For my final project at uni I am exploring the cut and construction of womenswear of the 1930s. I will be making a women’s suit and a bias-cut, draped evening dress. This is really exciting, in many ways: developing my ability as a pattern cutter; enhancing my knowledge of specialist tailoring skills with and by incorporating couture sewing techniques; exploring the implications of propaganda, publicity and social context on dress; and of course, coming out with two fabulous outfits at the end of it!

The suit that I am making is the one above, which I found in a 1935 publicity shot of Joan Crawford for her film ‘No More Ladies‘. Unfortunately the DVD appears to be Region 1 only, so I am unable to watch the film to see if the suit features at all. (If any readers in the US happen to have the chance to watch it, I would be incredibly grateful for whatever you could tell me, especially any film stills you can glean!).

Once again I am blogging my progress on the projects over on my tailoring blog, which is one that my tutors use to assess my work. Past content may not have been very thrilling, however I feel that as I’m exploring social context and implications, as well as the fact that the garments I’m making are so connected with this vintage trend thing that is so hot at the moment*, it might be of interest to you to follow it over the coming months. (I will be writing on it regarding my Extended Major Project[s] up until mid-May.) I enjoy writing so many posts are quite wordy but you may like reading it. Additionally, if I write especially interesting or relevant posts regarding fashion history et caetera I may re-work them slightly and post them over here as well. http://anushkatay.blogspot.com 

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

*Naturally I’ve been interested in period clothing for years, got the cat’s eye frames before they appeared in Vogue and Topshop, did the black eyeliner and red lipstick thing long before all the trendy girls at school/uni did, blah blah blah etc etc etc etc.