A Brief History of Men's Shirts from 1900-1949

Something I've always been interested in as you know is the evolution of clothing. I'm always curious to know things like how this:

approximately 1840

Turned into this in a period of 20 years:

1860

Now granted men's fashion has changed a bit more slowly than women's fashion in the past few centuries, but we can all agree that it has still evolved fairly quickly.

1810

1910

2010
(Nancy note: This girl lived the next town over from me and went to my rival high school at the same time as me. She was even on our rival cheerleading squad. Please don't think any less of me...I promise no one else from that area talks like her.)

But all joking aside I could write a book on how men's fashion has changed in this century alone, but what I'd like to do today is talk about how a man's everyday shirt has changed since the beginning of the last century.

1900s:

Ca. 1900s (1907ish)

Here's an example of a pretty typical late 1900s shirt. There is a high detachable wing collar (rounded) and two cuff options. The sleeve plackets are pointed and the yolk is straight. This is what is called a "coat shirt" because if the fact that it opens all the way down to the bottom and can be slipped on like a coat.

The type of work shirt you wore, like today, depended on what you did for a living. Business men typically wore suits and white shirts of finer material while day laborers wore more colored shirts of much sturdier fabric (color hides stains and dirt). A man had many shirt patterns and colors available. Polka dots, double stripes and single stripes were popular as well as the traditional white.

Both acceptable shirting fabrics. 

Collars came in detachable variations like the shirt pictured above and rarely softer attached collars. In the early 1900s collars were much more popular as they increased the longevity of the shirt. Shirts were still yet to be mass produced and a gentleman typically had less than a weeks worth of shirts in his possession at any given time. You will also note above that the collar is quite high. This is left over from the late Victorian era, but as we approached the end of the decade shirt collars start to shrink in height.

1910s:

 late teens (source)

So this is a Negligee shirt or what I would call a semidress or casual shirt. It is not a night shirt. That's something completely different. (Nancy note: the term negligee doesn't become associated with bedroom attire until 1930s.) This shirt also has a detachable collar option and what's called a front-plait opening down the front. The placket ends a little more than midway down the shirt and the shirt is meant to be slipped over the head, though the pattern does give you the option to make it a coat shirt. The neckline is still quite high, but lower than the previous shirt. The rounded collar was still the more popular style at this time, but it would be going out of fashion shortly.

There are two versions of the shirt pictured above. The far left is the negligee version, the center collarless version is what's called an outing shirt. This shirt could also be considered a work shirt if it was made with a sturdier fabric. The type of shirt at this time was determined mostly by the fabric used. Lighter fabrics for casual wear, slightly heavier fabrics for casual wear, and sturdier still for work shirts. The pointed yolk was typically found on casual shirts like these, but on occasion it would pop up in more formal wear.

From a Guild to Making Shirts reprinted 1928 

Many colors were still popular at this time. Stripes, half stripes, and even on occasion checked fabrics were worn.

1920s:

Early 1920s

This shirt features a slightly more modern look. You still have the option for a detachable collar, but the main image of this pattern shows a pointed attached collar. Even the detachable collar is slightly pointed. The shirt again gives you the option of coat shirt style opening or front-plait style opening. There are two cuff options including a detachable reversible soft cuff.

During the 1920s the silhouette of the shirt begins to change due in part to improved manufacturing techniques. Shirts become more fitted, with straight fitted sleeves. French cuffs are the norm. Pointed soft attached collars become more and more widespread thanks to the invention of the home washing machine. Rounded detachable collars are still popular among the older population, but for the trendy folks pointed collars become the normal shirt for business wear. They were secured with collar studs or pins and a tie. Detachable collars are still popular among day laborers for their ease of care and increased shirt life.

1930s:

source

Now we're cooking with gas, as they say. This is really starting to look like today's men's shirt. This pattern only gives the option of the coat shirt opening. Plait-front shirts are pretty much obsolete. The placket still ends quite high on the shirt, but this is in accordance with the pants style of the 30s in which a high waist was preferred.

French cuffs, pointed sleeve plackets, and a longer shirt collar point are all features of this particular shirt. Also popular at this time. Collar stays!

Which were really more like tie clips, but still amazingly effective. Clip stay to tie and each side of collar and voila! Collar stays put all day long. Genus says I.

