Spring Is In The Air - Hats and Accessories from 1956

Ruth Mary Packard writing in the Ladies Home Journal in March, 1956 gives important advice for spring hats, purses, shoes, jewelry and gloves...what every well-dressed woman needs to know.

"Your hat has more size...let it enhance but not overwhelm you..it must be scaled to your features as well as your figure. The shape is important...be sure it is becoming. Leghorn is the straw of the season, in natural, black and pastel colors."

 "A shower of yellow flowers on a small pale yellow straw hat by John Frederics for a yellow tweed suit by William Popper, or for neutral costumes."

"Pongee-beige pumps (one in calfskin, one in suede with calfskin tips) matching Nettie Rosenstein's top-handle envelope. Bangle bracelets pick up the color of the calfskin pump at right."

"The leaf hat in blue by John Frederics, with a wearable, medium-sized brim, worn with a linen-weave silk dress by Mollie Parmis."

"A patent-leather slipper edged with white goes with a linen bag with bamboo frame. Sunburst jewel by Frederic Mosell, is a pin for many occasions, for a dress or a suit." 

"The charm of pale beige, gold and light bright red in spectator pumps that are right for all wools and tweedy mixtures, a slim ladyfinger of a bag in bright red strawcloth by Morris Moscowitz, a new shape to carry with suits."

"The hat of the year, the shape that sets a trend - in natural Milan draped with silk polka-dotribbon, by Aldolfo. The bag is strawcloth by Coblentz; the dress is a simple silk shantung by Jerry Parnis, quiet accompaniment for the excitement of the hat."

"Pale yellow combines beautifully with cocoa, browns, coral reds. Here are a shell-trimmed cotton-tweed bag, long slender pigskin gloves, a grained-leather spectator and a calfskin toe-strap slipper - all for town wools and tweeds."

Spring Is Still In The Air in 1956

The Fashion Editor, Wilhela Cushman, of The Ladies Home Journal offers these suggestions for spring, 1956. 

 "There's an abundance of fashion and the news is flexible...yielding gracefully to your choice as an individual, to your life and your needs."

 "The bow-back jacket with the slim paneled skirt in clear red wool by Arthur Jablow, worn with a black leghorn hat by Sally Victor, patent-leather envelope bag by Greta."

 "The Empire coat with a back bow detail by Charles James. Cape-collar coat in a princess silhouette by Christion Dior - New York."

"The suit with the deep pleats, in greige tweed, graceful silhouette by Philippe Tournaye.  Shiny black straw hat with a red rose by Aldolfo."

"Printed wool town suit in blue and white with a pleated skirt and velvet collar, by Ben Reig. Short blouse-back coat over a dark dress by Vincent Monte-Sano."

"Bolero suit in Prince of Wales plaid wool by Ben Reig, has pale yellow shantung blouse, yellow strawcloth beret, chamois doeskin gloves."

"Bolero silhouette with a pleated skirt, by Hannah Troy. Reefer suit - double breasted jacket with a pleated skirt by Herbert Sondheim." 

"Coat in spring-flower yellow - basket-weave wool with an easy flare, feminine neckline, with a white silk rose, by Arthur Jablow. The white toyo hat is draped with yellow silk by Aldolfo."

The Costume Look for Spring - 1956

From the March, 1956 Ladies Home Journal, some hope for spring!

"It will be a gay colorful spring - fabric tones are the loveliest ever. Your coat might be a lovely lemon yellow or one of the beautiful new reds - both cheerful colors.
 Your suit could be a heavenly sky blue or a soft turquoise, both so flattering. When you make your own clothes, a costume look is quite simple to plan. 
For instance, a print dress and a coat lined with the print, or a costume of separates with a skirt, matching blouse and short jacket. If you have a slim figure, make a sheath dress, top it with an important short coat." Nora O'Leary who was the pattern Editor of the Journal in 1956 shows off these select Vogue patterns." 

