Vintage Project Spotlight: Harper's Bazar 1925 Inspired Blouse

This vintage project spotlight is on my Harper's Bazar 1925 inspired blouse.

  The inspiration for this blouse is from a fashion plate in Harper's Bazar magazine from January 1925.  The original design is from Nicole Groult, a French fashion designer who is sister to the famous designer Paul Poiret.  What I liked about this design was its fairly simple construction - kimono sleeves, loose and straight shape, with the only details being a V-necked tie collar and hip band.  This is my favorite type of blouse from this era - the drape-y nature and shape are comfortable, and it's one of the more flattering of the 1920s fashions.

  I used the bodice pattern from Simplicity 8506 to draft a very simple and boxy kimono shape.  For the tie collar, I used the long tie collar pattern piece from my 1923 dress and shortened it.  The hip band is just the bottom of the blouse pattern measurement, doubled, then doubled again, and about 5 inches wide(I wasn't too worried about exact measurement of the width, as long at it would turn out at least 2 inches wide).

The pattern(not to scale).  Front and back are the same except for the neckline, the back shown as a dotted line.  There are no closures, the v-neck is large enough to pull over the head.

  The original design is a multi-colored large floral print on black in rayon crepe.  I liked the look of it in black and white in the plate, so I went for that color scheme and happened upon a print that was somewhat close(large floral, but not as spread apart) and same type of fabric.  I also bought solid black rayon crepe for the tie collar and hip band, omitting the leaf pattern on the band.

The fabric.

  I finished all the seams by hand overcasting, and finished the inside collar and hip band by hand as well.  I'm not really a fan of bows, so I made the tie just long enough to tie in a knot, and made a separate bow on a pin so I would have the most versatility.

And here's the finished blouse!

  I'm very pleased with the outcome of this blouse, since the entire process was basically an experiment.  It isn't exactly like the fashion plate, but I think I captured the feeling and drape - and it's so comfortable!  Worn with a black twill skirt(made by me), the bow pinned on, Mae shoes by American Duchess in black, and Besame lipstick in 1925 Forever Red.

...And a bonus:

  Another reason I like this type of blouse is that it can also be styled 1930s.  The same blouse and skirt, but tucked in and worn with 1930s gloves, Huxley shoes by B.A.I.T Footwear in black/white, a 1930s bar pin instead of the bow, white hat from Target, and Besame lipstick in 1933 Merlot.