The New Look

I'm no fashion historian, but I understand that M. Dior's New Look was a well-won "fuck you" to post-war fabric restrictions - and very likely to the recently-ended war itself. (Ha! Having re-read this sentence, there's absolutely no question that I'm not a fashion historian!)

I have always been enamored of the flouncy, but clean and appropriate lines of the this style. It's all business, but with a dirty-little-secret. One imagines some outrageously sexy lingerie lurking beneath the correct and splendidly-fitted jackets. I also love the attention to hips, provided by the designs.

Though I spend much of my time talking about fit as it pertains to breasts, I actually am most attracted to an emphasized, curved-hip silhouette, the likes of which is the emblem of the New Look. Who doesn't love a nipped-waist graciously expanding towards soft, feminine hips??

Which is why, when I found this jacket I was a bit in its thrall:

Advance 6921

Admittedly, it's the wearable, 1950s suburban version of a theatrical, late 40s original. More business. Less flounce.

I love the side-dart / vertical front-dart combo. This is a very smart way to achieve good fit for a bust that is proportionately large on its frame. The shawl collar is the essence of elegance. I do love me a shawl collar, be it modern or vintage. IMO, it transcends the concept of "era" though it's less ubiquitous in modern fashion than it was in days gone by. Note: You can always find a version of this neck in high-end RTW. Knit-wear designers know that a shawl collar is exceedingly chic - and youth-giving - on a woman of a certain age (and neck).

The jacket ends at the high-hip, an attractive visual cut-line, especially when worn against a full skirt having upwards of 8 yards of fabric.

Has there ever been a time in history since, when so much draped-fabric has produced such a compact silhouette?

At any rate, this pattern, gorgeous though it is, does not come with printed markings. It's of a vintage that markings are symbolized by perforations, clarified by a legend. You can imagine how, in my current state of mind, and having maybe a gram of oomph (at most, in the middle of the afternoon), I'm not in the market to learn this new skill just at the moment.

But it'll be there for me when it's time.

Today's questions: What do you think of the New Look? How do you like this jacket's riff on it? Have you ever made a jacket of this era / having this vibe? Do you enjoy working with unprinted vintage patterns - or are they a pain in the ass? Let's talk