The 40s Dress

We love going to the 1940s WWII Era Ball every year. We've gone to three of the events (two summer, one winter), and I've now made three dresses for them. I can't be making a new 40s dress every year...this trend has got to stop. :) But, I did make a new one this year. Last year I wore this:

At the White Christmas Ball, I wore this one:

This summer, I decided to go a little Hawaiian. Hawaiian prints were very popular during the 1940s, as was rayon, so the Hawaiian print rayon fabric I picked out was perfect.  I used Vintage Vogue 2787, a reprint from 1948.   

The pattern runs bigger than you'd expect.  I went a size smaller than my measurements indicated, but it was still looser than the pictures showed (the photographs, not the drawings you see above--those are always deceiving, so I don't put a lot of stock in the illustrations on patterns.  I always check out the photographs of actual models, if there are any, and the line drawings on the back.) 

Of course, it made for a very comfortable dress.  And, being rayon, it was a very comfy, light dress. Great for dancing on a warm summer night!

The event was a lot of fun!  There were reenactors, like this MP:

Or "Frank Sinatra" and "The Andrews Sisters."

And, there were WWII planes and military vehicles:

It was fun to put my hair in victory rolls, get dolled up, and go back in time for an evening!