Kind of like aprons, I don't get the nostalgia, but that's just me. Our fashion history blog helps you create the look from decades past using vintage, vintage inspired and thrifty clothing, Need help? Plus the front closure makes it easy to do pincurls and to do your hair up and change without messing it up! 
Strange, I have also been planning on making a "hostess gown" pattern as a robe. I was a total suit wearer in my work life and since being laid off, I've been living in jeans, camis, turtle necks and capris with lots of snaps and ties - I'm missing the girly in my wardrobe! I love the house dress! Why can't all aspects of life be glamorous? So cool! Clothes are for real live women," she said. We lived on a farm and ALL the women in the town and farm (were housewivesalmost all did not work outside the home except for those who were clerks in stores and a few office workers). I like the idea of wearing a comfy (and cute) dress around the house, or running out to do a few errands.On the other hand, there is maid aspect to it. I hate the concept of the house dress. Without the oven mitt, of course! There's something nice about having a dress that you don't have to treat as "dressy. If I could figure out what to make these dresses out of that doesn't require ironing Like Mrs. 
More elite women had them made in costlier fabrics and wore them exlusively inside the home as a form of deshabille (undress). The women wore housedresses to do their houserwork--no one wore slacks or jeans. They would like to run to town and get one or two! Learn more about Mrs or Mature womens 1950s fashion. And I have one bizarro find from grandma- never, ever saw her wear it and not sure what it's really meant for- a dressing gown? Amid the pandemic, house dresses make a comeback as the top fashion trend of 2020. Elite women would never have worn them in public as labouring women did.I had thought the same-style-different-fabric-between-classes phenomenon was mostly particular to the 18th century, apparently I was mistaken! I have a vintage zip front housedress I bought years ago that I live in in the summer. Lucile Ball in fancy half apron and a nicer house dress. Anyway, enjoyed this post- I'm a big fan of the housedress- it's how my so-called wearable muslins often end up getting their greatest use. And today you just make a fantastic entry on them. The comment I get "on the street" is "Oh you look nice. I remember my grandmother's housedress- with carrots on the pocket! Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis. Try it, Gertie, you'll love it! Diane von Frstenburg, in her iconic wrap dress, made the March 1976 cover of Newsweek magazine for her design. For the most part, in the summer, this means simple cotton dresses that I can't wear a bra with. House dresses are the best! A housewife in the 1930s spent the majority of her time in house dresses, which were usually handmade with re-purposed or leftover scraps from other garments. Now that I sew I use a new look (can not recall the #) shift dress pattern for making house dresses for my mom and I, which is bit more fashonable. I mean, does it get more feminine and lovely than that?Most of the early patterns are totally wearable nowadays. They were to keep her warm and modest and protect her nice clothes from chores and aerosol hairspray. They're super comfy and I don't care if I make a mess while I'm cooking because it's just my house dress! I bet these house dresses could hold a ton of little slips of wisdom. I was just thinking that I needed a housedress. I will be coming back. From then on some clothing companies became known for their house dress designs. Although the '60s and '70s saw more women going out in the workforce and abandoning the traditional role of housewife, the house dress remained a symbol of leisure. My father's family fled the south due to racist violence, and where they ended up (Indiana) was a Klan stronghold. These are so cute! Many women from the 1930s onward chose to wear their house dresses to do the daily errands, often with gloves and a hat. I've never felt the house dress love. I too share your love for all things retro, especially clothing. I don't like shorts, so I prefer to wear skirts when the weather is hot. Those days, the old zip front house dress is priceless for retaining my dignity - ha! I modified it to make it zipper front as that just seems more practical. I've found myself acquiring quite a few house dress patterns recently and after a six month hiatus from sewing, I finally got round to making Simplicity 2842 (listed in the wiki). Sew your own house dress with a 1950s pattern here. I am with you on the house dress love! Some iconic designs came out of the tradition of house dresses, like the popular Swirl dress which had originally been marketed as a wrap apron. For many years my mom used a wringer washer and did not have a dryer so it was laborious to do the laundry. It wrapped and closed in the back (wish I knew where one of those sewing patterns is)! 
Whenever I catch an I Love Lucy episode, it brings back memories of shopping with my mom and aunt. They had the added benefit of being useable throughout a pregnancy, provided they were cut generously to start. It was only with the complete change in fashion and job status of women in the 1970s and 1980s that the house dress became outmoded in favor of jeans or knits. It's a wrap style with cap sleeves and comes in a long and short option. I love those patterns! ", My grandmother in Tennessee would wear house dresses (very much like the ones in the first envelope-- and btw, I did make the Decades of Style reproduction out of squirrel fabric! She had all kinds button up, zip up, but always worthy of leaving the house, too.I would totally wear one! I prance around in a robe in the middle of the day!I've been totally thinking on making some house dresses. Really lightweight and breezy for the Florida heat. Pregnancy=lost waistlines, thus the need for a roomier cut.It wasn't just the housewives who had different clothes for different occasions. One of the iconic house dresses was the Popover that Claire McCardell designed during WWII. I like the older ones with the cute pockets and such better than the muu muu type as well. What a very cool post!! I LOVE house dresses! No, thanks! The 1950s were not a time to look like a domestic servant, even if she acted like one. Or that's it's impractical to wear something nice looking, you just need easy-care fabric!Secondly, your comments regarding the similar styles of housedresses between classes, and how fabric was used to distinguish struck me. Easy to put on with a row of buttons down the front, easy to wash when made of cotton or synthetics, and elegant with a nipped waist and full skirt. Unlike going out dresses a 50s house dress needed to be lose enough to provide maximum movement and durable for the daily rigors of cleaning and gardening. 
