Blueprints of Fashion: Home Sewing Patterns of the 1940s

I originally purchased the first edition about 10 years ago and have based MANY of my patterns on the beautiful drawing represented here. If you already own the first edition this second collection book isn't entirely necessary. However, if you are trying to decide between the first and the second...go with the second. It is gorgeously detailed and DOES have a quantity of new items, but I would say most of the book was a repeat of what I already had. P.S. There aren't any ACTUAL patterns supplied with either book. It does list the pattern numbers should you want to try and find a copy the info is there, but the book is strictly the scans of the fronts of sewing patterns of the 1940's.

The front chapter gives a history of pattern companies, how the small ones started and eventually merged into Simplicity, McCalls and Butterick. Also includes history on styles that were popular in the early '40s and how WWII affected these styles and the home sewing industry. The majority of the book is pattern covers. This is a valuable source for anyone who has vintage patterns and would like to date them. Or for someone who is trying to sew vintage from new patterns. If you're using new basic patterns, it's possible to recreate sleeves, hemlines, pockets, and other details to make the garment look vintage. Great inspiration!! Highly recommended for anyone interested in the 1940s!!

As a costumer, this is a wonderful resource. It is very well organized and provided a good bit of knowledge that I was unaware of. It gives great visual context to style creation as well as recreation for any who like to try their hand at developing a pattern or two. As a collector of vintage patterns, it helped me 'place' some pieces in their correct era as well as gave me confirmation of accuracy for several others. I am planning on getting the other books in this series hoping that they are equally useful.

i am a paper doll desgner. i make the doll plus the themed clothing and one of my favorite time periods are the 1940s. i had the sears catalogue repro for the 1940s and hestitanted to buy this as i was not sure this would provide any additional information,. it is full of actual 1940s patterns and they are large enough to see the details i need for my research. some are only 1/4 page but many are 1/2 page or full page. i liked this so much i ordered the 1950s one too.

I purchased this book with one thing in mind: the patterns of 1940's apparel. Of course i didn't expect to have full size patterns, or sewing instructions, but the ilustration of them along with the drawings, quite inspiring, from Sears, Butterick, Simplicity and Mccall. There were no patterns AT ALL. only the covers from their collections and numbers, which can be easily accessed by anyone with internet. However, the history part is quite nice. Nonetheless, I was quite disappointed with the content.

very detailed

Not the actual patterns, but a survey of them, color covers arranged by year and topic. Nice historical coverage of the material, a great dream book.

Doing research in clothing of the 1940's, I came upon this book on Amazon.com. It has been a wonderful source of accurate information. Entertaining at the very least, it has helped me as I research clothing of the era. As a costume designer, I would recommend purchasing this important book.

A fantastic book for any fan of fashion through the 1940s. Strongly reccommended

Achtung!!! In diesem Buch sind keine Schnitte der Modelle enthalten. Im Grunde ist das nur eine Sammlung von Schnittmuster-Deckblättern aus den 40er Jahren. Ohne Erklärungen oder Hinweise. Die einzigen Informationen sind die Nummern der Schnitte und die Herstellerfirma - das hilft nicht wirklich weiter. Nachdem ich für eine Theateraufführung kürzlich nach Originalschnitten aus den 50er Jahren genäht hatte und die Sachen wirklich toll aussahen, hatte ich mich auf einige Schnitte aus der Zeit gefreut, um sie für die Sommergarderobe anzupassen. Leider Fehlanzeige. Die Deckblätter helfen mir nicht weiter - vielleicht ist dieses Buch etwas für professionelle Kostümschneider oder Nostalgiker. Für Hobbyschneider wohl eher nicht.