Sporting Fashion, 1920s Angler, Rod and Creel

Wow.  It's almost the end of August and I'm wondering where summer went.  For many like myself, summer may as well be over, come September the first, even if it lasts another three weeks.  Here in the Sierra Foothills of California, everything is dry and brown.  The ground is covered in the curling brown leaves that spring brought to us sparkling green and full of renewal.  The days are hot.  It doesn't rain from May until late October, and if it does, it's a quirk of nature and only enough wet to mess up your windshield.  Yet it has a beauty of its own.

Some may call it Indian Summer, but I was firmly corrected by my husband who grew up in Pennsylvania, that Indian Summer is a heatwave after cooling temperatures in fall.  Maybe in Pennsylvania, Smart Ass, but here in California, Indian Summer is a long two months from August to October.

Its also harvest season and always has been.  Our vegetable garden which grew corn, tomatoes, green beans, summer squash, jalapenos, acorn squash, and some version of Japanese eggplant that didn't quite work out this year, is at the end of its cycle.  The lake I love so much is rapidly being drained to irrigate, provide power and desalination for fish hatcheries.  Summer's last days are limping along as August comes to a close.

This may be the longest stretch of time in between journaling posts that I've taken.  Not my fault.  Well, sort of.  I actually completed the Sporting Fashion, 1920s Angler outfit two weeks ago.  I've been waiting for several little things to arrive in the mail and finally, today, everything was here.  And I'll address those items a little later on.  The fact is, two weeks ago I was excited and ready to sit down and blog, but this A-type girl kept wanting everything to be as perfect as it could be, so I waited.

As the VDC continues to produce luxurious historical gowns and dresses, I've been slowly making my way through the few items I wanted to reproduce from the Sporting Fashion book.  Several things come to mind when I'm selecting a new fashion to recreate for Lacie.  Is it practical?  Can a girl have fun wearing it?  Can I find or make the shoes?  Does it have cool accessories to make?  Do I like the colors?  Is it something I would dream of wearing were I in that time with a body like Lacie's or the mannequins?  

It's not always a choice of creating something I identify with, but something maybe that I need or want to explore.  The 1920s Angler ensemble seemed like a natural progression from the Tennis Spectator dress, which may be one of the better pieces I've ever done.  

So, what drew me to the Angler?  I don't fish.  I don't think I could ever intentionally end another's life.  In fact, just the other day while I was hiking Brighton down at the lake, I stumbled 

across a poor fish, a large one, that died, possibly because it found itself in too shallow of water and while the lake kept dropping, couldn't find its way back.  I mourned.  But I was attracted to the colors of this fishing outfit.  Colors I myself wear especially in fall.  I loved the middy top and the cropped pants.  And the thought of making the creel excited me.  I love making accessories to scale.  And what of that insanely long fishing rod?  What's that all about?  So, I began.

The origin of fly fishing can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, who made flies made of feathers and fur to catch fish.  However, it wasn't until the Middle Ages that fly fishing as we know it today, began to develop in England.  In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, fly fishing began to take root in the American colonies.  Early settlers like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were avid anglers who embraced fly fishing as a way to relax and enjoy the beauty of the American wilderness. 

From its roots in ancient Greece to its popularity in colonial America, fly fishing has been a symbol of recreation, relaxation and the beauty of the American wilderness.  

The earliest documented female angler was a woman from the 15th century.  Before the 1920's, men and women often fished together, and women were depicted in fly fishing prints and advertisements.  However, after that period, women's participation became less visible.  Less visible, but popular enough that Vogue would "chime in to help plan the wardrobe".

In the 1920s, "Wildlife journal, Outing, recommended they be made from 'Forestry cloth', a brownish green cotton twill used for the uniforms of the U.S. Government Forestry Service".

With this information in mind, I hunted down suitable lightweight linen to make this outfit in the closest shades I could find to the ones depicted on the Sporting Fashion mannequin.

