Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Vintage Vogue

So, the new Vogue patterns are out.  There are a few designs that are tempting, and there are two vintage reproductions.  But, once again, I am disappointed.

Vogue 8875

Since joining Pinterest, I am continually amazed by the wealth of beautiful vintage patterns that flash across my screen every day.  They have incredible detailing and are so much more beautiful to me than any modern design.  Why are they not reproducing those patterns?!  It is downright cruel.

Vogue 8875

The Vogue 8875 coat is lovely, but the dress is rather banal.  There is nothing actually wrong with the design, but it might as well be a modern day sheath.

Vogue 8874

The bodice details on Vogue 8874 are somewhat interesting, and to be honest, I am sure I will pick it up when Vogue patterns go on sale at my local JoAnn Fabrics.  With the gloves and the chosen print, it looks very Audrey Hepburn.  But it certainly does not take my breath away.

This, on the other hand . . .  


How fabulous are these patterns!?!


Am I being too picky?  Does anyone know why these intricate and exquisite designs are passed over?  I know I sound like a broken record, but I keep hoping that someone in charge of things over at McCalls will hear me!


Pretty please, Vogue, hear my plea and start reproducing the incredibly amazing patterns, not just the standard silhouettes.   And that goes for the Butterick line, too!  


But do you know what I really want as a late Christmas present?  Someone to reproduce the Spadea and Modes Royale line of patterns from the 1950s.  Because boy, oh, boy I wish they would reproduce some of those beauties!!


Which vintage design that you have come across is your favorite?


For the moment I will settle for these.  Hint, hint . . .


[Click on pictures for source]

22 comments:

  1. Excellent point. I've noticed this before, too, though not being a sewer myself, haven't really sat down and compared similar modern and vintage patterns side-by-side. It really is interesting to note to the elegant details and tailoring in true vintage patterns that make them considerably more intriguing and appealing.

    ♥ Jessica

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  2. I have to agree please Vogue/Butterick here our plea beautiful vintage patterns please!

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  3. OH i agree!Maybe they dont feel todays sewer is up to them ?It would be great though especially as i have to size up the vintage ones i do find.
    Ive stopped buying the modern patterns because they spend more time on the photograph than the actual garment it seems.

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  4. I totally agree !
    And living in Belgium, I've never found any of these old patterns on flea markets and buying them from shops in the USA is really expensive...

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  5. I guess Vogue thinks we sewers do not have the necessary skills anymore, or that those who do are not enough to make the reproduction worth the investment (I guess they have no idea that you gain the skills by practicing!).
    However, I agree with Miss Sunalee: if you live in the USA, you have a lot more chances to find vintage patterns on flee markets or on auction websites like Ebay than we do. Sure the sizing has evolved, but you can purchase the patterns for less than us (and many sellers won't send abroad, so even if we wanted, we hardly could buy over in the US market).
    Starting on that slope unfortunately is slippery and can lead to lots of money spent because you feel like you found the treasure cavern... (talking from experience, bought lots of 1950s French magasines that had patterns included).
    Caution then!

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  6. I wonder if too many people now have an instant mentality and a disposable attitude, so they do not want to and/or have not developed their skills enough to make those kinds of dresses. Also, after I put a lot of work into a dress, usually I keep it years, and that does not mesh with the 'must have the newest fashions/colors/styles'. I love those designs you show too!

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  7. I bet the ladies that bought these were not sewers either. I think the era these came from are very much the time of getting something run up by your local seamstress. However I too am hugely miffed that their pattern range is not much much better than it is. I think they have so much potential, and such a huge target if only they could get it right.

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  8. Vogue unfortunately does not have all of thier patterns archived so unless people are nice enough to let them borrow (have?) the pattern then they can not make reproductions.
    Also they are not able to make any reproductions of designer patterns due to licensing issues.
    I just found this out yesterday because the lady who owned the orginal pattern that the reproduction was made off of has a blog (and is having a giveaway for a copy of the repro pattern right now) http://blog.pattern-vault.com/2013/01/28/vintage-vogue-surprise-giveaway/

    So, what I am thinking, is that if we want wonderful reproduction patterns, we need to look in our stash of patterns and send pictures to vintage vogue (I am writting Sarah Sheehan now to see how she went about doing that) so that they might choose to make some of them.

    I wonder if that is the case with the other companies and how we could go about contacting them (without overloading them of course).

