I know, I know, I need another Forties dress pattern like I need another laugh line, but I saw those dropped yokes and thought, how cute (or in Forties-speak, what a smart frock!). It's certainly not because I'm a big fan of Renee Haal, whoever she was. It was one of those "best offer" eBay listings so I got it for $6.
I liked this one, too, but not $18's worth.
Cathy's wardrobe is starting to look a little like Ann Sheridan's and I think she's starting to resent it; Cathy's such a contemporary gal albeit a true style chameleon. If all goes as planned she'll be out modeling my purple 1937 Hollywood pattern today, so expect a fashion show on Friday if not a photo in the Times. I think we'll forgo the big lips this time around; yesterday's Joan Crawford video turned me off those big time.
But, readers, what I really wanted to talk about today is linings. One of the things I've noticed sewing all these vintage dress patterns is how none of them (so far) have called for a lining. My understanding -- and please correct me if I'm wrong, peeps -- is that back then (the Thirties and Forties) women wore slips and dresses were not lined.
That would explain the countless patterns like these:
I don't think women are wearing slips much anymore, right? Most of the relatively contemporary dresses I see at the Salvation Army are lined.
So I'm wondering: is a lined dress something new? When did women stop wearing slips (I know my mother did back in the day) or start wearing them less? Other than something like a formal blazer or coat, most men's clothes I've owned are not lined.
I've read that lining a garment helps the fabric hang better and gives the garment a longer life. Would this not also be true of a slip? A slip makes sense since you can wash it separately. And lining a garment is a huge hassle as far as I'm concerned; I've only done it a handful of times and hated it every time. It's like sewing a second garment when you're still exhausted from the first!
So what's the story with slips and linings, ladies (and men who know more about slips and linings than I do)? Is wearing a lined dress nicer than wearing an unlined dress with a slip?
Would you ever wear a slip with a lined dress?
Could there be a conspiracy between clothing manufacturers and dry cleaners to make you need to have your dress cleaned more often since it's lined and in direct contact with your skin?
Please lead me out of the as-yet-unlined darkness!
I wore slips from the time I was quite young (early 80s) up until about 5 years ago when I too k a job that didn't require "Hose & Heels". Since I'm one of those ridiculous shaped creatures, I usually went with a cami & half slip instead of trying to find a full slip that actually fit & was long enough. If I was back in a "dress up" job, I'd be wearing and making slips in a heartbeat! Slips are sexy!
ReplyDeleteIf the dress is lined and the lining flows across the body and is opaque enough, then I wouldn't wear a slip. I never buy/wear anything that's "Dry Clean only". The stuff they use is down-right dangerous.
This is a guess, but I think slips started being worn less when knits became popular in the 70's. I remember still wearing slips in the 60's but (ok, so I'm old hehe)I don,t remember wearing them under knit dresses so much? I could be wrong? I do remember some dresses being lined in the 60's, but we still wore slips quite a bit. Will be anxious to see what other people say. I am thinking that was about the time we gave up girdles too. I see those are back now. I would love to find some of those old slip patterns and make some up. I love them!
ReplyDeleteI would say it's a generational thing. Most women I know in the professional world do not wear slips routinely unless they find it sexy, unusual, fun, etc. Slips have very much gone the way of hosiery - look at the pages of magazines and photos of celebs: bare legs abound. I agree whole heartedly about lining garments being a major PITA so now I certainly do contemplate a slip now and then. But, have you seen what is offered in the stores? They are SO hard to find! And those that are available are made of awful, clingy, static-y material and fit WORSE than your standard RTW garments.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of slips, but they really are impossible to buy anymore. But I lined my last dress and totally hated it, so I'm considering investing in a few handmade slips - I can't face lining (and drycleaning!) every dress!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother owned high-end women's clothing stores in the DC area in the 50's through 70's. Slips were a part of her wardrobe as a well-heeled woman would never leave the house without full regalia of undergarments: hosiery, slip, foundation garments (bra plus girdle), even in the sweltering DC summer humidity. From what I recall of her wardrobe, few things were lined.
