Although she was known for being a sex-symbol, Marilyn Monroe wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. In order to play up that side of her, she was often seen wearing more subdued clothing than her costumes when she was with her husbands.
Here is a photo of her walking with Arthur Miller in a black dress:
Marilyn Monroe walking with husband Arthur Miller
This look of a more modest fitted bodice with a bell-shape skirt can be replicated using this Simplicity pattern in a wool crepe or rayon instead of a special occasion fabric (remember, it is often the fabric choice that determines the garment’s use) :
Simplicity Evening Pattern; Image courtesy of reclark on Flickr.com
“Better Things for Better Living…Through Chemistry” ~ DuPont Slogan, 1935-1982
Dupont News About Nylon Advertisement, 1948; Image courtesy of X-Ray Delta One on Flickr.com
When DuPont introduced nylon in the form of hosiery to the world in the late 1930s, American women embraced “the synthetics.” Today, synthetic fibers–such as nylon, polyester, olefin, acrylic, and modacrylic– account for approximately 56% of worldwide demand.
The primary difference between manufactured regenerated fibers and manufactured synthetic fibers is the raw material used. Manufactured regenerated fibers come primarily from cellulose (usually from trees) whereas synthetic fibers are usually made from petrochemicals.
Many people choose not to use/wear synthetic fibers because they are made from petrochemicals, a non-renewable source. And that is fine. I’m not here to tell you which fibers you should and shouldn’t use. I’m going to trust you to make the decisions that are right for you. That said, the amount of petrochemicals used each year to produce fiber is less than 1% of the total petroleum consumed in the United States each year (Sara J. Kadolph, Textiles, 1oth Edition). So, to answer the question posed in the title of this post, synthetic fibers aren’t petroleum guzzlers. In fact, they are actually made from the by-products of making petroleum.
Ironically, the environmental impact of creating synthetic fibers may actually be lower than natural fibers when water use, toxicity, pollution, and recyclability are taken into account (For example, China mills are notorious for polluting rivers with waste water from the manufacture of natural fibers). The truth of the matter is that the process of creating fibers–natural or manufactured–is not an environmentally friendly process. One reason there are very few textile mills left in the United States is because they cannot meet the strict environmental standards without having to charge more than Americans are willing to pay for their garments (there are other reasons, too, such as workers being cheaper overseas).
My purpose for writing this post is not to get people riled up and bad mouthing synthetic fibers. My purpose is that I want you to be informed about the fact that there are no easy answers when it comes to the choice of using synthetic fibers or not. But, realistically, with the price of oil trending upward, the arguments over natural versus synthetic may eventually be a moot point because of the cost to manufacture synthetic fibers.
Perhaps I’m just old and pragmatic. I try to make choices that support sustainability but I am realistic enough to know that I can’t eliminate synthetic fibers from my life completely. I have to do the best I can with the knowledge that I have while continually striving to learn more and do better.
Today is the second day of our playful exploration of this question: What would a nice, middle-class, homemaking, professor-type of a certain age woman wear if she were channeling a little bit of Marilyn?
Most people think of the iconic white dress from the scene in Some Like It Hot, where Marilyn Monroe stands over the subway grate and the dress blows up around her. They also think of her wearing form fitting “wiggle” dresses, similar to the one we looked at yesterday.
But Marilyn also wore suits:
Wardrobe test
And, so, I offer up this early 1950′s suit:
Simplicity 1278 Form Flattering Suit; Image courtesy of Patterngate on Flickr.com
The much anticipated movie My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams, opens this week. The studio is offering a Becoming Marilyn Sweepstakes at their Facebook page, through November 27th, I believe. It includes a trip to New York, a makeover, and a $1,000 shopping spree at Bergdorf Goodman (in other words, you’ll be able to get a scarf and some other trinket and then the money is gone).
Like many, I am fascinated by Marilyn Monroe. The constant sadness in her eyes haunt me. I read her autobiography, My Story, and it was obvious that her mental world was crumbling all around her. Her version of her life was later contradicted by her many biographers. My grandfather met her while he worked at MGM and said “she was just too sweet to commit suicide.” He believed there was a conspiracy that resulted in her death.
Everyone has said that she just oozed sexuality and sensuality. I’m not sure that I want to actually ooze sexuality, but at my age, I wouldn’t mind confirmation that “I still have it.” And so, with that it mind, I decided to have a little fun and play with the idea this week of what a nice, middle-class, homemaking, professor-type of a certain age would wear if she were channeling a little bit of Marilyn.
