Vintage-Style Dresses and Getting the Fit Right

FASHION · GLOBAL

Vintage-Style Dresses and Getting the Fit Right

Why vintage sizing differs, measurements, structure and undergarments

Reproduction vintage clothing is cut to proportions that modern sizing does not follow, which is why ordering your usual size frequently produces a poor result.

Vintage sizing is not modern sizing

Mid-century styles assume a defined waist and a fuller bust and hip, and reproduction pieces frequently keep those proportions. A modern size twelve is not a vintage size twelve, and the numbering itself has shifted over decades.

Ignore the number entirely and work from the measurement chart.

Measure yourself properly

Bust at the fullest point, waist at the narrowest part of the torso rather than where a waistband sits, and hips at the fullest point. Keep the tape level and snug without pulling.

The waist is the measurement that matters most in these styles, since the whole shape is built around it.

Fit to the largest measurement

Order to whichever of your three measurements is largest relative to the chart, then have the rest taken in. Letting a garment out is limited by the seam allowance; taking it in is straightforward.

Budget for alterations. A dress nipped in at the waist by a tailor looks considerably more expensive than it is.

Structure and fabric

Swing and circle skirts need body underneath to hold their shape, which is what a petticoat does. Wiggle and pencil styles need a fabric with some weight or they cling.

Check the composition — cotton sateen holds structure, jersey does not.

Undergarments change the silhouette

These styles were designed around supportive foundation garments, and the shape does not read correctly without one. A well-fitted bra makes more difference than any alteration.

Caring for it

Wash cool, inside out, and dry flat or on a hanger away from sunlight. Cotton with a strong print should never go in a tumble dryer, which cracks the print and shrinks the garment.

Store hanging with space around it, and use padded hangers for anything with structure at the shoulder.

Building a look

Shoes and hair do more than the dress. A pair of simple period-appropriate shoes works with everything and lasts far longer than a trend piece.

Alterations

Budget around ten percent of the price for alterations. Taking in a waist and shortening a hem are straightforward and inexpensive, and they are what make a dress look made for you.

Find a tailor before you need one and take the shoes you will wear to every fitting.

Buying online

Check the returns window and who pays postage, and look for customer photographs, which show the garment that actually arrives.

Wash cool and dry flat, since cotton shrinks and prints crack in a dryer.

WHERE TO BUY

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