1940s:

The 1940s bring with it an explosion of different styles of shirts. Shirts become more and more casual. Short sleeve shirts are very stylist for casual wear, sport wear and even work wear.

Fabric choices explode. Flannel, cottons, rayon, prints, prints, prints, and more prints all become popular for work and casual wear.

Western shirts become popular in the late 30s and into the early 40s. This is caused the increased popularity of western movies and stars like John Mack Brown, Red Berry, Harry Carry, Jr. and more. I have a secret love for these, but Mr. Fiance has promised me he will never wear one. Bummer. 

The button down business shirts stay about the same. Detachable collars disappear and the softer pointed collar firmly cements its place in men's fashion. Shirt tails become shorter and plackets extend as the waist on men's pants lowers.

And that, my lovely friends, is that. If you found this helpful drop a comment in the comment section below. Next post: 1950s-1960s.


If anyone was confused by some of the terms I used in the post here's a helpful diagram.

source

Additional References and Some Good Supplemental Reading Recommendations:

• The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing through American History, 1900 to the Present: Volume 1, 1900-1949
• Unsung Sewing Patterns
• Male Pattern Boldness: Shirt Collar Palooza
• Collar Ink: About Collar Stays

Autochromes!

So today is the day that I have been looking forward to for a loooooooooong time. Autochromes!

Anna Stocká by Josef Jindřich Šechtl ca 1909. This photo is the earliest known autochrome of Šechtl's. The lady in the photograph is his future wife Anna. This is my favorite autochrome of all time and it is currently in the collection of the Šechtl & Voseček Museum of Photography. I am especially fond of the soft pale blue color of her dress and her beautiful wide brimmed hat.  

I'll start with an explanation of what an autochrome is. An autochrome is a color photo printed on glass using potato starch. Crazy right? The process was invited by Auguste and Louis Lumière (the same Lumière brothers who invented the motion picture camera the cinématographe). The process was patented in 1903 and was used as late as the 1930s.

The process used a screen of tiny potato starch grains dyed orange-red, green and violet. The grains were dusted onto a glass plate and then covered with a layer of panchromatic silver bromide emulsion. As light entered the camera it was filtered by the dyed grains before it reached the emulsion. The exposure time for one of these images was very very long, but the result was a semi opaque positive color image on glass that required no further printing.

Close up of Autochrome approx 1911

While working at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film I was very fortunate to get to look at some autochromes up close. They need to be viewed on a light table to be seen properly, but I can tell you that the colors are even more vivid and stunning than the images in this post. It is very difficult to reproduce autochromes as digital files true to color because of the nature in which they are printed.

Autochromes are composed of a series of tri-colored dots (as you can see in the image above) that work like a video screen. Because the dots are so small and so closely packed together the colors of adjacent dots blend together in our eyes. Light from neighboring red and green dots will create a yellow color and like from violet and green dots will make a light blue. Neat, right?

I've included some of my favorite autochromes here, but I strongly encourage you to do a quick search online for others. It's amazing how well these images have held up over time and I just love getting to see the actual colors of frocks from the 1900s and teens!

Couple ca. 1910 by Mrs. Benjamin F. Russell. 

This lady is subscribing to a more relaxed fashion than the lady at the top of his post even though the photos were taken at relatively the same time. She's equally stunning in my opinion. I love the color of her frock, the simple cut, her matching pink scarf, and her cute hat. What do you think, Readers? Is that an engagement ring on her finger there?

Woman wearing red dress with houses in background ca. 1915.

 I find her up-do to be very lovely and her shoes to be very charming. It's a little hard to see but she is wearing a high lace collar and sleeves with lace cuffs. There are a ton of little button details up and down the front and sides of her dress that remind me of traveling coats from this era. I'm not sure what this frock is made out of, but the fabric is obviously quite thick and heavy. Canvas maybe? The way the fabric wrinkles around the skirt hem makes me lean more towards a heavy plant based fabric than an animal fabric.

Dancer wearing Egyptian-look costume with wings reaching to the floor ca. 1915

This would have been at the height of Egyptian fever, though still previous to the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb. As with most images from this period I could find out very little information about the woman in the photo and why she might be wearing this getup. Perhaps she is a dancer, though for what type of production I couldn't say.

Cowgirl by Mrs. Benjamin F. Russell  ca. 1910.

I love her! I love this image!  This autochrome is in the George Eastman House collection, Rochester, NY. I love her big hat and giant rodeo pants. I suspect this is more of a masquerade outfit or show outfit than actual work clothes, but I'm totally cool with that.

