Kate Moss in “Courrèges Edge.” Photo: Nick Knight, 1995.

Today we’re used to a firm division between fashion magazines and sewing magazines. But for several decades after Condé Nast sold Vogue Patterns, editorials featuring sewing patterns could still be seen in Vogue magazine—editorials with the same models, photographers, and fashion editors as Vogue’s high fashion shoots. This post is the first in an occasional series on these editorials.

Launching the series is “Courrèges Edge,” a 1995 editorial photographed by Nick Knight and showing Kate Moss in clothes made using patterns from Vogue and Butterick. The shoot covers the Sixties trend with all-white, Courrèges-style looks while playing with the theme of surveillance.

Here, Kate Moss’ leather jacket is Vogue 9076; the nylon dress on the right is Butterick 4048:

Vogue, August 1995. Photos: Nick Knight. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

Below, Vogue 9170, a coat dress pattern, is shown made up in white leather, and Butterick 3999, sold as a top, is made in silk and worn as a mini dress:

Vogue, August 1995. Photos: Nick Knight. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

In the back of the magazine, readers could find technical drawings and further details on the patterns used, all “edited by Vogue”:

In This Issue, Vogue, August 1995.

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 eclectic, retro references—fun and accessible, but always with an alternative edge. (For a comprehensive discussion of Sui’s work see Andrew Bolton, Anna Sui [Chronicle Books, 2010].)

Anna Sui’s licensing agreement with Vogue Patterns lasted from the mid-1990s until quite recently. There were also Anna Sui knitting patterns, like this paillette-trimmed mohair sweater shown on the cover of Vogue Knitting magazine:

Anna Sui sweater on the cover of Vogue Knitting, Winter 1998-99. Image via Vintageknits.net.

This two-part series will present some highlights from Anna Sui’s earlier Vogue patterns, ordered by collection.

1. Anna Sui, Spring/Summer 1995 collection

Anna Sui was introduced to readers of Vogue Patterns in the July/August 1995 issue with a design from her Spring 1995, vintage ’30s and ’40s collection. Inspirations for this collection included pulp magazines, waitress uniforms, and Minnie Mouse. The collection was notable for its use of textiles, which ranged from nylon pinstripes and rubberized chiffon to prints both rockabilly and haute: some of the dresses and skirts used 1940s prints that were designed by Christian Bérard for Ascher Ltd and specially recoloured for the collection.

Vogue 1619 is a pattern for four dresses with vintage details like cut-in shoulders and puffed or tucked sleeves. The red, bouquet print in the large photo is by Christian Bérard. Vogue later proclaimed the “1940s floral look” the look of the season*:

Vogue 1619 by Anna Sui (1995) Image via PatternVault on Etsy.

Here’s the Bérard print dress on the runway, complete with red shoes worn with pink socks:

Image via New York Daily News.

Vogue 1619 made the cover of Vogue Patterns’ September 1995 catalogue:

Vogue Patterns catalogue, September 1995. Image via eBay.

Just for fun, here’s a photo of Nicole Kidman in one of the spring collection’s pinstripe suits:

Nicole Kidman in Anna Sui, Vogue, February 1995. Photo: Steven Meisel. Fashion editor: Grace Coddington.

2. Anna Sui, Fall/Winter 1995 collection

For Fall 1995 Sui presented a Mod collection. The show opened with Linda Evangelista on the back of a Lambretta scooter and continued with skinny mod suits and pieces in black leather and sequinned camo, referencing Andy Warhol’s camouflage screenprints.

Vogue 1702’s mod suit includes a front-pleated skirt and sleeveless top—best worn with a matching headscarf (as shown with Vogue 1789):

Vogue 1702 by Anna Sui (1995) Image via Etsy.

Linda Evangelista was photographed in the Vogue 1702 suit by Patrick Demarchelier (see top of post). A tweed version was modelled by Stella Tennant:

Stella Tennant in Anna Sui, Vogue, October 1995. Photo: Arthur Elgort. Fashion editor: Grace Coddington.

3. Anna Sui, Fall/Winter 1997 collection

Sui’s ‘goth’ collection was presented at the Church of Divine Paternity, a neo-Gothic church on New York’s Upper West Side. Siouxie Sioux was a major inspiration for the show, which had post-punk makeup by François Nars and a wealth of textiles characteristic of old-school goth style, such as velvet, lace, lace-printed chiffon, and fishnet. As Bolton notes, the collection referenced the goth love of historicism in Vivienne Westwood-style bustles and ‘mini-crinis.’

Vogue 2072 is a pattern for two mini-crini dresses trimmed with ribbon and lace. It even includes the mesh top and fingerless gloves (see my earlier post here):

Vogue 2072 by Anna Sui (1997)

Karen Elson and Tasha Tilberg modelled the Vogue 2072 dresses on the runway, accessorized with matching fingerless gloves, sheer leggings, and beaded devil horns:

Models: Karen Elson, Tasha Tilberg. Images: Bolton, Anna Sui and firstVIEW.

The red, view B version of the Vogue 2072 dress, complete with Sui devil horns, was photographed on a young Sofia Coppola:

Sofia Coppola, Spur, October 1997. Photo: Satoshi Saikusa. Image: Bolton, Anna Sui.

4. Anna Sui, Spring/Summer 1998 collection

For spring 1998 Sui presented a surfer-inspired collection. Bold prints, bright colours, and bucket hats conveyed the laid-back spirit of surfer subculture, with Hawaiian, Indian, and Balinese prints and accessories evoking days spent on tropical beaches.

Vogue 2152’s three summery little dresses are like a mini vacation wardrobe:

Vogue 2152 by Anna Sui (1998) Image via Etsy.

Here are two of the Vogue 2152 dresses on the runway. The slip dress in view B was worn with a long-sleeved mesh top:

Models: Kylie Bax and Christina Kruse. Images via firstVIEW.

