Tag: 1940s

  • Observations on Truman Capote’s Swans

    Observations on Truman Capote’s Swans

    While working on new videos for the YouTube Channel, I decided earlier this year to start exploring and engaging with 40s-60s TV shows and movies. Explicitly, learning more about media portrayals during this period of time.

    Jumping in with both feet, I tackled the Feud: Capote vs The Swans , which is a snapshot of Truman Capote and his beloved “Swans,” the upper crust of mid-century cafe society. It was a study of (what I’ll be affectionally naming) “Champagne Problems” mixed with “Real People Problems,” which make for an odd marriage of relatability and horrendous classism.

    Finishing the show, I ran off to pick up two books which would help me understand the narrative better, because unfortunately, the show left me unsatisfied.

    Two books about Truman Capote stacked on top of each other. One has a shoe balanced on a pencil, the other has a woman with her chin in her hand.
    Books I picked up to read more about Capote and the Swans

    NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour summed up my thoughts perfectly (emphasis mine):

    If you were avoiding this because of his too much of a muchness, I would say, for me, there was not enough of an enoughness here. I wanted something dishy and filled with quips and banter and waspishness. But this show turns out to be very mournful and melancholic, and it’s about regret and self-loathing. … It was thrilling to get to watch these great actors portraying these icons of the New York social scene, who I had heard about but never entirely understood. But the television making was confounding. Essentially, all plot points happen in the first episode and a half.

    NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour, “Does ‘Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans’ ruffle enough feathers?”, FEBRUARY 16, 2024

    The Legend of Capote

    31 year old Truman Capote photographed by Richard Averdon. Black and white image of a shirtless male, resting his cheek on his arm.
    Truman Capote, Photographed by Richard Averdon in 1955

    It’s been forty years since Truman Capote has passed on and he’s comfortably recognized amongst legendary American writers like Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Mark Twain. His prose was beautiful, iconic, and tragic, influenced by his upbringing and unique lived experience as a gay man in the 1930s.

    Reading the inciting piece inspiring this season of The Feud, there seemed to be quite a bit of navel gazing expressed in his work, almost as if Truman was holding a mirror up to himself.

    The point is, the theme moving through your work, as nearly as I can locate it, is of people achieving a desperate aim only to have it rebound upon them – accentuating, accelerating, their desperation.”

    “Unspoiled Monsters,” Truman Capote, 1975

    While writing Answered Prayers, in the desperate striving for completing the piece, his work ultimately rebounded and lead him down the path towards self medicating with drugs and alcohol, committing social suicide.

    The outcome of it hints at the traditional narrative around the Tortured Artist, though on the heels of recent discourse around Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poet’s Department, the relationship between (financially) “well-off” people and the pain of manifesting art is actively being examined.

    Truman was a complex individual, whose relationship to his writing, beauty and spectacle, and the women who he surrounded himself with was something I’m not sure (from reading these books) he ever was able to find peace with.

    On one hand, in prioritizing the creation of his art, he threw his muses under the bus. On the other hand, he vastly underestimated how much these women meant to him and their practical role in his sense of self.

    Both books were painful reads as a result.

    WASP women of the era

    Black and white image of Babe Paley in her 1940 wedding dress, wearing a tiara and veil, holding a flower next to her head and leaning on a couch arm.
    Barbara “Babe” Paley photographed by Photographed by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, October 1940

    Reading “Capote’s Women” was like reading reality TV in paperback form. The featured women: Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness, Slim Keith, Pamela Harriman, C.Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill, and Marella Agnelli, all lead complicated lives, ultimately striving to find their footing in a life that had been outlined by social expectations of women in their class.

    Internalized misogyny was rampant, with them submitting to a prescribed life of external abundance while simultaneously suffering alone, unwilling to change their circumstance to maintain their lifestyles.

