I call them house dresses. I will be coming back. I love house dresses! :). Thanks Gertie! Thanks for sharing.Elena. The shopper should expect a well-designed house dress to provide for comfort and roominess when the wearer is reaching or stooping in the pursuit of her household duties. Women had clothes for evening, church and such, but since homemaking was their job, this is what was needed.I have a few 'day dresses.' I make vintage aprons for my girlfriends. The style evolved with the changing political climate of the '60s, as hemlines rose and designers at the forefront of the Swinging Sixties, such as Mary Quant, changed the fashion landscape. As a child of the 1950s, I remember my mother wearing some of those housedresses. Sew away. Styles had more color, trim and fun elements to them. And vacuumining a lot! Later generations of women in their house dresses enjoyed a modest amount of fashion thanks to machine printing of fabrics and the advance of the sewing machine. House dresses were a bit more stylish for royalty. I have a vintage zip front housedress I bought years ago that I live in in the summer. The dress, which crosses at the chest and cinches at the waist, was comfortable enough to lounge in at home, but also stylish enough to be worn in public. However, we remember these bastions of home life as something every woman would have owned once upon a time. I like the idea of wearing a comfy (and cute) dress around the house, or running out to do a few errands.On the other hand, there is maid aspect to it. I am a big fan of dressing in the vintage style that reflects who you are in "real" life, and being that I am - well, not a housewife, but a very average woman who works hard for living, the house dress seems like the most logical and practical thing for me to wear. I keep saying I'll use it for sewing in cooler weather since the front zip is easy-access for trying on. Growing up I knew a lot of lovely great-spirited women who wore these things, in seersucker with rick rack trim, buttoned or zipped up the front. Now that I sew I use a new look (can not recall the #) shift dress pattern for making house dresses for my mom and I, which is bit more fashonable. Great! Plaid was the most common throughout the decade. Girls did not wear pants to school and we sure didn't want to mess up our dresses. sleeveless These dresses look so good I wish I could have one made! My grandmother (back in the 70's in Venezuela) used house dresses, but not my mom. It's actually the main thing I sew and wear. Just found this site while looking for 1950's housedress patterns. Really lightweight and breezy for the Florida heat. How much more fun would it be to throw on a little shirtdress or wrap dress on the weekend, instead of sweats and a tank top? I bet these house dresses could hold a ton of little slips of wisdom. Some were quite pretty, as I remember. I'd never attempted matching prints, piping, or curved seams before, and there I was doing all three in one dress. I love those patterns! I have almost the same nostalgia for housedresses as I have for flowered old-lady bathing suits and little white smocked rubber swimming caps. To me, they don't scream housewife or maid, the look isn't 'uniform' unless you purposely make it so (black with white trim, etc). But, for formal or special occasions, if she had other (more expensive) dresses she would have worn those instead. In it, I can go the the car or mailbox and feel like I am not transgressing. I love it! There were some, of course, but only women who embraced fashion over comfort chose to do chores in a fitted dress. The button down bodice, known as a shirtwaist, was the prime style of house dress but other styles could be worn. I hate the concept of the house dress. To church?" They were flowered cotton coat-style dresses back in the sixties and seventies here in Oslo. I was a total suit wearer in my work life and since being laid off, I've been living in jeans, camis, turtle necks and capris with lots of snaps and ties - I'm missing the girly in my wardrobe! I like to look good - it makes me feel better and it keeps it fun for when the boy gets home after work. Plus the front closure makes it easy to do pincurls and to do your hair up and change without messing it up! Appropriate for Zoom calls, video work chats, chores around the house, quick errands, virtual brunches with friends or just sitting on the couch and bingeing a favorite show, house dresses are hot again with people who want their comfort to be more stylish than a T-shirt and sweatpants. I fully intend to be making more house-dresses, but that's something I'll be watching out for next time (guess if I'd made a muslin, I'd have been forewarned but that was yesterday's conversation!). Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! Thanks so much for this post! It wrapped and closed in the back (wish I knew where one of those sewing patterns is)! Claire McCardell's "Pop-over" dress with oven mitt, 1942. The short cap sleeve was common in summer, especially with a turned up cuff. I have been lusting over making them for a couple of monthseven more I love the pinafore dress! Your observations exactly mirror the situation of clothing at that time as well. flannel dress amerimark I had never thought of the DVF wrap as a descendant of the house dress. Check it out, it's great reading. I wear them everyday after work and most of the weekends. For the most part, in the summer, this means simple cotton dresses that I can't wear a bra with. The house dress descended from the Mother Hubbard dress, which was named after a childrens book that illustrated the smock-like style. Make This Skirt! Pink, teal, blue and green were the best colors. And I love the puff sleeves. I think whether it's nice or not depends on your fabric choice. Oh and faded terry robes smelling of the seaside out of summers past.Vibeke. The exception to this was wide lace applique, small rickrack trim on collars and pockets, and big buttons in white or black. No thank you. No more muumuus! She lived on a farm; so for her, the house dresses were practical in comfort (no worries if you got dirty doing farm chores, or the cooking/cleaning/raising children that she did so well in the 30s) and frugality (gingham or the cotton prints were cheaper then the "nice" clothes she would wear to church or when she went to town, so it was not such a hardship to replace what she wore daily, even in the Depression). There was this darling fabric. :). Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis. As highly functional garments, house dresses had to fulfill variety of qualifications. The blue cotton calico Mother Hubbard dress of Elizabeth Hinterleiter Keesacker, a Virginia native who moved to St. Louis in the early 1800s. @Mary in Winston-Salem, those dresses Ethel wore were from Orbach's dept store in L.A. My mom and her sister had several of them. Questions about sizing and shipping are answered on the merchants website. Many women broke social rules by wearing pants to do housework! I used to have one that snapped down the front and wore that thing (literally) to death. It was less full than party dresses and worn with multiple layers of petticoats. Where are you going? Many of the dresses were made from colorful, printed feedsacks or inexpensive calico. I'd really prefer one that closes with a button or snap made of a comfy velour. But I don't think anyone ever wore it, we found it in a box, probably a zany "treat yourself!" They had the added benefit of being useable throughout a pregnancy, provided they were cut generously to start. But it's crazy vivid green & turquoise brocade that zips all down the front but is floor-length and fiendishly 50's-formal glamorous-- somehow doesn't seem dressing gown-y, I'm thinking brunch coat, maybe. My latest project, after the black dress for the formal wedding I am attending on Saturday, is a fine white cotton batiste embroiderred in cool colors. I strongly recall coming home from school and changing into my "play clothes." 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I think I might have to track that down. There was a house dress equivalent then as well, known as the 'bed gown' which was actually a jacket very simple in cut and fairly loose.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IBebgQkv2mQ/Sl6WGuMdSSI/AAAAAAAAAS8/tqXwwc3f2sE/s400/garsault2.jpgIt was worn by women of many social ranks, however it was used differently between them. Just wanted to add - I have always been under the impression - right up until the last time I was in Joanns flipping through patterns (like, yesterday) that the housedress of the shapeless variety was a sort of nightgown/bathrobe, unsuitable for wearing outdoors! Before and after World War I, as servants became more expensive (thanks to competition from factories and offices), more strenuous housework was taken on by middle-class women who needed serviceable clothes to do those jobs. This was far from reality. hooverette fabrics 1910s quest vintagedancer necklines allways And the muumuu styling let me grow and grow.I still love them! I really like the wrap ones. 1950s house dress colors and patterns followed the trends of the year. They are pretty. a few months back I had an "aha Baja" moment!I was stepping out of the afetrnoon shower ( after sunning, sewing and swimming all day) it was hot, I had nothing light and cool to wear, so I have started making "afeter shower dresses" . I'm more into vintage aprons, but I can see how that could cross further into "housemaid" than "housewife". I think house dresses are lovely and oh so comfortable and feminine when putting around the house. I'd totally wear some of those as casual summer dresses. Last summer I probably wore one of those dresses at least a small bit almost every day. The illustration is even the same! Clothes are for real live women," she said. She wore them from the time she started her day to just before dinner, when she would slip into something nicer and add a pair of heels and maybe a simple pearl necklace and earrings before greeting her husband at the door. cotton plus dresses dress sleeve short Most moms didn't work outside the home then. dress snap sleeve cotton short walmart We may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking a link. I think it's always useful to remember that the class of fifties housewives, in particular, were not just women who'd "always been at home" - they were members of a class that had only just been invented with the rise of suburbia, a lot of whom had had jobs outside the home that involved overalls just a few years previously. Pastel stripescame next in the middle of the decade. I am totally with you on the housedress love, especially that last one with the little collar and the tulip pockets. I don't use a robe, I have a house-dress. Amid the pandemic, house dresses make a comeback as the top fashion trend of 2020. Also love the housedress concept especially because I have pets, and like to keep my street clothes fur & snag-free, so a la Mr Rogers, I change every day when I come home! I was insane: I chose a unidirectional print and insisted that it needed contrast piping trim. softly muu The full skirt (5 yards at least) of gathered fabric with a thin petticoat underneath made it easy to move in, change bed sheets, make dinner, and tend to children. These held all kinds of useful things such as clothes pins or a handkerchief. (Sailor dress, soft baby blue coat with glass buttons, even a flower-power dress with buttercup yellow collar and cuffs). Picking the fabric and trim is at least half the fun. Dressing in vintage style clothing for a themed event or personal fashion is our passion. In today's fashion climate, any dress is considered dressy, so a vintage house dress can go from housework to shopping and even lunch with the