interesting that there is a book and interesting about same dress different fabric and function too. While Mother Hubbard dresseswere acceptable as a house dress, they were considered indecent to wear in public for the very reason women found them appealing: they were worn with little or no corseting. I love the wrap-style dress that "Ethel" wore in many I Love Lucy episodes. Sign up for our weekly vintage fashion newsletter, 1960s Jewelry Styles and Trends to Wear , long pants, capris, jeans and even shorts, 1950s style house dress and day dresses here, Privacy Policy, Disclosure, Terms and Conditions. (Sailor dress, soft baby blue coat with glass buttons, even a flower-power dress with buttercup yellow collar and cuffs). Simply adding jewelry, gloves, a belt, and a cardigan sweater or bolero jacket was enough to transition her dress out of the house. She wore them over her slip or dress or nightgown but Never out of the house. A housewife in the 1930s spent the majority of her time in house dresses, which were usually handmade with re-purposed or leftover scraps from other garments. By the time I was doing housework, we wore jeans and all manner of pants. If I were to imagine what my life would have been like in the 1940s or 1950s, it frankly would have been horrifying. So the housecoat became my dress of the day. Self fabric details such as small pleats were preferred over large add on trims. I love those patterns! Most work clothes get nudged down to street and house after a while too.For me though, a house dress is something comfy to wear that I may not necessarily feel comfortable walking outside in. I live in them Spring - Fall here in sunny southern Cali when at home. Plaid was the most common throughout the decade. What a nice and refreshing find. I wear them everyday after work and most of the weekends. Clothes are for real live women," she said. Most of my day dresses are made from house dress patterns. Great post, Gertie! They're super comfy and I don't care if I make a mess while I'm cooking because it's just my house dress! Last summer I probably wore one of those dresses at least a small bit almost every day. Especially the one with the heart pocket - love it! I have a made vintage house dresses. Here she is polishing the bannisters. Great post, Gertie, inspiring as alwaysMoe: I know what you mean, constantly trying on - though don't you find you often end up just sewing in your pants and vest* to make it easier? One of the iconic house dresses was the Popover that Claire McCardell designed during WWII. Women looked to Lucille Ball and Donna Reed as on-screen style icons and the house dress was at the center of the craze. I wear them when I'm in the house doing all the happy frivolity of domesticity. With pockets appearing on most dresses, they were also practical for housework. They are pretty. Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! Can't wait to see what you make! I am thrilled to find your blog while searching for housedress sewing patterns. The idea was to spare your "good" (expensive) clothes from wear, tear and stains. Some iconic designs came out of the tradition of house dresses, like the popular Swirl dress which had originally been marketed as a wrap apron. As highly functional garments, house dresses had to fulfill variety of qualifications. Thanks Gertie! A day in the life of a wartime housewife, London, England, 1941: Mrs. Olive Day does some housework before she leaves for work. They were flowered cotton coat-style dresses back in the sixties and seventies here in Oslo. There was a time when women never wore pants and only wore dresses. Advertising featuring a housewife almost always had her dressed in a sheath dress or elegant daytime or party dress with heels and jewelry to coordinate. Something cute enough to be not a schmub and comfortable and practical too? They look comfortable without being over the top. The house dress was nice enough. I make vintage aprons for my girlfriends. So what if maids wore them? I'm a big fan of houses dresses, as I have different levels of clothing - house, street and work.Some house clothes can be street clothes, and some street clothes can be work clothes. My family's version of feminism meant being who you were as a person first and foremost; that you felt like wearing a big pink dress didn't mean you had to stick to cooking and changing diapers. You can find vintage house dresses at thrift stores, auction houses that specialize in historic fashions including Augusta Auctions and Kerry Taylor Auctions and online sites including Ruby Lane, Etsy, eBay and LiveAuctioneers. I have a couple of cracking house dress patterns that I inherited from an elderly aunt, that I intend to start working on this spring/summer between the pleating details and the pockets, they're certainly not plain-looking dresses! New inventions in house cleaning and cooking appliances made her day easier. They are much cooler to wear in the summer heat. I love it! How much more fun would it be to throw on a little shirtdress or wrap