Part Two of the Gathered Skirt Tutorial, The Magic of Horsehair Braid (A Little Tutorial). I have a few housedress patterns and have successfully made a wrap one into a nice day dress. Later generations of women in their house dresses enjoyed a modest amount of fashion thanks to machine printing of fabrics and the advance of the sewing machine. Pink, teal, blue and green were the best colors. I would prefer to wear a housedress while working in my kitchen garden and doing cleaning rather than ruining my shorts and tops! I really like the wrap ones. So to say I have fond memories of this outfit is an understatement :). Ask us anytime. My grandmother used to make housedresses. 1950s house dress colors and patterns followed the trends of the year. It was less full than party dresses and worn with multiple layers of petticoats. I had meant to, but it slipped my mind. Many women from the 1930s onward chose to wear their house dresses to do the daily errands, often with gloves and a hat. I don't use a robe, I have a house-dress. I'm a huge fan of house dresses! Great post, Gertie! Without the oven mitt, of course! From then on some clothing companies became known for their house dress designs. The housedresses were also very easy to wash and my grandmother did not wear any apron over 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. Some house dresses advertised in the Sears Roebuck and Co. Now that I sew I use a new look (can not recall the #) shift dress pattern for making house dresses for my mom and I, which is bit more fashonable. Instead of the Mother Hubbard silhouette, they had a fit and flare shape and often buttoned up the front or had pockets. My grandmother LIVED in the type of shapeless housedress popular in the 70's, in current big 4 large size patterns, and in the super lame lane bryant catalog (all you larger girls totally know what I'm talking about) I hadn't really realized the older, cute shape with a waist style of dress was also a housedress! A lot of you went gaga over this taffeta skirt from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing . You totally read my mind. 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. They were usually lightweight (in cotton- though later designs saw polyester and rayon in the mix). Check it out, it's great reading. My mother never wore slacks or jeans until the 60's and then never to do housework. I like to look good - it makes me feel better and it keeps it fun for when the boy gets home after work. I love dresses in general because you don't have to pair anything, you just put it on and you're instantly more glamorous. Thanks for a great post. She had all kinds button up, zip up, but always worthy of leaving the house, too.I would totally wear one! Also love the housedress concept especially because I have pets, and like to keep my street clothes fur & snag-free, so a la Mr Rogers, I change every day when I come home! Looking like a hot mess was not acceptable, or so she was told over and over again by TV, radio ads, and newspapers. 1953 red gingham checks and candy stripe dresses with large pockets. I rent my guest house, and want to look presentable for my guests, so I use bright colors and lots of style. Fwiw, summer is coming, I need clothes, it's time to make and sew up some house dress patterns. They must be close relatives in many ways . utilitarian in function, but varied in design? *this being 'knickers and a vest top' in non-US english, I guess? Why can't all aspects of life be glamorous? I think interest in house dresses will increase and for a lot of reasons (cuteness not being the least of it). The large patch of missing plaster on the ceiling above her head was caused by a nearby air raid. My sisters tease me about it every chance they get. Fashion was fashionable even when no one would see her in it. It's a riot of bright turquoise flowers -- great for wearing out or for gardening and wiping my dirty hands on. 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. I've never post here but today I felt obligued. I have a normal wrap and tie robe, but when I'm doing anything around the house it comes loose and slips open. Simple dresses blurred the lines between house work and going out. 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? 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. More elite women had them made in costlier fabrics and wore them exlusively inside the home as a form of deshabille (undress). Plus, snaps down the front just ask to bust open and humiliate.I've made three of these dresses so far and I love them! Just wanted to add - I have always been under the impression - right up until the last time I was in Joanns flipping through patterns (like, yesterday) that the housedress of the shapeless variety was a sort of nightgown/bathrobe, unsuitable for wearing outdoors! Woo-hoo! We'd shop at Orbach's (cheaper) and then we'd go to Bullock's (expensive) for lunch with a fashion show. Really lightweight and breezy for the Florida heat. I've never felt the house dress love. Oh my gracious! New inventions in house cleaning and cooking appliances made her day easier. My opinion has always been that if you're going to be a homebody, do it in style. 1955 teal blue plain dress or blue checks. The house dress style is less common. Last year I bought 7 house dress patterns with the intention of making them for everyday wear. I was just thinking that I needed a housedress. 