ladies. :). Porch dresses and morning dresses were iterations of that coverall apron, because in those days, no "respectable" female wore slacks.I have two patterns from 1919 for "adjustable dresses, also suitable for apron" and one from 1921 that's already called a housedress. And I have one bizarro find from grandma- never, ever saw her wear it and not sure what it's really meant for- a dressing gown? Great post, Gertie! So the housecoat became my dress of the day. But absurdly, riotously gorgeous and wrong all that the same time. In 1942 designer Claire McCardell came out with the Popover dress which became one of the industry standards in house dresses that women flocked to. 1952 Plaid, dots and stripes with contrast trim and buttons. Complete with a coordinated handmade apron, she set about her day running her home. I prance around in a robe in the middle of the day!I've been totally thinking on making some house dresses. 2022 Active Interest Media All rights reserved. Solid colors too were acceptable. I adore the heart pocket.I think when we are home, we want to be comfortable and pretty at the same time. Plus, snaps down the front just ask to bust open and humiliate.I've made three of these dresses so far and I love them! Woven cotton is cooler than a [knit] T-shirt in our miserable south Texas summers. A day in the life of a wartime housewife, London, England, 1941: Mrs. Olive Day does some housework before she leaves for work. Ah nostalgia. I *am* a housewife and a housedress is a practical little piece of clothing. They are much cooler to wear in the summer heat. This type of Did you know that most regular sewing machines have a special overlock stitch that mimics a serger's stitch? Woo-hoo! Via/ Wiki Commons. Some had no collars, just a roundboat-neck or sweetheart opening. Totally with you! I think it's a great way to put something on easily without having to worry about bras and whatnot. Many people in my father's family did housework and laundry to help support themselves and their family. I LOVE house dresses! These and other other wrap dress of the 1940s onward were often copied at home since they were so easy to sew up and looked great with a frilly apron over top. Easy to put on with a row of buttons down the front, easy to wash when made of cotton or synthetics, and elegant with a nipped waist and full skirt. So it's a little weird to dress like one.On the third hand, I do think it's possible to wear house dresses while being conscious of what they meant then, and what they mean now. My touch is to add my saved chinese food cookie fortunes and hide them in the pockets when I wrap them up as a gift. Especially the one with the heart pocket - love it! Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I think housedresses actually evolved out of the "Bungalow Apron" which was basically a coverall for dresses. I like the more tailored house dresses. The housedress certainly beats a muu muu any day as far as style goes, but affords the same comfort.A zip front or shirt dress is perfect to wear if you have a nursing baby; so keep that in mind for the future. They were usually lightweight (in cotton- though later designs saw polyester and rayon in the mix). First off, I am totally with you on the love. Here she is polishing the bannisters. Last weekend I was flipping through my vintage patterns wanting to make some new threads for myself for a change and was drawn to my house dress patterns. And today you just make a fantastic entry on them. dress cotton walmart sleeveless ezi 1x yellow Although 1930s house dresses were generally more simple than most daywear of the decade,the day-to-day clothing of the average woman followed the same general fit and shape as most clothing at the time, which includedpuff or fluttery caplet sleeves, wide collars with lace, ruffles, or embroidery and a mid-calf hemline. I'm seeing it in a sweet cotton lawn or voile. I was just thinking that I needed a housedress. Instead, 1950s house dresses were simplified versions of going out dresses in easy to wash and wear cotton fabric. 1950s house dresses were fancier than those of the previous decades that favored the plain wrap-around dress or A-line shirtdress. 1955 simple trim jazz up she cotton house dresses. Young and old women wore the shirtwaist dress. Click on the picture or title of the product and you will be redirected to the online merchant selling that item. A New England housewife fixing supper on a winter night in Woodstock, Vermont, 1940. I love house dresses! I love dresses in general because you don't have to pair anything, you just put it on and you're instantly more glamorous. However, the conflict between clothing which was useful and those which were fashionable still plagued the housewife well into the atomic era. Getting dressed is a way of saying I am up and I don't really feel awake still in my jim jams but some days I don't really need to get dressed. The thing about is Back when day dresses were popular, a lot of wmen didn't work outside the home. The Mother Hubbard dress was not considered fit to wear in public during the 19th century. Put on bed rest, there was do darn way I was going to spend all my days in a nightgown. Plus, in the summer, it's nice to have something that will cover my knees for crawling around in the garden, but also be cool.Of course a housedress can't do all those things, but with some pockets, I can TOTALLY see those for the summer when I'm NOT out in the yard!Interestingly, I just saw another post on a different blog the other day re. The maid/waitress connection doesn't bother me. My family's version of feminism meant being who you were as a person first and foremost; that you felt like wearing a big pink dress didn't mean you had to stick to cooking and changing diapers. dress celebration simple House dresses are the best! Mind you it is practical at home for the domestic duties!My favorites are a 50's Butterick 