"One of the freshest, newest spring colors is yellow. Our coat is in a crisp pin-point wool worsted. The smooth shoulder extends into push-up sleeves, and pockets are in the front fitting lines. The lining is black-and-white silk surah in a delightful geometric design." Vogue S-4681

"The dress, of the same silk surah, has an easy skirt with front fullness and a flattering tie neckline. We have used shiny black for accent, in both a belt and a pocket-book." Vogue S-4681

"A costume of separates is practical as well as effective. We have chosen a heavy silk with a linen weave in a heavenly shade of blue. The skirt has unpressed pleats front and back; the matching blouse has self facings for detail. The waist length jacket has a high notched collar, covered buttons and two small pockets. The blouse and skirt together give the effect of a one-piece dress. The skirt and jacket could be worn with blouses, or the jacket over a printed silk dress." Vogue 8830

"Both the color and the design of this costume give it a slightly Oriental feeling. The slim turquoise sheath has a high empire line with a surprising neckline, short sleeves. Over it, the red wool coat has a frog closing at the neckline. The coat will go happily through the summer as a topper for your cotton dresses. The dress with white accessories will be a summer favorite." Vogue S-4682

Make The Clothes That Make The Woman - McCall's 1956 Part 2

Let's look at more of this McCall's catalog from April 1956. This has some Fashion Excitement for the young, patterns featured in Mademoiselle, the empire silhouette for brides and maybe best of all Givenchy designs, direct from Paris!

Make The Clothes That Make The Woman - McCall's 1956

Make the clothes that make the woman. That is the refrain from this McCall's catalog dated April, 1956. It came to us from Capwell's, "Oakland's Finer Store". These are just fabulous, We see "the narrowed silhouette", "the new season cover-up" (though why you'd want to cover these up is a mystery), and "new looking designs for women". Enjoy.

How To Choose The Right Foundation For You - More 1956 Underwear!

"Build Your Own Best Silhouette"

"Today foundation garments are designed for individual figure types and fitted as never before-all the way from lightweights for juniors to garments with built-in corrective features. They take account of high, waists, low waists, wide hips and narrow, bust sizes from AA to D. It's all done to make sure that you can find the garments that are exactly right for your figure."

"Three-way bra of white opaque nylon taffeta, with a frosting of lace at the bosom. About $6. Pretty and light, a step-in girdle of nylon power net with shaped center panel of lace over satin. About $11. Jantzen."

"KNOW YOUR OWN MEASUREMENTS

Choosing the right foundation can be a pretty perplexing job. You can save some of the salesgirl's time and your own if you go into the store knowing whether you are short- or long-waisted and what your bust, waist and hip measures are. This is the way to take your measurements: 1. Bust size. Hold a tape measure directly below the bust, then add 5 inches for your true size. Cup sizes for your bra may best be determined by the fitter. 2. Hip size. Make sure that you measure the fullest part of the hip. This is usually about 8 inches below the waist. 3. Waist size. Take a loose measure for accuracy. 4. Short waist? Long waist? Measure from directly below the bust to the waist to find out if you're short (3-4 inches), medium (5-6 inches) or long (6 1/2-7 inches). 5. Girdle length. A measure from waist to directly below the fullest part of the thigh will give you the right length. (This is important - a too-short girdle will ride up, a too-long girdle bind.) This measurement has nothing to do with your height.

WHEN YOU ARE FITTED

1. Move about in the garment and sit down-your flesh expands when you move or are seated. 2. Do not buy a size too small - this creates new bulges. 3. If your flesh is firm, you'll need less control than you will if it tends toward flabbiness. You'll find this out as the middle years come on. 4. A well-fitted girdle should control without causing a bulge or roll and without riding up.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

Each type of foundation has a definite purpose. The all-in-one smooths away the bulges and gives a clean unbroken line that's especially good under slim dresses. High-waisted girdles paired off with long-line bras also give a smooth line and solve a special problem for women with full hips and small bust or large bust and average hip size (separates that suit your specific needs). For really firm control in the hip area there are lightweight garments with elastic panels at front, back and both sides. This eliminates the discomfort of heavy boning."

Build Your Own Best Silhouette 1956 Underwear!

"The way your dress fits depends on the foundation you wear and different types of clothes require different styles of underpinning. The all-in-one, for instance, gives the unbroken line you need under sheaths; a lightweight girdle and bra may he enough for fuller dresses. When you buy a dress, fit it over the right foundation, wear it that way for your best silhouette."

"The slim sheath - most important fashion of the year. This one, by Luis Estivez for Grenelle, has an intricate strapped neckline, is evening dress or sun dress, depending on its fabric. Perfection under it, a strapless long-line Warner corselette with waistline less indented than it would have been last year. And a nylon tricot sheath petticoat from Gracette.

