Wednesday 2 April 2014

Knit Your Own - Cocktail Dress!

I love this photograph from an old Needlewoman magazine - it somehow encapsulates an era.  Looks a bit like she's been at the gin, though!  Wonder how many "sticky out petticoats" she has on underneath?!  Does anyone remember having to starch their petticoats - I was very little at the time, so my Mum used to do it for me.  Just wore under a dress for special occasions like the Sunday School Christmas party.



Is it me - or does the woman in this advert look a bit manic!  Don't think I'd trust her with a sharp knitting needle!



Love this photo too - shame about the registration number on the scooter!


Love, Liz

19 comments:

Jo@awholeplotoflove said...

They look great, I wonder if I look that happy after a glass of gin.

Patricia said...

Gosh I remember starched petticoats and also net "can can" petticoats as we called them. Then there were the ones with hoops in. I'm really showing my age now. I was probably about 11 or 12. We also wore short white socks with kitten heeled shoes - I guess like you see on the old teeny bopper films of the fifties. That was a blast from the past.
Patricia x

jenann said...

Oooh! I remember those stick out petticoats made of starched net - and the awful pricking followed by soreness round the backs of my legs that they caused! I suffered for glamour - even if I was 7 years old and it was my mother who wanted me to look glamorous whilst I would so much have preferred to be wearing trousers!

two squirrels said...

Oh that would be some serious knitting.......the old pattern pics are so twee.......love them.
Sending happiness....love v

Curtise said...

Such fabulous photos - vintage ads and patterns are brilliant. xxx

Emma Kate at Paint and Style said...

So are you going to knit yourself a cocktail dress? I'd love to see!

Vintage Sheet Addict said...

Yes two insane women there.....but don't they look fab! :) x

mamasmercantile said...

Definitely one too many! However, I do love the magazine. I too used wear starched petticoats on special occasions with a cotton crossover vest. Do you remember them I can't think what they were called.

Amy at love made my home said...

Hmm, I would need way more than a glass of gin to entice me into knitting a dress!!! xx

LeeAnn at Mrs Black's said...

What a great look backwards, love these images. That first one, with the black cocktail dress and Siamese Cat reminds me of Kim Novak in Bell Book and Candle.

sky-blu-pink said...

Brought a smile to my face! If only adverts had the same effect now!

Connie said...

I think drinking in the 1950's was the only way housewives survived! I remember my mom ironing my petticoats with waxed paper to make them stiff. It's such a great trick. I'm sad that I have no reason to use it any more. Love these old ads.

Jacqui Wise said...

Great pictures and your comments made me giggle (no I haven't been on the gin). I wonder what the cat is thinking in that first picture? Love the picture with the scooter. My Mum used to have a turquoise one similar to this when she was a mobile hairdresser many moons ago.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

oh my...I don't think I'll be knitting my own cocktail dress anytime soon...or even wearing one for that matter.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Wonderful vintage ads - these remind me of my Mum - she wore dresses like this and 'skinny' pants with boxy tops. I do think the 50's housewives needed a bit of Gin to get through the day....all that housewifery perfection! Glad times have changed. I don't remember the petticoats, but I do remember the girdles...Ouch! xo Karen

Jo said...

Ha ha, your comments made me chuckle. I love old knitting patterns, my mum had boxes full and she gave them all to the charity shop (along with the big box of Christmas decorations from my childhood) when she moved house a couple of years ago, I could have cried.

miz-bag said...

i love looking at old patterns its like time traveling.....

Zara said...

I love looking at old magazines and the ads.
The knitted dress is really something, wow.
x

camp and cottage living said...

Knitting your own dress would be quite an endeavor!
I'm not sure what you mean by starched petticoats. My older sisters had can-cans made of tulle for their formal dresses, but that was in the 60's. Maybe you're going further back in time..