Article about fitting vintage (mostly for Tricia)

Blog

Forum

Finds

Article about fitting vintage (mostly for Tricia)

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

http://coutureallure.blogspot......l-fit.html

15 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from lynne

Diana

Veteran

Not Tricia, but I found this article fascinating! I'm curious how many modern women fit into the 50's standard of 10" difference between bust and waist! (For that matter, how many women back then fit into it without a girdle?)

15 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I'm very, very busty and still only have a 7" difference between bust and waist. I cannot imagine having a 10" difference. That sounds torturous in terms of getting things to fit, and frankly, I don't even find that appealing. It's not that women who do have a pronounced difference look bad or disproportionate, just that I don't think women who DON'T have such a large bust-waist ratio are missing anything.

All I can say is thank heavens above that fashion has progressed since the 50's. Ugh, there is no way I would be willing to wear a girdle as part of my everyday routine.

15 years ago

Aida

Veteran

I'm about 10" different, unless I understand the measuring incorrectly

15 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I guess it depends where the 10" comes from. You can have a large back and small bust, or large bust and small back (as I have).

15 years ago

Aida

Veteran

I suppose I'm the large back/small bust camp. I've lost some weight so the measurement has changed but at the beginning of the year I would have had 10", it may have dropped closer to 8.5" (though I think my waist/hip difference is still at 10"). Going to check when I get home, I'm all curious now

15 years ago

Anonymous

It's true that women wore those horrible long girdles daily, even with house dresses. My mother had me wearing a girdle before I had a bra and I was thin enough to see all my bones! Some women bosted of more than a 10 inch difference in bust/hips and waist. It was the ideal. In college I discovered garter belts (Mom insisted I needed a girdle to hold up my stockings). Sweet freedom!
I wonder if anyone else remembers having to try to keep stocking seams straight?

15 years ago

Vix

Veteran

Joy, isn't the real question is if anyone remembers having to DRAW straight "stocking" seams? My grandmother has some lively tales of beauty-related "making do"....

I love CoutureAllure's super-educational blog; I also love following the spirited discusssion on Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing -- http:// http://www.blogforbettersewing.com -- re who thinks what about wearing authentic or retro shapewear with purchased/sewn-to-vintage-pattern clothing.

I actually have more than a 10" difference between bust/low hip and waist, which is one reason I always thought I was an hourglass despite actually being a Rectangle. Somehow I missed the memo that the waist had to go *in* to make me an hourglass, ha!

[I know a corset would help me fake up an HG silhouette, but I'm a little afraid of what organs would have to move where to make that happen.]

15 years ago

Elly

Veteran

I have a 12 inch difference between my bust and waist that sometimes expands to 13 or 14 inches when I am in better shape. I currently have a 39 inch bust and a 27 inch waist. On me, it is definitely mostly chest as my under bust is 32. When I weigh less the chest stays at 38 or 39, but I go down to 35 or 26. At my very lightest adult weight I was 36, 35, 36.

15 years ago

anne

Veteran

I wonder how many women in the 50's had those proportions. Sure they were slimmer back then, but they had in general smaller busts as well, I believe. They would definitely needed those foundation garments/

I have only a 5" difference, being very small busted. Even prior to kids it would only have been 7" just like Maya. But if you take a couple off the waist with a girdle and add an inch with a padded bra I might have just made it back then!

15 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

I'm pretty close to a 10" difference between bust and waist. Only problem is both measurements are pretty ginormous...

15 years ago

Tricia

Veteran

I follow the Couture Allure blog and saw that last week. I have about a 35 bust and 27 waist, and I find a fairly large amount of vintage dresses with a 36 bust and 28 waist, which works pretty well on me. I'll wear the occasional pair of Spanx for certain outfits but I am NOT willing to wear a girdle every day! I'm not in the vintage-purist mindset of having to have everything authentic right down to the underwear (although those blogs make for some pretty fascinating reading).

14 years ago

Heather

Veteran

I love how the article suggests to just get a dress from the 60s instead. Haha. Thanks for sharing, Anna. Very interesting.

14 years ago

lynne

Veteran

Interesting article. I remember having to get a girdle for my first pair of stockings in 6th grade. Luckily pantyhose became available soon after.

14 years ago

Category