The costume is described as a "middy blouse and knickers".  In the early 20th century America, sailor dresses were popularly known as Peter Thomson dresses after the former naval tailor credited with creating the style.  The style is that of the British Royal Navy and by 1919, the Peter Thompson dress or style was formerly accepted as school uniforms as well as a sporting style.  The name middy, for the middy blouse, comes from the title of midshipman in the navy.

A further anecdote, practical yet a bit disturbing, is that sailors often wore their hair long or in braids, and the collar's wide, flat front, and bib-like flap, helped protect the uniform from grease,

oils and sweat used to maintain hairstyles.  Given that, you would think the collar was a separate piece that could be washed frequently, but I saw no mention of this.

As mentioned earlier, this costume was completed two weeks ago, and it's been a project with seemingly long stretches in between working on the various parts of it.  The fine linen was sourced from China.  While awaiting its arrival, and with all hopes that the colors would work, I'd been sewing summery beach outfits for the Little Stella dolls for the trip to New Orleans for the UFDC convention. 

I can never be certain a fabric is going to work and considering the voluptuous nature of Lacie's body and the need for lightweight fabric, the fine linen seemed like a good choice.  Her large bosom and wide hips would not have been the ideal body shape of a woman in the 1920s.  Designing the pattern for the top took several tries and mockups.  

The original middy blouse was designed to unbutton at the hips and pull over the head.  When I went to try this, as you lifted the doll's arms over her head, you couldn't pull the open neckline over the width.  I tried a couple of variations on this, but dressing a doll takes special considerations.  So, I opened it at the front and concealed it with snaps.  The tie helps hide the design as well.

There was only so much width I'd could give the blouse to gather into the hip band, so the blouson effect is almost indistinguishable.  

The knickers had the same issue.  Due to the doll's wide hips and thighs, there was only so much width I could add to the pattern without her behind looking baggy.  So much of this is study of a photograph and guess and by gosh.  There was definitely a time when I was ready to give up and call it unsuccessful and move on.  

I don't sit down to a premade pattern and zip through a fashion in one afternoon. Every costume I make is unique and begins from scratch,

but I'm diligent, determined in my approach if nothing else.

Tiny "Barbie" buttons were decoratively sewn on the sides of the hip band to give the impression of side-buttoning.  About the hip band, the fabric arrived as a much brighter color.  I spent two days tea dying a section of fabric to tone it down.  Three strong bags of Tetley's British Blend tea still didn't deliver the results I wanted, but I had to move forward.  I tea dyed a good section of fabric so I had plenty to work with when constructing the cap.

I often think of a young woman walking into a clothing shop and purchasing such a garment.  Today, we purchase separates from different departments, but given the nature of these costumes, I would imagine you would have purchased something like this as a set.

The hat took several mock ups as well.  Rather than four conical pieces sewn together, this one took six.  Again and again, I redrew,

recut, restitched the pieces together to get a good fitting cap.  Measuring only helps at the onset, and getting the look and shape right takes a lot longer.  And the hat needs to fit over whatever wig the doll is wearing.  In retrospect, the brim of this bucket hat could have been a little wider, but even I get frustrated and need to call it on occasion.  I wouldn't call this a standard bucket hat like we wear today, because when turned up, the brim of this hat fits snuggly against the head yet has a tiny downturn over the brow.  Shadowing in the photograph didn't help me any, but I figured it out.

I began researching fishing baskets.  As I mentioned earlier, I don't fish and all the components it requires took some research.  This style of basket is called a creel.  And the little hole in the top is used for tucking in a fish once caught.  The shapes varied slightly, and because I've never learned the art of basket weaving, I created a more simplified version of the antique one shown here.  What a pretty thing it would make as a

decoration with a silk flower arrangement in it!  I often give myself wider bandwidth in designing these accessories because one never knows what the actual piece looked like brand new.  Right? As I write up this journaling, I'm tempted to "antique" Lacie's creel with a darkened vanish.  You may have noticed that these photos are very bright.  I'm trying using the auto-adjust color feature of my photo editor and what you see is the result.  In truth, the creel I made Lacie is the correct color. Always thinking, thinking, thinking.