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    1. I always wondered what the deal was! I mean pattern companies have a wealth of possibility in reproducing their vintage stuff, so why wouldn't they? That would be unbelievably cool if we could do as you suggested and join together to help reproduce these. Maybe we could even do it organized like and make a group with organizers and whatnot so information and ideas don't get lost. Anyone up to setting this idea in motion? I know there are handfuls of technical, super smart peeps out there. Unfortunately, I wouldn't knew where to start in something like this but I'll raise my hand to be apart of it. :) Sign me up!!!

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    2. She gave me the contact of Carolyne Cafaro at carolynec[@]mccallpattern[.]com. Whom you could email directly with pattern scans. I wrote a little more details on my blog ( http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7393277416340127977#editor/target=post;postID=6891624940179071575 )
      I am so sorry Laura about linking in your comments, but I really didn't want to post a huge comment with what I think about the whole deal, since I already gave my general opinion in the other comment. I hope you don't mind.

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  9. Oh, I so agree with you, and wish that vogue would reproduce those loverly patterns!
    Someday...

    Brigid
    The Middle Sister and Singer

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  10. That pattern with the green layers is to die for. Are you going to attempt it someday!

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  11. It's funny what you said about Vogue 8875, because I actually bought the original for the coat! I also wish we'd see more Vintage Vogues based on those amazing patterns we know are out there--1930s Vogue Couturiers would be on my list--but I think people must not be sending them in..

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  12. There was an interesting post over at Male Pattern Boldness in the last few days about whether sewing patterns were more complicated in the past. I think yes. There are such lovely details on these old patterns that you only see in a few modern patterns (I'm thinking of a few of the Vogue designer patterns that have a point of view).

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  13. I agree! Why oh why do they not reproduce these designs? Even if my skills aren't up to these patterns yet, I would buy them for the eye candy, that is if Vogue didn't ruin their beauty by choosing hideous polyester fabrics to make them in. Like another poster said, Vogue doesn't have all their pattern archived, however it seems to me that $100-$200 for these amazing patterns wouldn't be too much of an investment for the company to make. :]

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  14. I got all giddy when I first saw the new V8875, and then, like you, was a bit let down when I saw the details. I could put it together with any of about ten of my modern coat and dress patterns.
    I would love to inundate Vogue with candidates for their future reissues, but I haven't been able to acquire (read: afford) any old Vogues. I seem to have hundreds of Simplicity and Butterick and a few McCall, so I guess I'll start sending them suggestions.
    Now the biggest question is why, if you were Vogue Patterns, would you NOT KEEP ALL OF YOUR PATTERNS ARCHIVED????? I mean really.

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    2. That is an excellent question. I sure hope they were not thrown away - the idea is too terrible to comprehend. I like to think that they were given away to a good home (although that is probably naive).

      Every time I see pattern tissue used for crafting purposes I cringe a little and think of the beautiful pattern that has potentially been ruined.

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  15. I totally get your point about them re-issuing the more complex patterns of the day but most of these designs are based on one or two classic styles with a couple of features added. Why wait? There's a heap of vintage (and antiquarian) sewing and pattern drafting books out there just add the feature you like to a pre-existing style that fits you. I've uploaded a bunch of copyright expired books to my Friday Freebies, both the internet archive and the Hathi trust have heaps of copyright expired books available also. For that matter you could even use a modern drafting book (Aldrich) do figure it out. Just do it!

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  16. I wonder, too, if it isn't simply too much work to re-size the beautiful, elaborate patterns that we love. As we're all too well aware of, sizing has changed dramatically since the 40s and 50s. It's certainly far easier to size up a basic sheath dress than something with many details.

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  17. I was the owner of that vintage blouse pattern until I sold it on Ebay. I still regret not tracing myself a copy of it before I passed it on. *le sigh*

    I agree. I see so many AMAZING vintage patterns, it's a shame they're not reproduced. But Vogue has such a modern clientele that I think they're afraid of looking too "costumey". Shame, that.

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  18. Hi there. I'm coming in late on this. When I saw the new Vogue 8875 I felt it looked familiar. I rooted around in my stash and found Butterick 6307, also a reprint but a better rendiiton. I agree the sheath dress is more modern looking and the outfit just seems "skimpy". Could 3/8 of yard for the coat make that much of a difference?

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