There is one fundamental truth everyone here knows: underwear is essential to re-enactment or vintage clothing. We all know a Victorian outfit doesn't work without a corset, several petticoats and, depending on the fashion, a crinoline or a bustle. When it comes to 20th century clothing, especially from the 40’s, it can be tempting to skip this stage. Fashion in the 1950s seems much simpler than 18th or 19th century dressing, and it has some similarities with today’s fashion. However, wearing the wrong bra and leaving out the girdle and the slip can ruin a beautiful outfit. On the contrary, the right undergarments will give you a stunning figure and make the simplest attire look authentic.

Anna McIntosh articles about girdles and negligee give a very good idea of two important items of lingerie in the 1950’s, and Mark Garbarczyk’s amazing series about bras and corselettes are a must read on this subject. There is still an item missing: the slip. I will give you some information about this garment, and I’ll show you how to make a satin slip designed to be worn under the sheath dresses so popular in this era.

When you look at 1950’s fashion magazines, there are many ads for underwear. Browsing through some French magazines I own (Elle and Modes et Travaux from 1954 and 1956), I found several ads showing the undergarments (with different tricks to avoid any indecency...).

In this 1954 ad for the brand Rosy, we can see a shadow modelling a bra and a girdle:

 

Kestos is using a similar process, with drawings where the bodies are just outlined. The lady’s outfits are quite interesting: with such fitted suits, how could you make your undergarments indistinguishable? The answer of course is: the slip! This extra layer of fabric helps hiding the thickness and fastenings of the bra and the girdle. It gives a smoother figure.

This is not the only purpose of a slip, in fact there are a few:

• Keep the skirt in place, preventing it from rising up,
• Reduces wrinkles on the skirt or dress,
• Prevents the skirt from sticking to the hosiery,
• Cleaning: it’s easier to wash a slip than a wool or silk gown.

I’ve managed to find at least one ad for slips:

 

The first slip in this ad is very similar to these slips in my collection. These are nylon slips, very thin, soft and fluffy. I often wear them under dresses (even modern dresses), and they are perfect to help keeping the skirt in place. This kind of slip is very nice, but they don’t shape your figure and they don’t help hiding the thickness of the bra and the girdle. If you need something structured, this won’t work.

 

Women's fashion in the 1950s was based on an hourglass silhouette, with a narrow defined waistline and a fitted bodice.

There were basically two kinds of skirts:

1. flared or full skirt,
2. close-fitting, pencil skirt.

You could even get two dresses with one bodice by adding a detachable full skirt in matching fabric, as you can see in this fashion plate:

 

It’s quite easy to put together a slip for the first category: a fluffy petticoat with a good bra could even be enough. For the second category, it’s trickier, especially with a high-waisted bodice like some of these dresses.

 

I found an interesting pattern for this kind of slip in a French magazine from 1956 (Elle, n°544, May 28th). They call it an “under-sheath”, a slip designed to be worn under sheath style dresses.

 

The little drawings on top of the page are examples for sheath dresses in shantung, chiffon or crepe. The pattern consists of a very minimal diagram. There are some sewing instructions, and a drawing of the slip. I have translated all of the article, and after making a slip for myself, I have added some remarks that could be of some help if you want to recreate this kind of undergarment.

Before the sewing instructions, there is a little introduction:

“Under the light sheaths, the high-waisted dresses, the straight suits which the fashion designers like so much this year, a well-adjusted underdress will give you the slim bust, the slender waist and the elegant, graceful fit required by the fashion of '56. Made of satin, it slides under the dress and it is maintained in place by its suspenders. A straight skirt with a split on both sides is sewed at the hips. If you are slim, it will replace the girdle, bra and slip. Otherwise, you will wear it with a girdle.”   

I’ve cleaned a bit the pattern and made a version with English labels:

Download the large sized pattern here

 

Measurements: the pattern is for a 42 French size of the time (today that would be a size 36-38).

• Bust : 88cm / 34,6 in
• Underbust : 74cm / 29,1 in
• Waist : 62cm / 24,4 in
• Hips : 95cm / 37,4 in
• Waist to hem : 43cm / 19,9 in

 

Materials:

• Satin: 2.25m x 90cm. Nylon was very fashionable at the time, but silk was always a must. Here I chose a vintage rayon satin.
• Zipper: 30cm
• Suspenders: 4 + elastic ribbon

 

Some steps are missing in the instructions and I have made some changes in the construction and finishes of the slip, so the step-by-step doesn't always match with the original instructions.

1. Enlarge the diagram on 10cm grid paper.

To enlarge the diagram, I traced a 5cm grid on Kraft paper. Then I drew the pattern, with the help of my ruler and a French curve. The diagram isn't very precise, so I didn't try to get the exact measurements, I just focused on the general shape of each piece, and changed some of the measurements to adjust it to my size. Then I taped the pattern pieces together to get an idea of the general shape. The fit wasn't so bad, except from the cup which was way too big.

Next I made the corrections on my pattern. Then I made a mockup for half of the slip. This time I had very few alterations to make.

 

2. Fold fabric wrong sides together, selvage over selvage (the non-shiny side of the satin will be the right side of the slip). Transfer the pattern on the fabric, adding a seam allowance before you cut the pieces. I was surprised to read that the shiny side of the satin would be hidden (this side is also very slippery, that could have helped to keep the dress smooth) but I followed the instructions.

