Making a c.1923 Butterick Dress: The Pattern

  As a vintage fashion enthusiast, I'm always trying to add pieces of clothing inspired by my favorite decades into my wardrobe for events and for everyday life.  I find that there are very few, if any, reproduction clothing companies that specialize in those eras, being the 1920s-1930s, and the ones that do exist are way above my price range.  To combat this problem, I've bought a few reproduction patterns in an attempt to make the items myself in my particular style at a reasonable price.  I had always held off on buying real vintage patterns, mostly because of the chance some pattern pieces may be missing, and also, again, because of the understandably high prices(these patterns are almost 100 years old at this point).

  While venturing down the rabbit hole of Etsy I happened upon a circa 1923 Butterick pattern, in my size, for a steal, and I couldn't pass it up.  The pattern is for an open front over-dress closed with a belt, with a slip underneath, a common style of the period.

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The pattern - I don't believe it has ever been used except for the slip, which would explain its disappearance.

  The pattern, as was expected, was missing the two pieces for the slip.  Luckily for me, I have a reproduction 1930s bodice pattern that is surprisingly similar to the top of the slip, so I figured I could, with some tweaking, make my own version of the slip pattern and be able to construct the dress almost as if nothing was missing.

  To make this experience as authentic to the 1920s as possible, I also used Art of Dressmaking by Butterick from 1927 to assist me in techniques from the era, and used this book exclusively to answer any questions about construction I might have had.

Art of Dressmaking, Butterick, 1927.

  And finally, since summer is here, I decided on making a lightweight white dress based on this image I found on Pinterest:

Of course this isn't the same style, but I loved the white dress with black and red detailing and wanted to emulate those details on my dress.

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(This is part one of three documenting my journey into making this dress.  Check back next time for the construction!)

Historic Homes of America: The Biltmore Estate

  Along with antiquing I also love to visit historic houses throughout the country.  I love them not only for their architectural beauty and interior design, but it's fascinating to see how people throughout history lived and how they used the items I'm always seeing in antique stores.  The biggest of them all is the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  The Biltmore was the summer home of George Washington Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius 'Commodore' Vanderbilt, the owner of the New York Central Railroad during the Victorian and Gilded Age.  The Vanderbilts were one of the prominent millionaire families of New York along with the Astors and Morgans, and their wealth is highly apparent in their summer homes and cottages.  George commissioned the Biltmore in 1889 and its doors opened in 1895.  Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, the mansion is in the style of a French château, has a floor space of 178,926 square feet, and 250 rooms.  There is an elevator, a gymnasium, bowling alley, and even a pool in the basement.  George married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in 1898 and they had one child, Cornelia, who was born and grew up on the estate.  Biltmore is still owned and operated by descendants of Cornelia.

 Exterior

Statue in gazebo at top of hill.

Inset conservatory at the entrance.

Breakfast room, with portrait of George's grandfather.

Dining room

Salon

Music room

Balcony

Tapestry gallery

Library

Mr. Vanderbilt's bedroom

 Mrs. Vanderbilt's bedroom

Oak sitting room

Louis XV room

Damask room

Claude room

Chimney room

Second floor living hall, with portrait of the Cecils, Cornelia's descendants.

Third floor living hall

Billiard room

Smoking room/Gun room

Bowling alley/Gymnasium/Pool

Halloween room, painted by Cornelia and her husband for a themed party around New Year's(this information was found after the room was named).

 

Greenhouse with garden

 

View from terraced stone patio

Further Research:
The Biltmore Estate
Wikipedia: Biltmore Estate
Wikipedia: The Four Hundred
Wikipedia: Vanderbilt Family