6418 for everyday and a 50's Vogue 7212 for leisure. Sew your own house dress with a 1950s pattern here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. It's a riot of bright turquoise flowers -- great for wearing out or for gardening and wiping my dirty hands on. They're all pretty sack-like but mirror the style silhouette of the times.I think the reason housedresses in the 60's and 70's became more smock-like is because they also mirrored the silhouette of the period - remember the tent dress? Sorry about this, but I couldn't help myself -- I hope you like it Gertie! I trease my Vogue pattern of one from the early 50s. Whenever I catch an I Love Lucy episode, it brings back memories of shopping with my mom and aunt. Simple dresses blurred the lines between house work and going out. I have fond memories of my grandmother doing her housework/cooking/baking in a housedress that she most likely made herself. Five house dresses made by Nelly Don, 1922. The floor length one is FABULOUS! cotton dress sleeveless ezi snap walmart I highly recommend that pattern. (I found them very itchy!). For running errands or visiting friends outside the home, a woman did not need to change dresses, although she usually did. A few accessories made the transition from home to outside. My mother taught me the art of "reclining" and she loved caftans, and muu muus. Being of a certain "ahem" age, I remember my mother vacuuming in her house dress and pearls..complete with high heels. I have a normal wrap and tie robe, but when I'm doing anything around the house it comes loose and slips open. Courtesy of the Facebook page, DVF - Diane von Furstenberg. On the weekends I'll pull on whatever is easiest. I remember my grandmother's housedress- with carrots on the pocket! Public domain photo via Wikimedia Commons. Women looked to Lucille Ball and Donna Reed as on-screen style icons and the house dress was at the center of the craze. From then on some clothing companies became known for their house dress designs. I found this post really interesting.I think I could be persuaded to wear one, especially having recently embraced the apron. I grew up in the '50s. It was less important what style to wear as it was how practical it was for the days tasks. These dresses let women be fully covered, yet had no structure and did not require a corset, bustle, or complicated underskirts like other fashions of the 19th century. The women wore housedresses to do their houserwork--no one wore slacks or jeans. Beginning in 1947 with Diors New look, the shirtwaist dress was made into a 1950s classic. sack Actress Elizabeth Taylor helps her mother prepare hotdogs and hamburgers at home circa 1947 in Los Angeles, California. It was a massive hit, and became one of her staple pieces. Such great patterns! (Besides, I make mine myself, so they're artistic, too. I actually commented to a friend that some of the simplicity patterns were ridiculous to term "dresses" becasue they were nightgowns! And on weekends, I most definitely AM a housewife and I find the loose fit and roomy pockets are so helpful with doing chores or shopping.I also have a fondness for zip fronts (great for sewing days when you need to constantly undress and try on your project for fitting). Dresses adopted a more childlike, boxy silhouette and featured bright colors inspired by the pop art movement. I really appreciate your deconstruction here! 1958 House dress or afternoon dress? I always find it interesting to look at these very retro patterns and consider that when they were printed this was how a modern, futuristic person dressed. Anyway, enjoyed this post- I'm a big fan of the housedress- it's how my so-called wearable muslins often end up getting their greatest use. I have been dreaming about making one for years and have not got around to it, this post has inspired me to get cracking! housedress frumpy I think interest in house dresses will increase and for a lot of reasons (cuteness not being the least of it). #5 and #10 are both along the line of the "housewife" dress. While the house dress took a backseat in the '80s and '90s as the grunge movement and high-waisted jeans took the spotlight, today the style has come full circle since its height of popularity in the '50s. My grandmother LIVED in the type of shapeless housedress popular in the 70's, in current big 4 large size patterns, and in the super lame lane bryant catalog (all you larger girls totally know what I'm talking about) I hadn't really realized the older, cute shape with a waist style of dress was also a housedress! My mother never wore slacks or jeans until the 60's and then never to do housework. They always ask where i found my dresses. House dresses did not necessarily look "workmanlike". In 1942, Claire McCardell, one of the most influential women's sportswear designers of the 20th century, introduced the "popover" wrap dress, which came with a matching oven mitt and was a fashion landmark. One of the iconic house dresses was the Popover that Claire McCardell designed during WWII. A house dress is just that: a simple dress worn informally at home for household chores and quick errands, and made of lightweight and inexpensive fabric, and usually cotton. gift from one of her sisters that she didn't have the heart to get rid of. nights duster lounger Look forward to seeing what you come up with.. and what other people think! You read my mind! I think they're adorable, and as long as they are done up in more modern material and colors that they could be very wearable! House dresses and aprons advertised in the Montgomery Ward Fall & Winter catalog, 1941-42. People are now wearing house dresses again for the same reasons: practicality, mobility and flexibility proving that the garment has stood the test of time. I have 2 house type dresses and I get much more respect (and lovin:))when I wear them.

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