A New Topic because I have the start of a new collection and a really long day busily scanning! While scouring flea markets, charity shops and vintage fairs, I’ve found several Weldon’s Sewing Pattern magazines from the twenties and thirties. First to the scanner is Fancy Dress For Children. To come from the same series, Dance Frocks and School Girl Outfits. I have to apologise for the cropping at the side of the scans. The magazine is bigger than the scanner can cope with. The 200 designs promised are a little misleading as this is more of a sales catalogue without any actual patterns, but you could use the ideas to make your own. Some of the weirder designs in this magazine include dressing as a brand of toothpaste or the work bag (items for Mother to mend went into the work bag!)
I love the idea of the inter-war period having a boom in fancy dress events, galas, pageants and parties; in fact I love a fancy dress party in any period (except maybe boring Halloween with tired clichés) and as my Mum was good at whipping up costumes and Dad was a dab hand at stage make-up, I entered many fancy dress competitions as a child and even won as a witch and came third as Supergirl.
Pages of advertising skipped (I might add them at the end). First page of costumes: Gypsy Boy; Tudor Girl; Roman Soldier; Duck and Green Peas (?); Mazawatee Tea Granny in two sizes and an 18th Century Boy or Romney Picture.
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Second page of costumes: Pantomime Prince; Ancient Greek Boy; Ancient Greek Girl; Penguin; Punch; Dutchman; Harlequin Folly; Modern Pierrot; Carnival Queen.
Third Page of Costumes: Fairy Sunshine; Poppy; Rose; Misletoe Fairy; Holly Fairy; Bluebell; Night Fairy; Yellow Butterfly; Blue Butterfly; Water Lily.
Fourth Page of Costumes: Gypsy Dancer; Butterfly; Folly; Jockey, French Artist; The Work Bag; Cottage Window; Telephone.
Fifth page: Little Dutch Girl; Blue Butterfly; Tiger; Old King Cole; Empress Josephine; Napoleon; The Boy With The “Noes” (?); Frog and Gold Fish.
Sixth Page: The White Rabbit; Alice; The Mad Hatter; Mouse; Merrie England or The Country Girl; Spring Chicken; Busy Bee; Daffodil; Tabbie Cat and Water Sprite.
Seventh Page: Toy Soldier; Toy Major General; Toy Drummer; On Parade; Clown; Harlequin; Jockey; This Freedom (much like the boy with the noes).
Eighth Page: Court Page; Victorian Lady; Cracker; Pierrot; Puck or Will -o- The Wisp; Columbine; Star Fairy.
Ninth page, colour centre-fold: Lavender Seller or Yardley’s Perfume; Hussar; Rainbow; Paint Box; Maclean’s Toothpaste; Washing Tub or Washing day; OK Sauce; Turban Dates advert; Bubbles.
Tenth Page: Hot Water Bag (bottle); Austrian Tyrolese; Japanese Doll; Nasturtium; Eat More Fruit; Anchor Butter; Ovaltine; Chef’s Products Merrie Chef; French Fisher Girl.
Eleventh Page: Bold buccaneer; Owl; Wild West; Parcel Post; Red Indian; Gipsy; Teddy Bear; Mexican.
Twelve: Harlequin; Woodland Fairy; Dutch Boy; Dutch Girl; Robin Hood; Cossak; Cupid; Gnome; Arctic Aviator.
Thirteen: The Odol Girl; Russian Peasant; Normandy Peasant; Turkish Lady; Young Turk; French Student; Pierrot, Chinese Boy; Umbrella.
Page Fourteen: Pip or Puppy; Gretel; Hansel; Red Indian; Peter Pan; Wendy; Rabbit; Monkey.
Fifteen: A Brighter Army Girl; Maritana or Gypsy; Scissors; Sew Sew Susie; Nautical Girl; Eastern Page; Bunch of Violets; Grecian Maiden.
Sixteen: ‘Arriett or Coster; ‘Arry or Coster (Pearly King and Queen); Bridegroom and Bride; Spanish Lady; Brownie; Aladdin; Shepherdess.
Seventeen: Little Miss Muffet; Knave of Hearts; Queen of Hearts; King of Hearts; Mary, Mary Quite Contrary; Red Riding Hood; Witch; Wolf; Little Bo-Peep; Little Boy Blue.
Eighteen: Spring; Summer; Dragon Fly; Titania; Mustard Seed; Little Miss Shamrock; Carnation; Moth.
Nineteen: Medieval Princess; The King’s Archer or Little John; Medieval Prince; Plantagenet; The Young Prince; Peasant Middle Ages; Guardian Angel; Peasant Middle Ages; Portia; Shylock; Bedouin Prince; Orient King.
Twenty: Malvolio; Young Princess Elizabeth; Elizabethan Page; Elizabethan; Page; Sixteenth Century; Puritan Maid; Lord Mayor of London; Merrie England; Prince Charming
Twenty-One: Beau Brummell; Watteau Shepherdess; Pompadour; Romney Picture, 18th Century Costume; Dick Turpin; Poudre; Sir Peter Teasle; Gentlewoman of 18th century; 18th Century Boy.
Twenty-two: Early Victorian Boy; Early Victorian Girl; Early Victorian Gentlemen; Early Victorian Costume; The King’s Navy; Tommy Atkins; 1815; In Nelson’s Day; Crinoline Days; Simple Simon or Kate Greenaway; Mid Victorian; 1880.
Bravo! What a lot of work. This is so strange and yet alluring!
Beautiful, thank you for sharing 😊💕
[…] and all the supplements like the Vogue Pattern Book or Weldon’s themed catalogues like this fancy-dress issue. Being a reader is like a library member, but you can’t take anything home and have to have a […]
I don’t know if you still check the comments on the older pages, but you have two pages here that are the same. Page 13 and 15 are the same picture. That being said, I love your blog, I have subscribed and I’ve had a lovely time going through your archive, something I don’t do on many I subscribe too! Love the snark on the page with all the Rowan pictures also, if you could have heard what I was thinking when I looked at them the first time, lol.
Do you know what year this catalogue was published?
I have the adult Ovaltine costume pattern and would love to know how old it is. I’m guessing at 1920’s but would love to know more.
I’ve tagged a pic of my pattern onto a pic of your (page 10) on Pinterest. Then got to this page! So lovely to see the pattern in colour in your catalogue.
Thanks for sharing x
Jo
Wow, what an amazing thing to own. I’m afraid I don’t have a date for this but I have seen another copy in the British Library. Next time I’m in there I will have a look and update this page. They published a lot of the same patterns for a number of years, so it could be from any of them. Weldons also published in several countries. Do you know the history of it?
Please let me know if you’d ever fancy donating it to an archive. There’s an textile archive at my university that would be a great home for it (Goldsmiths University).
If you want to keep it well preserved, don’t keep it on a hanger, as the weight of it might pull apart fragile seams- wrap it in acid free tissue paper. (I use this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burda-Tissue-Paper-2-Packs/dp/B0171SYXQK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542838862&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=burda+tracing+paper&dpPl=1&dpID=419kAW6A1hL&ref=plSrch )