Original 1940 Mail Order Pattern No. 8654 - Shirtwaist Dress with Triangle Pockets

Original 1940 Mail Order Pattern No. 8654 for a women's button-front shirtwaist dress with two triangle breast pockets, a narrow roll collar, and a double-strap belt. The dress buttons from neckline to hem like a coat, with long or short sleeves. Complete and in Nice Condition, with a few repairs.

Quick Facts

• Pattern Number: Mail Order No. 8654
• Year: Dated 1940, found in a February 1940 newspaper "Today's Pattern" column
• Garment: Women's Button-Front Shirtwaist Dress with Triangle Pockets
• Size: 16 (34" Bust)
• Condition: Complete Nice Condition, a few repairs; mail-order pattern issued without an envelope

Design

Pattern 8654 buttons all the way down the front like a coat, with bound buttonholes that give it a tailored finish. Its signature detail is a pair of triangle pockets set at the bust, their points meeting the side seams. The skirt seams run up into the bodice, shaping the dress and placing fullness over the bust, while three darts at the top of each sleeve build the broad, squared shoulder of the day. A narrow roll collar finishes the neckline, and the waist is cinched with a belt threaded through two buckled straps. Sleeves may be made long or short.

A Moment in Fashion History

In 1940 many American women bought their patterns straight from the newspaper. A daily pattern column showed a single design with a short description, and readers mailed in coins and their size to receive the pattern folded in the post, with no printed envelope. This pattern appeared in just such a column in February 1940, headlined "With New Triangle Pockets," where the pockets themselves were presented as the news of the season. Button-front, belted, and easy to slip into, it is exactly the kind of practical shirtwaist that carried women into the war years.

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 mail-order pattern.

Connections

A WWII-era shirtwaist dress can be taken in so many directions, costume-wise: add a tie and you're the Boogie Woogie Bugle Girl, or add a Red Cross cap and a simple apron and you're a WWII Red Cross nurse. Browse our limited-time exhibit of masquerades, pageants and make-believe, Costumes for All Ages from All Eras, before it closes.