Figure 1.--This DuBarry shortall pattern was made in size 6. We are not ssure about the date. The reader who submitted it suggested the 1930s. As there is no NRA Eagle, but the Du Berry logo seems like the style used on very early patterns, 1931-33 is possible. Given the logo style and the fact that there is no NRA Eagle, We believe 1932 is the most likely date. This makes it an early example of shortalls.

DuBarry was a trade brand name. The manufacturer was the Simplicity Pattern Company. The first DuBarry patterns appeared in the Woolworth five and dime stores (1931). They were made exclusively for sale by Woolworth. They continued to be sold at Wooworth through 1947. The prices were at first 10-15 cents which can help date them. Dating is a problem as for the most part there are no dates on the pattern. Price is helpful. Early patterns after the launch of the New Deal can also be identified by the New Deal National Recovery Act (NRA) eagle (1933-36). The name of the brand and the logo style used can also help date individual patterns. The original patterns identified the brand as 'du Barry' and DuBarry without any consistency. Finally the brand became consistently 'DuBarry' (1936). The DuBarry patterns were primarily womens' and girls' fashions, but we havefound some boys' patterns. Unfortunarely the pattern numbers are not very helpful in dateing. They seem to fluctate randomly. Some have B behind the number and some have a D in front of the number. This seems to be Simplicity's way of numerically identifying the DuBarry patterns. Some had a T. We are not sure if Simplicity marked these patterns are similar ones under their own brand. The fashion stylesare the best indicator of the date, but of course that is not very useful for HBC where we are trying to find definitive dates to confirm fashion trends.

Created: 5:09 PM 11/11/2010
Last updated: 5:09 PM 11/11/2010