While the term teenager wasn’t widely used in the 1930s, the 14-18 year old high school girl was a unique consumer of handmade and purchased clothing. Most clothing shops called them “juniors,” “junior miss,” or misses for the older teens.  For the most part, clothing available for teens was larger sized children’s clothing or small … Read More about 1930s Teenage Girls’ Fashion

The teenager and the high school girl, from ages 12 to 20, was at a crossroads in life and fashion. No longer suitable wearing the knee length ruffled dresses she wore as a young girl, nor ready for the maturity of women’s clothing, she found herself somewhere in between. During WWI, when High School girls … Read More about 1910s Teen Girls’ Fashions

Men’s casual clothing in the 1920s was not yet a clothing category. Upper-class men dressed in sportswear or dressed-down summer suits look quite formal in our modern eyes (dress shirt and tie required). The lower classes wore durable workwear everyday. Men’s work class clothing would eventually inspire a range of casual clothing in the 1940s, … Read More about 1920s Men’s Casual Clothing & Fashion Trends

Age had little to do with fashion in the 1930s. The shapeless 1920s were comfortable, but not flattering, so instead of wearing older styles, “gracious ladies” were encouraged to sport the same fashions their daughters wore. Having grown up in the late Victorian era, these silver-haired women were more used to fancy dresses, lace, feathers, … Read More about 1930s Mature Women Fashion, Mrs. Clothing

The woman who was 60 years old in 1940 had been born in 1880. Her life had progressed from the Victorian child to the Edwardian lady to a young woman in the 1920s.  She was sophisticated and regal, yet preferred current fashion trends over anything too “old.” Sears and other department stores and clothing shops … Read More about 1940s Mrs., Mature, Elderly Clothing and Fashion History

1920s men’s outdoor wear for hiking, camping, riding, hunting, shooting, and fishing has become a popular topic recently. It is one I addressed for women with women’s hiking clothing, but now I need to turn to the men’s side. Unfortunately, there isn’t one good source of information on the topic. I turned to my collection … Read More about Men’s 1920s Camping, Hiking, Hunting Clothes

The 1920s was a decade that admired youth. Fashions after 1924 were near-replicas of little girls’ clothing from the prior decade. Waifishly thin, flat chested, short haired, and full of energy was the ideal image of the flapper girl.  For the mature woman, the matron, the Mrs, and the middle to late aged wife, fashions … Read More about 1920s Mature Women Fashion, Mrs. Clothing

Unlike the 1900s, where ready-made plus size clothing was almost non-existent, the 1910s began to take the full figured woman seriously. With 12 % of the population considered Stout (meaning strong), clothing shops and mail order catalogs saw a need to not only offer women clothing in extra sizes, but also created designs specifically for … Read More about 1910s Plus Size Fashion History

Edwardian Fashion Sizes The idea of a woman being a numbered size wasn’t around in the Edwardian era. Clothing was made to measure, with multiple measurements taken to create a unique pattern and even a mannequin only for that customer. For mail order clothing companies such as Sears, clothing was sold at first by providing … Read More about 1900s Edwardian Plus Size Fashions

Lightweight, silky, nightgown’s had started to become prettier in the 1920s. Instead of white Victorian nightgowns, 1930s sleepwear resembled evening gowns, made in very light silk, satin, taffeta and rayon fabrics. Colors were anything but white- peach, pink, lilac, light blue. Prints were rare but a few existed in florals, similar to those found on … Read More about 1930s Sleepwear History | Nightgowns, Pajamas, Robes, Slippers

Ladies’ 1960s nightgowns, pajamas and robes. The same late ’50s styles continued throughout the 1960s but with new, brighter colors and patterns. More history of this decade will come later. For now, here are some pictures: