Developing A 20th Anniversary Womenswear Collection
Back in 2022 we were looking ahead to the following year in recognition of the fact that we would be reaching our 20th year in business milestone. You can read about how we got here in our previous blog post - Celebrating 20 Years Of Revival Vintage.
The Vision
As our small team brainstormed ideas in terms of promotions, celebrations etc. one thing we all agreed on was that we needed to mark our great achievement with a knockout collection of 1940s replica Socialite garments.
We browsed our collection of iconic true vintage pieces and selected a range that we felt would best represent the very essence of what we do here at Revival Vintage.
We opted for four dresses, each in two colourways and a stunning powder blue suit ideal for the main events season. Selecting natural fabrics true to the original garments in terms of weight and texture was very important to us. Not only was this critical for the bulk material but also buttons, metal zips, press studs and other notions.
We deliberated over colours and prints that would best suit the authentic details each of our five styles possess while offering a varied yet harmonious story overall.
The Name Game
Just when we think all the decisions are finalised suitable names need to be found. A lot of clothing companies play safe with girls names but as always we like to do things a little different here. We look at our beautiful 1940s replica garment and see what springs to mind to reflect both it's appearance and the nostalgic feelings it provokes. Here are the results:
Harmony Dress
We felt 100% cotton fresh florals suited the style of this 1940s inspired effortless day dress. Add sandals on a warm day and you'll be ready to step out in a jiffy. Among it's most notable features are contrast piping, shoulder yokes and sleeve cuffs. It also features a versatile two-way collar option.
The floral print is similar to some original forties fabric we are fortunate enough to own, the colours harmonise well and we are sure you will feel at one with nature when you slip into this comfortable dress. Our colour choice reflects both ends of a midsummer day. Here's Jane, our first customer to purchase a Harmony frock, with her pal at a 1940s weekend in Haworth. Her print preference was Night Garden. An alternative accessory option would be yellow.
Spirit Dress
We think the silhouette of this fitted wiggle dress perfectly captures the Spirit of the early 1940s. Made from 100% linen in two great shades, it's hard to tell it apart from the original Marldena dress we replicated. Even the colour is fairly close on this one which we titled Cornflower Blue.
The front bodice features a wide wing collar, four pearly buttons to fasten, and two deep tucks across the bust decorated with oversized topstitching. The dress also has two practical, deep pockets just below the waist seam, which echo the same feature on the bodice. A matching fabric belt is also included.
Jack bought our first Spirit dress and she can can be seen here in our second colour choice of Honey Yellow. It's hard to pick a favourite between these two beautiful colourways.
Matinee Dress
We pictured this summer weight crepe dress being worn to a matinee performance at the local picture house. It's hard to imagine an occasion where this sweet dress wouldn't look elegant.
Some of it's best features include a deep waist panel, neat shawl collar and gentle gathers to the bodice balanced perfectly with it's flattering panelled skirt. Have you noticed the little tuck on the short sleeve hem? Again, just as on the original dress. We sourced a 55% rayon, 45% faux silk fabric that has a texture remarkably close to the true vintage 40s cloths.
The original dress is side by side here with our Pistachio colourway. Our second option is showcased here by our very own Alice. She wears Pan Stik inspired by the popular foundation cosmetic cake at the time.
Melody Dress
We pictured wartime dances and local social gatherings when we found this dress. Our Melody dress is the epitome of simple elegance, better still it looks super on most figure shapes and is comfortable to wear. We are big fans of frocks with pockets and Melody has two sets. Two at the hip and two tiny ones set into the V seam of the bodice. They might only be suitable for storing postage stamps but they make an attractive design feature.
Our choice of green is slightly stronger than the original 1940s garment. We have named it Willow Green, inspired by nature which also reflects the natural fibre mix of the fabric 55% cotton, 45% linen.
A second shade from natures own palette is Berry Red modelled above by one of our team, Heather. She has teamed it with a coordinating true vintage hat. Revival vintage replicas are so accurate they can easily be mixed with original vintage accessories for an authentic appearance.
Freedom Suit
We bought this original grey wool suit even though the fabric was a bit drab and it was littered with moth holes. We saw the beauty in it's design and were particularly drawn to the bow detailing at the cuffs and back. Launching this in Spring Summer 23 led us to choosing this gorgeous 80% linen, 20% cotton powder blue fabric. It suits the silhouette perfectly. Of course it has all the great features of the original minus the moth damage! We love the fact that we are bringing garments that have seen better days back to life as closely as we can to the incredible design and workmanship of the originals.
Helene posed with husband Mark in one of the first batch to be made. We should all have the freedom to live a safe and healthy life.
So there you go. A collection we are proud to present and that we hope will bring pleasure to many customers. They are all manufactured under our premier Socialite label and available on our website now in UK size 8 to 22.
Another way to celebrate with us in our anniversary year is to join us at our gala ball this Autumn! On Saturday 7th October we are throwing a fabulous vintage event at Cedar Court Hotel in Huddersfield. This ball will not only celebrate our company milestone, it will also raise funds for Forget Me Not, a pioneering children's hospice serving families across West Yorkshire.
There will be a gourmet three-course meal, complimentary bubbles, a vintage fashion show and dancing as well as performances from Miss Lily Lovejoy and The Washboard Resonators. It's sure to be a memorable evening with tasty food and great entertainment amongst like minded people who also enjoy socialising vintage style! We would love to see you there so get your tickets now.