Vintage Party Dress Inspiration

Inspired by our Liesl’s Party Dress pattern, I wanted to do a deep dive into similar dresses you see in 1940s-50s fashions.  When we think “1930s” we often think of those long, slim dresses that Ginger Rogers would wear, probably in silk charmeuse, and without a lot of wiggle room.

Dior’s New Look in the Late 1930s?

Towards the very end of the 1930s, though, fashions changed from the narrow elongated dresses to a more traditional, hourglass sort of silhouette.  Likely due to the huge effect Gone with The Wind had on culture, some dress styles began to feature puffed sleeves, tiny fitted bodices, and voluminous gathered skirts. 

Above is a vintage evening gown pattern from the early 1940s (Vogue 5690).  Note how full the skirt is, and how they’re wearing a wide off-the-shoulder neckline with the exact same tiny puffed sleeves.

By the mid to late 40s, the style you see above was in vogue.  Look at the knee-length version in particular – with the same fitted bodice that ends at the natural waist and the band of puffing at the neckline, you can see a striking resemblance between this pattern and the “Liesl’s Party Dress” look.

With the advent of the circle skirt, 1950s dresses often had similar bodices to those above, but with full gored or circular skirts that fit smoothly at the waist.  There was hardly a more elegant look in the 1950s than an enormous, puffy skirt with a bodice that ended in an off-the-shoulder or portrait collar neckline.

  As illustrated in this pattern below, a popular 1955 day dress (McCalls 3530) had a gathered skirt, fitted bodice, and neckband of puffing just exactly like the “Liesl” style we’ve been discussing. You could create this dress by omitting the sleeve & sleeve puffing, and making the neck band out of the same material as the rest of the dress.

As you can see, there are so many options with what could recreate using the Liesl’s Party Dress Pattern.

If you’ve recreated a dress from this pattern, do send us your photographs!

Happy sewing,