Today’s entry:
I love the top stitching on the yoke detailing and the sensible pockets.
After yesterday’s puzzling dress, I decided to go the opposite end of the continuum and share a Vogue pattern couture design that has an obvious opening. I absolutely love the buttons that run all the way along the side front. There is no doubt about how to get in and out of this dress! This design can be dressed up with fine fabrics or made elegantly snuggly with a lightweight wool.
A lot of the New Look inspired dresses from this time period used kimono sleeves. With kimono sleeves, you get a “two-fer” because the bodice and the sleeves are cut out as one piece. You simply sew along the shoulder down to the tip of the sleeve and then the side seam from the waist to the tip of the sleeve. How well you can pull off a kimono sleeve depends upon your body type and how low the bottom of the sleeve hits the body. If the bottom hits too low, it can really add a lot of visual weight and make you look a bit stumpy instead of elegant (sadly, I know this from experience). You can resolve this by redrawing the bottom of the sleeve so it sits up higher and more closely resembles a set-in sleeve.
I think this dress would be perfect for a day of shopping and/or meeting a friend for lunch. What do you think?
The days of Kodachrome Christmases are gone. But the photographs of eager children still in their pajamas on Christmas morning are burned into the collective memory of what a typical mid-century American Christmas was like.
Here are some vintage children’s sewing patterns so that you can recreate your own Kodachrome-inspired Christmas!
If you’ve been following the Clothes Make Magic series on my Modern Retro Woman blog, you know that the 1950s iconic full skirt that gathers at the waist is not the best silhouette choice for women with “prominent” hips.
The green dress in this illustration resolves that problem by using inverted box pleats. The pleats are stitched down to the lower hip area providing a smooth line but then the pleats release to create the illusion of full skirted-ness.
As I continued to examine this dress, it occurred to me that there is no apparent way this woman can get in and out of the dress. My original thought was that there was a zipper along the left seam because that was common practice in the 1950s. But then I realized that there aren’t any side seams…at least according to the illustration. I’m going to go with assumption that the illustrator took some license and that there are, indeed, some side seams. But then, how did she get the neckline over her head? And back zippers don’t usually go through this type of collar. See the problems?
As for the dress on the right, I love the button opening on the bodice but the illustration makes it look like the skirt was poorly made and that is why it is pulling to the right (and, we won’t even ask what she is doing with her right hand out in public…).
In today’s lesson, I show you how to check your pattern to make sure everything fits correctly using your muslin/practice skirt that you made in Lesson 3. I also show you how to make some basic changes to the pattern. (Here are the links for Lesson 2 and Lesson 1 if you missed them)
If you are like me, you look better in a sheath type dress suit rather than a skirt suit (and pant suits look horrific on me…I’m always in awe of those women who can actually pull it off without looking dumpy or matronly).
What I love about vintage sheath dresses is that they had a design element so that they weren’t plain like today’s basic (and almost always sleeveless) dresses are. I love the tab detail at the neckline of today’s inspiration that is repeated at the hem. The shirt-style jacket looks sophisticated without trying too hard.
How this dress could be replicated: Take a basic princess seam sheath pattern. Redirect the seam to the mid-shoulder, if you need to. Trace it so that you have a copy that you can cut up. Cut the top and bottom off of the center front to create the tabs (don’t forget to add overlap and seam allowances!). Tape the tab pattern pieces to the side front pieces. I’d sew the tab pieces to the center front (after applying a facing to finish the edges) and then attach the center front to the side front pieces. And, there you have it!
It is no secret that I love vintage Dior designs. And did you know that Dior designed some patterns for Vogue? I found this at So Vintage Patterns (Vogue Couture Dior Evening Gown, 1960):
Alas, the price point reflects the rare and couture nature of this pattern. So, knowing that there are basic silhouettes that designers work with, I went on the hunt to find another pattern that could be adapted.
I found this Simplicity 7384 pattern being offered by Vintage Crafting on Etsy:
Simplicity 7384; Image courtesy of Vintage Crafting on Etsy.com
Add the criss-crossing design element to the sleeveless dress and you have a Dior inspired dress!
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And so, with that it mind, I decided to have a little fun and play with the idea this week of what a nice, middle-class, homemaking, professor-type of a certain age would wear if she were channeling a little bit of Marilyn.
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