Seeking Period Clothing

[Hegelian]

I have been looking for clothing that would be appropriate for a period spanning (roughly) the 1920s through the 1940s, in the U.S. I am not necessarily looking for formal or business clothes, but rather the sort of thing folks would wear as everyday "casual" wear (an anachronism for the period in question, I know), in a town or small city—in other words, I'm not looking for flapper dresses or gangster suits, or New York fashion; nor am I looking for Happy Days kitsch. I'm thinking more along the lines of a small-town lawyer, the woman who runs the local grocery, or Flem Snopes.

I have found a few things, but unfortunately the people who have the most talent for clothing meshes and recolors are focused on contemporary fashion and glitz, and I need something more mundane—the sort of thing average, working- and middle-class people would wear on a daily basis. Some things I have found that would be suitable are too clumsily done, or one-dimensional. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!   

[Lorelei]

Parsimonious may have some Flapper gear.


For general interest, a neat photoblog I found recently is http://www.shorpy.com, with early photos, 1930s posters, and so on. May inspire you when looking at contemporary clothing, as some can be considered accurate when compared to that which is worn in some of the photos.

[notveryawesome]

Hmmm, it seems that there are already some 20s and depression-era outfits in the original Maxis catalogues, such as the girls' outfit with a long skirt, long jacket, and boots, and some modest adult female dresses like the one Wanda Tinker wears, as well as flapper-type evening dresses. I assume you just want more variety? Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of male clothing from that era. Men's suits have changed very little since the late 19th century / early 20th century. The main thing that changes is the ties and the cut of the jackets. Men during the 20s and 30s mostly wore very thin bowties with 3-piece linen or wool suits (of the non-tuxedo variety). I recall seeing photos of field-workers from that era wearing white undershirts (tank tops or 'wife beaters') with suspenders, loose-fitting trousers, workboots, and often fedora-style hats, lol. Alas, I haven't seen anything like that for sims. Too bad. This sounds like an interesting project.

I just remembered that Regina at bogsims did some retro men's clothing and hair that might suit (forgive the pun) a 40s theme, complete with fedoras.

[Flamingo]

This site offers a few links for 1920's and 1930's downloads. I'm not quite sure if it's what you're looking for as I haven't looked through it yet.

[TaWanda]

Have you seen these yet, at All About Style?

[sewinglady]

A second not to All About Style... definitely the place for 20's and 30's stuff. 

One of the EPs or SPs had some flapper-y stuff, too.  Might have been Glamour one... I can't remember... anyway, several people used the meshes from that and made some decent stuff at TSR - you'll have to search around for it, though.

[Hegelian]

Hey, thanks for all the suggestions. I've found more than enough for my purposes . . . in fact, I found enough interesting stuff that I may need to recast my "project."

For general interest, a neat photoblog I found recently is http://www.shorpy.com, with early photos, 1930s posters, and so on.

Yes, this is pretty interesting, especially for someone with my background. It is particularly sobering to be reminded in such a graphic way of what life was like for people who had to work. But I know you like the site because of the Flying Cat:




 

[rosenshyne]

This creator has some prairie dresses that could be used for farmer's wives from that period: http://www.modthesims2.com/member/download.php?f=38&page=1&u=77029&showType=1&showAll=1

[akatonbo]

Seen these? http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=238324

And a few other things by the same creator. Especially useful if you have any Scots or Irish families in your neighborhood, but some of it will work just as well for families of other origins.

[gypsylady]

Have you seen these at MTS2?

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=243555