Archive of 2022: Very hot autumn outfit in style of 1964 with handmade platter hat & pencil skirt

With this new outfit, I once again demonstrate the creation of hands of my friend photographer Alexandrina Wasiliewa-Szylowska with the assistance of me. 

Again, this is a hat that we made from an old really vintage cellulose straw braid, to which a really vintage silk flower was sewn inside, close to its edge.

Combining a really vintage straight pencil skirt with a really vintage swing blouse makes it a 1964 suit. I saw a similar one on a McCall's pattern of that year. 

However, this outfit also has something of the Egyptian style. Not only a bag with a print, but also the very shade of clothes and accessories, personally evokes in my memory the ancient Egypt with its pyramids and desert.

But what is a pencil skirt? Let's turn to history!

It is believed that the pencil skirt evolved from the sheath dress designed by the famous Gabrielle Coco Chanel in 1926 (LBD or little black dress style).

However, there is another version of the appearance of a pencil skirt.

The prototype of the pencil skirt was the "hobble skirt". It was created thanks to the first flight of a woman on an airplane. Thus, the history of the pencil skirt began with an anecdotal incident. In 1908, American Mrs. Edith Hart O. Burt became the first woman passenger in an airplane, a marvel of engineering invented by the Wright brothers. 

Edith Hart O. Burt was wife of one of their colleagues. The plane did not have a cabin, that is, passengers were actually accommodated between the wings. The fluffy skirt, typical of that time, would flutter in the wind during the flight and would get stuck in the mechanisms. To escape this, O. Bert or the Wright brothers themselves (different sources indicate different perpetrators of this idea), tied the skirt just below the knees with twine. 

Photos of a woman in such a skirt flew around the world. According to legend, such a silhouette inspired fashion designers, in particular the famous designer Paul Poiret, to create a new style of skirt called the hobble skirt (“lame skirt”).

The skirt got its name because it was too narrow, which did not allow the woman who wore it to take big steps. Just below the knee, this skirt began to be tied with a ribbon, which also limited the movement of fashionistas. To the bottom, the skirt expanded in the shape of a bell.

The new skirt gave elegance to the look and developed a graceful gait in women. But it was quite uncomfortable, because this graceful gait was obtained due to constrained movements. Be that as it may, this style, which made the ladies move with quick short steps, soon became very popular. On the streets of New York and Los Angeles, there were even special carriages designed for women in tight skirts.

The beginning of the First World War made its own adjustments to women's fashion. Due to the fact that the “hobble skirt” was uncomfortable, they decided to shorten its length to the ankles to adjust it for work.

Unfortunately, the age of this trend turned out to be short-lived: already in the 1920s, it was replaced by shorter dresses and straight, loose-cut skirts.

However, it is believed that the pencil skirt evolved precisely from the hobble skirt, in which the lower part (the bell with the ribbon) was simply removed.

During the Second World War, similar skirts became popular again due to their laconic cut and inexpensive materials from which they were sewn, while wide-brimmed skirts were considered wasteful.

The prototype of the pencil skirt, as an independent piece of clothing, appeared in the late 1940s, just when Christian Dior presented the “New Look” fashion trend to the world. In fact, he adapted the "hobble skirt" to the new conditions of life. As a result of this adaptation, the first version of the pencil skirt was obtained.

So that the skirt does not hinder movement, a slot (slit) was made in the middle of the back. A pencil skirt fitted the figure, emphasizing it advantageously. In addition, this style of skirt was economically advantageous, compared with the puffy models of the same swing skirt, due to the cost of the fabric that was used for their tailoring. Therefore, all women began to wear a pencil skirt, regardless of status and wealth.

The pencil skirt as we know it today came later - in 1954, when Christian Dior presented his next collection, but with H-line pieces. In cut, they resembled the outlines of the Latin letter H - straight lines, an underlined waist. 

Pencil skirts looked favorably on the figure, as they visually lengthened the legs and shifted the focus to the hips. In addition, this collection has become an alternative to the “New Look” silhouette, which has had time to get bored, with its immense skirts and meters of fabric.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, the pencil skirt became a wardrobe staple. A woman in such a skirt could be an elegant intellectual, like Grace Kelly in “Rear Window” or seductresses like Sophia Loren, who wore them with tops and fitted jackets. Audrey Hepburn's little black dress in “Breakfast at Tiffany's” is another variation of the pencil skirt.

And Marilyn Monroe, whose image is largely associated with this garment, brought it to the status of a cult: thanks to her, the pencil skirt became a symbol of absolute femininity, and the hourglass figure became the standard of beauty. Like the hobble skirt of the 1910s, this outfit required a certain gait, which can be seen performed by Marilyn in the films “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Some Like It Hot”. Despite the fact that the latter depicts the "roaring 1920s".

In the 1950s and 1960s, pencil skirts were conceived as an extremely practical piece of clothing. They served as an everyday uniform for working women, especially if they were complemented by a small slit at the back.

I am wearing:

• Real vintage orange cotton swing blouse with short sleeves, Peter Pan collar, cutwork embroidery front and button-down back, about late 1950s - early 1960s
• Real vintage ocher color silk below knee length straight pencil skirt with fake button-down front with straw buttons, about 1960s-1970s
• Handmade natural toned vintage cellulose straw platter hat with real vintage orange and cream silk flower inside decor by Alexandrina Wasiliewa-Szylowska, idea by Dannais dde Daneann, summer of 2022
• Real vintage gold toned brassy metal filigree flower shaped clip-on earrings, made on Germany, about 1930s-1940s
• Artisanal handmade brown and amber toned glass and coconut beads multi strand choker collar necklace, about 1990s-2000s
• Artisanal handmade brown tanned leather cuff bracelet wrist band with gold toned metal rivets and metal snaps, made in Spain, about 2010s-2020s
• Artisanal handmade brown/black/white tanned with hand painted decor leather bangle bracelet, about 2000s
• Artisanal handmade orange/brown/gray marble toned leather handbag with two handles and Egyptian embossing decor, made in Egypt, about 1990s-2010s
• Brown/beige/gray leather high heel ankle strap (T-strap) shoes with round toe by “Rieker”, made in Germany, 2000s-2010s

I think the pencil skirt and loose button-down back blouse gave me an elegant 1964 look. Grace Kelly or Jacqueline Kennedy could wear something similar.

What do you think? Write your thoughts in the comments, I would be very interested to hear your opinion!