I found this fabulous 1930 Lane Bryant catalog this week. It has children's and maternity fashions. There are some fabulous illustrations here that I would love to recreate. I will share a few pages at a time. This page is the cover. My favorite here has to be the hand-embroidered blue romper. I'm not sure if it was meant for a girl or a boy- what do you think?
I also love the pink silk coat and hat set, also hand-embroidered. The linen sailor suit is wonderful, too! Don't you wish you could find clothing of this quality today, especially at these prices!?
Here's another great page, this time showing brother-sister sets. Not only the clothes are cute, but look at those beautiful illustrations of children.Here's the description for the suspender outfits: "In just a minute they'll scamper off to play, but before they go just see how adorable they look in their smart little two-piece suspender costumes." Isn't that sweet?
How about the poem on this page:
Jack and Jill
Go Out to Play
Bright with Laughter
Young and Gay
Dress'd alike They
Show Their Glee
Proud of Mother's
Taste, You See
The bottom outfits are wool jersey, probably a fine knit fabric. It's interesting to me that they are the most expensive, though much the simplest in construction. It seems the material was more of a cost factor than the labor in 1930. I hope you enjoyed these catalog pages- I will share more soon!
I'd have to do some research to find out exactly when blue was assigned to boys and pink to girls, but originally, it was the reverse! Pink, because it's a shade of red, was considered a "power" color, and thus suitable for boys, while blue was a delicate color suitable for girls. I've been doing some research into 19th century children's clothing, and found that out from a museum website....
ReplyDeletei would kill to have some of those patterns now
ReplyDeleteLaura- yes, pink and peach were appropriate for boys at least into the 1940s. I have some vintage boy's outfits in pink from that time. Interesting, huh?
ReplyDeleteTheresa, I would love patterns for these, too, but these are from a ready to wear catalog. Glad you enjoyed them!
I just found your blog! Now I'm going to be up all night reading through the past posts. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a similar catalog with some of the same outfits in it! Mine has a description for the blue romper...
"An attractive broadcloth romper for little brother is not only of good quality, but is comfortable for the tiny master. White collar and cuffs, decorated with hand embroidery. Belted at waist. Will launder and wear very satisfactorily. Available in blue and maize."
Also,here is a photo of the actual little voile frock illustrated just below the romper. I saved the picture on my hard drive ages ago and can't remember where it came from of who to credit.
Mae- so excited you found me and I can't believe you have a similar catalog and photo of the yellow dress! Happy to be following your blog- your work is stunning!! Love your vintage sunsuit!!!!
ReplyDeleteLisa
Wow, Mae! That's amazing that you've collected the dress AND the catalog! It's beautiful! I love all these vintage garment illustrations. I can just hope that my kids are gleeful and proud of my taste! ;)
ReplyDelete