dress on the weekend, instead of sweats and a tank top? I live on the beach in Southern Baja. My opinion has always been that if you're going to be a homebody, do it in style. Yes, they were the only work available to many women for a long time, but that wasn't the women's fault, was it?I'm a little amused/perplexed/dismayed by the extreme avoidance of housedresses by so many modern women. We lived on a farm and ALL the women in the town and farm (were housewivesalmost all did not work outside the home except for those who were clerks in stores and a few office workers). They were easy to launder and often had a print something which made hiding stains and repairs a cinch. Appropriate for Zoom calls, video work chats, chores around the house, quick errands, virtual brunches with friends or just sitting on the couch and bingeing a favorite show, house dresses are hot again with people who want their comfort to be more stylish than a T-shirt and sweatpants. Many of the dresses were made from colorful, printed feedsacks or inexpensive calico. Comfort was key. These dresses look so good I wish I could have one made! I have 2 house type dresses and I get much more respect (and lovin:))when I wear them. I can wear it in the summer if the weather isn't too blustery, but chances are I'll be revealing rather more leg than I intend to as the foldover wrap isn't quite as pronounced in real-life as it is on the envelope (despite all my measurements being spot on for the pattern). With COVID-19 causing more people to work from home and stay at home in general, house dresses are emerging as the top fashion trend of 2020. I have been lusting over making them for a couple of monthseven more I love the pinafore dress! I love house dresses! Some had no collars, just a roundboat-neck or sweetheart opening. I remember they were made of the thinnest possible cotton. The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 1922; public domain via Wikimedia Commons. We may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking a link. I have been dreaming about making one for years and have not got around to it, this post has inspired me to get cracking! In utility achieved with ingenuity, McCardell found a synergy: the modern woman could do the cooking while looking chic. I'd totally wear some of those as casual summer dresses. There were also small polka dots, big and small stripes, chevron, paisley, and floral of all sizes and colors. But, I need something that is NOT Walmart. Instead of the Mother Hubbard silhouette, they had a fit and flare shape and often buttoned up the front or had pockets. It will be a short-sleeve wrap. It was only with the complete change in fashion and job status of women in the 1970s and 1980s that the house dress became outmoded in favor of jeans or knits. 1955 teal blue plain dress or blue checks. I love the house dress! I have a few house dress pattens and have definitely thought about making a few for summer especially. The maid/waitress connection doesn't bother me. Your post brought memories of my childhood of the 40's and 50's. The large patch of missing plaster on the ceiling above her head was caused by a nearby air raid. I'm more into vintage aprons, but I can see how that could cross further into "housemaid" than "housewife". Two cotton houses dresses, 1930s: a yellow with black and white geometric print and double-ruffle sleeves, circa 1933, and the other with printed floral squares on a purple dot pattern with two spaghetti twisted buttons, circa 1935; $150. House dresses were a bit more stylish for royalty. Lucile Ball in fancy half apron and a nicer house dress. Although 1930s house dresses were generally more simple than most daywear of the decade,the day-to-day clothing of the average woman followed the same general fit and shape as most clothing at the time, which includedpuff or fluttery caplet sleeves, wide collars with lace, ruffles, or embroidery and a mid-calf hemline. But it's crazy vivid green & turquoise brocade that zips all down the front but is floor-length and fiendishly 50's-formal glamorous-- somehow doesn't seem dressing gown-y, I'm thinking brunch coat, maybe. Women had clothes for evening, church and such, but since homemaking was their job, this is what was needed.I have a few 'day dresses.' I am totally with you on the housedress love, especially that last one with the little collar and the tulip pockets. I remember my grandmother's housedress- with carrots on the pocket! However, the conflict between clothing which was useful and those which were fashionable still plagued the housewife well into the atomic era. The button down bodice, known as a shirtwaist, was the prime style of house dress but other styles could be worn. Whenever I catch an I Love Lucy episode, it brings back memories of shopping with my mom and aunt. My touch is to add my saved chinese food cookie fortunes and hide them in the pockets when I wrap them up as a gift. These dresses let women be fully covered, yet had no structure and did not require a corset, bustle, or