I have loved this dress ever since I found a copy of the full-color photograph in Life Magazine years ago. I am sure it has sat in the back of my head ever since, silently feeding my love for the 1950s silhouette and serving as part of the inspiration for my Girls' Classic 1950s Shirt Dress pattern and my Ladies' Classic 1950s Wardrobe pattern. I never attempted to reproduce it for myself, but, once I settled on Paris as one of the stops on my 2019 Historical Fashion tour, I knew it had to be: I simply had to make a recreation of Dior's Palais de Glace dress to wear while in Paris!

My 12-year-old student made your lovely shirtdress and won Best of Show among other 1st placements in our county fair. Thought you might want to share the joy. I am so proud of her!!! She loved your pattern. Her inspiration was Lucy Ricardo from "I Love Lucy." ~ Adriana W.

This is a fun, easy-to-wear shirt dress pattern design for girls ages two to 16. The 1940s shirt dress that emerged during WWII was a practical, utilitarian garment without frills that used less fabric but still had a distinctively feminine shape to it. As the style morphed over the coming decade, it became one of the most recognizable icons of fashion history, worn by everyone from glamorous Grace Kelly to thrifty TV housewife Donna Reed. The New Look ushered in fuller skirts and feminine frills, and, while the more angular look of the 1960s pushed it out of the limelight for a while, it was still a wardrobe staple on into the 1970s and right up to the present. My favorite versions, by far, come from the decade of the 1950s and have inspired this pattern with its fuller skirt.

(Looking for the paper version rather than the ePattern? Purchase from one of our many retailers worldwide! Please note that Patterns of Time carries my entire line and is well stocked.)

If you’d like to purchase all the 1950s ePatterns together (women’s and girls’), you’ll receive a 15% discount! This bundle includes all of the patterns shown here. For more information about each pattern included in this bundle, please browse the individual listings in the Titanic/Teens Era category.[cc_product sku="1950scollection" display="inline" quantity="false" price="true"]

1940s Shirt Dress pattern by Simplicity. The dress on the right would be appropriate to wear to an afternoon party or daytime wedding. The one on the left is suited for shopping or a town outing. Love that heart-shaped pocket!

This 1940s tailored dress pattern has that famous tailored look, this time with the wide, pointed collar that was also seen on men's shirts in the 1940s and early 1950s. The shirt dress has been popular ever since.

Here is a great 1940s woman's playsuit or dress pattern. Note the dropped shoulder yokes with gathers--a common feature in this time period. The styling is the classic shirt dress, which has never gone out of style since.