    Her whole life was about marrying a proper rich man and then having her daughters do the same. Education was not to be squandered on her. Best to ‘finish’ her lightly with a proper veneer of charm and no dangerous knowledge that might offend her husband.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    She spent her life creating this image that she had everything, but it was simply not true. Here was this woman envied beyond measure for her perfect life, when Truman was the only one who saw that her existence was a tragedy.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    Time and time again in these women’s stories was the reality that they’d been groomed to embody a certain life, maintain a certain role in their marriage, and do everything in their power to stay within their prescribed level in society. Even while aggressively seen as less-than and ultimately incapable of any other life.

    Even women of his class were in some measure inferior beings and largely interchangeable.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    As may be imagined, while WW2 and the Great Depression raged, the struggles of the world at large didn’t seem to touch them, insulated and gliding above the rest of society.

    There were many women from upper-class backgrounds out there marching with their sisters, exploring a far broader world than they ever could have as children of privilege. But Babe had been brought up to believe there was only one place for her, and it was not among such plebeian efforts.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    Additionally, the ease of moving through the horrors of the day seemed water off a duck’s back and it’s difficult to tell from either The Feud or “Capote’s Women” what their individual moral stance was on the painful tragedies occurring elsewhere.

    Gloria Guinness, as a Mexican woman, married a German count in 1935 and moved amongst Nazi high society. Pamela Harriman married the son of Winston Churchill, having parties and affairs amongst the air raids. By the time the mid-50s rolled around, they’d gone back to mingling in the same rich circles, seemingly (from the reading,) putting the past behind them as if it were a blip of an inconvenience.

    There’s an anecdote shared between the show and books which also illustrates the relationship to the larger family unit, specifically children as an accessory to marriage (but not much else.) When C.Z. Guest is asked about how her children were raised by a governess in 1977, she said to the Washington Post:

    …That doesn’t mean I never saw them. Of course I saw them. I went fox hunting with them.

    By extension, the ease of which these women moved through the courting process, marriage, affairs, and divorces is reduced down to it’s practical implications: how does this or that action contribute to long term security?

    It reminded me of the status of women through history, wildly dependent on male’s financial support to live in return for producing male heirs for the family. Cue Jane Austen’s infamous line from “Pride and Prejudice,” Chapter One

    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

    Truth be told, the amount of unhinged stories in this book was shocking and a solid reminder that no matter the decade, era, or stratus in society, we’re not immune from finding a way to be sloppy and obnoxious just trying to get through life.

    Holding up Appearances as a Form of Control

    Back and white image of a young Lee Radziwill in her debutante dress, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1951. She wears a gown with a large rosette on her chest, with one exposed shoulder, staring into the camera.
    Lee Radziwill photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1951

    Relating these women into the context of vintage fashion, it’s interesting how much they groomed themselves obsessively, exerting the little control they actually had over their food, clothing, and homes.

    A lot of them cultivated an image of themselves which could be admired and aspired to through multiple venues such as best dressed lists in magazines like Harper’s Bazaar or Vogue or in entertaining in their own homes:

    Truman knew this sort of beauty and perfection did not just happen. He saw Babe [Paley] as an artist who had created herself as an inspired work of living sculpture. In an era when soup cans and scribbles on a canvas were high art, why couldn’t Babe be seen as the ultimate piece of performance art?

    … [Babe] was akin to a splendid piece of art that [her husband] laboriously acquired and set out on his drawing room, a vivid symbol of his good taste, to be admired but rarely discussed.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    The hyper focus on how they would be perceived was astounding, in some cases leading to eating disorders purely for perceived social gain and control of their image.

    Anorexia was the swan’s occupational disease, and Lee [Radziwill] was obsessed with her weight all her life. … She had lost enough weight to present her new stylish, svelte image to the world.

    …In doing so, she upstaged Jackie [Kennedy, her sister] on her night of nights, which was clearly the point.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    Ultimately, though, they were all compensating for their internal isolation and sadness. Some of these women suffered nervous breakdowns, the humiliation of their husband’s infidelity and sex addictions, attempts at suicide, alcoholism, and financial dependence so crippling that there was no way for them to escape… even if they wanted to.

    Internal struggles aside, holding control of appearances was paramount to their lives.

