Advance 1686 - (Boy's Coat)

Latter part of the 1930's.  The yoke and lower back pattern pieces have been replaced with newspaper tracings from a Detroit paper that indicate a date of 1938 or '39.

I would describe this as a reefer or pea coat (the terms seem to be largely interchangeable.)  View 1 is a particularly elegant interpretation, having both hand-warmer and patch pockets.

With sixteen pieces and an expectation that it would be lined, this coat represents a lot of work for the maker.  As we did in the discussion of McCall 5327, we should consider the challenge to the maker in spending money on (remember that at this time the Great Depression is a recent memory for all and still a reality for many) and considerable time in constructing a garment that would be outgrown before it wore out.  Of course, if there was more than one boy in either the immediate or extended family, possibly the maker planned to make the coat for Older Brother who would hand it down to Next Younger Brother or Cousin.  It would be interesting to know if clothing was handled and maintained with greater care when it was planned to be handed down.  

Many of the pattern pieces are torn - something that often happens when you're working with thick fabrics - winters in Detroit are cold!

Although Advance is touting an improved step-by-step instruction guide, the entire set of instructions, including the layouts, is printed on one side of a 15" by 16" sheet of paper.  The written instructions are reasonably complete but necessarily very brief.  The maker is assumed to have good basic sewing skills such as basting, grading and finishing seams, pressing, etc.

Advance 3249 - Overalls

World War II

The image of World War II's "Rosie the Riveter" is so firmly embedded in our culture that the Library of Congress calls their collection of images of women at work during WWII The Rosie Pictures.

But where did these women get their work duds?  For the most part, they probably did what many of us still do today - they wore men's clothes.

However, Advance thought it was worth offering an overalls pattern for women.   Nothing fancy about this pattern; only one view is given.  Yardages are given for only 36" and 39" width fabric, common widths for denim.

If you couldn't find a pattern locally, Montgomery Ward could supply you.  Here are three patterns they offered at 5 cents each (very reasonable; note that the Advance pattern would set you back 15 cents.)

Ward's would also sell you your fabric, having employed some patriotic copy editing to what were, for the most part, standard fabrics:

The Advance overalls in a size 18 will require 3 1/4 yard of 36" wide fabric.

If making your own wasn't an option, Wards offered a nice line of women's workwear featuring a "Victory Volunteers" emblem.  These bib-top overalls were described as "a sensible choice for your wartime job" and were offered in three qualities:  Best quality came in gunpowder blue twill jean for $3.77, Better quality came in navy and white pin check for $2.95, Good quality came in blue Sanforized denim for $1.95 and didn't have the emblem.

Everybody got to participate in marketing the Victory Volunteers effort:

I couldn't get a clear enough image to insert here, but there were even Volunteers for Victory paper dolls!

Wards would also sell you Sanforized denim overalls.  Although these were marketed for "Victory Workers, Farm and Factory," they may have been part of their standard line and not specific to the war.  The description tells us that these will "take countless washings and ironings" and that they have "metal buttons for a smart, workmanlike appearance."

Not all women worked in factories; many did agricultural work, either on their own family's farms, orchards, and ranches, or through organizations such as the Women's Land Army.

Women riveting ships together or working in the fields probably didn't have time to sew, but their mothers or aunts might have helped out. 

Yarn companies produced a variety of booklets of items to knit for military men and women, but the folks at Chadwick's Red Heart Yarn remembered the civilian women with their booklet Women's Sweaters - America at Work and Play.  The cover model is their Victory Girl.

This practical cardigan was offered as well.  While having a sweater you've knit yourself gives a nice sense of accomplishment, we shouldn't overlook the benefit of the soothing, repetitive nature of knitting, particularly during a stressful period.

Advance 1471 - (shirt, divided skirt, and sash)

Mid 1930's.

Note how similar this is to McCall 9094.

I recently ran across a very funny bit of dialog in Margery Sharp's Cluny Brown in which an older lady, Lady Carmel, observes one of her young house guests crawling around the tennis court on her hands and knees, and asks another house guest to "...make her get up, dear, I don't know what she's wearing." and is reassured that "It's a divided skirt, Lady Carmel."

Advance 4674 - Kitchen Jacket

Mid 1940's.

Designed by the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics, a branch of the U.S.D.A.

This pattern was featured in Dresses and Aprons for Work in the Home, first published in 1944. The University of North Texas has a nice digital copy here.

And here's the kitchen jacket made up. The copy indicates that this is really intended as a jacket, worn for warmth and modified for safety and practicality.