Kate Moss wears another dress from the collection in this editorial photo by Terry Richardson:

Kate Moss in Anna Sui, Harper’s Bazaar, January 1998. Photo: Terry Richardson. Image via Bolton, Anna Sui.

The gold-appliquéd pink sari silk was inspired by a dress belonging to the Duchess of Windsor, again bringing home the wide-ranging eclecticism of Sui’s references.

Next: Anna Sui’s Vogue patterns into the 2000s.

* Katherine Betts, “The best & worst looks of the ’90s,” Vogue, January 1996, p. 130.

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 creative director at Loewe as well as for his own label, was just named the BFA’s New Establishment Designer for 2013. (For more on Anderson see Susannah Frankel’s recent profile for W magazine, “The New Guard: J.W. Anderson.”)

As with last year’s Design Download, there’s an interactive component and also a contest. Those making up the ensemble are invited to submit photos for inclusion in a gallery on the SHOWstudio website, and J.W.Anderson and Nick Knight will choose one version to star in a special fashion film.

The asymmetrical top and skirt are from the current, Fall/Winter 2013 collection, which drew acclaim for its sculptural, experimental pieces in subdued neutrals enlivened by the odd splash of colour and comic-book prints. (See Suzy Menkes, “Maximalist Versus Minimalist“; full collection on style.com.) Here is SHOWstudio’s slate leather version on the runway:

Model: Marine Deleeuw. Image via style.com.

The ensemble was also shown in midnight blue and white:

Models: Daiane Conterato and Vik Kukandina. Images via style.com.

The look also made the fall advertising campaign—twice:

J.W.Anderson Fall 2013 advertising campaign. Model: Lucan Gillespie. Image via J.W.Anderson.

The pattern download comes in a choice of A4 or A1 sheets with a test line for checking the scale.

Image via SHOWstudio.

Download the top and skirt pattern (9 pieces: 4 for top, 5 for skirt)

Size: UK size 6

Recommended fabrics: leather, thick duffle wool, and other fray-resistant fabrics

Tools and notions: 20cm (8″) invisible zipper, hook and eye, seam binding or bondaweb. A rotary cutter is recommended for cutting the unfinished edges.

The deadline for contest submissions is Friday, March 31st, 2014 at midnight GMT. (See the SHOWstudio site for submission details.) Or if you’d rather snag the original, the midnight blue version of the top is on sale at net-a-porter.

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 1999 collection was inspired by American sportswear designer Claire McCardell. Nylon dresses invoked McCardell’s functionalism, while denim pieces developed the Americana theme. Further New World references ranged from Mexican clothing, Día de los Muertos handicrafts, and Haitian voodoo, to glam rock and Cecil B. DeMille’s Samson and Delilah (1949). (Browse the full collection at firstVIEW.)

Vogue 2305 is a pattern for two dresses with gathering details. View A is sleeveless, with a raised, drawstring waist and scarf collar; view B has a mock-wrap bodice, off-the-shoulder puffed sleeves, and a midriff cutout above the flared skirt:

Vogue 2305 by Anna Sui (1999) Image via eBay.

Kirsten Owen and Giselle Bündchen modelled the dresses on the runway:

Models: Kirsten Owen and Giselle Bündchen. Photos via firstVIEW.

6. Anna Sui, Spring/Summer 2001 collection

One of the main inspirations for the Spring 2001 collection was the Mudd Club, a locus for New York’s cultural underground in the late 1970s and early 1980s. An Edo Bertoglio polaroid of Mudd Club co-founder Anya Phillips in her blue, lace-up dress was a reference for some of the pieces. (As well as being an independent fashion designer, Phillips was art director at Fiorucci; see Tim Blanks, “Mudd Quake.”) As Andrew Bolton notes, even the collection’s less overtly ’80s designs reflected Sui’s “Mudd Club thrift-shop punk aesthetic.” (See the full collection at style.com.)

Vogue 2551 is a pattern for two LBDs for stretch knits. The one-shouldered view A is cut on the bias, with the right skirt front extending into a twisted hip drape; view B has pleats at the right shoulder and a left side slit:

Vogue 2551 by Anna Sui (2001)

Here are the two dresses on the runway. The one-shouldered jersey dress was modelled by Hannelore Knuts:

Models: Hannelore Knuts and Anouck Lepère. Images: Bolton, Anna Sui and style.com.

These two Edo Bertoglio portraits from the Mudd Club era show Anya Phillips, in her blue dress, and Anna Sui (photos via New York Magazine; the Sui portrait was first published in Vogue Italia):

Anya Phillips, 1979, and Anna Sui, 1981. Photos: Edo Bertoglio. Images via NYMag.com.

(More Mudd Club-era photos may be found in Maripolarama [powerHouse Books, 2005], which contains a recollection by Anna Sui.)

7. Anna Sui, Fall/Winter 2001 collection

Sui’s inspiration for her Fall 2001 collection was another legendary New York venue: the Factory, Andy Warhol’s studio. In reference to Warhol’s Factory parties and ideas about celebrity, the runway presentation incorporated a screening of a black-and-white, short film, commissioned from Zoe Cassavetes, of Sui’s famous friends attending a cocktail party. Other ’60s inspirations included “Baby” Jane Holzer’s eclectic wardrobe, the work of Rudi Gernreich, and William Klein’s film Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966). (Full collection at style.com.)

Vogue 2640 is a pattern for a jacket and dress with contrast binding, plus a matching scarf:

Vogue 2640 by Anna Sui (2002) Image via Etsy.

Vogue 2640’s striped jacket and dress ensemble was the spring collection’s opening look:

Model: Laura Delicata. Image via firstVIEW.

The collection’s stripes are a reference to a particularly Op-art scene in Klein’s Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?:

Still from Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966) Image via the Guardian.

8. Anna Sui, Fall/Winter 2003 collection

The concept of art deco skiwear inspired the Fall 2003 collection, which Sui designed during another cold winter (2002-3) when urban skiwear was dominating New York street fashion. In the colours, motifs, and especially the geometric patterns of art deco, as well as the distinctive, tubular 1920s silhouette, the collection chanelled the flapper’s modernity, but with a dose of fun fur. (Full collection on style.com.)

Vogue 7950 or 639 is a pattern for five different faux fur pieces: a jacket, vest, hat, mittens, and legwarmers. The jacket is cropped, with elbow-length sleeves, while the vest has an exposed zipper. The hat has a contrast scarf that could be made to match the mittens’ contrast palms and cuffs, and the legwarmers have elasticized leg bands:

Vogue 7950 by Anna Sui (2004) Image via Etsy.

Here are some detail shots of the hat and legwarmers on the runway:

Model (on left): Missy Rayder. Images via style.com.

L’Officiel’s collection image shows the ’20s ski theme, complete with Anna Sui-branded snowboard (click to enlarge):

Anna Sui FW 2003-4. Image via jalougallery.com

Anna Sui’s work wears its postmodernity lightly. The designer’s myriad references, fantastical narratives, and hybrid concepts mean her collections keep evolving while staying true to a bohemian, thrift-store aesthetic. I’m already planning to make several of these (one of the hazards of research). Which are your favourites?

Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Image via Musings from Marilyn.

Diane von Fürstenberg’s wrap dress celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. The famous dress, which officially made its debut in January, 1974, is being fêted with Journey of a Dress, an exhibition of 200 wrap dresses at the Wilshire May Company building in Los Angeles:

Image via DVF.com.

Photo: Getty Images via style.com.

Von Fürstenberg relaunched her label in 1997 after realizing that her vintage wrap dresses were enjoying a new popularity among young women. The advertising campaign for the relaunch shows Danielle Z. in different wrap dresses, including this leopard print version (click the image for a style.com article with slideshow):

Diane Von Furstenberg advertising campaign, 1998. Model: Danielle Zinaich. Image via style.com.

Vogue Patterns introduced Diane Von Furstenberg patterns with great fanfare in the fall of 1976. The designer herself modelled a wrap dress on the magazine cover, and there was even a special sew-in label and tie-in with Cohama fabrics. (More on the fabrics at The Vintage Traveler.)

Diane Von Furstenberg for Vogue Patterns printed label. Image via Etsy.

The punning headline of the 1976 magazine feature, “The Princess and Her Prints,” refers to her first marriage to Egon von Fürstenberg, of the Prussian princes of Fürstenberg (she capitalized the ‘von’ for her label):

“The Princess and Her Prints…” Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Image via myvintagevogue.

Vogue’s Diane Von Furstenberg patterns included several wrap dresses. The 1970s patterns were all in the Very Easy Vogue line, and most were for stretchable knits.

The long-sleeved Vogue 1548 may be worn in two ways, forward or backward. The young Renee Russo is the model:

Vogue 1548 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1976) Image via Etsy.

Karen Bjornson models Vogue 1549, a wrap dress with buttoned cuffs and optional collar. This design also works for woven fabrics:

Vogue 1549 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1976) Image via eBay.

The following year Vogue Patterns released a half-size version for petites, Vogue 1679. The first set of patterns was photographed by Chris von Wangenheim:

Vogue 1548, Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Photos: Chris von Wangenheim. Image via myvintagevogue.

Vogue 1549 and 1550, Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Photos: Chris von Wangenheim. Image via myvintagevogue.

Vogue 1610 may be made sleeveless or short-sleeved with faux cuffs. I’ve made this for Naomi, and it’s incredibly versatile:

Vogue 1610 by Diane Von Furstenberg (c. 1977)

Vogue 1853 has full, cuffed sleeves in a choice of long or elbow length. Christie Brinkley modelled the long-sleeved version:

Vogue 1853 by Diane Von Furstenberg (c. 1978) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Vogue 2517, a colour-blocked, front-wrapped dress designed for two colour contrasts, was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier. (This one is technically a mock-wrap dress.) The model is Gunilla Lindblad:

Vogue 2517 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1980) Image via Rusty Zipper.

Tara Shannon models Vogue 1486, an ’80s wrap dress with pleated skirt, shaped hemline, and dolman sleeves:

Vogue 1486 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1984) Image via Etsy.

Discussions of the DVF wrap dress always seem to centre on questions of contemporary femininity. Even the promotional bio on the envelope flap promises dressmakers they’ll “feel like a woman”:

This Vogue Patterns editorial photo of the Vogue 1610 wrap dress similarly promotes the idea of femininity in the workplace. With the caption “Soft Dressing for Hard Schedules,” it shows Karen Bjornson, glasses in hand, being delivered flowers at the office:

“Soft Dressing for Hard Schedules,” Vogue Patterns, 1977.

I was tickled to learn that Amy Adams wears three Diane Von Furstenberg dresses in American Hustle—two vintage and one contemporary. Apparently David O. Russell was obsessed with the green print version worn by von Fürstenberg on the cover of Newsweek, and costume designer Michael Wilkinson was able to source the vintage original for the film (see Financial Times story with slideshow here, or click the image for a Variety costumes story with video):

Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) in American Hustle (2013) Image via Variety.

Have you sewn from a Diane Von Furstenberg pattern?

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 to make the dress in my default black, and had even bought some mesh for the contrast cowl neck. But when I started looking back over runway photos from Givenchy’s neo-noir Fall 1998 ready-to-wear collection, I was struck by the palette of neutrals, electric blue, and especially the combination of oxblood with red.

Models: Frankie Rayder and Sunniva Stordahl. Images via firstVIEW via the Fashion Spot.

