A Hybrid 40’s Blouse and Denim Skirt

Interested?  Basically, using two mid 1940’s patterns, I drafted a mixed-breed WWII era blouse only to add some beautiful features to it and make it not 1940’s at all just so I can imitate Marvel’s Agent Carter.  My skirt is completely modern with timeless features which co-ordinate perfectly with current or 1940’s dressing styles.  I’m absolutely loving the versatility and comfort of my blouse and skirt!

From a historical standpoint, you might say I had misdirected principles here…although I’m not too far off in accuracy.  However, being creative and having fun is to me one of the most important factors to sewing for myself or anyone else…enjoying yourself!  I also am one of Agent Peggy Carter’s biggest fans, and I am more than happy to rock what she wears, too.  So – here’s to enjoying my own style “a la Carter”!

THE FACTS:

FABRIC: The blouse: a thick and luxuriously soft 100% cotton.  It is a line of U.S.A. made “Country Classics” cottons available at JoAnn’s Fabrics.  The Skirt: a 100% cotton lightweight indigo wash denim…so nice it doesn’t really look like denim.

NOTIONS:  None but thread and a little interfacing was needed for both projects and these notions were on hand, as well as a zipper, hook-and-eye, and vintage buttons from hubby’s Grandmother’s collection.

PATTERNS:  The blouse: a combo of Hollywood #1318, year 1944, and a McCall #5946, year 1945; The skirt: a year 2001 Butterick #3134

TIME TO COMPLETE:  The blouse was done quicker than the blink of an eye in one afternoon and evening of 5 hours on March 14, 2016.  The skirt was made in about 5 hours and finished on April 13, 2016.

THE INSIDES:  Nice!  All seams on both the skirt and blouse (except for the armhole/sleeve seam) are finished in French seams.

TOTAL COST:  On sale with an extra coupon, my blouse’s American fabric (being the only cost) was about $5.00 for one and a half yard.  My skirt’s denim cost about $10.

Happily, our new cable provider has given us the option of being able to record HD channels on TV, and we’ve taken advantage of this to have the whole “Agent Carter” season 2 recorded so we could watch it (and I could study the fashions) all we wanted.  After much pausing, playing, and rewinding, I figured out the details of my chosen-to-imitate blouse and skirt from Episode 2, “A View in the Dark”.

First off, Peggy’s blouse is most definitely a much finer material than my own – it’s probably silk or at least a very fine rayon by having such a soft shine and lovely drape.  Secondly, her blouse has several rows of ruching or shirring across the upper shoulders, with a V-neck and three squared buttons which looked like shell.  The back of her blouse has an upper shoulder yoke with a lower bodice section with has about three or four pleats coming out from under the yoke.  The sleeves are puffed with a small box pleat at the center bottom hem.  The color my blouse and Peggy’s is pretty much exact – a soft aqua tinted baby blue.  Now her skirt looks like it has six-gores, with bias flared bottom and hip shaping.  The waist is high and arched in the front over the belly.  The material is nicely flowing…just lovely details in all, enough said.

Now, as much as enjoy being in Peggy Carter’s shoes I still need to stay “me”.  Thus, I downgraded in materials from rayon or silks, which probably were the fabrics of the originals, to cottons and denim so my look-alike outfit is completely practical for my life.  Vintage styles are so good for offering luxury that is classy and put-together with the comfort of modern lazy-day clothes.

The blouse is a combo of two patterns which I previously made with great success (posts here and here) and they are one year apart (’44 and ’45) so I felt confident that this could not go wrong with this mash-up.  To start, I overlaid one pattern over/on top of the other so as to make my own design from there.  I wanted the main body to me more or less like the Hollywood pattern in overall length and hip width, while the bodice of the McCall dress pattern was my guide for the V-neck and the shoulder gathers (shirring or ruching as it’s called).  The most challenging part was to try and define a set-in shoulder seam on the McCall pattern as the sleeves are a continuous part of the dress in the original design.  The sleeves for my “Agent Carter” blouse came from the Hollywood pattern as I knew they were loose and comfy.  Halfway down the shoulder seam of the back bodice, I drew a line for a shoulder yoke above the line and a detailed lower half.  For the lower back bodice, rather than cutting on the fold I made a center seam and added about 3 inches in a parallel block extending down the center back so I could do a box pleat.

