Well, the new patterns have been up on the Vogue Patterns website for several days now and I am still working through my thoughts. Generally, I have been happy with this collection and I see a lot of good things here; that is precisely what makes it difficult to write about, because there is SO much I want to say.
You know, when you have been sewing for a long time it is very easy to get jaded about patterns. I suppose it is easy to get jaded about clothes to, but this comes more quickly to sewists because I think we notice the shapes and seam lines and basic construction details of a garment more than the average shopper does. What happens is that when you have been sewing a long time, and buying patterns, you come to a point where you have seen most everything before; you have probably worn it, and you might even have a previous version of the same basic silhouette in your pattern stash.
Styles get recycled. This is not unique to sewing patterns of course. Styles get recycled in the store as well and certain garments never really change that much. Look at jackets. There are only so many shapes for jackets that will fit a human body. Even among the high-end fashion houses, there tend to be several shapes and cuts that are standard. The details might change season to season, but Chanel, for example, always has a series of jackets in a certain style. The changes are variations that could be made on any basic pattern.
Of course we might or might not want to make that pattern.
And of course, we also always want something new, so it is hard to ignore that little devil on our shoulders that says "I wore that in 1991" or "i have a pattern just like that from the 80s". So of course, in the new crop of Vogue patterns, there are patterns that I may have seen before, and some that are variations on things I have seen before. But even that is not all bad, because just because I sewed style X in the 90s doesn’t mean that everyone else who is sewing today was sewing in the 90s and remembers that style. Let the younger sewists have their chance too. I always remember when I was in college, and I was reading some book or another that was popular among my classmates, and my father said "I read that when I was in college" as if to imply that he was surprised that anyone would still be reading it. Of course, my classmates and I were reading it at the same age that a previous generation read the same book. I think the continuity in that is pretty neat. Think of what we might have missed had the book gone out of print, or a pattern not be re-issued just because something similar had been in the catalog 10 or 20 years before. That said Vogue Patterns does seem to have a history of issuing a pattern for a style a year or so after it was "new" then leaving it in the catalog for years, and jerking it just before it becomes "new" again.
But on to this crop of patterns. Thee are quite a few nice patterns, some I have seen before, some that are interesting new variations on old classics. I think there are 15 patterns that I find interesting. I won’t buy them all, they wouldn’t all look good on me, and some of them are really close enough to previous iterations existing in my stash that I don’t need to purchase them again. They are still interesting.
I really like this Donna Karen dress and jacket. The dress is interesting and I think the jacket looks great with the dress. I also like the cut of the jacket and looking at the line drawings I think this could be really attractive on. This is one I might consider buying. The empire line is something that I can sometimes wear and sometimes not. The more I think about it I am sure it is a proportion issue and if I get the proportion right it looks really good. For example I look good in a long empire line evening dress because it masks the fact that my torso is long and my legs are short. I think the same effect can be worked out with a shorter dress, but in this case, getting the length just right would be critical. In my case that would mean definitely below the knee and a dress to be worn with heels. Wearing the dress with the jacket will also make a difference. Notice how the jacket si short and echoes the empire line. The jacket also reminds me, in spirit of some things I saw at Chanel this spring. The cut of the Chanel jackets is somewhat different, but the impression is similar and I think this cut would be far more flattering.
This is another style that keeps coming back, with good reason, because it can be quite flattering. I have an old Yves Saint Laurent pattern for a blouse in this shape designed for a woven that I mad many times in silk. I have another knit pattern (this one is a knit) from a few years back as well. I also have several tops that I got at Banana Republic this fall in a fine silky knit that I think are cut more like this pattern than the one I have. This one has that squre neckline under the drape which constrains the drape a little bit. My older pattern is fuller and lies different, not at all like my Banana Republic tops. At this point, since I haven’t actually looked at the pattern pieces I don’t know if this is cut differently from the previous pattern, but it does look like the neckline is slightly different and this might be worth looking into further.
As I mentioned earlier, I still love this blouse. It is a must buy for me, even though I think I am much more likely to wear it tucked in to my skirt or pants, and I might make the sleeves less full, so I can wear it under a cardigan or jacket, although I can also see it without the jacket with a fabulous pair of man-tailored style pants and stilettos. The sleeveless versions are not for me, unless I am going for that under jacket look perhaps.
These pants are nice and the fit is good. Style-wise they appear to be a variation on a pant pattern Sandra Betzina had out a few years ago. That one is discontinued now but it was a great pant. I know the pattern company discontinues patterns regularly, and there is a limit to how many Sandra Betzina patterns can be in the catalog at any given time, so things get discontinued. I suppose then that variations on successful themes are inevitable. I like the pant, I have seen it on, it is a winner if you like her patterns. It is enough different from the previous pant I might get it as well. Sometimes it is just easier to buy a new pattern than fiddle with changing an old one, especially since the old one is no longer my current size anyway.
I love this pattern. I loved it when I saw it on the back of the Vogue pattern magazine. When I look at the line drawings I love it even more. I have the perfect fabric in my collection, a fabric I bought for something else (probably some other company’s variation on this shape as it seems to be an eternally popular design idea) but which is now going to be used for this jacket. Now, as I said this is a shape you see around a lot.
It is said that all these patterns are inspired by this Vogue pattern, which I have and have made several times in a couple of different types of fabrics. The look is similar, yes, but if you look at the line drawings you will see that the pattern pieces are entirely different and that the new Sandra Betzina pattern is going to drape entirely differently than this original Geoffrey Beene jacket. I would use fabrics for the Betzina that I might not have used for the Beene. I am, in fact, looking forward to exploring this new variation on a theme.
This is a great little jacket and a great little suit. I am not going to buy it because I already own multiple varations on this theme. I have made jackets like this and I have purchased suits with this cut. I like the shape of the princess lines, the darts, and the two-piece sleeves. If I didn’t alreay have several versions of this jacket I would certainly consider it. But then I have a weakness for this kind of feminine yet tailored dressmaker suit.
This is one of those patterns that I looked at originally, said "meh" and almost passed right by. Then I looked at it more closely and realized it was worth a second look. Yes, at first glance it looks like a rather boring suit.
But look at the drawings:
First look at the skirt: I have similar skirts, they were popular a while back (80s or 90s). It sits higher near the waist and it has fullness that can help if you have a bit of a tummy. In fact this skirt can give you a waist and mask a bit of roundness through the middle. I loved these even when I was young because even though I had a small waist, I always had a round tummy, no flat tummy girl I, and this kind of skirt was always flattering. Now it can accent my waist, making it look more defined that it is, and still hide some of that tummy bulge. Might not work for everyone but it does work for me. It is also a flattering shape if you have a bit of hip, it doesn’t hide the fact that they are there, but it accents the curve in a flattering way.
Now look at the jacket. Boring right? You’ve seen it before, right? Well, yes, that is what I thought too, but look at the line drawings. Look at the way the jacket has a square shoulder and a set in sleeve in front and a raglan shoulder in back. I see all kinds of fitting possibilities here and think it would be a lot of fun to fit this jacket. I might end up cursing myself later, but perhaps not.
Now, as I am going on and on, I will end this post and continue my pattern ramblings in another post, I’m sure this one is going to be slow enough to load as it is.
My Christmas present from G was a subscription to Patrones, airmail from Spain, but he didn’t fill out the on line subscription form until after Christmas, even though he told me that was what he was getting me. We thought it would start with the February issue. Usually subscriptions take longer than that to get started in the good old USA, but then Spain is a little different apparently, and the January issue arrived, and it is still January, although just barely.