    If by malnutrition, ensuring social currency, and doing everything in their power to maintain their class status was a top priority, it’s no surprise Truman Capote’s “La Cote Basque”, published November 1975, was rightfully a bombshell.

    Answered Prayers

    Black and white image of Truman Capote, photographed by Richard Averdon. The image is from the chest up, focusing on his face, looking straight into the camera with tired eyes.
    Truman Capote, Photographed by Richard Averdon in 1974

    The 1987 Editor’s Note in “Answered Prayers” is absolutely heartbreaking. In it, Joseph M. Fox (formerly the Senior Editor at Random House) reflects on the emotional and substance abuse spiral of Capote’s life after publishing “La Cote Basque.”

    What’s made abundantly clear is how publishing the work would fundamentally rock his world for the worse.

    When his biographer, Gerald Clarke, read the pages, he was aghast. … ‘You can’t publish this,’ Clarke told Truman flatly. ‘The characters are barely cloaked. Everyone you’re writing about will recognize themselves.’ … But Truman dismissed his concerns: ‘They won’t know who they are,’ he said with a wave of his hand. ‘They’re too dumb.

    – “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    As it turned out, he didn’t know what he was doing. … ”La Cote Basque” produced an explosion which rocked that small society which Truman had set out to describe. Virtually every friend he had in this world ostracized him for telling thinly disguised tales out of school, and many of them never spoke to him again.

    Editor’s Note, “Answered Prayers”, 1987

    Reading it today, the 33 page chapter is crude, disdainful, and absolutely cutting. In the marginalia of the book, I actually wrote “SPITE” in large letters as my initial impression.

    Black and white image of Slim Keith, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1950. She wears a white long sleeve button up top, black trousers, and ballet flats. She leans against a wall and holds a piece of fabric in hand.
    Slim Keith photographed by Cecil Beaton for Vogue Magazine, 1950

    While it ties in elements of magical realism present in the surviving two chapters of Answered Prayers, it reduces the subjects it draws inspiration from to pure gossip and tabloid fodder.

    Marella Agnelli, who was not referenced in the chapter, sensed the disconnect in the years leading up to publication. She’d started to observe how Capote’s perspective was impacting their relationship, eventually cutting ties with him shortly after reading an early draft:

    Marella began to sense that something was wrong. Where was the writer she admired so much? This was shallow, trivial, and just plain nasty. Some of these people she knew, some she didn’t, but it was all the same. Everyone had seen Truman’s dark, petty side, but now it had taken over and consumed his writing.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    The story reduced the Swans to the gossip column in ways they couldn’t control. While they may have been featured as Best Dressed, or leading cultural icons for the world, the ease of which he trashed their personal lives was direct and revealing.

    He prioritized highlighting Women Attacking Women with information they had shared to him in confidence, weaponizing their inner worlds against one another. He also laid bare the painful stories these women attempted to conceal about their unfaithful husbands and shaky social standings to an audience who could point and laugh.

    Truman took a deliciously bitchy dig at a weak spot in each woman’s armor: their serial divorces. He referred directly to each woman’s multiple marriages, calling Gloria ‘Gloria Vanderbilt di Cicco Stokwski Lumet Cooper.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    For women who had lived in the lap of luxury, working hard to hold up a mask of composed elegance, exposing their failures to the public was voyeuristic and cruel (and not far from the arguments which could easily be made in today’s culture.)

    What made this revelation even more appalling was the gusto of which it was done, specifically with Truman Capote’s relationship to the Swans as his “source material.” Similar to the energy in which he ingratiated himself to Perry Edward Smith and Richard Hickock in writing In Cold Blood, he used what he’d learned in his relationship as a tool for his work. But as a result, had diluted himself into thinking this would have no consequence with these women:

    Despite the initial fall out, Truman was convinced that once the Swans realized how much they needed him, they would all come fluttering back. It did not happen.

