Beach Fashions with a Terry Cloth Twist, 1934

>I was SO excited to get one of the vintage catalogs I ordered in the mail yesterday.  I poured over the pages and I hope to share some scans and point out a few things I thing of as unusual or out of the ordinary when we usually think of fashions of the “golden era”.

Click on the image for a hi res version

What caught my eye on the back cover of this catalog of summer sales from National Bellas Hess, Inc, 1934 was the terry cloth beachwear!  Juicy Couture stand aside, I’ll take some terry beach pajamas or a jacket and trouser set!  Bet you can’t guess what’s added it’s way to my sewing list…

Hope you have lovely plans in store for this weekend!

 

12 Comments on Beach Fashions with a Terry Cloth Twist, 1934

  1. Lorie Bronson
    February 5, 2010 at 7:09 pm (14 years ago)

    >Just thought I would tell you, I ran it through the inflation calculator, and $1.00 in 1934 is equal to $16.00 (I forget the change) in 2010 money. Interesting….

  2. reilly
    February 5, 2010 at 7:56 pm (14 years ago)

    >I would love to see all your scans on Flickr! I love the first two in the upper left corner.

  3. casey
    February 5, 2010 at 8:20 pm (14 years ago)

    >These are AMAZING!!! Oh wow–I am green with envy right now. lol! Gee, makes you wish they had more sophisticated terry styles like this nowadays. ;) I really love the one at the top left with the diagonal print halter and green pants; so cute. Can't wait to see your rendition of mid 30s beachwear! :DLooking forward to more scans from this gem! Thanks for sharing it with us, Lauren!♥ Caseyblog | elegantmusings.com

  4. Meg
    February 5, 2010 at 10:27 pm (14 years ago)

    >Nifty! Although…I would never have wanted terry beach pajamas. The sand would stick to me and make me crazy :P

  5. Amanda
    February 6, 2010 at 1:48 am (14 years ago)

    >Never thought of using terrycloth to make so many cute outfits

  6. Wearing History
    February 6, 2010 at 7:09 am (14 years ago)

    >Thanks, gals! Lorie, it's funny you should say that because I bought terrycloth today to make something like the ones pictured and the fabric alone was about that much! But it is a lower end mail order catalog having a late summer clearance… I guess it's kind of like the 30s version of Forever 21. Ha.Riley, I actually was thinking about it, but I'd have to upgrade to a pro account. I'm going to probably end up making a multipage pdf that you guys can snag from my website :) I already pay for space over there, so might as well!

  7. Debi
    February 6, 2010 at 9:36 am (14 years ago)

    >Fantastic! Love, love, love these fashions! Can't wait to see a terrycloth beach outfit!

  8. HappyKATT
    February 6, 2010 at 2:40 pm (14 years ago)

    >I wouldn't have thought of terry cloth for these beauties but I love the idea and can't wait to see how yours turn out! I love those images too, and look forward to seeing more. Thanks!

  9. Helene
    February 6, 2010 at 3:47 pm (14 years ago)

    >There must be a generational element to this because I remember going to the beach in RI when I was young (cough, 1960s, cough) and my mom always dragging along heavy terry robes (what we'd call a bathrobe now but she was from the UK and referred to them as 'beach robes')along with everything else when we went swimming. The water was never warm but it always felt wonderful to come out, towel off, and put on one of those robes and sit on the blanket in the sun.

  10. Tasha
    June 8, 2011 at 6:10 pm (13 years ago)

    Wow, what neat fashions! That one-piece terry ensemble in great! I wouldn’t have thought of such a large terry cloth outfit as being particularly practical, but oh how chic!

  11. Jill
    June 8, 2011 at 6:25 pm (13 years ago)

    Cool!! Thanks for sharing!

  12. wearinghistory
    June 8, 2011 at 6:27 pm (13 years ago)

    Oh my goodness, I don’t know why this is showing up now! LOL! I shared it last year!
    Silly computer.
    Glad you all like it, though!

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