ReplyDeletePeter, I have been meaning to discuss slips with Cousin Cathy and tried to post something two days ago, but kept getting error messages. I'm sorry if this is a repeat (and the original did post).
Cousin Cathy needs to think about crinoline slips. Some of her 50's garments, skirts and dresses, must have a crinoline to properly set the garment on the body. As a child, crinolines were a part of my slip wardrobe - full length, of course. Crinolines hold the pleated garment (and gathered, but I think most things were pleated) away from the body, just so. Twirling was such fun!
So, yes, make Cathy a slip or two - full length as well as a half slip (skirt only), but also make her (or search for) a full-length crinoline if you can find one. A half-skirt will do, but a full one would suit Cathy better, I'm sure.
I won't try to post a link (I think the link is what gave me posting problems last week) but you can easily google crinoline slips to see what I'm describing to you. I'm fairly certain I'd wear one under the yellow dress.
I have half a dozen slip patterns in my stash. Last time I needed a full slip though, I bought one at Sears (Macys, Nordstroms do not seem to carry basic slips anymore) and dyed it to match my dress which was sheer and would have been difficult to line.
ReplyDeleteI have made half slips and pettipants. pettipants are awesome for that breezy summer look without "chub rub."
I'm just guessing here, but I would think maybe slips began to disappear when women started wearing dresses less often. The less women wore dresses, the less often they had to clean them and the less often they needed a slip, so would be willing to buy a lined dress.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom having a large number of slips for just about any occasion, but by the late 70's, she really didn't wear slips anymore. I got a lot of slips handed down from my older sister and cousins, but mostly used them as dress up clothes and don't really remember wearing a slip, other than a special occasion like my first communion. Then again, for most of my childhood and teen years, it would have taken the threat of being shamed in front of the cardinal to have gotten me into a dress.
If slips were about washing heavy dresses less often, is it also about the availability and ubiquity of washing machines, and maybe home dryers, too?
ReplyDeleteThis post has really made me think, Peter. I'm making myself some nice knee-length dresses for work, and I don't really want to line them - so making some slips sounds like a really good idea. Thanks!
RG x
my mom wore a slip all through her teaching years...into the 2000s. It certainly meant that the suits she wore were sent to the cleaners less often. I agree that slips now a days are some of the worst fitting things imaginable, but a self made one would be divine. Who wouldn't rather have silk against the skin than other lining fabric (usually clingy and staticy)? I think you just convinced me I need a few even though I'm a pants girl.
ReplyDeleteI love slips. But like vespabelle mentioned, it is near impossible to find them (I had to go to the Kmart on 34th St and even there many were out of stock!) It seems that one can get "support and shaping garments" very easily that work in place of slips but basic, non shapewear slips are harder to find. I own one white half and one white full slip, and I'd like to make more. I've found that many of the vintage 1960s-1970s pieces that I've found in thrifts stores/online don't have linings. Maybe this is because starting in the 1960, there was a greater reliance on polyesters and artificial fibers which hang more easily and do not bunch over nylon hose?
ReplyDeleteI love my slips. They are old fashion and sexy. I do think that the right lining can help smooth out bumps but I hope that I don't have to make too many.
Also, this post made me lurk around 1940s ebay dress patterns too. Because my vintage pattern stash is clearly not big enough!
The death knell for slips came when bras were a-burnin' all around the country in the late 60s and early 70s. Not that "ladies" burned their bras, but, simultaneously, clothing became a lot less structured, knits (though largely horrible polyester ones) were more available, and so it went . . .
ReplyDeleteDresses like Cathy's yellow two-piece don't call for crinolines, but for the classic full (or half) slip, so that the skirt falls gracefully. A crinoline would be used for the full skirts that the retro pattern sites call "rockabilly" (huh?), whether they are gathered, pleated, or cut full-circle, to support them in their full, wide, glory.