    … As painful as it was for the Swans, they had husbands, lovers, other friends, and extensive social lives. They could move on. Truman could not. He needed these women more than he had ever imagined.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    After publication, Truman Capote spiraled into depression, alcoholism, and rampant drug use, being cut off from nearly all Swans. Between drunk appearances on talk shows (trigger warning: alcohol abuse) and going in and out of rehab clinics, he became isolated from remaining friends and never completed “Answered Prayers.”

    He died in 1984, nine years after publishing “La Cote Basque.”

    Takeaways and Ruminations

    Truman Capote and The Swan’s lives in general are extremely fascinating. The combination of “Champagne” and “Real People Problems” noted at the beginning of this essay felt consistent through out both the Feud and the books on which the show was based.

    While it’s difficult to identify with these larger-than-life people, the arch of their lives and relationships is actually remarkably tragic. Their wealth and standing in society didn’t negate their hopes, fears, insecurities, and betrayals. This definitely puts current society into perspective, nearly 100 years out from these people’s lives, especially within the context of social media putting people on pedestals.


    References

    1. Leamer Laurence: Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era
    2. Truman Capote: Answered Prayers
    3. NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour, “Does ‘Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans’ ruffle enough feathers?”, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
    4. The Washington Post, “C.Z. Guest: The Rich Fight Back”, 1977
    5. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
    6. Esquire Magazine, “La Cote Basque”, 1975
  • How to Sew Vintage Vogue 9280

    How to Sew Vintage Vogue 9280

    Collar and front bodice of 1948 Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Can we PLEASE take a moment to admire how epic Vintage Vogue 9280 is?

    If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been saying this since day one of getting my hands on this pattern. The collar slays me over and over– and I can’t get over how this dress looks like it stepped out of a movie scene in the 1940s.

    Everything about it is over the top, just how I like it. My inner Drag Queen is a happy girl ?

    Sewing tips and video walk through for Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Spending the time sewing this vintage dress makes me appreciate all the intricacies of small techniques that build on one another.

    Full disclosure- there is a lot of hand sewing on this piece. But, there’s something absolutely beautiful about pulling out all the skills you’ve acquired over time, growing them into a head turner piece.

    I can imagine for someone attempting to sew for the first time, it can seem like an unreachable goal. But guess what- you can make it, too!

    1940s vintage sewing, Vintage Vogue 9280 video walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    Is Vintage Vogue 9280 complicated? Yes and No.

    For intermediate and advanced seamstresses, this retro dress is not a challenge, but more of a process, meticulously working your skills into a finished piece. You can observe the instructions, nod your head in understanding, and jump in.

    For a beginner, though, this dress is a journey. Expect to take your time with it, completing one step at a time with patience, as you push your experience further. Make the dress with love and care, and accept the journey.

    Collar close up, Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Machine sewing, Vintage sewing techniques and walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    Are there things I would have done differently with this piece? Yes.

    I don’t have a laundry list of changes I would have done, but I have a few points you may want to consider as you’re working on this dress. None of them are particularly difficult, though, and the pattern is very straight from the envelope (and of course after you’ve done your fitting!)

    Vintage Vogue 9280, sewing walkthrough and sewing help | Vintage on Tap

    Consideration #1: Figure out what camisole you want to wear under this dress.

    As you can see in my completed photos, I wore a black camisole since it was the only piece of clothing that I owned that could work with this piece!

    Less than ideal.

    Remember that this dress completely opens up above the waist and is generally form fitting, so whatever is worn underneath should match in some capacity. Also, depending on your bust size, you may see more (or less) of the camisole.

    Vintage Vogue 9280, how to sew 1940s clothing | Vintage on Tap

    Consideration #2: Wear a slip or light petticoat under V9280 for a better flare on the skirt.

    No need to go crazy with a petticoat, but a couple layers of pleated tulle would be enough to give a little bit of a perk to the skirt while you’re swooshing around in it.

    This is particularly noticeable at the center front, where the skirt inadvertently creates a pleat and sort of “sticks out” if you’re standing still. Not really a problem, but a light pannier would be more than enough.

    Vintage Vogue 9280, sewing walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    Consideration #3: Re-Fit the dress before committing to the side closure.

