All posts tagged: Japan

Early 1950s fashions and fabrics in Japan, Part 2 of 5

I gave you just a tiny taste of some of the darlingness in the early 1950s Japanese pattern book. Here are a few more. Lets look at the suggested fabrics: There are clearly different sections in the book, with different styling. I think the above fashions were ladies fashions, and these are junior frocks: Aren’t they so lovely and young and fresh? There are children’s fashions too: I find it very interesting that the kids look Japanese (or at least fashion drawing Japanese), while the adults are either Caucasion or very generic any-ethnicity. And then there are these ladies. Who simply don’t have half their faces The simple dresses are livened by lovely details, and the beautiful fabrics. I hope you enjoyed them! More in a few days!

Early 1950s fashions and fabrics in Japan, Part I of 5

Published by The Dreamstress

When I bought Murisaki the dress form, something exciting happened. The proprietor of the Asia Gallery said “Oh, you might like these as well” and showed me these: Ooooooh….. And then he gave them to me. For free! Squee! (They like me. I buy a lot of stuff). Now, my Japanese is limited to what I remember of high school Japanese after a dozen+ years. So what I know about these is based on what I can tell from the images. At first I thought it was a dress catalogue, and a packet with one commercial pattern and a homemade pattern for tabi socks. Then I looked at it closely and realised that the pattern has ALL the dresses – every single child and adult dress shown in the catalogue – all drawn over each other ready for you to break your brain over as you sort them out. Based on the style of the dresses I’d say the patterns are from 1951/52. There are dozens, and dozens of them, and even illustrations of fabrics. …

A different kind of robe a la francaise

Published by The Dreamstress

In addition to all the recreation dresses that were in last Saturday’s talk, I used some real vintage garments as well. I own this beautiful early 1930s rayon robe, made in Japan for the Western market. The theme of Saturday’s talk was The Eastern influence on Western fashion, with a focus on Japonisme and Chinoiserie, so what could be better than a kimono inspired robe made in Japan for the Western market? Madame O has a beautiful 1940s peach pink negligee that paired perfectly with the robe (and being the darling that she is, of course she was willing to let me use it for the talk). The only thing we needed was a model. I got asked to do Saturday’s talk at the last minute, and coordinating models was touch and go the whole time. Enter Mrs C and Hortense (you have to say her name in the most glamorous French accent possible). Hortense is a French exchange student who came to Saturday’s conference with her host. Mrs C found her, pounced on her, …