Sorry, Waists Are Shrinking!

The 'Fashion Staff' at Pictorial Review in 1939 warns us of an up-coming crisis! You could choose from these patterns put out by Pictorial Review, but it looks like you had no choice about the fit...you were going to have to suck it in! 

"The full skirt and broad shoulders of the dress above conspire to make your waist look minuscule. The wide band seizing you through the middle dramatizes the contrast twixt wide hemline and tiny waist." Pictorial Review Pattern 9600

"The neck is high, the bodice draped and full, the skirt slim with a full draped panel. The waist is the focal point of the dress; a belt gathers the fabric to as few inches as your anatomy permits." Pictorial Review Pattern 9597

"A dress with swing pleats for action, extremely wide shoulders. Again the tidy, belted waist contrasts boldly with the more ample curves above and below. Not quite an hour-glass figger, but something like." Pictorial Review Pattern 9594

"The new dress that falls with full abandon from a round yoke, exactly like an old fashion shift! A nubbin of a belt clutches all the width of fabric firmly at the waist, giving you a Victorian middle." Pictorial Review Pattern 9604