Own Name 169: 1930s Uncut Plus Size Dinner Dress 42 Bust Vintage Sewing Pattern
Original 1933 Own Name Pattern No. 169 - Ladies' and Misses' Dress
Original 1933 Own Name Pattern No. 169 for a women's dress in ladies' and misses' sizing, an Own Name pattern produced by the New York Pattern Company. The dress closes under the left arm, with crossed-over fronts, an attached collar and revers cut in one, a tie at the left shoulder, a choice of long puff or short set-in sleeves, and a three-piece circular skirt with lapped fronts under a removable belt. Size 42. Factory Folded and Unused.
Quick Facts
- Pattern Number: Own Name No. 169
- Year: 1933
- Garment: Ladies' and Misses' Dress
- Size: 42 (42" Bust, 45" Hip)
- Condition: Factory Folded
- Glassine Envelope: Included, stamped Barron Bros. of Texas - a little worn
Design
Own Name Pattern 169 wraps at the waist, with crossed-over fronts finished by an attached collar and revers cut in one piece and closed under the left arm. A tie made from an attached loop and end fastens at the left shoulder. Two styles of set-in sleeve are provided, a long puff sleeve with a separate under sleeve, or a short sleeve. Below the waist, a three-piece circular skirt has lapped fronts and an inset section, attached under a removable belt, with a width of about 2⅛ yards at the lower edge. The dress measures 51 inches at center-back from neck to lower edge, including a 3-inch hem. Size 42 takes 5 yards of 39-inch fabric (or 5¾ yards of 35-inch, or 3¾ yards of 54-inch) for the long-sleeved version, or 4⅞ yards of 39-inch for the short-sleeved version, plus ½ yard of 35-inch contrasting fabric and ½ yard of 35-inch lining. The pattern has 10 pieces.
A Moment in Fashion History
A crossed, wrapped bodice was one of the decade's most flattering ways to define the waist without a seam breaking the line of the skirt below it, and pairing it here with a choice of sleeve length let one pattern serve for more of the year. The circular skirt's lapped fronts and inset panel gave the silhouette its characteristic flare without adding bulk at the hip. This is an Own Name pattern: the New York Pattern Company issued these envelopes without its usual branding, so that a department or dry-goods store could sell them as a house line. This copy comes from that world. Its original glassine envelope survives, stamped Barron Bros. of Texas, the small dry-goods store where the pattern was originally sold. The glassine usually took the brunt of decades of handling damage before the envelope did, so a surviving glassine, even a worn one, is a genuine rarity.
Connections
This pattern is part of our ongoing exhibit, In Name Only - a growing collection of New York Patterns and Own Name Patterns from the 1930s. Come take a look.