The Vermont Country Store has a selection of slips, ranging from 100% cotton batiste to a much more contemporary nylon/spandex full slip, and from culotte slips to a three-tiered version that isn't quite a traditional slim half-slip, but isn't as full as a proper crinoline. They're a good source for other vintage-style undergarments, too, if you're not up for making your own.
Wow, this is interesting...so much history, so many options.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, under Cathy's yellow 1941 dress she wore a full slip, found at the Salvation Army with a B. Altman's tag (a defunct high-end NYC department store on 34th & 5th) and a union label! That was mainly for modesty since the yellow sheet was slightly transparent in the sun.
So far the 50s is the one decade Cathy has yet to model (well, post-20s that is). Maybe someday...
you know, I had never contemplated wearing a slip with a lined dress until you asked in your post... I think I would. It gets so cold where I live in the winter, this makes sense if I wanted to wear a dress. It would be like wearing two dresses -- and so warm! But otherwise, no slip + dress. I generally prefer dresses to just have a lining in the skirt portion and if it's not lined I will wear a slip.
ReplyDeleteI own many slips as does my 13 year old daughter. She HATES them. But a slip helps smooth out panty lines and I refuse to wear a thong. OUCH! Plus it's just so feminine and sexy.
ReplyDeleteI find most of mine at thrift stores and they have smaller sizes which are hard to find sometimes, especially in a whole slip. They are also prettier than the ones you can get now.
Interesting. I'm going to have to do some actual research into this subject, but until then, I will speculate.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if slips have more to do with economy (of fabric) than anything else. Particularly in days before the ubiquitous $2.99 polyester lining, it must have been cheaper to have a couple of silk slips than to line each and every dress you owned.
I've really come around to lining my dresses. Before I enrolled in dressmaking school, I had never lined anything (I also avoided making anything with buttonholes). Yes, it is kind of like making another whole dress, but the finishing is so lovely and professional looking (take that Becky Home-Ecky!). You can even get away with not finishing your seam allowances (depending on the fabric) when you line your garment. I just need to find a nice, cheap NATURAL fibre to do my linings. Polyester makes you fester!
My mother has an undergarment fetish. She has blessed me with more slips in more colors than any normal woman has a right to have. I admit that I don't line clothes I make because I KNOW I have a slip that will make it work.
ReplyDeleteI remember Sundays as a child, when we had to go back to church for an evening service we would come home to eat, but take off the church clothes and walk around in our slips until it was time to get re-dressed. I thought it was something my mom came up with on her own until, I saw Scarlett doing it in Gone With the Wind.
I have plenty to choose from. Red, lavender, turquoise, white, black, pink, plain, silk, satin, emroidered, half 3/4 pant slips and girdles, you name it. My friends make fun of my undergarment wardrobe but I have seen envy in their eyes when my clothes fit well and there is a hint of exotic-ness peeking (never hanging) out of my garments. And the boys love it!!!! Feminine touches in a world that has lost it's femininity.
Peace
One thing no one else has mentioned is that women are no longer ashamed of their bodies. When I was younger, God forbid that you could see through my dress that I had legs (my mother's problem, not mine). Now, as long as the dress isn't transparent (and sometimes, for the very bold, even if it is), the shadow of legs doesn't need to be hidden. Nowadays, women are even allowed to have nipples... GASP!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I grew up wearing slips and still have several in my lingerie drawer, but it's getting harder and harder to find them! If I'm wearing a dress (which is practically every workday, Monday-Friday), it's either lined or I'm wearing a slip underneath -- not both! I'm not crazy about lining my sewn creations, but I must admit that it makes them seem more professional and they hang better. I just finished making a very simple shift dress last night out of a very cheap cotton panel print; the pattern called for a lining and I did one . . . the dress now seems ever so much more substantial (watch PatternReview for my upcoming review in the next few days).