Before moving on to the fly fishing rod and stringer, the original boots I was using were ones that were offered for Grace in her first season.  They were black, had a buckle at the ankle and a toffee brown band at the top.  Large, chunky heels.  What girl in her right mind is going to wade out into a stream wearing 

boots like this?  It bothered me, but the colors were right and I could add a brown sock to fold over the top band.  Then this past weekend while looking for black heels on Facets for Lacie, I spotted these flat foot boots and decided to give them a try.  More waiting.  The flat-footed boots were not designed for the high heel foot but given that Marcia showed them on the foot, and said they'd work, I gave them a try.  No sock I purchased and cut down for Lacie was thin enough for the boots, so these are more like boot toppers.

In the photo to the right, as a last accessory, I included a "stringer" with a bass hooked to it for Lacie to hold.  I have the American Girl of Today fly fishing outfit and accessories from 25 years ago, and a stringer was part of the set.  Given that only very small fish would fit in the hole of that creel, this seemed appropriate.

And finally I'd like to share the fishing rod I made.  Oh I looked.  I didn't want to make the fishing rod, but nothing I found was the right size or would have worked for Lacie.  Correct scale is 

everything to me.  I learned a great deal about these fishing rods recreating one for a 16" fashion doll.  It's no secret that I love making accessories more than sewing, and this gave my brain a good stretch.

These rods are really long.  How people manage to fish with them must require a lot of practice.  They come in two pieces and assemble in the center.  Lacie's does this and this will come in handy when storing it. 

My first question was how long the rod should be.  The recommended length for a woman 5' 9" would be 7' 6" for a short rod used in smaller spaces.  For a medium rod with a longer reach, the length would go up to 8' 6"!!!  I chose the calculations for a short rod based on the photograph in the Sporting Fashions book.

These rods are also very thin and have good flexibility so I chose a 2mm dowel for this purpose.  It also fit nicely inside the jewelry

finding I used to connect the two lengths in the center. I had a heck of a time finding the mini dye cast metal wheels I purchased eons ago, and when found, I used them for the reel. Such wheels are no longer made.  I looked.

The tiny fly was based on the dry fly fishing fly.  There is wet fly fishing and dry fly fishing.  The dry style of fly will resemble a bug to the fish swimming below the water and float on the surface.  The wet fly is supposed to resemble larvae or pupa and has a bead attached to it to sink below the water.  Given the feathered fly in the museum photograph, Lacie is going out dry fly fishing.

I'm super pleased with how the rod turned out considering that the idea of making it gave me pause.  Sometimes a little research and learning about something goes a long way in helping create a mini version.

Late summer/early fall is the perfect time for Lacie to head out to a freshwater stream and cast her rod beneath clear blue skies in view of the changing colors in the trees.

I'm glad I did this one.  I learned a lot in the clothing design as well as about a sport I have zero interest in.  It's funny, but often in movies you'll see men, and women, intently making fly lures with creativity and precision.  I guess that might be half the fun of the sport!  Or it just looks good on film portraying someone who is detail oriented or has a hobby.

There will be other historical costumes, and in particular, I really want to make an Amelia Earhart pilot's costume.  Maybe I'm hoping the VDC will offer one, but in light of the fact that they seem to enjoy gowns and glamour more, I can only hope.  It would be a good project for spring. 

For now, I must turn my thoughts to Halloween and the holidays.  I might work on a long-term project that I can pick up and set down while working on costuming for the holidays, but either way, historical costuming excites and intrigues me, so I will continue making things for my muse, Lacie.

Below are some wonderful images I saved off along the way, of young women fly fishing, and dolls that were depicted fishing.  I hope you enjoy them as well as the changing season on the horizon.