Hollywood Patterns

Created by Conde Nast in 1932, the Hollywood Pattern Company quickly became popular due to the photos of favorite radio and movie stars that graced the envelopes.  Collectors of Hollywood memorabilia often look for sleeves with their favorite stars.  Original pattern prices ranged from 15 cents to 25 cents.  Their manufacture stopped after World War II and due to their short production span they are harder to find and considered highly collectible.  The patterns with a STAR from the War years are the most prized of all. 

 

Hollywood patterns with the Movie Stars are sometimes easy to date.  If the bio mentions "Starring in...." you can go to the Internet Movie Data Base and search the Star and the particular movies and get real close to the year.

Dating on the early Hollywood patterns doesn't seem to be as important and the front cover content and the stars that were featured.


 

A starlette knew they had arrived when they were featured on a Hollywood Pattern Cover.  Their head shot and a personalized design and artist rendering was there for the world to see.  This type of publicity during the Great Depression entered more homes than magazines and newspapers. 

Here is a partial list of some of the Stars and wanna be stars.  More added as they are found.  If you have a Hollywood featuring a star not on the list please feel free to send me the information.

 

Adrienne Ames
Lucille Ball
Joan Bennett
Joan Blondell
Katherine Booth
Jane Bryan
Mary Carlise
Claudette Colbert
Bette Davis
Olivia De Havilland
Delores Del Rio
Gloria Dickson
Claire Dodd
Ellen Drew
Ann Dvorack
Frances Dee
Patricia Ellis
Lucille Fairbanks
Glenda Farrell
Geraldine Fitzgerald
Susanna Foster
Kay Francis
Betty Furness

 

Franciska Gaal
Betty Grable
Bonita Granville
Katherine Hepburn
Ann Harding
Rochelle Hudson
Dorothy Jordan
Ruby Keeler
Lola Lane
Priscilla Lane
Rosemary Lane
Vivian Leigh
Margaret Lindsay
Carole Lombard
Anita Louise
Ida Lupino
Mary Maguire
Patricia Moran
Jean Muir

 

Martha O'Driscoll
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Sullivan
Merle Oberon
Glenda Parnell
Pat Patterson
Shirley Patterson
Barbara Read
Ginger Rogers
Ann Rutherford
Ann Sheriden
Anne Shirley
Sylvia Sidney
Ginny Sims
Gale Sondergaard
Barbara Stanwyck
Gloria Stuart
Verree Teasdale
Ruth Warrick
Marie Wilson
Marjorie Woodworth
Jane Wyman
Charlene Wyatt

 

  

Hollywood Ruby Keeler Pattern 1932 Hollywood Claudette Colbert Pattern 1933 Holywood Jean Muir Pattern 1934
1932 Ruby Keeler 1933 Claudette Colbert 1934 Jean Muir
Hollywood Bette Davis Pattern 1935 Hollywood Ann Harding Pattern 1936 Hollywood Pattern Catalog Glenda Parnell 1937
1935 Bette Davis 1936 Ann Harding 1937 Numbers 1377-1433
Hollywood Gloria Stuart Pattern 1938 Hollywood Pattern Catalog Olivia de Haviland 1939 Hollywood Lucille Ball Pattern 1939
1938 Gloria Stuart 1939 Numbers 1706-1887 1939 Lucille Ball
Hollywood Lucille Ball Pattern 1940 Hollywood Pattern Catalog Olivia de Haviland 1941 Hollywood Betty Grable 1941
1940 Lucille Ball 1941 Numbers 735-753 1941 Betty Grable
Hollywood Four Star Pattern 1942 Hollywood Four Star Pattern 1943 Hollywood Four Star Pattern 1944
1942 1943 1944
Hollywood Pattern 1945 Hollywood Pattern 1946 Hollywood Pattern 1947
1945 1946 1947
 

After several years selling and handling old sewing patterns and catalogs, I have compiled this list of dates and pattern numbers.  Since most patterns are not printed with the copyright information on them this list is computed using information from magazines, pattern books and other published sources.  The best I can do most of the time is assume that if a pattern is published in a catalog that is it's date of release.  There are of course crossovers and some patterns are rereleased.  So there is definitely room for error in my calculations. 

This guide is meant as just that.......A GUIDE.  It is not a definitive copyright date source.

 

 

1932
1000-1099
1933
1100-1199
1934
1200-1299
1935
1300-1399
1936
1400-1499
1937
1500-1599
1938
1600-1705
1939
1706-1928
1940
1929-1998   400-558
1941
559-788
1942
804-1021
1943
1022-1255
1944
1256-1489
1945
1490-1770
1946
1770-1972
1947
1972-2170

 

 

Many Thanks to: Erin at "A Dress A Day" for creating the wonderful "Sewing Pattern Wiki", all of the contributors to the Wiki, and all of my wonderful friends and pattern sellers, (especially Birgit at Stitches and Loops ) and collectors who share their information and photos and knowledge.  (there are too many to list here, but you can find them on my Links Page,) and last but definitely not least, my Dear Husband for giving me tons of help and encouragement to research all of the data to compile for your research benefit.

 
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