Burda Romance

Let me just say that I love my Burda subscription. It's like Christmas once a month. The magazine even comes wrapped, like a wonderful papery present!

I'm not crazy about the patterns this month, though. I'm not really into folksy, although I honestly think it is awesome that they provide patterns for folk-style garments (way to keep the leiderhosen alive, Burda!) . I'm also not too crazy about bright red, so that cuts out all the glamorous red dresses in the first section. Those gowns are either ginormous (not so good when you are 5'4") or skin tight (hello underwear lines!). And, I'll be honest, I just don't go to that many glam events. In my next life, when I become an industry executive (and yet still sew my own clothes) things will be different, obviously. But in this life, grad school has yet to materialize black tie events.

Anyway. I do like this jacket.

I've wanted a velvet jacket for a while and this one has nice clean lines and no puffy shoulder seams (ugh, I look so dumb in them). I don't know if I'd do the decorative hand-stitched embroidery . . . maybe, but my guess is that my stitches wouldn't be terribly even and so it would be less stunningly decorative and more horribly distracting. I've never sewn velvet before, but it can't be that bad. Ha.

I'm not crazy about the camel of the jacket in the photo, mostly because it is so boring. I'd rather do this jacket in a mauve, I think.

I also really like this polo shirt, with the combination of the jersey with the poplin placket and sleeve cuffs. I don't have any patterns that combine jersey with a woven fabric, so I really want to try this and see how it looks. I bet the shirt would be really pretty if I replaced the poplin with satin, for a more dressed up look. And got rid of the pocket.

I think that's it. The chemises are cute too. Really cute, actually. I think I'll wait until next spring to make them, though, since in November it is less lacy chemise weather and more flannel pajama weather.

In terms of patterns, then, slim pickings for me this month. Burda made up for it, though, with the delightfully awkward clothing descriptions to accompany the "love story" section.

The caption for this photo reads: "Sometimes you can hardly wait to be alone together! Until you get there, this calf-length coat in wool velour with trenchcoat leanings will keep you nice and warm."

More apt, I think, would have been: "Sometimes you can hardly wait to be alone together! Until then, keep him guessing by dressing like an eggplant that robbed a leather goods store!"

This poor man. He finally got rid of that coat, only to discover yet another eggplant outfit underneath. Will it never end?? Evidently not, because the caption for this photo claims that "When you've just fallen in love you can't bear to be apart, even for five minutes. This also applies to our silky blouse with neck pleats secured by the collar seam--you really won't want to take it off!"

It's pretty clear that the Mr. Right couldn't hack the purple, since by the third photo the romance has ended: "On Your Own Again. Even though breaking up is hard to do, it's sometimes the only way to start something new. For example, the deliberate style clash between blouse with boyfriend's waistcoat and your goatskin-suede riding breeches." Frankly, I don't blame this girl for running off with the man's waistcoat as an outerwear replacement for that purple coat. It's definitely a step up. I'm not really sure that wearing her boyfriend's waistcoat is the best way to start something new, though.