Vogue 9042: 1950s Uncut Women's Slender Street Suit 36B Vintage Sewing Pattern
Quick Facts
Original circa 1957 Vogue Pattern No. 9042 for a sophisticated misses' tailored suit featuring a fitted jacket with concealed side pockets and a slim skirt. Factory Folded and Unused. Envelope is worn with normal age-related wear.
- Pattern Number: Vogue No. 9042
- Year: Circa 1957
- Garment: Misses' Suit
- Size: 16 (36" Bust, 38" Hip)
- Condition: Factory Folded and Unused
- Envelope: Worn
Design
Vogue Pattern 9042 offers a beautifully tailored suit with clean, understated lines characteristic of the late 1950s. The fitted jacket features a notched shawl collar, concealed side pockets, and a button-front closing with a choice of long sleeves or short sleeves finished with turn-back cuffs. The accompanying slim skirt includes an inverted pleat at the center back with released side pleats for ease of movement, creating a graceful silhouette suitable for business, travel, or afternoon wear.
A Moment in Fashion History
By the late 1950s, women's tailored suits were becoming sleeker and more streamlined. While earlier designs emphasized dramatic shaping inspired by Christian Dior's New Look, patterns like Vogue 9042 favored clean lines, restrained detailing, and elegant proportions. The result was a versatile wardrobe staple that reflected the increasingly modern direction of late-1950s fashion while preserving the refinement associated with Vogue patterns.
Illustration
The cover illustration has been digitally restored and enhanced by Judy Yates to highlight the original fashion artwork while preserving the character and artistry of this historic Vogue pattern envelope.
Connections
Evolution of Tailoring
Compare Vogue 9042 with the earlier Vogue Couturier Design 483. Both are elegant tailored suits, yet they demonstrate how women's tailoring evolved during the 1950s. The fuller peplum and pronounced shaping of the late 1940s gradually gave way to the slimmer jacket, cleaner seams, and understated silhouette seen here. Rather than dramatic reinvention, Vogue illustrates how fashion often advances through subtle refinements in proportion and tailoring.
Patterns Released Together
This pattern was released alongside Vogue Pattern 9040, only two pattern numbers away. Together they illustrate Vogue's approach to wardrobe planning during the late 1950s. Vogue 9042 offered the polished sophistication of a tailored suit, while 9040 represented graceful daytime elegance. Seen together, they suggest that Vogue was designing for the many occasions of a woman's life rather than promoting a single style.
