Inside the Envelope - Vogue S-4007 and Reissue Vogue 2239

Part Two: The Pattern Pieces

Before we look at the pattern pieces, I got an interesting comment from Vicki regarding yesterday's post that I'd like to comment on. She said, "The ladies on the later pattern have better posture and seem to be a bit more muscular too!" Naturally, I had to go back and take a look. Here's my take on this - each envelope reflects the trend of the time for the female form. When the older pattern was produced, very early 1950's, the sloped shoulders and softer form was more popular. The sloping shoulders was part of the New Look introduced by Dior in the late 40's. The newer pattern shows a much thinner upper body. You can see the collar bones and shoulder blades clearly in the new artwork. The upper body looks more like what you'd see on a model today.

The first thing to note about the pattern pieces is that the original (S-4007) was manufactured before the pattern pieces had printing on them. This makes the pieces a bit harder to compare. Fortunately, both patterns are the same size, a bust 34.

Look at this - the pattern pieces are just about the same! They are the same dimensions, the only difference is a slight change in dart placement for all three darts. You can see this in the second photo below where I point out the end of the side bust dart - you can see where the new one ends through the tissue of the old one. The other darts are shifted over about 1/4" or so between the versions.

The skirts are just about the same too, with two exceptions. That the older version is a bit longer than the new version. The new skirt pieces come in two sections which must be cut out and taped together, while the old pieces are one large piece of pattern tissue. The skirt back is shown in the first photo, and the skirt front in the second photo.

The other two pieces that the patterns have in common, the bodice band and belt, are exactly the same.

Overall I think this Vogue reissue is much better than the Simplicity jumper original and reissue that I compared a while ago (there were actually three posts for that one; the link is for the first one). The directions are pretty much the same and so are the pattern pieces. That's actually a good thing, if you're looking to buy a pattern that is exactly or pretty close to the original with minimal modifications. Vintage patterns can be expensive, especially the evening gowns. Saving money and getting pretty close to the original pattern isn't a bad thing.

Parting Shot: Last SWAP fabric. I got my last SWAP fabric in the mail from Spandex House. This won't be made up for a few weeks, but look for the white skirt on Monday!