The "Client" Dress Is Done!

Finally. It took me, like, a month to make this! Lol.



I actually made this from a 1930s nurse uniform, Butterick 7451:



And it's called a "Client" dress because it was totally inspired by the lovely women in the electronic band Client:

1923 Fashions IN COLOUR!

From the Sears catalogs:

The Automatic Hostess

Last night I watched an adorable little film from 1944 called Swing Hostess and the plot of the film involves a stuggling singer who takes a job as an "automatic hostess" until she gets discovered.

I had never heard of this before, but in the early days of jukeboxes you had to call in a central location, a woman would answer with "Number please!", you would give her the number of the record you wanted to hear, and she would play it for you from a centralized location. The jukeboxes looked something like this:



I want one so bad!! LOOK AT IT!! Of course, no one will be on the other end which would make this object even more ghostly.

The film Swing Hostess gives a really good insight into what these women did and how it all worked. No doubt, if I were around then and as big of a music freak as I am in this lifetime I may have taken a job at one of these places.


*sigh* Such adorable jukeboxes with the pretty 1940s ladies on them. Apparently, these babies were too much of a hassle and the automatic jukebox eventually took over. The Automatic Hostess is a forgotten relic from the Golden Era in need of a comeback! YEAY!

You can watch the film Swing Hostess (1944) in it's entirety on the Internet Archive: Swing Hostess.

Barbecue Salad (1953)

This gem is from 1953. Jell-O and Hunt's Tomato Sauce combined, moulded, chilled, and served with a dallop of mayonaise. No, thanks. Sounds rather revolting.

"The Ten Commandments of Dress and Grooming for Smart Women" (1925)

This is an article from a 1925 issue of Photoplay magazine on how "to" dress and how "not to" dress. It is hysterical!

The writer, Grace Corson, really rips into the poorly dressed specimen in the bottom half and I get a giggle each time I read it. She really hates those shoes saying, "And shoes - if such hideous affairs as these she wears can be called shoes..." and I also love the "vulgar jewelry" and "gaudy handbag"! LOL!

Click to enlarge:





I dunno. The lady in the bottom photo looks like she could be from the 1980s and her shoes could be worn today without an eyelash batted.

But lets talk about those "Ten Commandments" shall we? How many do I break? Well, the first one cracks me up in that it mentions "good breeding." *snicker* I'm glad we working-class poor folk don't have to live up to a "good breeding" standard today. That phrase makes me think of humourless snobs who think having fun is shocking and beneath them! "Good Breeding" also makes me think of horses.

I can get with numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5. Totally.

Number 6 I break terribly. I wear bright red eyeshadow with cat's eye eyeliner and painted-on thin eyebrows. Or bright purple eyeshadow, or yellow, blue, etc. Any fun colour. But since it's 2011, I haver NEVER EVER received an "unfavorable comment." Hehe.

Number 7 I break like there is no tomorrow!! But I don't purposely seek it out -- I just PREFER loud and extravagant clothing. Even if made in all solid black material, a dress from a 1930s pattern is going to be "loud and extravagant" and will attract attention!

I'm just beginning to adhere to 8. I don't wear foundation garments, but I'm realizing what a properly-sized bra can do.

Number 9, eh. Not really into fads and novelties.

Number 10 -- I could care less what my "type and colour" is! I'll wear what I like and what makes me feel comfortable!

So, which Commandments do you break?

Butterick 7451 - The Client Dress

I've been working on a dress for over a week now. It still needs buttons and a better collar (the one it has on now I messed up on.) I don't know if I want to put pockets on the boobs or not. I tend to avoid boob pockets because I'm a DD and I don't like more attention drawn to them :(



This was made in gray gabardine from a 1930s Nurse's uniform pattern (Butterick 7451, given to me by Miss Andrea Kamikat!), but I wanted to give it a more militaristic look. My main inspiration are the dresses worn by the women in the electronic band Client:



I'm going to change mine up a little. I'm leaving the whole front open because I like that. I still don't know if I want hip pockets (instead of boob pockets!)

One thing about this dress is that I actually took my time with it. Andrea traced the pattern on interfacing so I could pin it together, put it around me, and then determine how much fabric I needed to cut. The original pattern was a size 33 bust -- LOL! After I cut the fabric to the proper size I then pinned the pieces together and put the dress on -- pinning in where needed! Perfect fit!

My downfall is alterations. As you can see by what I just said, I have a ghetto way of doing them! I was never very good at resizing, especially DOWNsizing (taking things in). UPsizing always seemed much easier, but I had to be careful not to leave too much bagginess in the shoulders (from the bust alteration). Yup, alterations were never my thing. The funny part -- I could probably do them on someone else. Haha.

1938 Kenmore Rotary DeLuxe

Ever since I was a little girl I can remember my "mom's" sewing machine. She didn't sew a whole lot, but it would get taken out every now and again -- usually for a Halloween costume. It was stored in the back bedroom closet. The last time I think I saw it in use must've been the early 80s, where it was doomed to sit for the next 30 years.

In 1998 I became interested in all things vintage and one of the firt things to come out of hiding was that old sewing machine. By now, I knew it was actually my grandmother's machine from the late 1930s. I looked up the model number online and found it was manufactured in 1938. I was thrilled, since I dated it around 1945ish.

It was just a showpiece until 2008 when I seriously learned to sew. I actually went and got it repaired and it works. New life has entered the 70+ year old sewing machine 30 years after it's last use.


It is powered by a knee lever, which takes getting used to. The cord is very "modern" and is in perfect condition.


The drawer handles are beautiful art moderne style.


The top shows its age.


It folds out for a large workspace!


Ahhh, the machine pops out! It is HEAVY AS HELL -- solid metal. I've dropped it and it still keeps going -- no cosmetic dings, even! And even though she has been cleaned and refurbished, she still smells of oldness and oil. Mmmmmm!




This part was completely replaced. It had a big indent in it from being on its side for 30 years.


The model number.



I also found an ad for the closest thing I can find to grandma's sewing machine. It's in my Sears 1940-1941 Winter Catalog. I got excited when I saw it:



I always like to see vintage items in their "natural habitats." Hehe! Dating the machine was easy. I just looked up the model number in the Sears Archive for sewing machines.