HSM #5, Practicality: 1934 Seersucker dress

I've been a busy bunny this month, and managed to make a second entry for the Historical Sew Monthly challenge for May: Practicality.  I mostly sew practical garments for myself since I'm at home with my kids, doing housework, running errands, doing the school drop off and pick up, etc. I am usually making a garment that is era-specific, or a combination of several garments, but I don't often try to replicate an image.  Sometimes, however, an image completely captures my imagination and I have to make it.  Enter the McCall 8272.

I'm making more of an effort to sew with "garment" fabrics, both to challenge myself, as well as expand my horizons and explore some different sartorial choices as I sort through how best to dress my changing body.  I had bought some seersucker on fabric.com earlier in the month as part of this effort, and thought a long time about how to use those stripes.  The fabric is very light but doesn't drape well.  I did think about some frothy mid-1940s housedress (I had several in mind), but I'm really trying to steer my clothes more to the early 1930s, plus I wanted to minimize stripe matching and pattern drafting.  I mostly wanted an everyday dress that would be cool and breezy in the disgusting sauna that passes for summer here. 

I loved the McCall's 8272 from 1934, and spent several days analyzing the details, trying to figure out the collar.  I admit, I was stumped.  I could not figure out how that collar was attached.  I asked the HSM forum on Facebook, and there were a few suggestions, but in the end, I figured it out myself.  I don't think it is quite right to the picture, but close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

I studied the pattern art more closely and realized that the collar was attached like a flat style collar and didn't wrap around to the back (the pattern art shows the scarf at the back of the neck, along with two neck darts, a feature I always add to my bodices anyway to account for my narrow shoulders). I drafted my pieces to match the neckline of the garment.  I used this tutorial to figure out how to attach the thing and went from there.  I should have made the triangles slightly different angles and had them wrap a little around the edge of my neck, I think, but not bad for my first self-drafted collar and flat collar attachment (I've only done butterfly collars up to now; they are constructed completely differently).

I put in another side zip (I'm really liking them now that I understand how to put them in properly!).  I did debate whether to put in an actual fabric overlap on the front of the garment, as in the pattern art, but decided that it wasn't worth the trouble, as I really dislike wrapped garments, and I thought the faux button finish would look similar anyway.

I modified the design to have kimono sleeves not because I don't know how to do set-in sleeves but rather because I prefer the fit and ease of a cut-on sleeve.  (I also like the fabric efficiency)  I did goof a little on the sleeve cuffs--the stripes are supposed to run the opposite direction from the striping on the sleeves, but I didn't account for the direction of the stripes on the kimono and cut the cuffs on the cross grain.  I should have cut them bias like at the top of the pocket, but live and learn (and get Luvs).  I could go back and change it at some point, I guess.

I couldn't quite match the belt buckle, but again, close enough.  The dress does look nice with a burgundy belt, but my middle is too swollen for that mess right now, so I put on my self belt instead.  I cut it kind of long so that I can adjust the tightness as needed.

I realize I'm not anywhere near as svelte as the pattern art, but honestly, I've seen tons of extant photographs from the era, and almost no one was.  And much of the pattern art is pretty disingenuous--if you look at the line image and compare it to the shape of the pattern pieces, it doesn't line up.  I just cut a dress from 1932 that looks straight up and down, as on the McCall's 8272, but if you look at the pattern art, the skirt section is very a-line.  Ditto for several of the one-piece dresses that were popular in the early 1920s.  

These were not the buttons I originally planned to use on this dress, but they ended up working out beautifully.  I really like the pinwheel detail, and they coordinate nicely with the fabric.

I have several buckles in this style, but other colors--it must have been a popular style!  I do think that I need to move away from buckled belts and toward sashed or buttoned belts instead, as I'm finding they can accommodate my body issues a little better right now.  I spent this morning cutting out fabric for my next round of sewing projects, and all but one project has an adjustable sash around the middle instead of a buckled belt.  I'm a little sad about it, as I love using my matched button and buckle sets, and I also have a lot of buckles that I like to use (plus, I just like the look), but I'm trying to accept that my body is in rebellion right now, and going through a lot of changes, and this is a season.  I can always get back to buckled belts later.

I include this image from 1915 as an example of fashion parentage.  I'm constantly finding images from the 1910s that have details on them that are replicated almost wholesale in the 1930s and 1940s.  I get a secret little thrill when I find one.  The dress in the center has the same asymmetrical button placket as the McCall's 8272, and a similar collar treatment.  The sweep of the skirt is obviously quite different, as is the overall look, but I think the line of descent is fairly obvious.  

The Challenge: Practicality

What is it? A practical summer day dress

Fabric: Robert Kaufman Classic Striped Seersucker, cotton/poly mix

Pattern: McCall's 8272 (I didn't actually have the pattern, so I modified my own dress sloper and drafted or borrowed the collar, pocket, and cuffs to fit the details)

Year: 1934

Notions: Vintage Penney's cotton bias tape from the 1950s, vintage pinwheel plastic buttons from the 1930s, vintage belt buckle, probably 1940s, modern all purpose zip from the stash

How historically accurate is it? 8/10--I used a cotton/poly mix seersucker, as it is almost impossible to find 100% cotton seersucker in modern fabric.  There is more cotton than polyester, however, so it doesn't seem too bad on the breathability.  I also used all purpose polyester zip and thread.  The original dress was an asymmetrical front wrap and wouldn't have needed a zip closure (and in any case, most dresses from the early 1930s don't have them anyway), but I don't like wrapped dresses and so modified the front with a faux button line down the side.  I also modified the sleeves to be cut-on instead of in-set, but kimono sleeves are perfectly period appropriate.  I straightened the skirt pattern slightly, but based the shape of my skirt on several other patterns from the same time frame.

Hours to complete: Hmm.  I had to do a bunch of hand finishing on this dress, plus extra drafting, so probably 7.

First worn: May 26, 2015 on a hot day to test its practicality in hot weather!  (It wears well in the heat, but I wish it looked better without foundation garments so as to be really cool and breezy)  Alas and alack.

Total cost: $7.48 x 3 yards of fabric, plus zip at about $2, plus vintage notions around $10, so let's say ~$35