The wide skirt-seen this year mostly in after-five dresses. Under this geranium-printed silk by Anne Klein for Junior Sophisticates, You wear one of the new petticoats that have body without stiffness, in nylon marquisette and lace, from Gracette; scalloped three-way bra, worn strapless, and two-way stretch panties, both from Gossard, are all the support needed."

"Middle-of-the-road fashion - the slender dress with moderately full skirt, in lightweight worsted, smart for a woman of any age. Leonard Arkin. Comfortable for anyone but especially useful to the woman whose flesh is beginning to soften, this all-in-one from Flexees, made of one-way-stretch leno elastic, with elastic satin panels at front, back and side for special hip control. The nylon tricot slip is cut on modified princess lines. Van Raalte."

"The high waistline-an incoming fashion, shown here in Adele Simpson's high-rising skirt with matching bolero and tiny blouse. This costume's long lines are good for the short-waisted young figure; underneath, it needs a light girdle like like one above with crisscross elastic sections to firm the hip, an embroidered bra, both from Peter Pan. Sleek, slit nylon tricot petticoat from Trillium."

The richness and splendor of the East - 1956 Fashions

This 1956 article from Woman's Home Companion is titled "A New Simplicity touches our lives today". They show the new influences in room decor and what you should be wearing in these rooms.
"This new simplicity all around us comes from many sources-one of the most important is our new awareness of the restraint and beauty in Eastern design. Each generation since Marco Polo has rediscovered the Orient in its own way, drawing from it the ideas and qualities which suited its needs and which cave sparkle to its life. Our own generation is no exception. For us, the discovery has been vibrant colors on the one hand, serene monotones on the other. We reach out for the restraint, the simplicity of line, the lightness of scale-for everything, in fact, that brings a sense of space or that seems uncluttered to our extremely cluttered lives.

The richness and splendor of the East, which have always appealed to earlier generations, are for us only implicit in the materials we choose. For instance, you may see an evening dress this season made of beautiful brocade but its effect usually depends entirely on its line-the material its only ornament.

How does all this affect you and me-in our homes, in our lives? Consciously or unconsciously, we find ourselves desiring certain things that stem from the East - light sliding screens to separate two rooms or throw them together, low light furniture, simple lighting fixtures, simple uninsistent backgrounds. In clothes, we admire the slim column-like line of a dress translated from the Chinese; in hairdos and makeup we try out an Oriental effect..."

"In the Eastern fashion, B. H. Wragge's beautiful interpretation of the slit Chinese robe, The tunic shirt of printed silk Honan shown here over a beige skirt of spun rayon, could also be worn over shorts."

"Claire McCardell's modest jersey suit in the pencil-slim but graceful Chinese silhouette. The suit jacket is lined to match the turquoise pull-over blouse, fastened along Chinese lines with small buttons and fabric loops."

"A Chinese dress of Pink Poppy silk damask, imported by Dynasty of Hong Kong. In the classical tradition it is sleeveless, with the standing collar and side-slit skirt. Its functional lines focus attention on the elegant woven pattern of the fabric."

"Another striking example of this year's Chinese trend is this dress and jacket ensemble of orange silk linen. Note the jacket's stand-away collar and sloping shoulders. This illustrates how the Chinese influence can be adapted in an essentially Western fashion. From Talmack."

Jewels of the Sea - McCall's Magazine - 1956

Rose Marie Reid from the Hourglass Collection with "Helmets by Rex"!

Realities Magazine -1956 - Chanel Fashion

Dancing Numbers - Four summer evening dresses from the Chanel Collection

Chanel No. 1
A stream of silver paillettes circles the long torsoed bodice and forms cascades along either side and down the front of the skirt in this strapless gown of filmy white tulle.

Chanel No. 2
Spanish influence is felt in this dancing dress: the bodice in black taffeta continues below the waist with a small bow in the back: a provocative turn is given to the sumptuous triple-tiered lace skirt.

Chanel No. 3
A dinner dress of Grecian simplicity in black chiffon: two skirt panels forming an inverted V begin just above the waist; while the stole, attached in a V, is flung over the shoulders.

Chanel No. 4
A summer dress of silk net, heavily embroidered with rhinestone and pearl-studded flowers. The low waistline is marked by a satin bow. Frills trim the bodice and organdy stole.

And I guess we all know what Chanel No. 5 looks like...

Woman's Home Companion -1956 -Advance Patterns to Make Your Sewing Easier

Each of these stunners takes less than four main pattern pieces (some may have interfacings, ect.) No reason to delay...get sewing!