Photos: Thierry Orban. Images via Corbis.

(There’s a blue version of the original sleeveless dress on eBay. The dress fabric is a nylon/acetate/elastane blend, with acetate lining, and the back zipper reaches all the way up through the cowl.)

I made View B, the sleeveless, mid-calf version, in oxblood with a red cowl neck. I hit Designer Fabrics and found some oxblood wool, red mesh for the contrast cowl, and Bemberg for the lining. The pattern recommends chiffon for the contrast, but I wanted to stick with the mesh used for the runway version. I was a little stumped as to interfacing for the contrast, and even bought some tomato red tricot to use before learning that the best interfacing for mesh is more mesh.

I wanted a close fit, so I ignored the sizing and went by the finished garment measurements printed on the pattern, including 1″ ease at bust and waist and a little more in the hips. I also lengthened the skirt by 1.5″ to achieve the correct length.

Technical drawing for Vogue 2248

This was my first dart-fitted dress, and I had fun sewing my very first contour darts—eventually realizing the virtues of even a makeshift tailor’s ham. The cowl neck is cut on the bias, but this didn’t pose any problems, since the mesh handles much better than chiffon.

With the full lining and absolutely no stretch, the dress feels very old-fashioned to wear. One thing I misjudged was the bodice/cowl part of the bodice—I cut the right size in the bust, but didn’t distribute the extra waist length I was adding between the above-waist and shoulder areas, so it’s a bit on the high side and the cowl neck has a closer fit than in the runway photo. It would have been simpler to cut a size up and take the bodice in at the sides. The “interfaced” mesh is also a little bulky; the extra layer was probably unnecessary.

Since the Fall 1998 collection was inspired by Blade Runner, it seemed appropriate to take photos of the dress at the David Cronenberg: Evolution exhibition at TIFF Bell Lightbox. In the Interzone area, devoted to Naked Lunch (1991), visitors could have their photo taken with a Mugwump:

Naomi took some photos of me upstairs at an extension of the Cronenberg show called Body/Mind/Change (BMC). Visitors to the biotech facility BMC Labs can observe the production of personalized POD (Personal On-Demand) implants, which are held awaiting pickup by their hosts. The BMC Labs facility is still open if you’d like to create your own POD implant:

Image via BMC Labs.

Here I am in the POD holding area:

A closer view of the mesh cowl neck:

The cowl fastens in the back with hooks and thread eyes:

The lab staff let me hold a brand-new red POD (rara avis—most are colourless):

We were delighted to find BMC Labs at the end of our visit: it was the perfect backdrop for the dress given McQueen’s futuristic, sci-fi inspiration for his collection for Givenchy. I’m crossing my fingers for a red POD of my own…

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 (1890-1973) and dormant since 1954, has been revived.

Schiaparelli label, 1938. Image via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Last year Christian Lacroix presented a one-off couture collection for the house, and this week the new head designer, Marco Zanini, presented his first Schiaparelli collection at the Paris couture. (See the Spring 2014 collection on style.com, or read W’s coverage of Zanini’s appointment here.)

Christian Lacroix sketch for his Schiaparelli collection. Image via Fashion Loving.

The opening look in Marco Zanini’s debut collection for Schiaparelli. Model: Stella Tennant. Image via style.com.

The high-profile revival follows the Costume Institute’s major 2012 exhibition, Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations (see my earlier post here). And, timed to coincide with couture week, an auction of Schiaparelli’s personal collection takes place Thursday at Christie’s Paris:

Collection personnelle d’Elsa Schiaparelli. Image via Christie’s.

Many of you will be aware of Schiaparelli’s licensed sewing patterns, since she was among the first designers of Vogue Paris Originals. There were also Schiaparelli knitting patterns. If you knit, you can download a free pattern for Schiaparelli’s 1927 Bowknot sweater, updated by Lisa Stockebrand (Ravelry page here):

Bowknot sweater by Elsa Schiaparelli, Vogue, December 15, 1927. Illustration: Douglas Pollard.

Like Vionnet, Schiaparelli also saw commercial sewing patterns for her designs in the interwar period, released by companies including the McCall Pattern Company, Pictorial Review, and the Paris Pattern Company. Here is a selection of early Schiaparelli patterns.

This McCall pattern is the earliest Schiaparelli pattern I’ve seen. Dating to the autumn of 1929, it’s a pattern for a blouse, skirt, and coat with angled pockets. It was still shown in a 1930 catalogue:

McCall 5839 by Schiaparelli in the McCall catalogue, 1930. Image via echopoint.

Here is the illustration of McCall 5839 in McCall’s magazine:

McCall 5839 by Schiaparelli. McCall’s magazine, October 1929. Illustration: Blanche Rothschild.

This Schiaparelli pattern from the Paris Pattern Company has some unusual details. The wrap skirt buttons diagonally across the hips and has two slits through which the blouse’s attached scarf can pass, for a suspender effect:

Paris Pattern 1647 by Schiaparelli (c. 1931)

McCall 6981 is a three-piece suit consisting of a jacket, cropped pussy-bow blouse, and sleeveless, bias dress:

McCall 6981 by Schiaparelli (1932)

Here’s an illustration of this design (centre, no. 14) in the summer 1932 issue of McCall Fashion Bi-Monthly. Elsewhere it calls McCall 6981 a “trick” ensemble, since the blouse and jacket disguise a dress suitable for tennis:

McCall Fashion Bi-Monthly, July/August 1932. Image via carbonated on flickr.

This Benito illustration for Vogue shows a similar Schiaparelli ensemble, worn with a tomato red Sicilian cap:

Schiaparelli beige suit, blue blouse and Sicilian cap; pink jacket and brown skirt, Vogue, May 1, 1932. Illustration: Eduardo García Benito. Image via Corbis.

