Saturday, December 31, 2011

Patron-Modèle 400934 - Anorak et Pantalon fuseau en gabardine pour homme

1950s

Translates to "Man's jacket and gabardine ski pants."

Patron-Modèle seems to have been the "house brand" for the women's magazine Lé Petit Echo de la Mode.

The description on the back of the envelope translates to:
The anorak has patch pockets and is fitted to the waist with elastic.  Turned down collar; set-in sleeves.  Removable hood.  Ski pants.

"Pantalon fuseau" can also be translated as "pegged pants," but the intent is clear; these trousers have a narrow leg to help keep the snow out and to tuck into the ski boots, which would have looked about like this (I suspect that these laces are much later replacements.)
From www.vintageskiworld.com
It's interesting that the description indicates a fabric choice of gabardine, which is a sturdy twill fabric made of worsted yarn.  The anorak would have been made out of a woolen or worsted fabric as well, and I might add a silk lining for a little extra warmth, although the pattern doesn't call for a lining.

As was true for the earlier Patron Modèle that we saw, there is no separate instruction sheet.  The maker is expected to use the illustrations on the front and the description of the pattern pieces on the back of the envelope.


Note the crotch gusset for the pants, necessary for sportswear in the years before stretch fabrics were introduced.

Although there was no instruction sheet, this pattern included a one-sheet that mostly contained advertising geared to home sewing, but had a few general instructions, and a helpful sizing chart.   This size 44 is equivalent to about a 38" chest.


2 comments:

What-I-Found said...

I wonder what would have been used for waterproof fabric back in the day. Oilskin?

andrea.at.the.blue.door said...

Somewhere out there, I'm sure there is a nice master's thesis on the development of waterproof fabrics. Oiled silk was available pretty early in the 19th century, if not before. At a guess I'd say waxed fabrics might have come along in the 18th century. Charles Mackintosh figured out how to rubberize fabric in the 1820's, I believe. But I think the range of waterproof fabrics available to home sewers was pretty limited until the last 40 years or so.

Wool isn't waterproof, but the tightly woven fabrics are pretty impermeable, and even when wet, don't get clammy.