ReplyDeleteHow coincidental--I was looking for a slip pattern last week. I still wear them because they're practical (and my husband finds them sexy). My sister wears them in the winter. I know that because I saw hers was hanging out below her sweater dress.
ReplyDeleteMost people have already said slips became less popular in the 70's and that's what I remember. I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of some of my grandmother's slips from the 60's. Yes, they were nylon, but they were colorful and beautiful.
I have some vintage slips from the 30's and 40's. They are gorgeous, slinky, sexy, wonderful. Who wouldn't want to wear them. Unfortunately, they're showing their age and getting little holes and rents in them--so sad. I've enjoyed wearing them but it's time for them to be retired. You know, in case of an accident I don't want to be found in a slip full of holes--even if it is vintage.
This is exactly why I started making slips - because my 40s and 50s dress and skirt patterns aren't lined! Vintage jacket and coat patterns are lined, but never dresses. It's a nice time saver, and slips are so fun. :)
ReplyDeleteI buy slips at the thrift shop, and use them to line the skirt portion only, on dresses. They are already made-saves a huge step, so you don't feel like you are making your skirt twice. I just cut the elastic top off, adjust so the hemline of the slip will be slightly above the hemline of the dress. sometimes I will put darts at the top edge if it is really full, so you don't have bulk at the waistline.
ReplyDeleteAfter thinking about it a minute, 1940's dresses in my opinion have bias strip facings because it was economical, you could cut them from the scraps or contrasting material scraps. Slips were used for economy, you could get away with one or two for several dresses, and for the modesty factor of walking around at home with your slip on so as not to dirty your dress (someone posted that above). Besides, I think they can be worn with a lined dress if you want, entirely optional. Either slip or lining helps the dress glide over you.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it was economical to have a few slips instead of lining everything. Especially in restricted patterns from the 40s.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefer a lining since it always matches up perfectly in shape and color. But I think it really depends on the kinds of clothes you wear.
I wore a slip with my orange silk maternity dress I made because the fabric was somewhat lightweight/sheer and the vintage pattern didn't call for lining. I think if you wear dresses frequently a slip makes so much more sense--especially if they are delicate dresses that shouldn't be washed/cleaned too often.
ReplyDeleteHurrah for slips!
I have a few vintage slips (thank you thrift store!), but I tend not to wear them unless I have a seriously see through dress. My favourite one is knit nylon that somehow avoids being a static mess, unlike my woven nylon slips. I wish silk slips were more available.
ReplyDeleteI love the pattern envelopes you posted! Now I'm thinking about whipping some up in a nice chartreuse silk...
I love making half slips! They're quick, easy and can be trimmed up in fun ways. Just think of all the amazing trim opportunities!
ReplyDeleteI wear a slip with my unlined dresses because it makes the garment hang better, helps avoid VPL (gasp!), and keeps the skirts opaque. Plus they're just freakin' sexy as hell.
Viva la slip!
I love my vintage slips. The materials don't have that cheap and flimsy feel of the few crappy contemporary ones I've found. Nothing makes me feel as sexy as wearing a really nice slip while I finish getting ready to go out. Slipping a lovely dress over a slip is a delight, and the feeling of secret specialness lasts all day.
ReplyDeleteSince I've been wearing more substantial foundation garments with my vintage dresses, I've started thinking of my slips as a cover to protect my precious dresses from the bits and pieces of my undergarments. Garter clips, closures on waist cinchers or girdles, etc. can be rough on delicate fabrics. My slip protects the dress from snags or other mishaps.
