Given at the American Popular Culture association conference, this is a slide show to accompany a lecture on the history of the Shirtwaist Dress at it appeared in Good Housekeeping (including a discussion of Donna Reed, Christian Dior, and Rudi Gernrich).
8. “ The pleats stitched down below the hips, then released like a fan.” Harpers Bazaar , April 1947
9. From April 1947, Harper’s Bazaar : “ [It] is the essence of femininity . . . fitted tightly to the body and buttoned from neck to wasp waist . . . . Skirts are tremendously full, and from ten to twelve inches from the ground. Yards and yards of material swing and swirl because pleats are hand–pressed and flare to the hem.… Inside the pleated skirts are padded, stiffened yet perfectly comfortable , and wonderful for women with small waists, large hips. In the house of Dior, French draping met its death—it was vanquished by pleats and under-padding. ”
10. Pauline Trigere, Diana Vreeland (editor of Vogue); and Nancy White (of Harper’s Bazaar ) 1964. Nancy White, 1956 Good Housekeeping
11. “ Although the clothes you see on Good Housekeeping ’s pages are the kind that set you dreaming, the dreams are the kind that can come true . For with all their flattering distinction, these clothes are sold in many stores and at prices retailers call ‘popular’—virtues not always found in clothes you see featured as fashion news .” -- Brooks, Christopher. “One year and 350,000 yards ago.” Good Housekeeping , May 1948.
16. Good Housekeeping , April 1948 A “petticoat that whispers” “ An organdy beauty with a deep flounce made to float out your skirts.” A “crunchy white cotton hope-chest treasure”
25. “ The shirtwaist in flower, its natural up-to-the-minute aptness made suddenly more so by one of this spring’s miraculous botanical prints—sharp acid greens and yellow and the tart vermilion pinks that blaze this time of year in a hundred country gardens.” (“Flowered Cotton” Harpers Bazaar , March 1955, 134).
26. Father Knows Best , 1954 Leave it to Beaver , 1961 Donna Reed Show Cast Photo, n.d
27. Donna Reed, 1962 Donna Stone was a: “ wife, mother, companion, booster, nurse, housekeeper, cook, laundress, gardener, bookkeeper, clubwoman, choir singer, PTA officer, [and] Scout leader…” - William Roberts, creator of The Donna Reed Show
28. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) Grace Metalious, author of Peyton Place , August 1956.
32. “ Mrs. Square and Miss Hip”, Gernriche Resort 1967(Moffitt).
33. “ Mrs. Square and Miss Hip”, Gernriche Resort 1967(Moffitt). “ [Rudi] Gernreich, the showman, surprised the audience at his October [1967] collection by showing a model wearing a belted shirtwaist dress that covered her knees. As if that weren’t shock enough, she wore a padded bra, nylon stockings, and spike-heeled pumps with bag and gloves to match. Just as bewildered reporters and buyers started to gasp in amazement, out came Moffitt in a thigh-high mini of the same print as the shirtwaist dress and little-heeled shoes.”
34. c. 1960 (My great-grandmother) c. 1957-1960 (My grandmother) Early 1940s. (My grandmother and Aunt)