1930s Fixer Upper Dress

Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

The vintage community is fantastic.  This dress was a gift from a fellow blogger, and I was delighted to find it was very close to my size already!  (A rare occurrence.)  It needed a couple mends and a bath in some Retro Clean to brighten up the white sections on the bow print and remove yellowing and age spots.  All I needed to do to make it my size was to shorten the straps a bit, and voila!  It fits!


Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress


Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

I LOVE this dress.  I'm so grateful to the Stephanie for giving it to me!  It's a lovely, flowy crepe rayon, and I like the colors of the abstract bow print.  The length and cut seem, to me, to say this is a 1930s dress, but it's a pretty simple design that may be 40s, too.  I also like the "make do" style of the dress.  The gray-blue fabric at the top is a completely different color than dress print, but it just seems to go.  The straps are also a mix of a normal wide strap and cap sleeve in how it fits, very interesting!


Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

Flashback Summer: 1930s Fixer Upper - make do and mend dress

I paired the dress with my brown 40s heels, a brown wool hat, a crocheted purse, and my Egyptian cross choker.  I also happened to have a good hair day, and that is always a huge plus.

What do you think?  Is it a 1930s or 40s dress? Any ideas?

17 comments

  1. I'm with you--I tend toward 1930s as well. Given the silhouette, I'd even say early 30s, rather than later (which looks closer to the early 40s silhouette we all know and love!) 1933, maybe? I wonder if the gray-blue fabric at the top was originally much brighter to match the blue in the bows? It is a fabulous dress!! I love this look on you!

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    1. That's good to know. I kind of went back and forth on the date. I pondered earlier 30s... but sun dresses are kind of hard because there aren't any shoulder pads or anything to help differentiate! :D
      I also wonder if the fabric was bluer at some point. It's sewn with a lighter blue thread, so that could definitely be!

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  2. Maybe it was a 1930's dress that was altered with the contrasting fabric during the 40's in the spirit of make do and mend? :)
    The Artyologist

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  3. Yay! It looks amazing on you! :) I do believe it is 1930s. So happy you revitalized it!

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  4. Beautiful! I agree that from what I see it appears more 1930's to me. Another beautiful dress rescued from premature death and given a new life!

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  5. How cute are you, Emileigh!? It's such a darling dress on you! So glad you rescued it and gave it new life.


    Carla, Tiny Angry Crafts

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  6. This dress is beyond gorgeous! I love the pattern and the fun fabric contrast! And gosh, the vintage community sure is wonderful!

    I'm going with extremely early '40s! 1941 or '42.

    xoxo
    -Janey

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  7. I definitely think it's 30s. The seam lines are very reminiscent of 30s designs and the skirt sections look bias cut, something that wasn't often done in the 40s due to fabric shortages. Either way, it's gorgeous and I love the colour combination of the blue and brown.

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  8. I'm in camp 1930s, but like yourself, wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of it being a 40s dress. There's always a chance that it was a 30s garment that was revamped to be more in line with the styles of the times in the 40s.

    How truly sweet and thoughtful of Stephanie to gift you with this dress. You've breathed wonderful new life into it and created a piece that is, quite literally, tailored made just for you. Fabulous job!

    xoxo ♥ Jessica

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  9. Gorgeous dress, never mind what decade!! I've seen dresses with different top sections before, done in the '40s, to rescue something (e.g. maybe it was a 30s dress with damage to the top portion, so they attached a new section). Looks fab on you, what a kind gift x

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  10. This dress turned out woderful and matches the hat perfectly. great look!

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  11. Wow! You did a wonderful job of fixing the dress up, it looks fantastic! I was wondering what your experience was washing crepe rayon with retro clean? I have the most adorable 1940's crepe rayon dress set, and was researching about cleaning it and I heard you shouldn't wash crepe rayon. I would love to hear any tips, as I would hate to damage such special vintage clothing!

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  12. You look really cute in this upper dress ,really suits you a lot.

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