I’d say my blouse is a success.  There are lovely details in both the front and back, so any way you look at it, the blouse is pleasingly detailed.  The back box pleat gives me comfortable reach room and adds a masculine touch while the front has a complimentary V-neck and delicate shirring (8 rows of it) for a ladylike touch – a mix of both worlds…much like the life of Peggy Carter.  There is a similar blouse pattern from Burda Style, sans shirring and with a collar, for a lovely “as-is” option to making your own Peggy Carter blouse.

Now, I am a bit confused though because her blouse that I imitated here is from a TV series which supposedly takes place in 1947, but everything about this blouse is late 1930’s or early 40’s.  I have found images of patterns with box pleats in the back bodice but they were from the late 1930’s or very early 1940’s, and the same goes for opulent shirring except it started early on in the 30’s.  So my blouse is actually accurate, just a more or less mystery year as Peggy wore this in 1947 and I used ’44 and ’45 patterns to make a blouse for a period much earlier.  Oh well, it fits, it’s comfy, so versatile, and completely makes me happy!

My skirt was super easy to make and is equally awesome as the blouse, I must say!  With the skirt being so simple, I spent the extra time to make fine finishing inside and to re-draft for some lovely generous pockets…a handy must!  Yes, the pockets were not a part of the original design, but were easy to add into the side front panels.  I simply drew in the pockets were I wanted them to go, added in the seam allowances, and cut the side front panels into three portions instead of one (an upper pocket panel, the pocket itself, and the lower skirt panel).  The pocket upper edges go at an upward angle toward the middle panel and are re-enforced with seam tape while in the stitching process to prevent any stretching.  I also added 2 inches the length of the pattern to get a skirt which has better total knee coverage (and make it more mid to late 40’s).

Originally wanted a closer fitting skirt with a flared bottom (like Peggy’s and like “Physics Girl’s” Simplicity 2451 skirt).  I was really considering using a Simplicity #4086 (out-of-print, year 2006) from my stash, but I wanted my skirt to actually sit at the waist and not the hip like the other patterns I was considering.  The pattern I used is also more classic and easy to move in with an A-line silhouette that changes to a fitted flare appearance as I move or as the wind blows.  Here is a link to my favorite version and best review for the skirt pattern, this is what really sold me on this out-of-print gem.  My inspiration for adding in the pockets, besides utility and practicality, came from a combo of the pattern “Physics girl” used and this picture of actress Joan Bennet.

I went all out with my Agent Carter fandom and was wearing her “Red Velvet” lipstick from Beseme Cosmetics and “Cinnamon Sweet” nail color from OPI.  I can’t say enough good things about both products so I’ll just say they are wonderful.  OPI nail polish is deep color, with a great brush and long wearing.  Sometimes with a nice top coat I get a week out of my OPI colors and they self-heal with a touch-up over small chips.  The Beseme lipstick is thick and rich and also long lasting – the best ever!

Some factories from the old industrial district of our town, the Carondelet neighborhood, became the backdrop.  I was trying to re-create the feel of Peggy visiting the Isodyne Factory in the episode where she wears my inspiration outfit.  The blue factory is an authentic Post WWII building and the lovely sky was trying to match me in tone, too.  Even buildings meant for basic or industrial uses can have their own special rugged beauty in my eyes.  We had fun with this photo shoot so look for more of these Carter inspired pictures on my Flickr page soon.

I hope this post inspires you to try that adventurous mash-up of patterns so you can wear that lovely inspiration outfit that strikes your fancy.  Every “franken-pattern” I do has some sort of frustration, disappointment, and confusion – but see what you can get when you don’t give up!  Put your own personal touch to it, enjoy the experience, and give it a go!  This is the best examples of one of the reasons for sewing – making a one-of-a-kind garment which is exactly what you wanted to wear.