Sunday 1 November 2015

KNIT AND NATTER - VINTAGE PATTERNS AND FASHION TRENDS

Last week I was given a pile of vintage knitting patterns and I wrote about how they triggered memories
And they also triggered questions like:

Did women really have such naturally small waists or did they wear girdles to create this hour-glass look?



And how would people react if a child went out today wearing this outfit?


Because remember the red and white outfit Prince George wore to his sisters christening earlier this year?  The one that was a near-copy to one his father once wore? Well, my daughter tells me that other mothers like to dress their children in retro clothes too. 

As a baby, Jools Oliver, wife of celebrity chef Jamie, had a hand-me-down embroidered nightie. Later, her own children wore this too and she was so inspired by the design and nostalgia that she designed her own range of retro children's clothes. 

But some mothers, I discovered, do not want copies made from modern fabrics. No. They seek original vintage and retro clothes and when I saw photos I instantly recognised some of the clothes that my own children wore. In fact I still have one or two in my wardrobe. You know, those ones that hold special memories?  They are carefully folded with the shawl that my nan knitted, the same nan who knitted those swimming trunks and bikini. 

I wish the dress that my nan crocheted was there too. It was peach colour, sleeveless and scoop necked. Under the bust line it was a shell pattern, with a  self colour lining.  There was just one problem. When I first wore the dress the weight of the yarn and the lacy design caused the skirt to drop. I seem to remember my nan undoing several rows of shells so that it hang level again with the lining. Sadly, I don't have a photo of this dress but it is funny how some clothes stay in your memory.   

In todays massed produced, throw away society, I wonder if the next generation will be able to say the same?

I wonder whether they will get excited by vintage patterns, as I do? 

But I am not alone in this. In fact there is a revival. And I'll be back soon to tell you how I know. 

If you missed my previous post about vintage knitting patterns you can find it here.  Have a good Sunday, what ever you are doing. I'll be back tomorrow with another post for my 30 Day Blogging Challenge.

6 comments:

  1. I've read posts by bloggers who love vintage .. but who struggle to find it for their kids [Mandi from http://makingniceinthemidwest.com/ springs to mind.]

    Then, last month, James took me to a vintage shop, out of the way, at the edge of a rather unlikely town [for this kind of thing] and they had a magical room filled with vintage clothes including unusual things like slips/nightwear and ... kids clothes! I'd never really seen that anywhere before.

    They also had vintage crepe paper and pipe cleaners ... I was sooooooo tempted but resisted!

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  2. I remember the bathing costume my mother knitted me. And yes women wore girdles. My mother used to wear those all-in-one things that moulded to your body from the bra downwards and included suspenders for your stockings. It was like armour plating!

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  3. I had a near miss as a child with a crocheted bridesmaid dress (in mustard yellow) which I would not have had fond memories of. I do however remember those jumpers - my Mum and Nan knitted plenty of those for us. I dislike the 'fashion' of dressing babies like mini-teens. I would rather see them in that knitted outfit than jeans, leggings and cropped tops!
    I don't 'do' or wear retro - but I do love it...probably more for the memories than anything else.

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  4. Ah, but just because there was a pattern available for boys' knitted shorts doesn't mean that anyone actually knitted them :) There are plenty of new patterns available today I wouldn't use..and if I wouldn't use them they won't get worn out and chances are they'll appear in a charity shop in good condition. Maybe.

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    1. I know one person who did knit these shorts Sian. The owner of these patterns told me that she knitted every one of these garments. Perhaps her sons can tell a story or two about wearing knitted shorts! lol

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  5. That knitting pattern brought back memories - my DD had a long jumper and soft leggings knitted for her by a loving grandma and she adored them! I guess shorts might have been different, but why not? Given the fashion for knitted dresses, that top one might well go down a storm. I wish I had her waistline! The 'mothproofed' made me smile.

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