Utility fashion at the V&A
Just thought I’d share these pictures I snapped at the Victoria & Albert Museum recently. Fancy some utility lingerie, ladies? This bias-cut rayon slip still looks pretty slinky.
I’m pretty sure UK clothing manufacturers were prohibited from using lace, so the trimming on the bodice is a little surprising. As one commenter pointed out, it could easily have been added by the wearer — lace was unrationed and still available to buy.
What’s also interesting is that, because the fabric isn’t wide enough to allow the slip’s full length to be cut on the bias, the hem has been pieced, which looks pretty startling in a commercially manufactured garment:
And here’s a beautifully cut tweed utility suit by probably-Charles Creed:
The lines are extremely simple, but the designer’s added a bias inset at center back for interest:
It was a stroke of genius getting high-end designers on board for the Utility scheme. As I have found out to my cost, it takes much more skill to make a very simple garment look good than something with a lot of frou-frou. The cut of many utility suits is superb, which goes a long way to make up for their relative severity.
If you don’t live handy to the V&A (or even if you do), I suggest you check out their Fashion in Detail books, which go into considerable detail about these and other garments held at the museum, along with glimpses inside at the garments’ construction. Drool!
Three centuries of frock porn from the V&A trip over at my Flickr set!
i have some of these old slips and the extra piece bc of the limited bias width is really common…i think you’d have to have possibly 60″ fabric to avoid this.
I have a new full-length silk bias slip, and it’s pieced at the hem this way. I should lay it out on the floor and see if I can estimate how wide the original yardage was.
I love the pic, thank you for them.
I wouldn’t have thought of piecing on a commercial garment either, but given the narrow width of some fabrics in the past (especially silks) it must have been fairly common.
Hi, I’ve nominated you for an award over on my blog, I think you throughly deserve it for content and design : )
I also love your banner ‘if I make it they will come’…
Great pictures! I really need to visit the V&A next time I am in London (June?)! Thanks for the heads up about the book, it looks great. Also, I love the flickr set!
Things just aren’t made how they used to be huh. Funny how hardship can be good for creativity. By the way, you get the ‘Kreativ Blogger’ award! with love from me. copy the pic from my blog if you want it. Hope to see you soon. xxmichelle