The Armistice Blouse

Hello sweet friends! Are you ready for another round of Fashion Friday? Today I bring you The Armistice Blouse. I have made it in the traditional white style as well as a striking French blue.

The Armistice Blouse

The Armistice blouse was a transition from the Edwardian Gibson Girl shirtwaist to the simpler fashions found at the end of World War I in 1918.

Hallmarks of the style are two long rectangular lapels on either side of a center panel often known as a vestee.

The blouses were often made from lightweight or semi-transparent fabric such as silk, cotton lawn/voile, or handkerchief linen.

They could be simple in style or feature intricate details such as insertion lace and pintucks.

Sleeve length variations included full length, elbow, or short sleeves.

While we often see extant blouses made in white or ivory the style was popular in all colors.

My eyes kept going back to the blue blouses. They seemed to fit the somewhat nautical style of the blouse.

Folkwear 210

There are a few different patterns available to create an Armistice style. I liked the look of the Folkwear 210 pattern.

The pattern was very easy to follow. With a bit of assistance, even someone new to sewing could complete the basic blouse.

I wanted to further work on my lace insertion skills last seen HERE. I knew the collar would allow me the opportunity of working with folded lengths of insertion lace.

The lace was added to the selected pieces BEFORE stitching them together. The addition of the lace on the collar, vestee, and sleeves added about four hours to the construction time. It was time well spent as it took a basic blue blouse and made it something special.

The vintage blue cotton fabric was an estate sale find. The antique insertion lace was hand-dyed by me.

The blouse was loose enough that I did not need to make the asymmetrical button closure. I simply slipped it over my head.

I tried a bit of #historybounding for my weekly trip to the supermarket.

Overall the blouse style is perhaps not my best look as I am a bit short-waisted and also pear-shaped. But, I was wearing modern-day foundation garments. A corset would probably improve the look 100%

I was now ready to take on some precious antique materials to make a white blouse.

An Antique Armistice Blouse

Last October my lovely friend Amy gifted me with an Edwardian nightgown. The yoke portion of the nightgown was torn to shreds. I asked a few textile experts if it could be repaired and the general consensus was NO. But the nightgown had the loveliest sleeves that I wanted to salvage. There was enough good fabric left in the skirt of the nightgown that with careful piecing I was able to cut the vestee, as well as the front and back bodice.

The collar was also an antique piece I had found at an estate sale. I had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. It is handmade and one side is slightly larger than the other. I LOVE that! We often think of antique garment sewists as amazing creators of perfect work. But just like today, all level of skills were found.

This blouse is part of a bigger ensemble I hope to wear and photograph in the future.

But I will give you a hint. This is the lovely Alice Paul.

On the balcony, Alice Paul leads the celebration of Tennessee’s ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920.

My daughter, who lives in Nashville, and I have plans to fully celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Right To Vote for women.

Fingers crossed.

Laura