This Pictorial Review Schiaparelli adaptation dates to late 1933. The dress has interesting details like shoulder flanges, diagonal waist darts, and inverted darts radiating from the neckline:

Pictorial Review 6764 adapted from Schiaparelli (c. 1933) Image via Best Vintage Patterns.

Here’s the catalogue illustration for Pictorial Review 6764:

Illustration of Pictorial Review 6764 (c. 1933) Image via Best Vintage Patterns.

Paris Pattern 2286, illustrated in my 1934 Paris and Style Patterns booklet, is a jaunty ensemble consisting of a coat, skirt, and jacket blouse. The description reads, “A superb town and country suit. Just the thing for that week end vacation. Top coat can be worn over any dress. The skirt and jacket blouse make an ideal spectator costume”:

Paris Pattern 2286 by Schiaparelli. Paris and Style Patterns leaflet, June 1934.

Also in this leaflet is the Schiaparelli dress and capelet ensemble available as a reproduction from the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. The dress has shoulder yokes, puffed sleeves, and a skirt with pointed set-in panels and pair of buttons at the waist; the matching capelet is trimmed with pleating and buttons to the skirt front:

Paris Pattern 2301 by Schiaparelli (c. 1934) Image via the Vintage Pattern Lending Library.

Finally, from McCall’s, this Schiaparelli dinner dress in two lengths dates to winter 1936-37. The bodice back extends into sleeves that are gathered into a heart-shaped bodice:

McCall 9076 by Schiaparelli (1936) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

The pattern is illustrated in the January 1937 issue of McCall’s magazine, which made much of the new, street-length hemline:

McCall’s magazine, January 1937. Image via eBay.

Schiaparelli patterns from between the wars tend to lack the surrealist touches we associate with the designer, since many of these were based on couture embellishment, accessories, or notions. (Cricket buttons, anyone?) I remember reading a contemporary 1930s article that said Schiaparelli pieces were so simple, they were too easy to copy. Today one might say it’s her brand of dynamic severity that makes her clothes seem so modern.

Next: Schiaparelli’s postwar Vogue Paris Originals.

Busvine sidesaddle ensemble in Vogue, 1927. Illustration: Guillermo Bolin. Image: Man and the Horse.

Happy Chinese new year! In honour of the Year of the Horse, here’s a selection of equestrian sewing patterns from the 1920s to the 1990s.

Like tennis wear, modern equestrian wear begins in the 1920s. Before the First World War, women generally rode sidesaddle; equestriennes wore fashionably voluminous riding skirts designed to fall flatteringly on horseback, with breeches underneath. In addition to 19th-century Harper’s Bazaar patterns for riding habits, the Commercial Pattern Archive’s “Riding” category reveals a 1909 pattern for ladies’ riding breeches (Butterick 3313), and two divided equestrian skirts from the early teens (Butterick 5792 and Pictorial Review 5003).

By 1920 the major American pattern companies were producing commercial patterns for women’s jodhpurs—often called riding breeches. As the illustration at the top of this post shows, some women continued to ride sidesaddle, even into the 1930s, but I haven’t found any modern patterns for sidesaddle riding habits.

Illustration from a Saks Fifth Avenue advertisement, spring 1925.

1920s

Butterick 2255, circa 1920, is a pattern for a riding coat and breeches worthy of Lady Mary. The envelope specifies that the design is for cross saddle riding:

Butterick 2255 (1920) Image via the Commercial Pattern Archive, Kevin L. Seligman collection. For research purposes only.

This 1920 McCall pattern for riding breeches shows the pattern diagram and instructions on the envelope (click to enlarge):

McCall 9536 (1920) Ladies’ riding breeches. Image via eBay.

I have this 1923 jodhpurs pattern in my collection—for when I learn to ride, of course:

McCall 3214 (1923) Ladies’ riding breeches.

This McCall’s illustration of a riding coat and breeches is from the same year, but it shows a different breeches pattern, as well as a more streamlined riding coat than a few years previous:

McCall Quarterly, Fall 1923. Image via eBay.

For more on 1920s equestrian wear see Unsung Sewing Patterns‘ posts on Butterick 4147, a pair of riding knickers, and Pictorial Review 1435 and 1438, a riding jacket and breeches.

1930s

Jodhpurs were not just for equestrian sports: they were the “trousers of adventure,” worn for activities like driving, hiking and camping, safaris, and aviation. This early ’30s illustration from Pictorial Review shows the latest sports styles, including beach pajamas and clothes for tennis and golf. The riding habit includes a sleeveless jacket or waistcoat (click to enlarge):

Sports fashions in Pictorial Review Fashion Book, Summer 1931. Image via eBay.

Butterick 5647 is a pattern for cuffed, fall-front jodhpurs with notched back waist and side and back pockets. Nabby at This Old Life made these for her vintage aviatrix costume (click image for post):

Butterick 5647 (c. 1934) Image via This Old Life.

McCall 9412, from September 1937, looks to be a rare early pattern for western-style riding pants, with reinforced seat and inner leg. I’d love to see a better-quality image; this one was found in a lot on eBay:

McCall 9412 (1937) Image via eBay.

Also from the late 1930s, Pictorial Review 9337 is a pattern for a tailored shirt and sleek pair of riding trousers:

Pictorial Review 9337 (c. 1938) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

1970s

Apart from children’s equestrian patterns, I couldn’t find any patterns from the major pattern companies that were specifically for riding until the 1970s, when western-style riding wear was in fashion. McCall’s 4870 includes riding pants and a shirt-jacket with contrast, embroidered yoke and cuffs. The model is Angeleen Gagliano, who was a horsewoman in real life:

McCall’s 4870 (1975) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

This Butterick pattern by Jane Tise shows the vogue for western shirts:

Butterick 5629 by Jane Tise (1970s) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Vogue even had a his-and-hers western shirt pattern, Vogue 8973/8976 (the ’70s-averse are advised not to click the links).

