1950 Fashion Silhouette #2 The Tent

Commonly referred to as a swing coat today, the Simplicity Pattern magazine for Fall-Winter 1950 calls this a tent silhouette. During WWII, there were strict restrictions on the amount of fabric that could be used to make garments. This is one of the main reasons for the shorter lengths, slimmer styles, and relatively plain garments of the 1940's war years. After the restrictions were lifted, suddenly designers were using as much fabric as they wanted, which led to this full silhouette.

This coat is a clutch style (no buttons) with a shawl collar, raglan sleeves and deep sleeve cuffs. Full enough to wear over the widest skirt, the fullness starts at the shoulders and continues to flare out to the wide hem. The back of the coat is fuller than the front, which you can see in the back view below.

This coat was made from Simplicity pattern 8217. It is interesting to note that Forstmann wool was available to the home sewer, as well as being used by some of the finest coat manufacturers of the time. The model is wearing a tight fitting helmet or calot hat, cuffed gloves with her wrist watch over the glove, and a Glentex scarf tied a the neck.

Get the look with this swing coat trimmed in Persian lamb from the late 1940's. Available at our website, click the picture to see the listing.