Lady Helen Vincent by Lionel de Rothschild ca 1910.

Lady Helen was apparently a society beauty and wife of the diplomat Sir Edgar Vincent. I am swooning over her beautiful pale pink dress with the lace sleeves. Just look at the lacy detail down the front of her skirt and the black belt around her waist is so classy.

Man and women carrying suitcases by Charles C. Zoller  ca 1907 - 1932.

I'm going to go ahead and guess that this print comes from 1918-1922 based on her dress and his sweater and tie. The only thing that keeps me from pinning this a few years later is the lack of make-up on her face. The early 1920s saw a huge swell in make-up usage with the widespread post-war availably of cosmetics. What do you think, Dear Readers? What time might this couple have lived in?

Unknown photographer, subject, and date... but wow. Just wow. Look at that dress! And look at those plumes on that hat! Look at that lace on her blouse! If this lady's attire doesn't scream fashion I don't know what does. Makes a girl want to start making Edwardian clothing doesn't it?

Seneca Pool 1924 ca. 1924

I really love these cute 1920s bathers. This pool was actually located not too far from where I went to college, but it has since been filled in. Look at how the ladies are mostly in dark wool swimsuits, but they wear brightly colored swim caps. I didn't realize that there were so many different cap color options when I wrote my 1920s swimsuit post. You learn something new every day. 

1930s Skin Care and Makeup Routine

Yesterday evening Fiancé and I went to a Halloween themed RiffTrax party hosted by a friend of ours. He hosts these parties about every three months or so and always starts off with a viewing of several "Riffed shorts." Imagine my surprise when this beautiful full color short staring Constance Bennet from 1937 popped up on the screen. 

I get a little thrill of excitement whenever I see images of the 1930s in color. I immediately fell in love with her peach house coat (that shows up at about the 0:47 second mark) and her over-the-top Hollywood Starlet lifestyle. I was charmed by the fact that she demonstrated her entire morning routine over her makeup. 

It was a little hard to get everything she was saying over the "riffing" so this morning I hopped onto youtube and found the original version to share with all of you. 

So here's a recap of Constance's rather lengthy morning skin care and make-up routine and how you can immitate it. 

1. Cleansing Cream 

Cleansing creams (or Cold Creams) in the 1930s were not what you would think of when you think of "skin cleansers." Today's Skin Cleansers are typically make-up removers or soaps. Cold creams don't really cleanse so much as soften skin and help remove dirt that had dissolved into the oils of the skin. Oil dissolves oil after all. Their main ingredient was typically mineral oil at this time. I know today oil has a bad reputation for clogging pours, but you're not meant to walk around with Cold Cream on your face all day. Simply put it on a thin layer and gently remove with a cloth as Constance demonstrates. 

While I wasn't able to find a truely 1930s cold cream recipe the formula really hasn't changed for two hundred years. There are some differences in recipes, but in general a cold cream starts with an oil base and works up from there. Here's a relatively simple recipe to try at home:

Simple Cold Cream 

Beeswax                     1 ounce.
Mineral Oil                 6 Tbsp.
Distilled Water          4 Tbsp.
Borax                          1 tsp.
Essential Oil               2-3 drops.

Borax works as an antiseptic. Some cold creams contain Borax and some do not. Or you could always do what I would do and buy yourself some Cold Cream. Boot's Original is sold at most Target stores and works wonders. Whichever way you decide to go using your Cold Cream is easy. Simply rub cream onto freshly washed skin (make sure you've removed your make up, unlike Constance) and then gentle remove cream with a soft towel. Many vintage loving gals recommend a muslin cloth for removal, but say flannel also works quite well. 

2. Stimulant Cream 

What Constance is referring to is and oil based cream with something to stimulate the pours. I don't know exactly what product she is using or its ingredients, but the common beauty regimen of the 1930s almost always included some sort of skin tonic, skin stimulant or skin freshener as a follow up to cleansing cream. This could be a cream that contained some sort of skin astringent (cinnamin oil, lemon oil, tannic acid etc) or sometimes a skin irritant to wake up the skin and give it a "youthful glow" (read: redness). I did find one very interesting recipe for a stimulating tonic: 

Orange and Lemon Tonic
Put one slice of orange, half lemon and two tablespoons of castor sugar into a pan with a cup of milk. Heat the mixture to near boiling point. When it cools, it is ready for use. Store it in the fridge. 

