Fashion – Page 9 – Old Magazine Articles

Wool of the 1940s
(Click Magazine, 1945)

The attached 1945 article was intended to serve as a suit-buying-guide for all those young men who were in the throes of trading in their military uniforms for civilian attire.

The one kind of wool that is not discussed in this article is worsted: this was the wool that was specifically reserved for the uniforms of the U.S. military (enough to outfit 12 million souls) and there wasn’t a single thread of it that could be purchased on the civilian market.

British Girls Loved ‘The New Look’
(See Magazine, 1948)

Weary of restraints imposed by more than a decade of war followed by the austerity program…British women have now cast aside the old look, are stampeding West End shops for the built-in New Look.

Summer Fashions
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1918)

Six very fine fashion drawings illustrate what was generally perceived to be the chic silhouette during the August of 1918.

There may be some women who can get along without satin frocks, but it is exceedingly doubtful..

Click here to read about military influeneces of feminine fashions.

Vera Maxwell and Claire McCardell
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

From the Great Minds Think Alike Department came this small piece about two American sportswear designers, Claire McCardell and Vera Maxwell and their admirable approach in creating a light weather coat that served to both keep women warm in springtime gales, yet accommodate the full, billowing skirts that complemented their feminine forms (as well as the hip padding that accompanied many skirts of the Fifties).

The Milliner’s Collaboration
(Collier’s Magazine, 1951)

In 1951 the finest minds in American millinery were asked to put their collective craniums together and design some hats; each brought something unique to the table – the most humorous design element that appeared in each hat included a telephone!

Collaborators in the struggle to produce a taller plume, a more involved bird’s nest, are the hat designer’s – to whom carrots and cornstalks, bean bean pods and bumper-shoots are all perfectly acceptable decorations for the head.

Tango Fashions
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1913)

The urgent word from Belle Époque Paris on the matter of proper Tango gowns was published in this 1913 article and accompanied by seven illustrations.

What shall you wear to the Tango Teas? Let me whisper to you a secret, only to be revealed when it is found out, my dear, there is no Tango in America, or, at least in New York. But it is quite different in Paris and it is for Paris and the Tango that the French dance frocks are made.

Click here to read about feminine conversations overheard in the best New York nightclubs of 1937.

History of the Necktie in America
(Men’s Wear, 1950)

This illustrated column points out a number of interesting historic facts about ties in America; most notably that up until 1865 the preferred form of neck wear in the U.S. was a pre-tied bow that fastened in the back. In the 1920s the United States became the premiere manufacturer of men’s neckties – a record that was comfortably held for some time afterword.

Click here to read about the fabric restrictions imposed on
the American fashion world during the Second World war.

Setting the Trends from Paris
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1951)

So much had changed in the world as a result of the Second World War, and although those shifting sands had moved much of the fashion industry to New York, the heart and soul of women’s fashion was still in Paris. This article is all about the fashion kings and queens who remained in the French capital. These columns explain what all the finest French designers were up to: Dior, Balmain, Schiaparelli, Fath, Balenciaga, Lanvin etc, etc, etc…

To read further about post-war Paris fashion, click here…

Paris, 1919 : To Make the World Safe for Top Hats
(Literary Digest, 1919)

The least important aspect of the Versailles Treaty is discussed in this article. Many scholars have looked far and wide to find such a trivial concern, but the crack team of post-debutante archivists at OldMagazineArticles.com have succeeded where the learned have failed.

The Collar Accessory That Time Forgot…
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1918)

One of the unsung heroes of men’s fashions from the early part of the Twentieth century had to be the Triangle Hook. A nifty device, it was designed

to fit the soft collar for more fastidious wear; to make it fit the neck snugly, show the tie gracefully, and stay stylish…

The Lion Link
(Magazine Advertisement, 1919)

A further look at men’s shirt collar accessories from the twenties.

Fashion Piracy
(Coronet Magazine, 1960)

Contrary to popular thought, the Fashion Police, so called, are not concerned with seemingly vulgar acts of dressing – mismatched colors, cheap accessories, gross fabrics, etc – but they do consider knocking-off the work of other designers as a serious violation – and when it comes to ripping-off the designs of Christian Dior or Pierre Balmain, that is when the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Coutre and police inspector Jacques Besson step in.

Forties Ski Mode
(Collier’s Magazine, 1948)

Clipped from the pages of a 1948 issue of COLLIER’S MAGAZINE were these four color pictures of skiers loafing about the slopes in a place that had just recently been discovered for such purposes; it was called Aspen, in Colorado.

You will no doubt notice that there is no real difference between the skiing togs worn by either gender; both wore only wool, jaunty ski sweaters and pegged trousers.

Click here if you would like to read the entire article about Aspen in 1948; there are additional color photographs.

The Revival of the Norfolk Jacket
(Gentry Magazine, 1953)

During the early days of 1953 some of the young men of the World War Two generation looked into their grandfather’s wardrobes and came away with a new friend – the Norfolk jacket:

There has been some talk concerning the possible revival of certain Edwardian fashions. In the renewed acceptance of the Norfolk jacket, which takes its name from the 15th Duke of Norfolk, we have the revival of a style which is even older, having first come into being during the Victorian era….In 1910 it was so well accepted that few small lads of that era were content unless they had a Norfolk coat just like their fathers’.

Buy an Original Pattern:

1870s-1900s Norfolk Jacket Pattern

Fur Jewelry and Wraps
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

Attached, you will find three articles on fur in Fifties fashion: one pertains to fur jewelry, the other two stoles, wraps and coats.

The Basket Bags
(Quick Magazines, 1952)

They clogged the shelves of every thrift shop, church bazaar and Goodwill outlet throughout all of the 70s and 80s – and during that same period costume designers used them to signify how detached and estranged a feminine antagonist was in dozens of movies and TV productions. We are referring, of course, to the basket bags of the early fifties and their heavy presence in the bric-a-brac shoppes of yore only serve to testify as to how remarkably popular they were as fashion accessories in the land of the free and home of the brave. The attached article from 1952 is illustrated with six images of the various swells of old Palm Beach clinging proudly to their wicker trophies.

(We were delighted to see that basket bags enjoyed a small come-back in the fashion world during the summer of 2017.)

The Bolero Jacket
(Quick Magazine, 1951)

Fashion Journalism Goes Legit
(Art Digest, 1936)

Keeping abreast with current need, the Traphagan School (New York) offers for the first time a course in fashion journalism, which prepares students for positions on magazines and newspapers in advertising departments and agencies where they will interpret in words what they themselves or some other designer relates. The course is conducted by Marie Stark, formerly associate editor of Vogue…