"Iconic" sweaters from the 1940s!

  • Thread starter Thread starter lindapoirier
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lindapoirier said:
Thank you. You are so kind to indulge me. A book? You flatter me! It would, for me, be a lot of work because I would want to research all those companies and give a history of each. Then, I would have about 4 people in the world who would be interested in buying said book!!!

I do enjoy my little obsession, though. I got these two over the weekend on Ebay. I'd seen the green one before and managed to snag this one for $69 and I got the eagle too. I have the Welgrume eagle short-sleeve sweater already. I love the colors in the new one and it is a Campus sweater.

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I wonder, sometimes, who had the idea and images first??? It seems so many images are "adopted" by so many different manufacturers. The most popular has to be the "deer". Every company has a 40s or 50s image. It's insane. The most wonderful image I have seen on a sweater, aside from the ones I own, was a mermaid. It was a short-sleeved sweater like my Welgrume "eagle with fish". It went out of my price range and I didn't save the image. I wish you guys could see it.
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I'd be very interested in a book! Hopefully one comes around.
 
Wow, I want that bunny sweater :hysterical:. I'm by no way an expert but the bunny and swan sweaters look machine-knit to me, not hand-knitted. But of course you could do it by hand. Not that difficult, it's an easy shape, it would just be a pattern that would take time and a lot of counting... not something I would knit in front of the TV, though I am getting better at this! I've just finished my first cardigan with some kind of ajour pattern - went quicker than I thought but I still have to put it together (that actually is the most tedious part!).

Karin
 
Wow - amazing! That Egyptian sweater is amazing! Now that the worst at work is over, I hope can get "down" a bit again and finish the last few things I've started working on. I will post that cardigan for sure once it's finished!
I have bought some vintage Mary Maxim patterns (which I only know about thanks to the VFG!) for kid's sweaters, which I want to make for my cousin's boy. One with a steam train, and one with a pirate motif for when he's a bit older. I think they're so cool!

Karin
 
Linda, all your sweaters are making me smile! So thanks :)

I bought my husband a great sweater a while back, and would like to take a photo of it and post it next week to see if you think it's 40s... after looking at all your pics I think it may be.
 
There's a sweater company near me in Stowe, Dia North of Boston, which is doing plays on these great vintage designs.

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OK, so my husband's sweater is not very exciting compared to the ones you've posted... But I have always wondered if it's 40s or 50s. It's from Simpson's and is made in Austria, and has wonderful colors and is super well-made and thick. What do you think?

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I am LOVING this thread! I wanted to chime in earlier but kept putting it off. These sweaters are fabulous. And to learn about the designers is priceless...who knew that the great Travis Banton (and the others) did sweaters for Catalina? Well, not me! Just wonderful.

I do agree a book is in order. I also agree that having the resources to write one is daunting and damn near impossible for us working girls.....takes years and years and money helps! But we would all love to see you write one about those sweaters. Yum!

:cheer:
 
I love that sweater Linda! I'd wear that in a heartbeat :wub: what do you do with all your sweaters? surely you have too many to display at once?
 
Wow, you scored for $14.99! I love that.

My husband's sweater is actually coral/orange and chartreuse! Not really bright, but definitely green. The kind of color combo many people call ugly but I think is fabulous. :) It is all-wool, very thick, and very smooth and not itchy. I'm away from home but will try to snap a pic of the label later.
 
lindapoirier said:
most 40s sweaters I've seen have a very high (in length) waist band. It's a telltale sign for 40s sweaters...
...Melanie, the wool in the 40s sweaters is very fine. I'd compare some of them to Merino wool of today. They fold really small and it's easy to store them. The ads make them look thick and bulky but they aren't heavy or bulky at all. Very form fitting and much like how a cashmere sweater would fit today. I wear them and store them like any other sweater.
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That's really interesting you've noticed that Linda, I wonder if you could take a look at this altered sweater I have? which seems to have both the fine knit and high waistband you speak of, but nobody was really sure of it's original date: http://forums.vintagefashionguild.o...nstarsia-knitted-sweater-vest-tank-top.49592/
 
I've never heard a specific term for a short sleeved sweater. A sleeveless sweater, I call a tanktop, but I think that's a British term? not sure.

Sweater terms seem vary a lot between countries. In the UK we generally use jumper, more than sweater. I think in the US a jumper means what I would call a pinafore dress? In the UK, pullover is synonymous with sweater or jumper. I used to hear jersey for sweater as well, though you don't hear that much anymore. That came about from a specific style of sweater from island of Jersey, but became a more generic term.
 
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