Blue Shirtwaist Blouse
According to The Ladies Home Journal Magazine of March 1915, every fashionable lady should have at least one “practical (shirt)waist in a medium dark color which will always be ready to put on.”
The shirtwaist blouse, as this style was called, was constructed with long sleeves and apparently a high, demure collar. The garment shown is a blue and white polka dot print (described as foulard silk) with white lace accents as suggested by the designer, Betty Barlow. It also includes a little bow tie at the neck that further softens the overall look of the shirt.
This particular shirtwaist design was not one that the magazine sold as a pattern. However, they did suggest using any plain pattern and adding “a cluster of three tuck on each side of the center front and adding the lingerie embroidered frills to the collar, cuffs and box-plait.” In other words, ladies were on their own to design and add all of the lace and ruffles that make this blouse so interesting.
Perhaps it is the book or the overall design of the garment, but doesn’t this pretty lady remind you of a school teacher? Couldn’t you just see her sitting in front of a room of children reading a story or lesson from the book in her lap?