The influence of the western shirt is evident in this Halston dress with scalloped yoke:

McCall 6841 by Halston (1979) Image via Betsy Vintage.

1980s

Many of you will remember the 1980s jodhpurs trend, when you could dress for English-style riding far from any stable. Exhibit A is New Look 6013:

New Look 6013 (1980s) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

There were also faux jodhpurs—pleated, tapered pants like those in Burda 5332 or McCall’s 2077.

Gianni Versace and Claude Montana both showed jodhpurs in the ’80s, but unfortunately Vogue Patterns doesn’t seem to have released any patterns for them. Just for fun, here’s a Lord Snowdon photo of aristocrat Angela Rawlinson in a jacket and tweed jodhpurs by John McIntyre:

John McIntyre jacket and jodhpurs, Vogue, July 1985. Photo: Lord Snowdon. Model: Angela Rawlinson.

1990s

Little Vogue 7876, with its young model leaning on a stone balustrade, is interesting for showing the social ambition associated with horseback riding. The jodhpurs are a little loose for actual riding (the similarly styled Vogue 7842 also has a looser fit):

Little Vogue 7876 (1990) Image via Etsy.

With the advent of stretch fabrics, riding pants no longer needed lots of room in the upper leg. These jodhpurs by Calvin Klein have a sleeker fit that’s more in line with late 20th-century equestrian wear. They come with detachable stirrups, and may be made in synthetic suede:

Vogue 2513 by Calvin Klein (1990) Image via Etsy.

McCall’s 6737′s riding pants are for stretch fabrics, reinforced with leather or ultrasuede in the seat and inner leg. The pattern also marks a return to the waistcoat:

McCall’s 6737 by NY/NY (1993) Image via Etsy.

Vogue 1655 by DKNY brings us full circle: the riding-style jacket was photographed in traditional scarlet at a country estate:

Vogue 1655 by DKNY (1995) Image via Etsy.

For more on the history of women’s equestrian wear see Mackay-Smith, Druesedow, and Ryder’s Man and the Horse: An Illustrated History of Equestrian Apparel (Simon and Schuster, 1984), which was published to accompany the Polo/Ralph Lauren-sponsored Costume Institute exhibit held from December, 1984 to September, 1985.

If you’d like to sew your own sidesaddle riding habit, reproductions of early French magazine patterns for costumes d’amazone (women’s riding habits) are available from eBay shop Au fil du temps. For a modern equestrian look, Folkwear’s Equestriennes pattern, Folkwear 506, includes a riding jacket, waistcoat, and jodhpurs based on garments in the collection of the Costume Institute.

Special thanks to Naomi for acting as my in-house equestrianism consultant.

Billie Blair on the cover of Interview magazine, August 1974. Image via Lipstick Alley.

Born in Flint, Michigan, Billie Blair (b. 1946) worked as a model at the Detroit Auto Show before becoming one of the highest-paid fashion models of the 1970s. Moving to New York City, she got a job at Halston and soon found success as an editorial and runway model. Blair was among the African-American models at the historic 1973 fundraising event, Le Grand Divertissement à Versailles, known today as the Battle of Versailles. (The event was the subject of a recent documentary by Deborah Riley Draper, Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution [2012)].)

Billie Blair in Halston, 1979. Image via Pinterest.

Billie Blair may be seen on a number of Vogue designer patterns from the mid-1970s. Here she wears a tweed skirt suit and pussy-bow blouse by Oscar de la Renta; this design was marked as ‘suitable for knits’:

Vogue 1163 by Oscar de la Renta (1975) Image via PatternVault on Etsy.

Stan Herman designed this casual hooded top, skirt, and pants. The illustration shows some American Hustle-worthy aviator shades:

Vogue 1169 by Stan Herman (1975) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Here Blair wears a girlish, vintage-style ensemble by Nina Ricci, a cream-coloured dress with matching cape:

Vogue 1175 by Nina Ricci (1975) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

From Jean Patou, this maxi dress may date to the period when the young Jean Paul Gaultier was assistant designer. Blair brings out the glamour of this haute couture loungewear:

Vogue 1344 by Jean Patou (1975) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

In Vogue Patterns‘ 1975 holiday issue, Jerry Hall wears the Patou dress while Blair models an off-the-shoulder party dress in an editorial devoted to evening sparkle (the headline reads, “Be a Star the Vogue Way”):

Vogue Patterns, November/December 1975. Image via eBay.

Here she models a fabulous, evening-length Dior caftan with piped neckline:

Vogue 1346 by Christian Dior (1975) Image via Etsy.

This Nina Ricci separates pattern includes a poncho with shirttail hem, convertible collar, and big patch pockets:

Vogue 1376 by Nina Ricci (1976) Image via Betsy Vintage.

Blair is the model on this rare pattern by Sonia Rykiel, Vogue 1378—check out the matching coral sandals:

Vogue 1378 by Sonia Rykiel (1976) Image via Etsy.

Billie Blair’s commanding presence and approach to modelling as performance don’t seem too unusual today. But she was unconventional for the time, and even felt the need to under-report her age when she first became famous. A 1974 profile of Blair in People magazine says she is 22 years old and remarks on her size 9 feet. (In a letter to the editor, a high school classmate wondered how Blair had stayed 22 when her peers were 28.) She continued modelling into her thirties—here she appears in a dynamic 1978 Vogue shoot by Andrea Blanch:

Billie Blair, Renée King, Toukie Smith, Iman, Alva Chinn, and Dana Dixon in Vogue, December 1978. Photo: Andrea Blanch.

Paris Originals by Schiaparelli (left) and Jacques Heim (right). Vogue, November 15, 1949. Photo: Richard Rutledge.

This week, the second part of my series on commercial sewing patterns by Elsa Schiaparelli. (See Part 1 here.)