1952 Plaid, dots and stripes with contrast trim and buttons. Utilitarian with pockets, elbow-length (widish) sleeves and full zip, but the fabric is so over the top. Whether society appreciates them enough or not, waitressing and cleaning are totally respectable and necessary occupations. On the weekends I'll pull on whatever is easiest. Sew your own house dress with a 1950s pattern here. There was a time when women never wore pants and only wore dresses. 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.' This website is supported by advertising in the form of product links, banners, and sponsored articles. However, we remember these bastions of home life as something every woman would have owned once upon a time. And thanks for the sociology lesson too.With a day/house dress one can pop on some smart flats, pearls and a cardigan and be ready for shopping or lunch out and about! Too casual/too formal. Courtesy of Merrills Auctioneers and Appraisers. They were flowered cotton coat-style dresses back in the sixties and seventies here in Oslo. I'll have to wait to post a pic, since I'm seven months pregnant). She wore them from the time she started her day to just before dinner, when she would slip into something nicer and add a pair of heels and maybe a simple pearl necklace and earrings before greeting her husband at the door. I was a total suit wearer in my work life and since being laid off, I've been living in jeans, camis, turtle necks and capris with lots of snaps and ties - I'm missing the girly in my wardrobe! The straight skirt fitted sheath dress was not a common house dress. Claire McCardell's "Pop-over" dress with oven mitt, 1942. Thanks for sharing.Elena. I'm using horsehair braid for the first time and I'm enamored. I absolutely love the Simplicity 3306. The style didnt fully catch on for womens clothing, but was the predecessor of the house dresses which would become a must-have for any housewife in the interwar period. 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. My mother, along with all her friends, also had a large wardrobe of aprons (cobbler type with large pockets) to keep their clothes clean. I highly recommend that pattern. 1958 House dress or afternoon dress? I love it! I think housedresses actually evolved out of the "Bungalow Apron" which was basically a coverall for dresses. Repurposed Girl: Yes, I DO often end up wear just my underthings when sewing and fitting! (I found them very itchy!). No thank you. :). Oh and faded terry robes smelling of the seaside out of summers past.Vibeke. I had never thought of the DVF wrap as a descendant of the house dress. Your observations exactly mirror the situation of clothing at that time as well. I modified it to make it zipper front as that just seems more practical. Most of them wrapped to the back, instead of the front, and had different trim designs on the bodice. Trim was minimal. Reed's house dresses were popular throughout the first half of the 20th century and provided a model for other styles that balanced utility and fashion. The style evolved with the changing political climate of the '60s, as hemlines rose and designers at the forefront of the Swinging Sixties, such as Mary Quant, changed the fashion landscape. I love house dresses! I am a big fan of dressing in the vintage style that reflects who you are in "real" life, and being that I am - well, not a housewife, but a very average woman who works hard for living, the house dress seems like the most logical and practical thing for me to wear. For running errands or visiting friends outside the home, a woman did not need to change dresses, although she usually did. The short cap sleeve was common in summer, especially with a turned up cuff. a few months back I had an "aha Baja" moment!I was stepping out of the afetrnoon shower ( after sunning, sewing and swimming all day) it was hot, I had nothing light and cool to wear, so I have started making "afeter shower dresses" . Lot of three cotton house dresses, 1940s-50s: one tan with a ribbon and bow motif, one gray and pink striped with a chevron collar, and a green and white gingham; $150. First off, I am totally with you on the love. gift from one of her sisters that she didn't have the heart to get rid of. By the 1920s, house dresses became a standard style worn by women at home. Make This Skirt! They were to keep her warm and modest and protect her nice clothes from chores and aerosol hairspray. Many women broke social rules by wearing pants to do housework! Most of my day dresses are made from house dress patterns. But, I need something that is NOT Walmart. I prefer the earlier house dresses versus the boxy ones. The thing about is Back when day dresses were popular, a lot of wmen didn't work outside the home. Even my very non-dress-wearing partner wants me to make her one for kicking around the house this summer, after she jokingly tried on a dress of mine and was like, whoa this is way more cool and comfortable than shorts and a tee shirt.It's interesting, though, to look at what a complex and varied wardrobe-for-home womenfolk have had, looking at the 1930s anyway. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. I think I might have to track that down. My current favorite pattern is actually that first one your posted (the Decades of Style reprint). 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! Mid arm sleeves were nice year round, and 3/4 longsleeves kept warm in winter yet didnt get wet while washing dishes. I used to have one that snapped down the front and wore that thing (literally) to death. Amid the pandemic, house dresses make a comeback as the top fashion trend of 2020. The dress, which crosses at the chest and cinches at the waist, was comfortable enough to lounge in at home, but also stylish enough to be worn in public.