Swing Fashionista » In Magazines

1920s & 30s Australian fashion magazines

Michelle — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:02:42 +0000

For all our Australian followers, we hope you had a wonderful day off, celebrating life in this wonderful country of ours by doing the things that us Aussies like to partake of in summer. Whether it was going to the beach, attending a bbq or picnic or just hanging out with friends having a few drinks. Hope your day was grand and here are some lovely vintage Australian Home Journal covers and Home Budget inside pages from the 1920s and 30s to inspire you.

Hair waving items from the 1934 Sears catalogue

Michelle — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:34:54 +0000

I found this wonderful page courtesy of Lileks.com a long while ago and just HAD to share it today. After looking over it I realised that I actually have more than half of these items in my own collection! I have used the water wavers quite often (my profile pic is a water wave set) and my rather substantial box of vintage hair doo-dads contains Curly Lox Curlers, Wide Wide Curlers, Kurly Kews, WW combs, Kurl Kuiks, Wavos and Kid Kurlers.

It’s also fun to see the original prices and descriptions of these items. The Baldwin Marcellers are amazing! I’ve seen some online for sale on occasion and they look rather complex to use! And the Nayrs Waving Cap, what a nifty looking device. Wish I could find an old one of those and give it try! Oh blow me down! There’s one for sale at Taste-T Vintage!!

1930s beach and lounging pyjamas…how I love thee

Michelle — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:54:35 +0000

As a lover of 1930s fashion, in my humble opinion one of the most stylish garments to emerge from the 20s and 30s were beach or ‘lounge’ pyjamas. They just ooze elegance and sophistication and are visually very iconic. Until the 1920s, pyjamas were pretty much only worn as sleepwear, then sometime in the 1920s they made their way outdoors as a cover-up over swimming costumes on the beaches of the French Riveria. When crepe pyjamas were first worn at the seaside, trouser wearing women were rare sight and still very much confined to beach and promenade areas.

The trend took off all over the globe (the photo above is from the UK) and beach pyjamas soon also became casual-wear for less formal outdoor events in the warmer months. Many women took to wearing them around the home as ‘lounging pyjamas’ when entertaining or just relaxing.

In the 1920s, beach or lounge pajamas were usually a top and trouser set with matching jacket. By the 1930s, one-piece, jumpsuit-style pajamas were very popular and many featured a very wide leg. Fabric like shantung, linen or cotton was accepted for the for beach and lounging pajamas, but as they became widely popular in the 1930s, many were also available in rayon. Pyjamas were made in an amazing array of bold colors and patterns, as you will see in some of pictures and old advertisements I have added here. Many of the patterns were influenced by Japanese and Chinese art which was seen as very exotic at that time.

With lounge pyjamas a new category of clothing emereged: resort wear. With it’s bright designs and lightweight fabrics, resort wear was all about relaxing and holidaying and even today, when viewing the elegant vintage posters advertising these garments, I immediately think of luxury yachts, beaches, boardwalks and sunny weather. I have a wonderful 1930s Australian travel poster advertising Bondi Beach and all the women illustrated wearing beach pyjamas. With our weather here in Oz – they must have a been a blessing back in the day

Stars like Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford had a lot to do with making lounging pyjamas extremely popular worldwide as they donned them in several of their movies during the 1930s and women everywhere took notice.

I hope you enjoy some of my favourite images here. I regularly wear and own many pairs of high-waisted, flowy, wide legged trousers, which I find extremely flattering, so I’m a big fan of beach pyjamas. Which reminds me; I am still to make a pair from a Wearing History pattern (below) that I purchased early this year. My friend Lauren has done a wonderful job of putting this pattern together, so if you love lounging PJs, you can now indulge yoursel. Also, thanks to La Mode Pyjama for her wonderful blog containing a collection of beautiful photos, vintage advertising, posters and patterns of beach and lounging PJs. It’s where I pilfered some of these pics from

Oysho Spring / Summer 2010

Sharon — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:14:41 +0000

I want to go on a picnic…

Mad Men behind the scenes in Rolling Stone, 16 September 2010

Sharon — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:14:40 +0000

Hmm, I just noticed we never posted this. Well, here it is!

Carl Erickson Fashion Illustration

Sharon — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:40:52 +0000

Carl Erickson (1891 – 1958) was an American fashion and advertising illustrator from the 1910s through to the 1940s. At the peak of his career, he signed his work “Eric” and was known by this name. He worked a great deal for Vogue in the 1930s and 40s. He had a reputation for being obsessively hardworking. He only ever sketched from live models. For each illustration that appeared in a magazine, he had made dozens of studies. And he was known for bringing his sketchbook with him everywhere he went – to the restaurant, to the theatre – and capturing the elegance he saw around him.

Crystal Renn by Sebastian Kim for Vogue Germany October 2011

Sharon — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:48:56 +0000

As Karen Turman once said to me, “The 80s is the 40s on crack.”

Pauline Van der Cruysse by Yossi Michaeli for 125 Magazine

Sharon — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:28:55 +0000

Kat Hessen by Alexander Neumann for Vogue Mexico October 2011

Sharon — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:24:34 +0000

Fantasy Island: Alina Baikova by Nicole Bentley for Vogue Australia November 2011

Sharon — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:21:35 +0000