Spinners’ pattern leaflets usually rely solely on a photo of the finished garment to sell the design. But Copley’s patterns for women in the mid 1930s often included “fashion advice” as well. This explained why the design was useful and fashionable - just what you should be wearing. To add weight, they used an aristocratic fashion adviser, first Lady Georgiana Curzon and then the Countess of Carlisle. There are more than 60 pre-war Copley’s leaflets in the Lee Mills collection, so that we have a good selection of their advice.
Sometimes, the adviser explains what she likes about the design: "This is the kind of jersey you see lying in a carefully negligent heap in the more expensive sports shops. I saw one like it just off Bond Street not long ago, in a good brazen yellow like Copley's 160. Not an easy colour to wear, but a triumph if you can stand up to it. It looked grand and cost a staggering number of guineas. Whereas Copley's design can be made for about the same number of shillings. The charm and smartness of this jersey lies in the contrast between the robust chunky cable-stitch and the feminine arrangement of the yoke and front panels. Wear it as jacket or blouse, perhaps adding a broad leather belt for the latter occasion. After yellow I suggest brown for practicality, willow-weed green for subtlety or flannel-grey to go with the greatest number of skirts." (Lady Georgiana Curzon, leaflet 359)
This shows that even Lady Georgiana Curzon, who shops in Bond Street, is keen on saving money, and appreciates Copley’s patterns because the result will look expensive and fashionable.
Other leaflets show two memos from one of the ladies to the designers. The first proposes a new design:
"One can't have enough trim, young little blouses to wear with spring suits. Do make a new one with long and short sleeved versions in new brief length. Stitch contrast would be smart -- and I'd love a completely new neckline!"
The second confirms that the finished design is what she wanted:
"Quite charming for new flannel tailor-mades. (Suggest rose, yellow, yellow-green with dark suit; navy, bright green with light suit.) Lovely little collar. (Yes, utterly new, too!) Smooth surface broken with fancy lines and ribs right in the 1936 idea." (Countess of Carlisle, leaflet 525)
Their advice is often written in a chatty style (“I never know what to put on when the weather is neither hot nor cold!”), to show that they are just like the rest of us, and know what ordinary knitters need.
Lady Georgiana married in November 1935, and I assume that the Countess of Carlisle took over as fashion adviser then. From magazine adverts, we can date the designs that they endorsed to a period around 1935-36. The designs are still attractive to a modern eye, and their advice allows us to see what appealed to their contemporaries. "
No comments:
Post a Comment