Category: Pat Perkins Day Dresses 1950s

Celebrating a New Chapter and a Free Gift for You!

Introduction

I am so happy to welcome you back to my corner of the internet. For the past year, you might have noticed a shift here on PorMoi.com. I focused on styling modern clothes instead of sharing my usual vintage designs. This was a very intentional choice.

I needed to take an unannounced break to gain some perspective. My work was getting a bit too close to the actual past. I felt pushed to make very elaborate 1930s sleeves and collars. At other times, I got too close to the “little girl” look of the 1940s with rick rack and short puffy sleeves on grown women.

I used this break to study what modern women wear today. I looked closely at modern colors, makeup, hairstyles, and accessories. This time away gave me exactly what I was looking for. I now have a much clearer view of when vintage style is beautifully inspired, and when it crosses over into a costume or camp.

I realized that I love a hint of vintage style for the modern woman. Moving forward, my patterns will have more “style ease.” They will always offer you freedom of movement and a flattering fit.

Introducing the Alice Elizabeth Dress

To celebrate this exciting new chapter, I have released a brand new pattern booklet! It features my Alice Elizabeth dress, and it is my gift to you.

I love vintage details, but I also love modern comfort. Because of that, this pattern features front buttons on the bodice. The skirt closes with snaps. This keeps the design lines look clean. It also makes the dress very easy to put on and take off! If you want to change these closures, you can absolutely do so.

It creates a beautiful, basic outfit. It looks best if you wear a bra, lightweight panty girdle, and a slip underneath, but those are absolutely not required! I do not design for the tight corsets of the past.

This pattern is highly adaptable and up to your own creativity:

  • Mix and Match: Use the bodice with a different skirt.
  • Change the Length: Adapt the gored skirt into a short or midi-skirt.
  • Easy Digital Sizing: The pattern photos are laid out on a grid with 1-inch markings. You can download them into a graphics editor like Adobe to size them up to a Misses Size 8.
  • Print or Grade: Once sized to a Misses 8, you can print the pieces out or grade them to your exact size. I have included full measurements for my Size 8 and other helpful details.
  • Bonus Guide: The booklet includes a full style and sewing analysis of the 1950s Pat Perkins dress that inspired me.

Download Your Free Copy Now

This booklet is uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for everyone to enjoy. You are free to use, copy, and share this work as much as you like!

  • If you share it as-is: Please do not alter the original files.
  • If you modify the pattern: You must list my original pattern as the source, but please add your own name as the person who changed it.

👉 Click Here to Download the Alice Elizabeth Pattern Booklet on Wikimedia Commons

Thank you for your warmth, courtesy, and support during my year of rest. I cannot wait to see what you create with this dress!

A Note on Collaboration and Transparency

This blog posting is a collaboration between myself and Gemini, accessed through Google Search. The idea and the words are my own. Gemini acts as an editor at a publishing house does for an author helping to refine and polish the idea and words used. I thank Google for making this valuable resource available to all. It is helping me to be more and do more personally and professionally.

RetroGlam holiday weekend dress-up fun

Since this is the Labor Day weekend in the U.S., I have more time for dressing up in vintage clothes and sharing online. I also dressed my vintage fashion dolls up. Here are photos from this special day and my trip back in time to the time when my Mom and Aunties lived. Yes, they wore pretty housedresses like the ones by Pat Perkins. For very special occasions they had a sheath dress in a print or basic black. Other popular styles for day into evening had fitted bodices with scoop necklines, fitted sleeves and flared skirts.

1950s Pat Perkins day dress/house dress

This black and white checked dress is by Pat Perkins. The seller on ebay estimated it was early to mid 1950s. I agree with that because there is a side zipper. The bodice opens part way under the Princess Panel on the left so that the dress is easier to put on.

I plan to take detailed photos of this dress and will share a style and construction analysis. My next project will be based on this dress. I will use the new sloper I am developing for 1950s inspired outfits once it is finished.

1950s cocktail/evening dress-unknown dressmaker-custom sized

I bought this vintage dress on Ebay during Lockdown 2020. The seller described the dress as custom made around the 1950s. It is about one size too big for me, but still I enjoy dressing up in it and taking photos in it. I am not sure if this is considered a cocktail dress, an evening dress or a day-to-evening dress. Sometimes the subtler categories for when women wore what kind of clothing in decades prior to the 1970s pass me by.

This dress is exquisitely made. It is fully lined in a matching mandarin orange colored silky fabric. Both the fabric and the lining are either 100% synthetic or a blend. The brocade of the dress is soft and very comfortable to wear. The sleeves are short mounted sleeves with a gusset under the arm. I think in the U.K. the term is “grown-on sleeve”. The dress closes with a center back slot zipper. There are many other finishing and construction details I will share in the future.

When you see a vintage garment you are interested in for study and/or wear, buy it if you can afford it. Once you own it you have a piece of fashion history. You also have a study piece that will expand your knowledge first hand of how clothing was constructed in the past.