Not totally sure how I would feel about rubbing cooked milk on my face. So if you are like me and not quite brave enough to try the above you could try this recipe:

Rose Water and Witch-Hazel Tonic
Mix 3/4 cup rosewater and 1/2 cup witch-hazel. 

Apply to a cotton ball and gently dab over face. Quite refreshing and it smells better than just pure witch-hazel though sometimes I think it makes me smell like an old lady's house. 

3. Complexion Mask

Again I'm not sure exactly what Constance is using here, but I've found a lot of skin care ads from the 1930s that list tissue cream or "skin food" as the next step in a lady's skin care regimen. In the 1930s it was believed that wrinkles were caused by a loss of fat in the face. As the face lost fat the skin fell into the holes left behind causing wrinkles. Tissue cream often contained peanut oils, animal fat, lanolin, or sweet almond oil and it was thought that the skin absorbed these oils and replenished its fat with them, thus reducing wrinkles (hence why Constance wears this cream the longest). This of course was not the case, but that didn't mean they weren't effective in a morning beauty routine. The oils simply sat on the skin and acted as a moisturizer instead. So this is just another moisturizing step. 

In my search for a 1930s complexion masks and face foods I stumbled across formulas from the 1900s through 1950s and found the contents are pretty much the same for a good 50 years. All start with several oils or fats for a base and ad some sort of scent. The earliest recipe I could find for skin food was from 1902.  

Skin Food - 1902

White wax	1 ounce.
Spermaceti	1 ounce.
Lanolin	2 ounces.
Sweet almond oil	4 ounces.
Cocoanut oil	2 ounces.
Benzoin (tincture)	3 drops.
Orange flower water	2 ounces.

Melt the first five ingrediants together, take off the [heat], beat together until nearly cold, adding little by little the benzoin and orange flower. 

I might suggest replacing the Spermaceti (Sperm Whale head fat) with something like Beeswax or avocado oil and the Benzoin (today used mostly as an adhesive) with something like vegetable glycerin. Also, if you have a wool allergy I strongly suggest you don't use Lanolin oil. 


And thus ends the cleansing portion of the video.

4. Glow Base
Constance's glow base is a cream foundation. A pale mauve or ivory with a touch of pink was a popular foundation color in the 1930s, by the late 1930s more peach colored foundations were becoming more popular. A 1930s foundation was very very thick and quite oily. Sheer foundation is not the way to go when you're trying to get the 1930s face. The make up of the day covered very heavily and created a matte, solid color base for make up. Ideally very little of your natural skin color should show through. 


The closest product I've found to a 1930s cream foundation is stage make-up. Ben Nye makes some fabulous full coverage make up. Their concealer pallet and their cream Euro Series are great for the 1930s look. 

5. Cream Rouge 
Most girls don't like cream rouge she says. Well that's because it's a pain in the you-know-what to apply. I don't like it, but if you're going for an authentic look I can definitely point you in the right direction. After you've applied your "glow base" you should have a very stark very matte complexion. You can't leave it this way or you're going to look like a ghoul. The next step is to apply a rouge to your cheeks. Try to look for a pastel pink for an early 30s look. For a late 30s look you can use purple reds or raspberry shades as well.  


Something similar to cream rouge is available in makeup stores like Sephora or Ulta today, but it's more of a cheek stain. Colose makes a good cream rouge, but the colors are limited and it can be difficult to find in stores. Ben Nye stage makeup makes a very thick good coverage cream blush that I love the look of, but I will warn you that it can be difficult to apply subtly. And by difficult I mean major major major pain, needs lots of practice, don't try this if you need to leave the house in 10 minutes. 


To use pat your index and middle fingers onto the blush pallet so you get just a touch of color on them and apply to the cheek bone in circles. Repeat, adding color very slowly and over several layers. 

6. Powder
Follow up with any good powder that you like and matches your foundation base. I sometimes like to use a very very pale pretty pink powder for a lovely glow. 

7. Lipstick
Constance tells us about how she's finally found a lipstick that stays on, but not what brand she uses. I say grab whatever lipstick brand you like and go nuts for this part.  I've had good luck with Covergirl's Color Last line for staying power, but it doesn't have the heaviest pigment. 