    This point is probably my biggest note, especially after having fitted the dress earlier in the video series.

    Essentially what you need to consider is that when you’re matching up the center front of the dress during the fitting, you’re assuming that the center front will overlap- but it doesn’t when worn.

    The center front is completely open once the piece is sewn up, causing the top of the dress to open up naturally and create a lot of extra ease in the side seams.

    Suggestions to “fix” the issue:

    • Stitch further up the center front seam, closing up the center front (will require drafting changes to the collar pattern pieces)
    • Attach some sort of closure to the back of the detachable collar piece, to close the center front and bring in the extra fabric at the side seams
    • Nip in the side seams, committing more to the open-front look (may require redrafting a muslin with the collar open more realistically)

    1940s Vintage Vogue 9280, learn about retro sewing with this video walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    You can see in my images that there are some gathers/extra fabric under my breasts at the side seams, which I’m guessing is because of this design feature— as well as the weight of the collar (each lapel had 6 layers of fabric.)

    If I were to make this again tomorrow, I would opt for closing up the center front so I could kill multiple birds with one stone: not need a camisole and get a better fit under the breasts. 

    Hand sewing, Vintage sewing techniques and walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    What I appreciated the most about Vintage Vogue 9280 was the lack of corner-cutting in the instructions.

    Hand sewing everywhere, bound button holes (watch the Bound Buttonhole video here), waist stay, side snaps, and sew-in interfacing! Of course, to a strictly modern seamstress, all of it may seem excessive, but if you’re into doing it old school, this pattern has it all.

    Even the shoulder pads are made from scratch. And they are amazing. I may have to make myself an additional set to properly finish my Butterick 6282 US Navy Dress.

    1940s Vintage Vogue 9280, learn about retro sewing with this video walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    Pinning bodice, Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Bodice interior, Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Embrace the sewing techniques.

    Sew-in interfacing is (arguably) easier to deal with than iron-on. Simply cut and baste and in a similar way as underlining, and the “interfacing” lends its qualities to the shell fabric.

    In my case, I went with the pattern suggestion of using muslin, which lended a stable but soft feel to the collar pieces without being unnecessarily stiff.

    Collar close up, Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Collar interior, Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    Take care to match up your collar pattern pieces as closely as possible. With this style of collar, the drama makes any inconsistencies obvious. If you’ve had to make changes at the pattern level, be sure to walk your pattern pieces until you’re confident you’re good to go.

    Back view, Vintage Vogue 9280 | Vintage on Tap

    The only modern change I would make to the materials list would be a square piece of iron on interfacing at the center back pleat.

    Unfortunately the weight of the Vogue 9280 skirt is immense and I had to go back several times to try and reinforce that pulling point.

    You can see from the drag lines, the weight of the skirt is being yanked down at that point, even after reinforcing the pleat to the center back darts.

    Vintage Vogue 9280, how to sew 1940s clothing | Vintage on Tap

    All in all, Vintage Vogue 9280 was challenging but in a good way.

    When I unfolded the directions, I turned to look at Jose and said something to the effect of… “This one is going to be a biggie.” — it didn’t disappoint and is probably one of the longest videos we’ve ever filmed!

    For such a luscious retro piece, I’m happy to own it and to be able to pull it out of my closet for a night out with friends, sipping champagne and being fabulous.

    Vintage Vogue 9280, sewing walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    1940s vintage sewing, Vintage Vogue 9280 video walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

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    How to Sew Vintage Vogue 9280, from the 1940s. This is a full video walk through on how to make this vintage reproduction dress. | Vintage on Tap


    This post is part of the Vintage Vogue 9280 Video series! Check out the other installment of this series by clicking the image below:

    Sewing Vintage Vogue V9280 video series! This series breaks down the fitting and sewing process for this 1940s piece | Vintage on Tap

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    Thank you, McCall’s Pattern Company, for making this video series and collaboration possible!

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  • How to Fit the 1948 Vintage Vogue 9280!

    How to Fit the 1948 Vintage Vogue 9280!

