Clik here to view.
Clash of the Titans: Goddess Gowns
Oscar season is upon us, and that means goddess gowns. Goddess gowns usually share elements of classical drapery and the simple construction of the toga and chiton. Here’s a selection of patterns for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Year of the Snake: Vogue 2086 by Alexander McQueen for Givenchy, Part 1
I’m a little late to the party, but—as part of Anne of Pretty Grievances’ Jungle January event, I thought it would be fun to use a reptile print to make the strapless dress from Vogue 2086, the first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: Alexander McQueen Kimono Jacket
Photo: Nick Knight. Image via SHOWstudio. Alexander McQueen would have been 44 today. On the occasion of his birthday, here’s a look back at the free pattern McQueen shared with SHOWstudio: the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Just Married: Badgley Mischka
After 28 years together, Mark Badgley and James Mischka of Badgley Mischka were married in New York last weekend. To celebrate, here’s a look back at two decades of Badgley Mischka sewing patterns....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis: Vogue Patterns, Part 2
Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer 1993 ‘grunge’ collection for Perry Ellis was a succès de scandale, a landmark collection that got him fired and continues to provoke debate. (See my earlier Marc Jacobs for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: Junya Watanabe Dress
Model: Gemma Ward. Photo: Nick Knight. Image via SHOWstudio. To celebrate this week’s opening of PUNK: Chaos to Couture at the Costume Institute in New York, I’ll be posting about two free patterns for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: John Galliano Jacket
Model: Louise Pedersen. Photo: Craig McDean. Image via SHOWstudio. This week’s second punk-inspired pattern puts the ‘couture’ in Chaos to Couture. (The first punk-inspired pattern was by Junya...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mamma Mia: Designer Maternity Patterns
Detail of Vogue 1689 (1995) Image via Etsy. Last year, Peter of Male Pattern Boldness posted a general survey of vintage maternity patterns. Sewing patterns for designer maternity wear have a different...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vera Wang: Vogue Patterns
Vera Wang with Ralph Lauren at the CFDA Awards, June 3, 2013. Last night Vera Wang was honoured with the CFDA’s Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. (Read style.com’s article here; Voguepedia bio...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: Stephen Jones Hat
Model: Erin O’Connor. Photo: Nick Knight. Image via SHOWstudio. Royal Ascot begins tomorrow. What better way to celebrate than with a free designer millinery pattern, for a Stephen Jones hat called...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: Matthew Williamson Caftan
Photo: Jason Hetherington. Image via the Guardian. Now that summer is truly here, this instalment in my Free Designer Patterns series is devoted to a hot weather essential: a caftan, one that Matthew...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bruce Oldfield: Style Patterns
Princess Diana on the cover of People weekly, July 1985. Image via bruceoldfield.com. With Oliver Hirschbiegel’s “Diana” opening in North American theatres this weekend, this post is devoted to a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: Juliana Sissons Hobble Dress
Blitz magazine, 1985. Model: Scarlett Cannon. Photo: Monica Curtin. Image via the V&A. As part of the current V&A exhibition, Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s, Juliana Sissons is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alberta Tiburzi
Alberta Tiburzi in Balenciaga. Harper’s Bazaar, 1967. Photo: Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi). Image via modeSPIRIT. Born in Rome, Alberta Tiburzi began her modelling career in Italy in the 1960s. She later...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: Antony Price Evening Dress
Antony Price’s Macaw dress. Image via SHOWstudio. Just in time for the recent Eighties revival, SHOWstudio’s 2009 instalment in its Design Download series was an evening dress by Antony Price. Short,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Anna Sui: Vogue Patterns, Part 1
Linda Evangelista in Anna Sui, Harper’s Bazaar, August 1995. Photo: Patrick Demarchelier. Anna Sui (b. 1955) is beloved for her playfully postmodern designs. Sui collections are typically full of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Free Designer Pattern: J.W.Anderson Top and Skirt
Model: Alexandra O’Connor. Photo: Jon Emmony. Image via SHOWstudio on Twitter. SHOWstudio’s latest Design Download is a free pattern for a top and balloon skirt by J.W.Anderson. Anderson, who is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Anna Sui: Vogue Patterns, Part 2
Anna Sui cosmetics and fragrance campaign, spring 1999. This week, the second part of my series on Vogue patterns by Anna Sui. (See Part 1 here.) 5. Anna Sui, Spring/Summer 1999 collection Sui’s Spring...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vogue 2248 by Alexander McQueen for Givenchy
I made the first of my patterns by Alexander McQueen for Givenchy: the cowl-neck sheath dress, Vogue 2248. (See my earlier post here.) Vogue 2248 by Alexander McQueen for Givenchy (1999) I had planned...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Schiaparelli Patterns, Part 1
Guinevere Van Seenus in vintage 1930s Schiaparelli, Vogue, May 2012. Photo: Steven Meisel. Image via vogue.com. Have you heard? The house of Schiaparelli, founded by the legendary Elsa Schiaparelli...
View Article