For a 1930s lip you want to do a very thick application of lip stick. For an early 1930s look try pinker lighter colors. For a late 1930s look you can use dark pinks, bright redish purples, and even chinese red. For shape you're going to want to do what was called a rosebud mouth. You'll want to give yourself full lips with an elongated bow. You should actually be going a little beyond your natural top lip line. 

Constance neglects to tell us how she does her eyes, but I found the video overall to be very cute and charming. I hope you've enjoyed and are inspired to try your own vintage face care regime. I recommend doing all this in a glorious home made silk housecoat or lounging suit. 

The 1920s Swimsuit

So with no camera there really isn't much for me to post concerning Operation Ruby Shorts. There's no real progress to report since I've taken the last few days off. My Beau and I have spent the last couple of days getting our files in order. I know you may all find this hard to believe, but I've never had a filing cabinet before. I've always had a box. This was apparently not acceptable. Beau has lots of filing experience so he's been taking the lead on this project.

I did want to report that Ali over at The Wardrobe, Reimagined has finished her Rubys! So cute! And she posted a great Ruby Pattern Translation over at her blog. Check it out if you plan to make these some time.

Ali's Rubys came out fabulously! I only hope mine are similarly successful. I'm still crossing my fingers and hoping that the length will be okay. I'd like these shorts to be more mid-thigh, and so far signs are good.

In any case after Tuesday's Vinspiration this week I was struck with a thought. I know nothing about swimwear pre-1940s. I could go on and on and on about frocks, tennis suits, hats, even unmentionables from the 1920s and 1930s. I'm even planning on putting an authentic 1920s make-up tutorial on my blog, but I really only had a vague picture of swimwear of the time in my head. What did ladies wear to the beach once they'd thrown off their corsets and layers of petticoats?  Have I been missing some fabulous fashion statement all this time? Is there a 1920s swimsuit design out there somewhere that desperately longs to be recreated? I had to know!

So I sat down, did a little research, found some really cute photos and decided to share. I present to you swimsuits of the 1920s.

First a little history. Sorry. You guys know me by now. I have to do it. In the 1900s bathing suits tended to look like the photo above. Long skirts, paired with long bathing stockings and bathing shoes.  I have to say that these would make a very cute day dress today, but I digress. The suits were normally made out of wool or mohair and were normally black or very dark blue with a little colored trim. I have trouble picturing wearing one of these in the heat of summer under the intense beach sun. All I can think is "oh goodness, hot." But they are cute, really cute. I could picture one of these suits in a lightweight cotton and wearing it on a boating trip today.  

As the 1910s progress hemlines get shorter and more colors begin to appear. A long tunic top with a pair of knee length shorts seems to be a popular style post WWI. Black goes almost entirely out fashion, though white with black stripes becomes quite popular. The sailor suit has a moment in the sun during the 1910s are well. 

Bathing suits begin to really shorten in the early 1920s. Pants suits or play suits become more popular and began appearing on beaches all over the country. 

The suits really seemed to have looked like the men's bathing suits of the past decade. They definitely fit within the square boxy lines of the fashionable 1920s lady's silhouette. There's a definite de-emphasis on the breasts and waist. Bathing stockings become shorter bathing socks, revealing the legs around the knee area. Swimsuits were still being made of wool, but they definitely look much more comfortable for beach going. I'm a big fan of the lady second to the left. If I were to make an early 1920s swim suit, I would definitely base it on hers. The white stripe around her collar and skirt hem is just darling! 

As the 1920s progress the suits shorten even further revealing the upper thigh. Necklines begin to lower. Quite scandalous to the older generation I am sure. 

By 1925 the general shape of the swim suit for the next two decades was fully formed. These ladies above have obviously already been in the water and you can see a definite design flaw with the suits of the time. Stretch. Wet wool is very heavy and I can just imagine that these suits got longer and longer as the day progressed. If I were a lady of the time I don't think I'd ever get in the water. I'd have rather sat on the beach and looked pretty all day. By the late 1920s wool was still by far the most used swimsuit material. I suppose because of it's natural ability absorb moisture. 

I must say that I found my swimsuit expedition very fun. The overall shape of the 1920s swimsuit is not very flattering to the modern eye. That's mostly due to the fashions of the time and the limitations of the swimsuit materials. Still I can definitely envision one of these in my future just for the pure fun of it. The girls in this photos look so full of life and energy. I love it!