complicated underskirts like other fashions of the 19th century. My mother never wore slacks or jeans until the 60's and then never to do housework. Similarly to what you observed yourself, labouring women wore them for working in, they were inexpensive, serviceable, and comfortable. Except on really hot days when we've got all the windows open - we live on a busy street and so it's not just my husband who gets the floor show! For me it was always very funny to see grandma in those boxy dresses!!!! I like the idea of wearing a comfy (and cute) dress around the house, or running out to do a few errands.On the other hand, there is maid aspect to it. However, we remember these bastions of home life as something every woman would have owned once upon a time. *this being 'knickers and a vest top' in non-US english, I guess? The house dress is infinitely more glamorous than its equally utilitarian modern equivalents -- T-shirt and jeans or yoga pants -- but it is, like so many other appealing wardrobe options, out of the question for about 9 months of the cold, damp, foggy British year. In today's fashion climate, any dress is considered dressy, so a vintage house dress can go from housework to shopping and even lunch with the ladies. For formal occasions there were fine designs in silk, rayon, or wool. All that extra fluff would just be in the way. I fully intend to be making more house-dresses, but that's something I'll be watching out for next time (guess if I'd made a muslin, I'd have been forewarned but that was yesterday's conversation!). And vacuumining a lot! Many people in my father's family did housework and laundry to help support themselves and their family. Read: Privacy Policy, Disclosure, Terms and Conditions, The Kitty Shirtwaister Dress in Lightweight Denim Cotton Chambray with Contrast Ric-Rac True Late 40s Early 1950s Vintage Style, GownTown Womens 1950s Vintage Plaid Swing Dress with Pockets, Wellwits Womens Split Neck Floral Button 1940s Day 1950s Vintage Tea Dress, The Kitty Shirtwaister Dress in Mustard with Contrast Ric-Rac True Late 40s Early 1950s Vintage Style, The Casey Dress in Lightweight Denim Cotton Chambray True Authentic 1950s Vintage Style, DAISY - famous 1950s vintage dress inspired rockabilly custom made, GownTown Womens 1950s Cape Collar Vintage Swing Stretchy Dresses, VALERIE DRESS in Solid Green Teal Fabric // solid cotton dress custom vintage retro dress 1950s pinup plus size pin up dress green teal, Collectif Womenswear Marjorie Contrast Swing Dress, Collectif Womenswear Liza Vibrant Tropics Swing Dress, The Polly Dress in Solid Navy True Authentic 1950s Vintage Style, GownTown Women Splicing Swing Dress Party Picnic Cocktail Dress, The Polly Dress in Summer Check Print True Authentic 1950s Vintage Style, CECIL custom made vintage inspired made to measure dress all size swing pencil, Wellwits Womens Cap Sleeve Button Down Pocket Collared Vintage Work Dress, Floral Vintage Dress 50s Dress Navy Midi Dress Yellow Floral Dress Sundress Floral Women Summer Dress Retro Dress Pin up Dress Swing Dress, Ethel/ 1950s dress/ Retro style/ Collared dress/ Shirt dress/ Circle skirt with pockets/ Swing dress/ Made to Order, Collectif Mainline Caterina Mini Polka Dot Swing Dress, Charlene Shirtwaister Dress in Mustard Navy Check Print True Authentic 1950s Vintage Style, Natalie Dress in Solid Camel Beige COTTON, Rhonda/ 1950s dress/ Retro dress/ Shirt dress/ Circle skirt with pockets/ Swing dress/ Made to Order, Cream Windowpane Plaid Cherries Swing Dress, Pre-Order.. housedresses (http://vavoomvintage.blogspot.com/) and I was surprised. Unfortunately, I am now that grandma, with Aunt Bea's figure. Completely with you on that one! Mind you it is practical at home for the domestic duties!My favorites are a 50's Butterick 6418 for everyday and a 50's Vogue 7212 for leisure. Clothing styles in the 18th century were, in general, homogenous between classes with the fabric and trimming choices acting as distinguishers. I grew up in the '50s. I think I might have to track that down. Although the '60s and '70s saw more women going out in the workforce and abandoning the traditional role of housewife, the house dress remained a symbol of leisure. I call them house dresses. ", My grandmother in Tennessee would wear house dresses (very much like the ones in the first envelope-- and btw, I did make the Decades of Style reproduction out of squirrel fabric! I have two dresses that I've designated house dresses, though they are just made from a simple princess seam strappy pattern. The full skirt (5 yards at least) of gathered fabric with a thin petticoat underneath made it easy to move in, change bed sheets, make dinner, and tend to children. Love your housedress feature. They're comfortable, washable, and I can make them with huge pockets that hold everything. No thank you. Dresses adopted a more childlike, boxy silhouette and featured bright colors inspired by the pop art movement. The floor length one is FABULOUS!

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