The life and work of the designer synonymous with modern womenswear, by Betsy Blodgett.
Claire McCardell modeling her own design.Paris reigned the fashion world, also in New York untill Claire McCardell came along. Before Seventh Avenue was mass producing copies of French creations, C…
A blog about fabulous fashions from the past, especially the 1940's.
Models in Summer Dresses by Claire McCardell
The life and work of the designer synonymous with modern womenswear, by Betsy Blodgett.
Instead of talking about the current trends to wake up your wardrobe, today, I'm remembering New York Fashion Designer Claire McCardell timeless designs.
Before Diane Von Furstenberg stormed the fashion world with her 1970s wrap dress, there was of course Claire McCardell whom I could wax lyrical about for… well… a while. A couple of yea…
Claire McCardell was well known for her easy-to-wear sportswear designs. In the spring of 1949, her designs were featured in this 2-page ad...
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Instead of talking about the current trends to wake up your wardrobe, today, I'm remembering New York Fashion Designer Claire McCardell timeless designs.
Spadea 1146; ca. 1953; Claire McCardell - Sleeveless "popover" dress. Featured in Spadea American Designers' Patterns catalog, vol. IX, 1953 made-up dress at the Textiles & Clothing Museum of Iowa University TwinkleSparkleShine blog [insert your photos of this pattern made up] [insert your username, and make sure your preferences allow for people to contact you via e-mail. Do not list your email address here!] Tvjulie is looking for this pattern to buy. Faxon is interested in this pattern- thank
When it comes to an American classic, this popover dress by Claire McCardell is one of the most popular. McCardell was able to capture a moment in the social scene where utility and fashion intersected, creating this original garment design that was patented October 31, 1942 at a time when yardage and trims were in short supply. This dress wraps across the front and buttons down the left side. It pre-dates the later back wrapped house dresses made popular by such labels as Swirl. Sewn up in sturdy fabrics like cotton denim, it provided a women with a serviceable garment that had a bit of style as well. A photo of the original appears in the MetMuseum web site HERE. With a closer look at the actual garment, it appears that the sleeves were probably cut very 'flat' in a kimono shape, rather than set to hang down at a angle from the shoulder line, as the draft suggests. If you are wondering about patenting apparel, it is interesting to note that at one time the apparel industry tried this method to reduce copies from being made of original garments. Class D2 patents (apparel) during the 1940's was about 16.6% of all patents (compare this with 3.6% today). That was for 45,277 patents made during the 40's. source: US Patents
How Claire McCardell made the fashion world confront who gets the right to dress women.
And here, as promised is the end result of my latest vintage sewing project. The pattern dates to 1958, the last year of McCardell’s life. It looks like a playsuit, but this is actually tw…
The bronze statue will be unveiled in May 24, which would have been the designer’s 116th birthday.
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She has been dismissed as a designer of homemaker frocks: plaid shirtwaist dresses worn by Betty Crocker moms and Mrs. Cleaver clones — the domestic uniform of the 1950s — a fallacy jim…
My 1946 playsuit in a picture taken by my 1919-1924 Brownie No. 2 Model E. It's based on this 1946 suit by Claire McCardell at the Met. It's made of wool jersey from Nature's Fabrics. I made this in 2013 with plans to wear it to the hopeful pool party on Sunday at Costume College, but that didn't happen. I brought it in 2014 to wear to the beach, but that also didn't happen. I was quite happy to wear it to both the beach and Thursday night pool party at Costume College this year! Construction was very straightforward. The top is a trapezoid with a slightly scooped neck that's gathered to self fabric ties. To pattern the top, I took a rectangle of muslin, folded the edges in a trapezoidal shape, gathered it to my neck and underbust, adjusted the width, and marked the curve of my neck. The skirt is a wrap skirt, and just a rectangle of fabric gathered to self ties. The underlap area isn't gathered so the skirt sits better. To attach the ties, I sewed them right side to right side using my machine's stretch stitch. I sewed the back by hand. I also sewed the ties shut by hand. I'm sure there's an efficient way to do this by machine, but I'm a good enough hand sewer that I found it easy to do this way. I decided to make the top tie instead of button as in the original to make it easier to fit, and to, although I wasn't planning on wearing this for actual swimming, not have to worry about stretching if it got wet. I made the shorts a year after making the skirt and top--fortunately Nature's Fabrics still had the seafoam green! Instead of making the slightly diaper like shorts of the original, I used the pattern for shorts from the vintage pattern I used for my first playsuit. The shorts close in back with a button and loop at the waist and snaps on the placket. And though I didn't go very deep, I did wade into the ocean in this! A few waves tried to drench the skirt, but, being wool jersey, it repelled most of the water and dried quickly.
The life and work of the designer synonymous with modern womenswear, by Betsy Blodgett.
Claire McCardell modeling her own design.Paris reigned the fashion world, also in New York untill Claire McCardell came along. Before Seventh Avenue was mass producing copies of French creations, C…
Source: metmuseum.org via Vint on Pinterest cotton dress, 1942 The other day I was prowling around The Met's Costume Institute online collections and building a ridiculous dream wardrobe pinterest board I discovered over and over that I was drawn to designer Claire McCardell's work. While obviously fancy beaded evening gowns have their place, I'm much more interested in everyday fashions and cocktail attire which is what the shop focuses on. Claire McCardell's brilliantly structured pieces certainly fit with my personal aesthetic so I set out to learn more about her work. Claire McCardell mainly worked under the Townley Frocks label, a ready-to-wear brand that began in 1931. After the Townley Frocks label closed in the late 1930s, McCardell briefly worked for Hattie Carnegie, but McCardell's designs did not find success with Carnegie's clients who were expecting something a bit more upscale. Eventually, McCardell went back under the Townley Frocks name. The line was picked up by Lord & Taylor as part of their American Look campaign and become one of their most successful lines. Source: metmuseum.org via Vint on Pinterest cotton playsuit, 1944 The American Look was distinctly different from most designer fashions of the time which either came directly out of France or from American designers who were influenced by French fashion. These fashions even can seem distinctly modern by today's standards. She also incorporated simple fabrics such as wool, ticking, and mens shirting into her designs because she wanted to create items that suited the American approach to life, active and casual. These casual elements and fabrics were not just limited to everyday wear, but also incorporated into evening clothes and bathing suits as well. One of McCardell's signature designs was what is refered to as the "popover." The first outfit here is an example of a popover. The popover is designed for busy housewives and could be thrown on quickly and offer instant style. They came with a coordinating oven mitt. These dresses would have sold for just $6.95 and were widely popular. Source: metmuseum.org via Vint on Pinterest cotton dress, 1953-1957 McCardell passed away in 1958 at the age of 53 from colon cancer. Her influence, though, continues with designers such as Isaac Mizrahi and Anna Sui giving a nod to her in many of their collections. Resources: "Celebrating Claire McCardell," New York Times, 1998. "Fashion Design History Collection: Claire McCardell," The New School. "Label Resource Guide: Claire McCardell," Vintage Fashion Guild.
