More ubiquity – the walkaway dress

When I saw Butterick B4790 in the pattern book it called to me.

This is a reprinted 50s pattern of a wrap dress that is shaped like a pencil skirt at the front and like a circle skirt at the back.

From a perusal of vintage sewing blogs I discovered that this pattern had been made by just about everyone and was known as the ‘walkaway dress’ because you could "start it after breakfast... walk away in it for luncheon!" I decided on a print and plain combination of cottons for mine.

I lined the front, partly because I was afraid the light fabric would be see-through and partly in an attempt to prevent the dress being dragged backwards by the weight of the circle skirt.

Apart from the hems all the edges are bound – by machine, I had not yet discovered the joys of hand sewing.

 I had planned for this dress to be part of my everyday wardrobe, but my experience of wearing it is that it is a bit awkward. The front skirt catches on things (eg the overskirt, my knees, itself) and bunches up so I am constantly having to smooth it down. The dress requires a petticoat because the edges of the front skirt sometimes creep forward from behind my legs. The circle skirt has a tendency to overlap weirdly in the centre front which loses the pencil skirt/circle skirt effect (although this may be a result of my binding technique).

Front and back closures.

It’s a shame that it is so awkward to wear, as it really is a lovely dress. However, it still serves well as a costume for 1950s themed parties.