    Vintage Vogue 9280 is a gorgeous dress. Learn how to fit this 1948 retro dress. | Vintage on Tap

    This post is part of the Vintage Vogue 9280 collab video series with McCall’s Pattern Company! To learn more about the series, including the accompanying Sewing Compendium for this series and GIVEAWAY, check out the intro post! 


    Fitting Vintage Vogue 9280 isn’t particularly tricky, but it can seem that way since it features five darts AND a princess seam.

    The major fitting aspect of this piece lies in the princess seam, with the other darts each deserving different consideration.

    Under lapel shaping darts for Vintage Vogue 9280. Fish eye dart and regular dart for a great fit on this retro dress! | Vintage on Tap

    On the bodice front, the shoulder darts help the collar lapels fall elegantly open and aren’t particularly adding more to the fitting experience. Same goes for the dart at the side front, which (from my observations) seems to assist in molding the dress around the bust, which I love.

    With Vintage Vogue 9280 being a 40s retro sewing piece, the extra molding makes sense. The dart is aiming for a close fit and tight silhouette with light ease; the side front dart really helps nip in the design. It actually reminds me of my Butterick 6453 fitting video, where a regular princess seam wasn’t enough to really get that nipped in waist, and I had to do some additional molding to make that look work on my body.

    Center back dart for inverted pleat on Retro V9280. Muslin tutorial for sewing this garment to fit. | Vintage on Tap

    On the bodice back, the darts in the back come together for the inverted pleat design. (For the purposes of the muslin, I did a simple stitch to close up the center back in order to fit the piece. However, where the two darts meet, the pleat will open.)

    Also, the shoulder darts create a warm rounded design, which seem to help the shoulder look more distinct in combination with a shoulder pad.

    Princess seam detail along with large lapel and shoulder detail. This 1948 retro Vintage Vogue 9280 fitting tutorial will help this piece fit. | Vintage on Tap

    With all of that said, start fitting the princess seam before altering any other darts right away.

    As with most of my tutorials, besides doing a swayback adjustment, I did few changes to the other darts and focused almost entirely on the princess seam to accommodate my full bust.

    Pattern drafting and sewing tools | Vintage on Tap

    Before getting started, get your tools ready:

    Also, review the following videos:

    Other prep work to do before jumping in:

    • Using the hip adjusting line, cut the bodice from the skirt. For this tutorial, you’ll be working on the bodice only, which is more complicated than adjusting the skirt later on. Isolating the bodice will make it easier to adjust and then reattach later.
    • Find a couple larger shoulder pads for fitting purposes- OR- do like I did and find a couple of my boyfriend’s socks and roll them up for some make-do shoulder pads.

    Front view of Vintage Vogue 9280 first version, size 16 out of the envelope. Learn how to make this dress fit with this tutorial! | Vintage on Tap

    Step One: Select your size and stitch up your first muslin

    Taking time to select your Vintage Vogue 9280 size is generally straight forward in that the bust is the key, as it affects the “frame” of the garment, which includes the neckline and shoulder, both which are harder to fit than the waist. 

    My measurements are below:

    • Full Bust: 41in/104cm
    • High Bust: 38in/96.5cm
    • Waist: 33.5in/85cm
    • Hips: 42.5in/108cm
    • Torso Length: 15in/38cm
    • Height: 5’2?/157cm

    I selected a size 16 due to my high bust measurement, which matches the listed bust measurement for this design. If you’re like me and have a larger bust, a full bust adjustment (FBA) adds extra width to the waistline! Worry about the waistline after you’ve completed your FBA for a better fit.  

    From there, sew your first half muslin- straight from the packet, to take in the design, and observe how it fits over your body before deciding what adjustments will be necessary.

    To watch this step, jump to 1:45 in the tutorial video to see what Size 16 looked like on me, straight from the packet.

    How to pattern draft, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Step Two: Start Plugging away your pattern adjustments, one at a time.

