The Vintage Dressing Gown, Part 1

18:41 Renée 8 Comments

For the last few weeks I have become slightly obsessed with vintage dressing gowns (a.k.a. : robe, housecoat, peignoir, hostess gown, breakfast coat and in more modern terms, a bathrobe. Here we also call them dusters, I don't know if that's a dutch thing and if it has any relation to the western duster. And of course we also have the 1920s kimono. There are slight differences between some of those, but generally they have the same purpose.)

A month or two ago I had bought a gorgeous dressing gown online for the shop. First I thought it was from the 40s but it turns out to be early 1950s. It is floor length with gigantic 3/4 puffed sleeves and has a lovely big floral print. It doesn't fit me well at all so that prevented me from really falling deeply in love with it. Still, I thought, those robes from back in the day, they are so fabulous, I want one. For the past weeks I have been casually browsing the web for robe / dressing gown patterns from the 1940s and 30s so that I could make one for myself. I noticed that I was starting to get a tiny bit obsessed.

Last week I bought a late 30s / early 40s robe from someone online for a very reasonable price. The picture wasn't super clear and it didn't seem like something that I'd be interested in for myself. I just thought it would be nice for the shop since I want to focus on selling things from the 30s and 40s. When it arrived I was surprised, it was much prettier than it looked in the pictures. It is a pretty lilac satin, with little flowers embroidered all over and short puffed sleeves (I love love love puffed sleeves). I put it on (as I always do with any garment I buy for the shop as it helps me determine the fit and size) and I was sold. It was so beautiful and elegant. I realized I wanted more. Then I remembered all the time spent searching patterns and actual vintage robes. I realized this was a true obsession. (Although my interest gravitates more towards the patterns than the made up ones.)

First I was merely focused on 1930s and 1940s robes. But after reading Peter aka Male Patterns Boldness' post about his 1920s kimono project I wanted one of those too.

I will share my two vintage dressing gowns with you soon in another post. Right now I just wanted to share some patterns I have been drooling over. I haven't bought any yet because so far I haven't been able to find one that 1. is (close to) my size 2. is complete 3. won't cost me a kidney.

(p.s. If you have any of these patterns or a similar one for sale or trade for a 30" - 34" bust, please let me know!)

Enjoy!

Simplicity 1470

Simplicity 2299

Advance 2364. Someone on e-bay actually reproduced this pattern, but for the price you could buy an actual vintage pattern as well, and i'd really rather have the real one. Still, I have been debating whether I should buy it or not for over 2 weeks now.


Simplicity 3475. That same seller reproduced this one as well.

New York Gold Seal 1427

Simplicity 3166

Butterick 4133

Du Barry 2270B

8 comments:

  1. Wat een mooie patronen! Vooral die met een capuchon vind ik erg leuk!

    Ik zou ook eens iets dergelijks moeten maken, lijkt me ideaal voor in huis :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gosh, all these robes are just so heavenly! I hope you make one! They almost look like ball gowns.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anthea: Ja ik houd ook van capuchons! En het is zeker ideaal voor in huis! Dit is toch een stuk eleganter dan zo'n witte badjas? haha

    Joanna: Yes they really make you feel very elegant! And I will definitely make one, hopefully very soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Have you had any luck finding any patterns like those? If so, where?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was really searching for such a nice post and got here...Thanks for sharing such a nice information, its beneficial for me...Keep sharing more Bestreviewsridge

    ReplyDelete
  7. Check internetarchive.org they have patterns to borrow, while you do that I’ll go see how I work this Pinterest thing properly. All the best in your search,

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don’t usually comment but I gotta tell thanks for the post on this perfect one . Visit Website

    ReplyDelete

Please don't hesitate to leave a comment or ask any questions - they are very much appreciated!