Butterick 1920s Day Dress

I had brought an authentic mid-1920s dress pattern that I had modified for a velvet evening gown last year. Since I was so happy with that, I decided to use the pattern for its original purpose and make a day dress.

As  you can see, the original pattern is kind of girlish.  Since I am so thin, it is actually in a size range produced for girls and teenagers.  The overall look isn't too far off from what women were wearing at that time, though.  I found almost the same design being offered through the Sears catalog (Spring, 1925 if I remember correctly).  BTW, if you have a subscription to Ancestry.com, they have the entire run of the Sears catalog available online - a godsend for vintage clothing lovers! 

I an not a big fan of the Peter Pan collar, so I modified the neckline.  The collar I used is just a long rectangle cut to fit.  Again, I found examples of the open collar look in the Sears catalog.  I also wanted more pockets.  I added a second one, cut crosswise to play with the plaid of the fabric, and dispensed with the trim up the side.  I could probably still wear it with a hip level belt, but the older I get, the more I appreciate loose clothing.

The end result turned out pretty well (although a little rumpled in the photo).  I'll admit, the looser One Hour dress is more comfortable.  This looks professional enough that I can wear it at the office.  One thing I've noticed about the 1920s cotton dresses is that they are actually cooler to wear in the summer than the modern tank and shorts combination.  I survived a 90 degree day with no air conditioning in my windowless office relatively comfortably in this.   I will probably be making more of the One Hour dresses to wear around the house and more variations of my Butterick dress for work.