I chose to line the cup, so I cut four lower cup and four upper cup pieces.

 

3. Stitch dart C in lower cup. Pin lower cup to upper cup and stitch along AB line.

 

First, I closed the darts on each of the four lower cups. Then I joined the lower and upper cups (see steps 4 and 6 for more details).
This gave me half a bra.

 

4. Stitch dart in side front. Stitch side front and center front along DD line. Stitch cups to the lower bodice along EF line. Assemble left and right side on center front.

 

After the cups and the fronts were sewn together, I hand-stitched the bottom of the inside cup to the underbust seam to get a clean finish.

 

5. Stitch left and right center back pieces along HH line, then stitch the back sides to the center back.
Assemble front pieces with back pieces, joining points A and E.        

Don’t forget to leave room for the zipper on the left side!

 

6. Stabilize the edge of the neckline between I and B with a strip of fabric cut in the grain (you can use the selvage). It must be 1cm wide, and 1cm shorter than the diagram.

 

I had a nice vintage binding in my stash that I wanted to use for the slip. It’s not stretchy at all, so I used it instead of a strip of fabric to stabilize the edge.

I hand-basted it on the edge of the lining. Next I stitched the shell to the lining right sides together, with the straps pinned in place. Then I stay-stitched the edge of the neckline and the armhole to make sure everything would stay in place.

 

7. Prepare the straps and stitch them on I and J.

Baste the zipper on left side, from K to L.    

 

To make the straps, I cut two strips of fabric measuring 6cm wide and 40cm long (the diagrams indicate 30cm for the straps, I added 10cm to keep length for adjustment). I stitched them right sides together, with a piece of cord inside the folded fabric. I sewed the short end of the tube, to secure the cord. Then I pulled the cord and slide the tube back over itself. I cut off the end with the cord and I pressed the straps. I didn't baste the zipper, I just used pins to close the slip for the fitting.

 

8. Try on the slip, inside out. It must be very close-fitting. It may reduce your underbust by 2 or 3cm.

Fit the back length with the horizontal dart (the dotted lines on the diagram at the back waist). When I tried on the slip, the place where a dart is needed in the back appeared clearly. I marked it with pins and then I stitched the dart. This dart shifted a little the back seams, they don’t perfectly line up any more. Despite the mockup, I had to take off 2cm on each side.

 

9. Make three notches on the seams at the waist. Press the seams open. Stay-stitch every seam allowance 3mm from seamline. This fabric frayed a lot, so I chose to stop the edges with a zigzag stitch. Each seam is stay-stitched from the outside.

 

10. Machine-stitch the top of the slip. Stitch the zipper.

 

To finish the top back of the slip, I inserted the same lace used for the cups. The zipper is hand-basted and then machine-stitched.

 

11. Make the bottom hem and fasten the suspenders, making a V over D seam on the front and over side seams.

 

I used metal suspender clips, with a plush elastic. I didn't add adjustable sliders, but I think it could have been useful (next time!).

 

12. At the end of that stage, I had a kind of corselet. All that is missing is a skirt!

 

13. Cut two squares in the remainder of the fabric, with the selvages on the top and the bottom. The front piece must be 50cm wide, and the back piece 46cm wide.

Stitch the front skirt and back skirt together, saving a slit on each side to be able to walk.

 

The explanation about the skirt isn’t very clear: it took me some time to figure it out. The crossgrain has to be vertical, with the selvage on the top of the skirt. I made a quick diagram to explain the cut. But then I had a problem: if I made the skirt out of plain rectangles, I wouldn’t be able to sit in it, or to move, and I would have many wrinkles on the hips area (maybe this wouldn’t be an issue for another morphology; I just know it couldn’t work on me). First, I wanted to make a shaped skirt, but finally I decided to stick to the pattern: I just made slits going from top to bottom to allow more movement. So I hemmed the vertical edges of my two rectangles.

 

14. Set the skirt to the bodice along M dotted line. The original instructions say to sew the selvage edge of the skirt to the bodice with slipstitches, and then hem the skirt. I couldn’t see the advantage of hand-stitching though, so I used my machine! I sewed the skirt using the selvage, to reduce the bulk, however, I sewed the hem by hand with slipstitches. I plan to wear this slip under both vintage and modern dresses, so I chose to make a knee-length skirt.

 

15. This is the finished under-sheath!

 

It was really interesting to make this under-sheath, trying to understand and follow a pattern and its instructions from the 1950’s. I was a little too confident and I discovered the pattern isn’t as easy as it seems; if you want to sew this slip, I recommend making a proper muslin before the final garment.

 

The women of the 1950’s had a wide range of undergarments such as bras, girdles, corselets, slips, under-sheaths, petticoats, garter, half-slips, etc. Depending on the degree of control or freedom of movement they needed, they could choose one or another. This under-sheath is clever because it is a combination of a bra + slip + garter in a single undergarment. It is perfect for wearing under a sheath dress or fitted suit. However, as it is not stretchy at all and quite tight, it is not very comfortable, and you cannot move really freely in it. As always, undergarments must be adapted to your body, both for the outfit and to the activities you plan to do while wearing them.

 

 

 

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