Why This 1950s Silhouette Is the Secret Weapon Women Are Using to Dominate the Workplace—And You Need to Know Now!
The Tobie hearkens back to the styles that American ready-to-wear designer Claire McCardell created nearly a century ago. “She loved the practical beauty of a men’s shirt,” says Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, author of Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free. Iterating on its traditional shape, “she did a great deal with shirtwaist and shirt dresses,” and she used constructional elements like pleats to serve as both functional and beautiful details, in a manner very similar to the Tobie.
“I own this dress,” Dickinson prefaces. “I bought it because it was reminiscent of a McCardell.” She goes on to outline its McCardellisms, or the idiosyncratic design elements over which McCardell felt some sort of ownership after bringing them to the masses. They include the pintuck pleating to create an exaggerated waist without corsetry or boning, the front-button closure for easy access—no hard-to-reach zippers—ballooned sleeves for full range of movement, and the hidden side-seam pockets.
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