Gertie Sews Vintage Casual: A Modern Guide to Sportswear Styles of the 1940s and 1950s

The mid-20th century was an amazing time for American women's fashion!

Following the war, women started looking to American designers rather than French couture houses for inspiration and to demand clothing they could move in, even play in. In this follow-up to Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, Gretchen "Gertie" Hirsch celebrates the classic casual styles that icons like Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, and Rosie the Riveter made famous - think wide-legged trousers, fitted capri pants, beach rompers, shorts, knit tops, jeans, and day dresses. In Part I, Hirsch introduces key techniques for sportswear construction - from working with knit fabrics to the intricacies of pant-making - and in Part II, she showcases a 30-plus-piece vintage-inspired casual wardrobe.

About the Author:

Gretchen Hirsch is the author of Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing and creator of Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing. She has a pattern line with Butterick and a fabric line with Fabric Traditions, and teaches sewing around the country and on PBS’s It’s Sew Easy, Craftsy.com, and Creativebug.com. Her work has been featured in Sew Stylish, Vogue Patterns, Threads, and Stitch, and on jezebel.com.