Ladies Home Journal 3173: 1920s Uncut Dress or Coat 36B Vintage Sewing Pattern
Original 1921 Ladies' Home Journal Pattern No. 3173 - Coat or Coat Dress
Original 1921 Ladies' Home Journal Pattern No. 3173 for a ladies' and misses' coat or coat dress. This versatile design blouses at the back, with an optional applied back trimming piece whose extended ends tack to each front at the waistline. Full-length kimono sleeves are perforated for a three-quarter length option finished with deep cuffs, and a one-piece straight-gathered skirt completes the silhouette. Factory Folded and Unused.
Quick Facts
- Pattern Number: LHJ No. 3173
- Year: 1921, confirmed via July 1921 Ladies' Home Journal, page 52 ("Irene Castle Treman, Who Sets Fashions in Dress")
- Garment: Ladies' and Misses' Coat or Coat Dress
- Size: 36 (36" Bust)
- Condition: Factory Folded
Design
Pattern 3173 offers two finished looks from a single seven-piece cutting layout: a short coat with the loose, cape-like drape of a bloused back, or a coat dress with a longer, dress-length hem. The kimono sleeve is cut in one with the body and perforated so it can be shortened to three-quarter length and finished with a deep, separate cuff. An applied back trimming piece, with ends tacked to the front waistline, adds shape and interest to the loose back silhouette, while the one-piece skirt is gathered straight from the waist for easy, unfussy movement.
A Moment in Fashion History
By the early 1920s, fashion was easing away from the fitted, corseted lines of the prior decade toward looser, more comfortable silhouettes built around simple, kimono-cut construction. Pattern 3173 was featured in the July 1921 Ladies' Home Journal in a spread devoted to dancer and stage actress Irene Castle Treman, photographed there in the very coat this pattern produces, praised for its "swagger" cape-like effect at the back. It's a nice window into how a home-sewing pattern company used a recognizable style-setter of the day to sell an easy, modern silhouette to its readers.
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 Ladies' Home Journal pattern envelope.
Connections
Pattern 3173's cape-effect coat was photographed for the same July 1921 Ladies' Home Journal feature on tastemaker Irene Castle Treman as Pattern 3168's slip-over dress, shown on the facing page of that same spread. See our other Irene Castle Treman pattern.
