Original 1942 Advance Pattern No. 3561 - Tailored Dress with Hip Pockets

Original 1942 Advance Pattern No. 3561 for a misses' tailored dress designed for women's wear in the first year of America's war. It has a notched collar, a button front, shaped chest yokes with buttons, topstitched princess seams, and curved hip pockets fastened with button tabs, with short sleeves or long or three-quarter sleeves. Complete Nice Condition, 13 of 13 pieces.

Quick Facts

• Pattern Number: Advance No. 3561
• Year: Dated 1942, found in the Advance Pattern Fashion News, May 1942, Page 5
• Garment: Misses' Tailored Dress
• Size: 16 (34" Bust, 28" Waist, 37" Hip)
• Condition: Complete Nice Condition, 13 of 13 Pieces

Design

Advance 3561 borrows its lines from a well-cut suit. The bodice has a notched collar and a button front, with shaped yokes across the chest finished by buttons and a slit pocket for a handkerchief. Princess seams run from the shoulders through the side fronts, outlined with topstitching, and the gored skirt continues those lines to the hem. Curved pockets are set into the hips, each closed with a button tab. View 1 has short sleeves and is worn with a bought belt; View 2 has long or three-quarter sleeves, and a belt pattern is included. A shoulder pad squares the shoulder line, and the dress closes at the side with a 9-inch zipper or snaps. The envelope suggests pique, linen, twill, gabardine, spun rayon, or sheer wool. In size 16 the dress is 45 inches long at center back and about 2 yards around the hem.

A Moment in Fashion History

In the spring of 1942, American women were stepping into jobs, volunteer work, and civil defense posts, and their clothes began to look the part. Tailored details borrowed from menswear and uniforms, like notched collars, button tabs, and topstitched seams, made a dress look capable and businesslike. Advance featured this design in its May 1942 Pattern Fashion News, an issue that carried a For Defense savings bond emblem on its cover. At 35 cents it belonged to Advance's higher-priced line of more detailed designs, a step up from the company's everyday 15- and 25-cent patterns.

Illustration

The envelope front and back are shown as scanned, framed on our blue mat without retouching, so the artwork appears in its true color and condition. View 1, on the left, is drawn in a gray diamond-patterned fabric with short sleeves and a scarf tied in her hair, a handkerchief at the chest and a handbag on her arm. View 2, on the right, is in solid slate gray with three-quarter sleeves and a bow in her curls, hands tucked into the hip pockets.

Connections

Advance featured this tailored dress on page 5 of its May 1942 Pattern Fashion News, an issue that arrived as American women were taking on wartime work and carried a For Defense savings bond emblem on its cover. See the whole issue in our Advance Pattern Fashion News, May 1942 digital download, and explore our exhibit celebrating the resourcefulness and everyday style of wartime home sewing, Women of WWII.