Although the later 1920s had seen the middy relegated to activewear, sailor styles enjoyed a resurgence in the 1930s. The Telegraph Herald in 1934 declared nautical style "quite the newest Paris favorite [...] most attractive and so decidedly new".
Our story starts somewhere in the mid 19th century, when the four-year-old Prince Albert Edward (the future Edward VII) was dressed in a miniature sailor uniform for a trip aboard the royal yacht. The sailor suit became a perennial favourite for children's wear, and by the 1870s the nautical motif had made the transition into ladies' clothing.
I’m undertaking a project to scan my vintage magazine collection and make them available as digital downloads through my Etsy shop. There are currently nearly 40 magazines and pattern catalogues available, dating from the Edwardian era right up to the late 1950s.
