Blueprints of Fashion by Wade Laboissonniere (1997, Paperback)

I have had this book from Wade Laboissonniere and it is really helpful if you collect patterns of the 1940. It gives concrete concepts and wonderful illustrations to help you date and understand the reason for the fashion trends of the 1940s. There is a lot of information to help you date a pattern from the pattern number and the envelope design and that is just great. It also has a lot of information about the regulations of the war years and the Homefront restrictions. There is also a really interesting section on the dolls that were marketed by the major pattern companies to teach teens and young girls about the construction of a frock or gown. I would not be without this book and I use it several times a week. This is a must have for the pattern collector.
I hope you've found this guide useful. If you have, please take the time to vote for the guide. If you have any questions not answered in the guide or suggestions for other guides (I love writing them!), please click on my username in the top right hand corner to send me a message.

Wade Laboissonniere has written 2 books to assist the vintage pattern collector. I recommend this book for both the novice and experienced collector. I purchased this book to help with dating my patterns, but there is more to the book than just vintage pattern dating. Chapter 3 is dedicated to 1940s style and covers the various influences that molded that style, such as war restrictions. Also covered is New York City, Hollywood, and postwar style. The icing on the cake is about 100 pages of lucious illustrations of various kinds of vintage sewing patterns. The dating methods Laboissonniere employs are number series, combined with envelope appearance as well as style of dress. Also included is helpful information regarding conservation, storage & cataloging of your patterns. (Best take away tip: Sort your vintage patterns by company, year, and pattern number. Make photocopies or scans of the front of all the pattern envelopes in your collection and store them in binders or the electronic files in folders on your computer. The more patterns you have, the more detailed your filing system will hve to be in order to find the pattern you want. Some people just file by type of clothing: Evening gowns, Coats, swimsuits, etc.) I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in vintage sewing.