    Vintage Vogue 9280 uses the standard McCall’s Patterns block, so in my case I knew what adjustments to do right away. However, if you’re still playing around with pattern drafting in general, approach it in the following order, using the following questions:

    Starting with the bodice back (in order):

    • Does the center back line of the pattern go straight down your body’s center back line?
    • Is there pulling at the shoulders?
    • Where does the waist line sit compared to your natural waist?
    • Is there pooling of fabric at the bottom of your back?

    Note: Before hacking into the pattern, compare the collar facing and contrast collar pattern pieces to the center front pattern piece, to notice how big they are compared to one another. Any changes you do on the center front will need to be done to these corresponding pieces once the whole process is complete.

    In my case, I identified that I needed to shorten my waist by approximately 3/4in (1.9cm), which I cover at timestamp 2:02. Also, I had to do a swayback adjustment of approximately 1/2in (1.27cm)

    Make your next half muslin at this point.

    Pattern drafting video tutorial for princess seams | Vintage on Tap

    Step Three: Take special care with the bust area.

    Turning to the front pattern adjustments, the main thing to consider before changing neck, arm scythes, shoulders, waist— is the center front line between the neck and bust and whether or not the fullest area of the bust in the muslin matches your body.

    Note: The front bodice notches are extremely important for Vintage Vogue 9280, so if you haven’t yet reviewed the Walking a Pattern video, now is the time!

    In my case, I saw that the fullest part of the pattern bust fit me great. Then, I measured a distance of 2in (5.08cm) in order for the muslin to fit towards my center front, covered at timestamp 4:32 in the video. The pattern bust point (identified in the side front pattern piece) generally fitting the correct area, meaning I only had to add to the center front pattern piece.

    If you’re doing an FBA, slash a straight line up the pattern, curving slightly towards the shoulder, spreading open the pattern (with hinge,) covered at timestamp 4:55.

    After the FBA is complete and you’ve walked your princess seams, stitch up a full muslin.

    Vintage Vogue 9280 is a gorgeous dress. Learn how to fit this 1948 retro dress. | Vintage on Tap

    Step Four: Determine what final adjustments you may need.

    Questions you might ask yourself for Vintage Vogue 9280 include some of the following (in order):

    • Does the center front match your body’s center front? If not, where? (If at the waist, add extra at the side seams, not the center front)
    • Does the shoulder point (with shoulder pad) match your shoulder point? (If not, determine how much or how little to add or remove from the shoulder or sleeve cap)
    • How does the sleeve look in comparison to your arm? Do you need to narrow or widen it?
    • Is the arm scythe comfortable?
    • Do you have enough wearing ease to move comfortably around in?

    After you’ve done any final small adjustments, be sure to transfer your center front bodice changes to both the collar facings and collar contrast pattern pieces. Be sure to account for notches, length, and FBA (or SBA.)

    At this point, you can tape your bodice pieces back to their corresponding skirt pieces, widening the skirt if necessary.

    Retro sewing, Vintage Vogue 9280, how to fit a muslin | Vintage on Tap

    The key for more “complicated” pieces such as Vintage Vogue 9280 is to break down the fitting process into one adjustment at a time.

    Looking at patterns that include lots of bells and whistles can absolutely scare beginners from tackling more advanced projects. I’m here to say… it definitely doesn’t have to be that way. Listing each adjustment in a properly defined order allows you to tackle each thing, feeling like you’re making headway and have a good grasp of the pattern.

    Lapel and shoulder detail on Vintage Vogue V9280. The shoulder features shoulder pads to give it a more 40s look. | Vintage on Tap

    Do you have any questions or comments about this process? Please leave them down in the comment section below!

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    How to fit Vintage Vogue 9280 video tutorial, a retro dress from 1948 | Vintage on Tap


    This post is part of the Vintage Vogue 9280 Video series! Check out the other installment of this series by clicking the image below:

    Sewing Vintage Vogue V9280 video series! This series breaks down the fitting and sewing process for this 1940s piece | Vintage on Tap


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    Thank you, McCall’s Pattern Company, for making this video series and collaboration possible!

     
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