Schiaparelli was one of the eight couturiers who licensed designs for the first Vogue Paris Originals in 1949. Vogue’s first Schiaparelli pattern was a skirt suit with double pockets and one-sleeved blouse, Vogue 1051:

Vogue 1051 by Schiaparelli (1949) Image via the Blue Gardenia blog.

The suit was photographed in Paris by Clifford Coffin:

Vogue 1051 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, March 1, 1949. Photo: Clifford Coffin.

The photo that opens this post shows Vogue 1074, a Schiaparelli dress and shortcoat from Vogue’s fourth series of Paris Originals. The original coat was lined with astrakhan. (The suit on the right is Vogue 1076 by Jacques Heim.)

Vogue 1074 by Schiaparelli (1949) Image via Pinterest.

New Look curves characterize this Schiaparelli suit pattern from spring, 1950, which was photographed in Paris by Norman Parkinson. The short-sleeved jacket has rounded, stiffened hips, while the kimono-sleeved blouse buttons its curved fronts to one side. Vogue recommends making the blouse from the suit’s lining fabric:

Vogue 1098 by Schiaparelli (1950) Image via eBay. Photo: Norman Parkinson.

Vogue 1133 is a vampy, short-sleeved dress with hip-enhancing pocket flaps and convertible collar at both front and back:

Vogue 1133 by Schiaparelli (1951) Image via eBay.

Arik Nepo’s photograph plays up the dress’ severity:

Vogue 1133 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, February 15, 1951. Photo: Arik Nepo.

Vogue 1142 is a faux suit, an asymmetrical dress with a skirt front extension that creates the illusion of a jacket on one side. (Much like Galliano’s Givenchy jumpsuit, Vogue 1887.) The shaped projections of the big, rounded collar, skirt extension, and off-kilter double-breasted closure playfully destabilize the garment:

Vogue 1148 by Schiaparelli (1951) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

This Schiaparelli evening dress pattern, Vogue 1144, includes a petticoat and diaphanous kerchief. Look closely, and you can see that the oversized, decorative pockets extend almost the length of the skirt:

Vogue 1144 by Schiaparelli (1951) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Here’s a closer look at Henry Clarke’s photo:

Vogue 1144 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, May 15, 1951. Photo: Henry Clarke.

In 1952 Schiaparelli showed inverted heart necklines for spring; with its pointed, stand-away neckline and narrow shawl collar, Vogue 1179 allowed the home dressmaker to be right up to date. The cocktail dress closes with not one but two side zippers:

Vogue 1179 by Schiaparelli (1952) Image via eBay.

Vogue magazine showed an alternate photo by Robert Randall:

Vogue 1179 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, May 15, 1952. Photo: Robert Randall.

Frances McLaughlin photographed Bettina in Vogue 1198, a short evening dress with what Vogue called “a big pleated bandage—like an outside order ribbon” wrapping over one shoulder and around the waist. The original was made in black silk brocade:

Vogue 1198 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, October 15, 1952. Model: Bettina. Photo: Frances McLaughlin.

Here’s a catalogue page for Vogue 1198, with illustration and alternate photo:

Vogue 1198 in a 1950s Vogue Patterns counter catalogue.

Vogue 1231 is a day dress with a single patch pocket and bloused bodice gathered to a dramatic convertible collar:

Vogue 1231 by Schiaparelli (1953) Image via Betsy Vintage.

The dress was photographed in Paris by Robert Randall:

Vogue 1231 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, August 15, 1953. Photo: Robert Randall.

Finally, Vogue 1245 is a long evening dress with an attached stole that passes through the bodice front:

Illustration for Vogue 1245 by Schiaparelli (1954)

The stunning gown was photographed by Roger Prigent:

Vogue 1245 by Schiaparelli. Vogue, January 1, 1954. Photo: Roger Prigent.

If you don’t have the budget for an original Schiaparelli pattern, a reproduction of the one-sleeved stole from Vogue 1068 is available from Decades of Style:

Vogue 1068 by Schiaparelli. Sketch by David, Vogue, August 1, 1949.

1930s child’s coat detail — Pictorial Review 6128.

I made our little niece a vintage ’30s coat as a Hannukah gift. For the pattern I used Pictorial Review 6128, a double-breasted coat with optional back belt and pockets.

Pictorial Review 6128 (1932) Child’s Coat.

Here’s the diagram and description from the envelope back. It’s a unisex coat for small children, and was available only in sizes 1 to 6:

Technical drawing and description, Pictorial Review 6128 (1932)

The recommended fabrics were flannel, camel’s hair, piqué, velveteen, cheviot, and serge. We had a length of purple Woolrich tweed that felt the right weight for a coat. (Established in 1830, Woolrich is North America’s oldest woolen mill. Today, Woolrich tweed is a wool-nylon blend for durability.) I cut some leather trim for the welt pockets from an old pair of leather gloves, and my modest button stash yielded a set of one-inch vintage Civil Defence buttons for the front and belt.

Since the pattern is the old die-cut type and needed no alterations, I tried cutting using the original tissue pieces held down with weights.

I’m new to tailoring (and coat-making), so throughout the process I referred to Paco Peralta’s tailoring tutorial and my 1970s Vogue Sewing Book on tailoring techniques. The coat collar gave me the opportunity to try out pad stitching. The pattern even gave instructions; the undercollar is to be interfaced with muslin and pad stitched, with the collar stand first worked with a running stitch:

Instruction diagrams for undercollar – Pictorial Review 6128

Here are some progress photos of the pad stitched undercollar:

This is the undercollar attached to the coat body:

Pad stitched undercollar on Pictorial Review 6128

You could call my approach to the coat half-tailored—somewhere between the pattern’s Depression-era muslin collar interlining and modern tailoring’s padstitched hair canvas interfacing, all catch-stitched along the seam lines. As a compromise between vintage and modern methods I used a sew-in interfacing on coat facings, belt, and pocket welts. (None was called for in the pattern.) To handle the heavy tweed, I had no tailor’s clapper, so I pounded the steamed seams and edges with a small cedar block we had on hand. Paco’s tip of making a few stitches across lapel corners worked wonders for my first-ever lapels.