Also, I wear a crinoline (I call it The Fluffer) with my full skirted dresses. Mine is two layers of tiered gathered netting. A slim fitting slip underneath is necessary to keep the fluff from getting caught between my legs as I walk. A slim slip under a full fluffer is a necessity, regardless of whether the dress has a lining! (More here: http://chronicallyuncool.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-wore-petticoat-to-mall.html)
A tip for vintage slips: Typically the vintage slips are cut on the bias, so you may need to remove the lace at the hem and recut the bottom edge more evenly (to compensate for 50 years of bias stretch), then reattach the lace. I have had excellent luck finding vintage slips that are new old stock!
My mother still wears a slip with EVERYTHING, even the thickest fabric that could not possibly be seen through. She was born in 1949, if that helps.
ReplyDeleteI wear a slip if the clothing is not opaque, but aesthetically, I prefer lining over a slip because the lining matches the lines of a garment whereas a slip shows through. I suppose that could be alluring, but since mostly where I go is work "alluring" is not the guiding principle!
I wear a half slip more often than a full slip, a slippery knit one I made years ago, under dresses and skirts that don't have a slippery lining when I am wearing tights to keep them from catching.
I wear slips for skirts and dresses that aren't lined such as rtw to keep them from riding up my tights in the winter.
ReplyDeleteI think lining every single dress and skirt is tiresome. It is nice to have an option not if it works for the garment to wear a slip.
I always wear a slip with my dresses and skirts regardless of whether they are lined. I wear a slip on the weekends even with my casual skirts. I have had no problem finding new slips. The last time I needed to purchase a slip in a specific legnth, I had no problem walking into Macy's and buying one.
ReplyDeleteThough, my favorite slips are the ones I inherited from my mother and grandmother. I also have the first slip my mom bought for me in the early 80's.
I wear slips for a variety of reasons. During the winter, they help keep me warm. They help my clothes hang better. They also hide pany lines in addition to the more utilitarian work of making certain outfits less see-thru.
I am a huge slip fan and avid wearer. I never put on a dress without one. I'd feel like I wasn't wearing any underwear!
ReplyDeleteI like the smooth lines it gives clothes. Also, I love the look of a slip peeking through a semi-sheer dress. It adds some authenticity to vintage attire. And there's just nothing better than walking around the house in a slip on a really hot day. Makes me feel like I'm living in A Streetcar Named Desire (without the insanity and spousal abuse).
Plus, one of my favorite things to do is wear brightly colored slips underneath black eyelet dresses. It's a whole new dress each time!
It is harder to find them nowadays and sometimes I don't always want to wear a beautiful vintage slip every day, wearing it to shreds. So I have recently started tracking down slip patterns to make my own.
When you mentioned slips I immediately thought of Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Searingly sexy, yes? Undergarments like slips protect garments from perspiration and wear. For me they keep skirts from bunching when I walk, and allow the dress to swing freely.
ReplyDeleteSlip-slidin' away in Cle Elum (WA)
What an interesting conversation... hehe.. I'm actually currently wearing a slip, but it came with my dress since the dress is made from eyelet. I tend not to wear lined dresses or slips because it's way too hot in Texas. I love those slip patterns though and I would want to try one out. I wonder how well a slip would feel and fit under a fitted dress, too...
ReplyDeleteI haven't worn a slip in ages, but then I haven't worn a dress or skirt much either. I always had the impression from the fuss my mother made that slips were mostly about modesty, really to keep people from being able to see your legs (and other parts) through the skirt.
ReplyDeleteslips - ugh!! give me a lined skirt/dress any day over those hateful garments.
ReplyDeleteMy madre used to make my sisters and I wear them with skirts and dresses in the 70's. They were ugly ugly elastic waist heat trapping stretchy knit satin abominations.
Once I hit jr high and my mother backed off, slips were the FIRST things to go.
In college (early 90's) I had an internship with a company whose owner was so old fashioned, that he would send female employees home if they were wearing a skirt without hose & slip. How he never got sued for sexual harassment or discrimination is anybody's guess.
These days, if the garment is going to be worn over tights in the winter, it better be lined, whether I make it or it's store bought. The only need for lining in this case is so that the fabric of the skirt doesn't stick to the tights and ride up in unpleasant ways....
