo of a VE Day street party so it becomes an extension of the street party celebration theme of the room.

Here we have the table and photograph installed:


Here's Clare making a final adjustment to a fantastic 'make do and mend' suit. It's an original, wartime lady's suit that has been fashioned out of a man's suit. We had to pad out a smaller mannequin with wadding and tissue to ensure the suit hung correctly:

The handmade bunting goes up to put the finishing touches on the street party theme:


A small selection of colourful patterned 1940s clothing hang from our washing line, to further allude to the 'street' element of the street party celebration theme. Here it is partially installed. Ron made us a fantastically authentic washing line!


The main room that houses the 1920s and 30s costume has a much more formal layout. This is a photo of when we were working out what to put where, before the barriers go up. The layout was informed in part by the colour of each dress and how the colours and the numbers of mannequins balanced and worked as groupings.

We also wanted to make sure that dresses with any interesting rear, side or sleeve detailing, were completely viewable. There's nothing more frustrating in fashion exhibitions when you know there's some interesting detailing round the back but it's completely hidden!



When it came to the final layout, two dresses from our original selection were dropped from the 1920s section. This child's embroidered 1920s dress is lovely but it didn't look it's best on the mannequin. It didn't quite hang right and it needed a full slip underneath to make it look its best. By removing it altogether we also had a better balance of mannequins for display:


This 1920s silk dress also didn't make the final cut. The pale off-white fabric didn't look great against the bright white walls, especially next to much more detailed dresses containing some similar colours and it didn't hang well either. Although the long, pointy collars are a great feature of 1920s and early 1930s clothing, it was one of those rare occasions when an item of clothing looked disappointingly lacklustre when put on a mannequin! 

We also had the issue of balancing the number of mannequins, and felt this was another that was best left out, rather than squeezed in for the sake of it.


One of the last jobs on the final day of setting up was making up some frames of interesting ephemera from the 1940s. Here's Clare picking some pictures and articles from original magazines:


We also filled three frames of original photos from the 1920s to the 40s, as well as original greetings cards that worked perfectly with the celebration theme. Here's Jo putting the finishing touches to the 1930s frame with a hand coloured photo of her Great Aunt Gwen as the centre piece:



When everything was in place, there was just time to make a few final adjustments just before the opening night got underway. We went round the exhibition making sure everything was hanging correctly.

It's a really funny feeling touching the exhibits once the barriers we're up, it still felt naughty even as the curators!!





Saturday 12 July 2014

Fancy Pants: The Opening Night!

Yesterday evening we finally had our opening preview cocktail party for our vintage fashion exhibition! It was perfect end to a hectic week installing the exhibits!

Here's the fabulous Victorian museum building with the Fancy Pants banner installed:


Here's Clare just outside the gallery with the fresh new signage:


Tadaaa! Fancy Pants is open! Clare strikes a pose on our super glam red carpet in the middle of the exhibition! We have 1920s fashions to the left, 1930s to the right and 1940s in the end gallery space. 


A few minutes later the gallery space was packed with people!


Here we are chatting to the Mayor of Worcester about the exhibition and how we chose the items for display:



We we lucky enough to be joined by the wonderful Worcester Ukulele Club who went down a treat and had everyone singing along. They played a super set of 1920s-40s classics on the balcony: 


There's a snippet from instagram of their performance HERE.


One of our favourite dresses in the 1930s section, a green chiffon with heavily appliquéd and embroidered sleeves and neckline:


Clare looking fit for a film premiere in her 70s-does-30s deco glam dress!


The 1940s section with some CC41/utility fashions and smattering of wartime glam:


And here we are in a final pose amongst some of the 1930s fashion exhibits!


So Fancy Pants: A Celebration of Style 1920-1945 is now officially open and on until Saturday 13th September. We hope you can visit and do let us know what you think!

We'll be posting some behind the scenes action from our set up week as well as more vintage fashion posts, plus news and events. We have 1940s fashion show on Saturday 9th August as part of the Worcester Festival, so look out for more info and details coming up about that!

A massive thank you to everyone who came out to our opening party and special thanks to the Worcester Ukulele Club for providing the perfect soundtrack to the evening! Huge thanks to Ron who built the brilliant displays and really brought the exhibits to life and to Vickie and Maggie for all their hard work providing all the cocktails and canapés!

More soon!






Newsflash! More Fancy Pants in the Worcester News!

Our exhibition Fancy Pants hit the headlines for the second time this week in the Worcester News! Here we are posing with some of the exhibits before we set them out for display. 


Wednesday 9 July 2014

1930s Fashion

In the Thirties hemlines fell as well as the economy, with the stock market crash of 1929. From now on hemlines would be seen to reflect the general state of economic affairs. The difficult years that followed for many, finished off the flippant flapper-era and ushered in a more grown up decade. 

The 1930s took over the fashion reigns from the revolutionary Twenties and the explosion of the modern, media age developed women's clothing into new, and glamorous never before seen styles. Where the Twenties nada been about suppressing a woman’s natural shape, the Thirties were all about embracing it.

Construction of clothing saw great innovations with new, manmade and synthetic fabrics and the first commercial use of the zip in clothing manufacture. Despite this, it’s still quite rare to find a zip in everyday, handmade dresses of the Thirties. Side fastenings using press studs or hooks and eyes are the most common. The popularization of bias-cut dresses, which gave fabrics more stretch provided clever new concepts for fit and drapery. 


The Thirties have been dubbed the 'golden age' of Hollywood. Every women looked to the stars of the silver screen for fashion inspiration as well as escapism. It was the first time that designers in Paris we’re not the trendsetters as Hollywood studios didn’t want their stars to be seen in dated fashions once their films were released, so designers for the studios became famous for creating looks that every women wanted. 



Large ruched and ruffled sleeves are a key feature on day and evening dresses of this era. The 1932 Joan Crawford film 'Letty Lynton' is famous for influencing this look with a dress designed by Hollywood designer Adrian.

source

Ordinary girls longed for the revealing, clinging gowns of the starlets, to make an entrance at their local dance hall. Although hemlines had dropped there were still outrages to be caused: this was the first time that women’s clothing was overtly sexy and newly favoured were strappy, backless, figure hugging gowns for evening wear. 

Ruffled sleeves on what would have been a handmade dress, showing the
influence of Hollywood styles on everyday fashion.

Waists returned to the natural waistline during the Thirties and one of the most famous styles from the decade that encapsulates the era, are the pretty day or ‘tea dresses’ in feminine florals, often with bows at the neck and thin belts with bakelite buckles.



The best-dressed gals about town would take afternoon tea in this style of dress, whether they were homemade by mother or by a well known dressmaker. The outfit wouldn’t be complete without the essential matching accessories of bags, hats and gloves, especially the gauntlet shaped gloves of this period

 
Gauntlet shape 1930s glove with Bakelite detail


The ubiquitous Cloche was quashed in the Thirties, and hats became much more adventurous coming in all shapes and sizes including berets and pillbox hats, as well as more structural forms embellished with feathers or flowers. 


See Hollywood influenced gowns and some fabulous 1930s hats at our exhibition Fancy Pants: A Celebration of Style 1920 - 1945 at Worcester Museum and Art Gallery from Saturday 12th July.