Why the styles of the decade inspired a collection of handmade clothing and numerous fashion accessory sewing patterns”
With the new Downton Abbey film due to be released this spring, a passion for all things ‘roaring 20s’ is set to be reignited. Although many of the Charlie’s Aunt sewing patterns are influenced by slightly later styles, my obsession with creating vintage-inspired fashions was originally sparked by 1920/30s clothing, hats and jewellery.
Family inspiration
Maybe it’s to do with early pictures of my grandmother Violet May Albon wearing cloche hats. Or perhaps it was the image of her in the fields cutting Lavender and sporting a 20s style ‘overall’ when she worked at the former Stafford Allen natural pharmaceuticals, condiments and perfumes factory in rural Long Melford. Whatever sowed the seed, I have always found the 1920s to be a wonderful inspiration.
In my clothing design business during the 1990s, the garments were mostly influenced by late 1910s and 1920s fashions and the highlight for me was hosting a fashion show at the splendid Georgian Manor House Museum in historic Bury St Edmunds. The models sashayed down the catwalk to the music of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
What’s so special about twenties fashions
The 1920s aesthetic is so appealing for a number of reasons. I have several books featuring excerpts from fashion catalogues of the 1920s and spend hours thumbing through them because I adore the overall look of 20s apparel: the clean straight lines of the early 1920s dresses, the beautiful large collars on winter coats, the modestly shaped cloche hats, the elegant slim-line clutch bags, and the long ‘sautoir’ necklaces. The overall look of 1920s fashion was one of understated elegance and style.
It was more about colour and trim and simple iconic shapes than complicated form-fitting pattern cutting, although the instantly recognisable bias cut of the flapper dresses that came into vogue during the latter part of the decade was technically challenging. The 1920s brought freedom to women’s fashion with the introduction of more casual clothing. In particular, women were freed from corsets and restrictive undergarments that had shaped fashions for centuries before.
Iconic styles of the decade include short bobbed hair (sported by Lady Mary and the crew in Downton) and flapper dresses. Fashions of the decade will be remembered for being low-waisted, straight cut and loose, giving a ‘boyish’ shape. Ankle-strap button or T-bar shoes were also introduced in this decade and “Mary Jane” shoes, as they are now affectionately referred to, still feature regularly in fashion collections today. The Art Deco design movement had a big influence on 1920s fashion, but for me (of course) the cloche hat was the star of the decade.
1920s influence on Charlie’s Aunt patterns
So fast forward to Charlie’s Aunt and several of the clutch bags, as well as most of my hats, take a hefty dose of style from the 1920s. Who doesn’t love a cloche hat? They are practical as they come down over the ears and feature small neat brims that prevent them from getting caught by the breeze, but they are equally stylish – chic and understated.
The new Aunty Ivy Cloche hat pattern is a very practical version of a 20s classic shape with one of the tucks creating a small ‘brim’. I love this hat because it is made using modern fabrics with stretch, making it cosy and practical but it has all the hallmarks of its earlier counterparts. Or you could try a simpler version of a cloche – our Chelsworth style – with an elegant turned up brim.
There are several hat patterns with a 20s vibe in the Charlie’s Aunt range which you can buy in our Etsy shop. In addition, we have a section entirely dedicated to clutch bags, ranging from the small and cute Dorothy to the pretty High Tea Clutch and slightly bigger Chattisham, or the multi-pieced ‘envelope’ style Blakeney – a great favourite of mine. Top the 20s glamour off in style with a faux-fur ‘collar’ trimmed with elegant braid covered buttons. Patterns all available in out Etsy shop.
