A Fall 1940s Outfit – Butterick 5859 Pattern Review

Butterick 5859 Pattern Review

Fall is one of my favorite times of year as far as clothing goes, because I can wear all the colors that I’m “supposed” to – gold, red, rust, sage green, and rich chocolate browns.  But the thing about colder weather is that I can’t always wear vintage dresses like I do in spring, in summer lest my legs freeze!  I recently whipped up a pair of 1940s style slacks that fit the bill perfectly for chilly weather!  It’s not very often I sew pants on the blog (the only other time was the Fourth of July 1940s outfit), but I thoroughly enjoyed using this pattern.

Butterick 5859 has been on my “to-sew” list for a bit, as I far prefer pants that have wide legs and higher waistlines.  This pattern in particular extends all the way to the rib cage, not unlike some of Ginger Rogers’ late 1930s and early 1940s flowy dance trousers.  In the 1940s the pants women wore were so much more flattering and forgiving than the styles of today, and they looked a lot more feminine, too!  I just don’t understand why women wear skin tight leggings and “skinny jeans” that make their ankles look tiny, and everything else look really not very picturesque…  You’d think women would have learned their lesson from the 1990s when those dreadful stirrup leggings were a fashion mainstay!  But for some reason which I can’t possibly imagine, the current female population ditched the more flattering bootcut and flared leg pants from the early 2000’s for these decidedly unflattering styles of today…  But I digress!

Pattern Review

This pattern was quite simple to sew, and fairly easy to fit with the long darts in front and back.  I moved the zipper from being a back closure to a side closure, since that’s the way women’s pants were generally constructed in the 1940s.  I did find that the top of the pants were too roomy to stay put without shifting, so I had to take in about 1.5 inches at the very top of the waist.  The pants are finished with a facing at the waist edge, and they could easily be lined, though I left them unlined.

I would definitely give Butterick 5859 a five star rating!  If I had time I would make several pairs of pants from this pattern in several different colors.  I used a medium weight polyester suiting fabric, but the design would work with a huge range of materials – velveteen, denim, twill, linen, or even something lightweight and fluid if you lined it.

For the rest of this outfit, a couple of the pieces are true vintage:

Vintage Hat: Purchased in a vintage store in London  (40s/50s)

Mink Fur Collar: Purchased in a local antique shop in Oregon (40s/50s)

Shoes: Not vintage, but they look very 1940s!  (Naturalizer)

Bolero & Camisole: from modern clothing stores

Till next time!

Katrina