In the summer, I go bare legged. I don't wear pantyhose, even when part of a wedding party (possibly THE most ridiculous and unnecessary "garment" ever) so there's no stick factor to worry about, and I don't buy/wear/make anything from fabric that is so sheer that it would be obscene without....and my interpretation of obscene is pretty liberal :)
I wouldn't mind a full slip or two in a nice lightweight bias cut washable silk. Same with a half slip - maybe with nice little self covered buttons or a zipper.
But that horrid nasty stretch plastic satin-y crap with the elastic waist and the ugly lace that ALWAYS peeked out so embarrassingly from underneath because the slip was your sister's before it was yours and it was a little too long?
hell no.
i love slips, and i never wear a dress without one, for pretty much every reason already mentioned. they make dresses fit better and feel better and i like the extra layer of warmth, especially in the winter...
ReplyDeleteI have a vintage slip, but only wear it with non-lined things. I always assumed the same as you, Peter, that vintage patterns weren't lined because people wore slips. It makes sense, right? I imagine that if a garment was lined there would be no need for a slip. But maybe you could get some more wear out of the garment before having it cleaned, I guess. To me it sounds like it would be too hot in the summer to wear all that stuff :) I don't know how they walked around with all that clothing underneath their clothing in the 40's and 50's?!
ReplyDeleteI love slips, but find them more useful for sleeping in than wearing under a dress!
ReplyDeleteUnless it is a real summery item, I line almost everything. That way there is no fussing with differing straps or hem lengths, and the style lines are always exact. I like effortless dressing!
But of course that does means a bit more effort when sewing! I think it is worth it.
My opinion is the same as Binkydoll's above. I was in high school in the 70s. Slips, to me, were uncomfortable, hot, always showing when you didn't want them to -- not to mention the miserable static electricity they generated. I live in Texas, so ain't no way I'm lining a dress or wearing another layer. That's just nuts! If I felt sheerness was a problem, I'd probably insert a free-hanging skirt inside or something. Or I'd just not buy the sheer fabric in the first place. When I make fitted skirts, I generally underline them. I do line dress pants, though. Remember pants slips? Weird things.
ReplyDeleteAm I am comfort curmudgeon? Yes. Yes, I am.
I wear slips under anything unlined. Most dresses, skirts and pants I make myself are lined, but from time to time I make an unlined dress and I have a pretty good collection of vintage slips (full and half) from the op shops. It does make a difference in hiding underwear lines.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, being a woman is complicated!
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot, I wear a half slip with my vintage pattern wrap dress. It's a back wrap and we live in a rural area. It is very windy sometimes at church. I do not want to flash everyone if the wind flips the back overwrap up :0
ReplyDeleteYou said it Peter! Your blog readers are so full of information. I feel so educated about slips. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteI wear slips all the time. I prefer them to lining - although I do think lined garments are prettier than unlined ones. They aren't so practical in summer though, or if you need to wash them often. Really, I can't decide how I feel about unlined garments, aesthetically.
ReplyDeleteI was going to comment here as well - but I don't think I can add anything to this comprehensive coverage of lingerie. Well, ok, I can't resist.
ReplyDeleteI line all my skirts - so the fabric doesn't catch on hosiery, and it gives a smoother finish. I make my own camisoles (i've got a nice pattern cut on the bias, very easy to make and to wear). Helps to give a smoother finish under blouses and sweaters. I have a few unlined dresses, and they would benefit from a slip (my mother used to call them "petticoats"), but I don't have a full slip that I like any more, nor do I have any 1/2 slips (because all my skirts are lined...) My camisole pattern does have a full slip version.....I might get it out this weekend and have a go.
Peter you are, as always, a source of inspiration and motivation!!
