Vogue 9967. Blue eyelet, embroidered with dots, great full sleeves on fitted shirt waist dress
Vogue 9991. Floral border on cotton with matching stole wrap, sleeveless bodice with deep "V" back
Vogue 4101. Small kimono sleeve bodice with 3.5 yards wide gathered skirt in mauve ribbed cotton
These three vintage Vogue patterns are all sewn in cottons. They appear in "Ladies Home Journal", April 1960 (the Kim Novak cover is so sadly damaged I couldn't include a photo for you). It is interesting to note how easy the dresses would be to sew. The seam lines are classic, so that they might be duplicated today using patterns available.
The slides below show some current sewing patterns from Vogue, Butterick and McCall's that I found online. These could provide the basic garment to work from. Gathered skirts are not common in today's patterns, so that style would need to be improvised (easy stuff to do).
A kimono sleeve bodice is not common today, but there is one vintage styled pattern from Butterick that is similar. This pattern also has a "V" back (remove the bow). Small cap sleeves will also get the 'look'. When sewing a "V" back, that diagonal cut seam will need to be stabilized with twill tape, a strip of interfacing or elastic. That way it won't gap or fall off the shoulders.
The fitted top with deep "V" back on the blue floral dress is very simple. When cutting a "V" back neckline, be sure that the front neckline stays high enough to keep the shoulders in place. If the front is also low cut, the shoulders slip down easily. Dressmakers would add little snaps inside that neckline so the bra strap could be fastened to the shoulder, keeping it in place.
Basic fit patterns are great for classic bodices such as this one. For the vintage sewist, this type of pattern is essential to own. It can be used for many styles once a true fit has been made. All three pattern companies carry a version of this pattern.
An alternative to simple darts is the princess bodice. Those vertical seam lines make for a better fit on curvy bodices. I show a princess pattern for each style.
This full skirted shirt dress with puffed sleeves can be duplicated in two ways: as a dress or as a blouse with gathered skirt (an easier fit for most). Those great gathered sleeves are probably easier to locate in a 1980's pattern, since current sleeves have a slender upper arm. I found a few blouses that might make a fitted bodice, and two have fuller sleeves.
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