German Fashion in Photos from the Collection of Randy Mckeithan

 First and foremost, this post was made possible because of the generosity of Randy Mckeithan for allowing me to share some of his extensive personal collection. He gave me quite a few to study and this is one of them. I am so excited about these and I hope you are too! Make sure to say thank you to Randy! 

To start off, we have a lovely young couple from the 1940s.  I am not an expert or even a novice when it comes to uniforms so I will not be talking about what the young man is wearing but I will be all about what this young lady is! She is wearing a smartly tailored dress that is actually very indicative of the 1940s. It has the classic squared and padded shoulder. Other features of her outfit include the high neckline with collar, what appear to be covered buttons, and a pleated skirt that looks like a dropped waist. Why do I think this is not a two-piece dress suit? If you look close at the line at her hips, it is smooth and not bulky. It appears to be a seam of a dress and not the overlap of a suit jacket and skirt. 

Although the flowers she is holding are beautiful, they obscure what she is wearing but I suspect it is a cut of dress I have seen before. It's a style that is unique but has a top section, a mid-section, and then the skirt section. To describe this dress better, I have included at the bottom of this post a page from my 1941 Der Goldene Schnitt book detailing what I *think* is the cut of this lady's charming frock. Another option is that her bodice is all in one like a typical bodice, but her skirt is set into a yoke to offer a smooth fit at the hips before flaring outward. I have included a pattern illustration and diagram for that option as well from the same 1941 Der Golden Schnitt book. 

As for her shoes, they appear to have some sort of embellishment on the top but I am not too certain what it could be. Her hair is curled and has some awesome wave action going on at the top while the sides are pinned back and smooth. Her legs appear to be darker than the rest of her exposed skin so I am thinking she may be sporting some seamed stockings as well. Of course, the best accessory she is wearing is her smile. Many thanks Randy! You are too generous!

Photo from the collection of Randy Mckeithan

Here are the pattern book illustrations and pattern diagrams I mentioned above. I think her dress could be one of these layouts, but I am not certain. I will let you decide because since the flowers are hiding the truth, any idea is only a speculation. Both are from 1941 and you can see how the dresses were cut to clothe the figure.