Well, I was a very young child in the forties, but in the fifties and sixties I definitely wore slips. As a child in the fifties I remember wearing "cancans" which were essentially crinolines. I believe we wanted super fullness. I think Stash has it about right. In the sixties, when knits became popular, we didn't wear slips as often. I myself have not worn a slip in over a decade. I got tired of trying to match hemline lengths. And not all dresses are lined, either. I suppose the higher end dresses are. I confess that I have all but stopped wearing dresses altogether.
ReplyDeleteI only wear slips when I'm wearing light colors and light fabrics. As in, if there's a chance for someone to see through it, I'm wearing a slip. I don't do it often, though. I live in Georgia, and it's hot here. And muggy. And sticky.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother and Grandmother are different stories, though. They never wear dresses without slips. Then again, while I'm a child of the 80s (1978), my mom was born in 1945 and my grandma in 1928. Mom says that it used to be a contest between her and my aunt to see who got up the earliest, because the one who was up first got the most petticoats to get a poofier skirt.
I've had the slip discussion with a number of people since I started sewing. In my opinion, it's a generational thing. I think the cutoff is the Baby Boomers as the last generation to wear slips. As a card-carrying member of GenX, I don't even own a slip. The last time I wore one was probably when I was six or seven when my mother made me wear them.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else remember the huge stink when Lady Di was photographed without a slip? At the time, my mother was still making me wear them (I was just a kid), but even here in the States, I think it was the final nail.
ReplyDeleteI agree, as others mentioned, it was the manufacturers fault for using horrible polys.
I remember the Lady Di incident, because I couldn't imagine *not* wearing a slip with a lightweight skirt. Still can't. Born in 1959, call me a dinosaur if you want, lol. Most of the RTW skirts and dresses I have aren't lined, so I need a slip for modesty and slinkiness, although I share other folks' dislike of staticky poly.
ReplyDeleteI've recently returned to serious garment sewing after about 20 years of mostly quilting, so I was surprised to see how many dress patterns call for a lining now. Back in the Depression, what with the economy and fabric rationing, lining every dress or skirt wasn't possible. (Hence the slips.) Although I'm at the tail end of the Baby Boom, my parents grew up during the Depression and passed along their thriftiness, so I still don't line every skirt or dress. And I might be the last person on the planet who darns socks! ;-)
In my teens and early twenties I wore mostly original vintage from the 20's-50's. I cannot think of anything other than a couple of coats and jackets that had linings. I had half a dozen or more silk and rayon slips. I wore them all the time. I too hate, hate, hate lining and had just been trying to figure out how I was going to get around lining a dress I am starting. Slips hadn't even occurred to me. Two children and a college education later I can't fit into any of my old vintage but I should dig some of those slips out and use them as guides for making new ones.
ReplyDeleteI in the "lining-preferred" camp. It's more work when making the dress or skirt, but then I don't have to worry about a slip sticking out of showing through a slit. I pretty much only wear slips with sweater dresses over tights.
ReplyDeleteOh honey, maybe it's because I'm Southern but I'm only 28 and I wear slips on a weekly basis. ;)
ReplyDeleteI know this listing is over a year old - but I just found it and am passionate about slips. I always wear a slip. However, since they are so poorly made nowadays - I just make my own now - and also my daughter's slips. I wear a slip even in a lined dress. Besides keeping the garment off my skin - here is the main reason I wear a slip: (trying to be delicate here) After sitting for a period of time - upon rising a slip-less garment can become wedged into the anatomy. With a slip no one need ever know that such an occurrence has taken place. Start looking (if you dare) and you will see this happening regularly. Oh my! Every wedge is a cry for a slip!!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Patti
Never too late to comment, Patti! ;)
DeleteWhen I first started sewing, lining garments was an important step for my finished garment. I didn't have a serger and the lining would cover up all the raw seam edges. I own a couple of sergers now and still rely on a lining to help create shape and stability. It is like making the garment twice, three times when a muslin is made. I just start out the project knowing the finish line includes a lining.
ReplyDelete