I'm seeing it in a sweet cotton lawn or voile. My family's version of feminism meant being who you were as a person first and foremost; that you felt like wearing a big pink dress didn't mean you had to stick to cooking and changing diapers. Five house dresses made by Nelly Don, 1922. I found this post really interesting.I think I could be persuaded to wear one, especially having recently embraced the apron. All feminist notions aside for one moment, guys dig house dresses! They were easy to launder and often had a print something which made hiding stains and repairs a cinch. (Besides, I make mine myself, so they're artistic, too. Courtesy of the Facebook page, DVF - Diane von Furstenberg. I don't use a robe, I have a house-dress. I love the wrap-style dress that "Ethel" wore in many I Love Lucy episodes. Most of my day dresses are made from house dress patterns. I think that a house dress is totally appropriate. Some had no collars, just a roundboat-neck or sweetheart opening. 
I think interest in house dresses will increase and for a lot of reasons (cuteness not being the least of it). 
I keep saying I'll use it for sewing in cooler weather since the front zip is easy-access for trying on. It kind of pisses me off that a piece of clothing would make my job seem more legit, but I really do love the comfort and style of the house dress. To church?" It seems to me that the change from fitted to boxy shape can be partially traced to the baby boom. Fashion was fashionable even when no one would see her in it. I had never thought of the DVF wrap as a descendant of the house dress. I mean, in many ways my grandparents and parents worked hard so I would never have to be a maid. My mother, along with all her friends, also had a large wardrobe of aprons (cobbler type with large pockets) to keep their clothes clean. I call them house dresses. I agree with Moe on the usefulness of snapshadn't thought about the zipper front but that is a great idea. (To the tune of "Just a Housewife, from the musical "Working" with apologies to Stephen Sondheim)All I am is just a housedress.Nothing special, nothing greatWear me when you mop the kitchenShop for groceries, clean a plate.Wear me if youre someones mother.Wear me if youre someones wife.In fashion I seem unimportantIve just clothed a million lives.Made of cotton, maybe linen.Zipper closure, maybe snapsHeart shaped pockets, if youre cleverPrincess styling or a wrap.Line the seams up, Join the pieces.Dropped some stitches, start again.Re-thread the needle, press the pedalJammed the bobbin, count to ten(2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..104..5..6..7..8..9..)All it is is just a housedressJust a housedress, nothing great.What it is is out of fashionWhat it is is out of date.Will I be dressed up like my motherIf I make this throw-back dressWhy persist with homemade clothingDidnt womens lib free me from this awful messI dont mean to complain at allBut they make you feel like youre two feet tallWhen you dont fit the clothes in the store(its just a house dress)All the clothes on the racks and wallsThey dont fit my body, style or life,(my life)Youre fab if you fit the latest stylesBut youre a jerk if you say you wont(and wear a housedress)People say that they think its fineIf the choice is mineBut you know they dontWhat I do, what I choose to doMay seem lame to youBut its not to me.I sew my clothes because I careCause I really care to dress like meAnd I mean, did ya ever think,What it really meansTo buy Off the RackAnd wear all the same clothesThat everybody else does?So Ill make my simple housedress. 1950s house dress colors and patterns followed the trends of the year. They're comfortable, washable, and I can make them with huge pockets that hold everything. Thanks!Link to the house dress-->http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200453502933&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT. Growing up I knew a lot of lovely great-spirited women who wore these things, in seersucker with rick rack trim, buttoned or zipped up the front. housedresses (http://vavoomvintage.blogspot.com/) and I was surprised. She still wore her beloved housedresses.I, her daughter, have never owned a housedress and will never. Many people in my father's family did housework and laundry to help support themselves and their family. Check it out, it's great reading. Mind you it is practical at home for the domestic duties!My favorites are a 50's Butterick 6418 for everyday and a 50's Vogue 7212 for leisure. Many women broke social rules by wearing pants to do housework! I think whether it's nice or not depends on your fabric choice. The button down bodice, known as a shirtwaist, was the prime style of house dress but other styles could be worn. My grandmother used to wear them to do housework in. It's a riot of bright turquoise flowers -- great for wearing out or for gardening and wiping my dirty hands on. I would prefer to wear a housedress while working in my kitchen garden and doing cleaning rather than ruining my shorts and tops! Peace. Reed's house dresses were popular throughout the first half of the 20th century and provided a model for other styles that balanced utility and fashion. However, we remember these bastions of home life as something every woman would have owned once upon a time. 
I absolutely love the Simplicity 3306. I love cool cotton dresses. I think it's always useful to remember that the class of fifties housewives, in particular, were not just women who'd "always been at home" - they were members of a class that had only just been invented with the rise of suburbia, a lot of whom had had jobs outside the home that involved overalls just a few years previously. In 1942, Claire McCardell, one of the most influential women's sportswear designers of the 20th century, introduced the "popover" wrap dress, which came with a matching oven mitt and was a fashion landmark. Some house dresses advertised in the Sears Roebuck and Co. For running errands or visiting friends outside the home, a woman did not need to change dresses, although she usually did. There were also small polka dots, big and small stripes, chevron, paisley, and floral of all sizes and colors. Thanks for sharing.Elena. 
The shopper should expect a well-designed house dress to provide for comfort and roominess when the wearer is reaching or stooping in the pursuit of her household duties. In it, I can go the the car or mailbox and feel like I am not transgressing. Completely with you on that one! 
She wore them over her slip or dress or nightgown but Never out of the house. So I would say, go for it!After reading your post, I was reminded of "The Secret Lives of Dresses" posted by Erin over at www.dressaday.com.
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