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Clothes and Costume Inspiration from Phryne Fisher

September 15, 2023 11 Comments on Clothes and Costume Inspiration from Phryne Fisher

The clothes of Phryne Fisher, or "Miss Fisher", the protagonist of the popular TV series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, have been inspiration to countless people. Phryne Fisher has the best vintage style! The series is set in the 1920s and there are loads of amazing clothes to be inspired by. And she wears them so well! We love Miss Fisher's clothes here at Folkwear as well, and hear from many of you about how much you love them also, so thought we would do a little "Find That Pattern" from some of her on-screen outfits.

three photos of Miss Fisher in a red cheongsam

First up, this this great bright red cheongsam. Popular in the 1920s, this dress developed from a Westernized version of traditional Chinese dress. You can make your own with our 122 Hong Kong Cheongsam.

On left is line drawing of the cheongsam and on the right is an image of a woman wearing a teal quilted long cheongsam.

Phryne Fisher wearing a black embroidered silk kimono. Her back is to the camera and she's looking over her left shoulder.

Western fashion was strongly influenced by Asian fashion and art in the 1920s, and a kimonos (and haori) show up in several Miss Fisher episodes. This particular one has stunning embroidery on black silk. You can make something similar with our 129 Japanese Hapi and Haori or 113 Japanese Kimono patterns.

Right side is a young woman wearing a black Haori with a floral print; left side is line drawings of a Hapi and haori front and back.

Man and woman dressed in safari clothes from the 1920s walking in a street, looking at each other

To get the look of this safari jacket and suit, you could use our 130 Australian Bush Outfit. The series (and books and movie) take place mostly in Australia, so this pattern is perfect! Our pattern has jacket, trousers, and shorts for men and women.

On the right is a Black woman wearing a khaki safari jacket standing in front of a white door, and on the left is line drawings of jacket, trousers, and shorts from the pattern.

Two women walking along a road, one waring a maritime middie and skirt and the other wearing a mans suit.

Next is this wonderful sailor outfit for a jaunty stroll down the boardwalk (or jetty) - a middie shirt with a classic pleated skirt. Use our 211 Two Middies to make a shirt like this! Extend the length to get the same look - lengthen/shorten lines are provided for the body and sleeves of this shirt.

On left is line drawings of one Middie shirt, front and back. On right is image of a woman wearing a blue middle blouse with a white scarf around the neck and through the shirts scarf holder

Miss Fisher in a black velvet duster holding a gun on the left; Miss Fisher wearing a tan duster and aviator goggles and a scarf in front of a yellow plane on the right.

Miss Fisher wears dusters quite often. You can use 230 Model T Duster to make these looks. The 230 Model T Duster is based on a 1920s traveling, or car, duster that would have been worn to keep off the dirt and grime of travel. Make it in velvet for the top left look, or khaki canvas for the top right look.

On the right is the duster worn by a woman walking away from a wooden building. On the left is line drawings of the two views for 230 Model t Duster.

Woman and man dancing tango wearing a black and silver dress and a black suit with a hat.

And of course, if you are interested in making something like this tango dress, we have a great pattern for it, the 237 Tango Dress with two views.

On the right, a woman wearing a champaign colored tango dress facing the camera and a shot of the back of the dress. On the left, line drawings of two views front and back.

Miss Fisher wearing a red dress with sheer short flutter sleeves, outside and looking over her right shoulder.

A similar dress to this beautiful number is our 249 1930s Day Dress. The flutter sheer flutter sleeves are a great design element and View B of this pattern has flutter sleeves that would be perfect for this.

On the right is a woman wearing a pale blue rayon 1930s day dress with flutter sleeves and a collar. On the left is the line drawing for the dress front and back.

Miss Fisher walking toward camera wearing a silk print swing coat with a white suit undernearth.

This coat is similar to our 254 Swing Coat. Add a loose lining to the swing coat and make it from a drapey fabric and you could have something very much like this beauty.

On the right, a woman walking toward the camera carrying a bag in the right hand and wearing a green swing coat. On the left, line drawings of the coat front and back.

Miss Fisher wearing a black overcoat with trim on front edges and cuffs; and a head shot of her in a green cloche.

This coat and hat ensemble is so similar to our 262 Spectator Coat, which is a popular pattern for making a fabulous vintage coat. The 262 Spectator Coat includes two views and two hats - a cloche and a turban (very much like the hats above).

Miss Fisher dancing in black sparkly dress with a man in a black tux.

While this looks like Miss Fisher is dancing flamenco (and we have a fabulous Flamenco Dress and Skirt pattern), this is also very reminiscent of our 1920s-inspired 264 Monte Carlo Dress.

Images on right are of a woman wearing a maroon monte carlo dress and a woman twirling in the dress and overcape. On the left are line drawings of the pattern front and back.

Miss Fisher wearing a blue velvet cocoon coat trimmed with white fur.

Finally, this stunning coat can be made with our 503 Poriet Cocoon Coat - a design from the early 1920s. So elegant!

We do have a few other patterns that would also work for a Miss Fisher inspired outfit, such as our 269 Metropolitan Hat, our 1920s Flapper Dress (PDF), and our 270 Metro Middy Blouse.

Which patterns do you like the best? What Miss Fisher outfits would you like to recreate?