I bagged the lining and added handworked keyhole buttonholes—fanned at one end, with a bar tack at the other. Partway through making the coat we decided against the convertible collar, so I omitted the lapel buttonholes. (As with many vintage patterns, there were no button/buttonhole markings.) It was my first stab at handworked buttonholes on heavy fabric; I love how the hand stitches create an edge that curves out to the ridge of knots that lines the buttonhole opening.

Here are some photos of the finished coat:

I think of Civil Defence buttons as ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ buttons since the font and crown are similar to those on the WW2 propaganda poster originally produced by Britain’s Ministry of Information. (More on the Keep Calm font here.) Some closeup views of the buttons and buttonholes:

And the little back belt:

Our loft’s walls have some mysterious industrial hardware that proved useful in showing the scale of the coat:

Cutting straight from a die-cut pattern was an interesting experience, but I still prefer printed or traced tissue for cutting and marking. An oft-cited drawback of unprinted patterns is that the notches and other markings don’t always line up. This was true of the coat pattern, but it wasn’t hard to correct.

It’s always a pleasure working with wool, and I really enjoyed the challenge of trying out tailoring with a heavy fabric. The finished coat is something our niece will grow into, especially in the shoulders. But she does love the pockets! I see more coat-making in our future…

(Cross-posted to We Sew Retro.)

Guinevere Van Seenus in Vogue, November 1997. Photo: Mario Testino.

This week, the second post in my occasional series on Vogue’s pattern editorials. (See the first post here.)

“Clean Cuts,” from the November 1997 issue, seems to have been Vogue’s last editorial to feature sewing patterns. Mario Testino photographed Guinevere Van Seenus and Amber Valetta in ’90s minimalist style in the season’s body-conscious basics—”the edgier side of Vogue Patterns,” as the headline says.

Here Guinevere Van Seenus models a white tank top made using Vogue 8062; on the right, her hooded red dress is Butterick 5088, lengthened, made sleeveless, and with an altered neckline:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

The hoodie pattern, Butterick 5088, reappears on Amber Valetta, this time as a zip-up top in black Lurex. Her white silk shirt is Vogue 9501, while the red leather pants are Vogue 1982 by DKNY:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

Here Van Seenus models the Vogue 9501 shirt in silk jersey with the Vogue 1982 DKNY pants in black, while Valetta wears the Vogue 8062 tank with a red leather skirt, Vogue 7074:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

Butterick 5088 appears once again as a jacket in sequinned jersey with a silver lining (the tank is Butterick 8062); Valetta’s black leather tank dress is Vogue 1725 by Calvin Klein:

Vogue, November 1997. Photos: Mario Testino. Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson.

As always, in the back of the magazine readers could find the details of the patterns used in the shoot:

In This Issue, Vogue, November 1997.

It’s curious that the text doesn’t mention the designers behind Vogue 1982 and 1725; Donna Karan and Calvin Klein would have been major advertisers. Most interestingly, in showing patterns’ potential through fabric choice and alterations, the editorial reveals Vogue editors thinking like dressmakers.

Celia Hammond in Paco Rabanne. British Vogue, May 1966. Photo: David Bailey. Image via Vogue UK.

Born in Indonesia, Celia Hammond was discovered by Norman Parkinson in the early 1960s and went on to build a career as a top model in Paris and Swinging London.

British Vogue, June 1967. Photo: David Bailey. Image via Vogue UK.

Hammond may be seen on many designer patterns from Vogue and Butterick from the mid-1960s, always by British designers.

Here she models an LBD with dropped waist and bow-trimmed overblouse by Michael of London (Michael Donéllan):

Vogue 1330 by Michael (1964) Image via the Blue Gardenia.

Hammond modelled for patterns by a few British designers licensed to Butterick’s new Young Designers line, including the first Mary Quant patterns. Here she poses in a Quant dress, Butterick 3288, on a Butterick catalogue cover shot by Terence Donovan:

Butterick 3288 by Mary Quant; Butterick catalogue, October 1964. Photo: Terence Donovan. Image via eBay.

Jean Muir designed this button-trimmed, mustard-yellow dress for her early label, Jane & Jane:

Butterick 4153 by Jean Muir (c. 1965) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Hammond also appears on this popular Jean Muir dress pattern, Butterick 4577:

Butterick 4577 by Jean Muir (c. 1967) Image via Etsy.

Here she models a suede-trimmed ensemble by Jo Mattli:

Vogue 1664 by Jo Mattli (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

This evening dress from Belinda Bellville has a shaped bodice and handy pockets:

Vogue 1680 by Belinda Bellville (1966) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

By Ronald Paterson, this three-piece ensemble with cutaway jacket is chic in white matelassé with matching buttons:

Vogue 1685 by Ronald Paterson (1967) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Richard Dormer photographed Hammond in these two Belinda Bellville designs. Vogue 1795 is an elegant, black-and-white day ensemble, while Vogue 1828 is a short evening dress with tiered, scalloped, bias overskirt:

Vogue 1795 by Belinda Bellville (1967) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Vogue 1828 by Belinda Bellville (1967) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Here Hammond models another dress by Michael Donéllan, its blouson bodice slashed in back to reveal an attached camisole:

Vogue 1861 by Michael of London (1967) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Hammond retired from modelling to devote herself full-time to her work for animal welfare; she remains active for this cause as the founder of the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.

Click the models tag to see more posts in my models series.

Jane and Roger Sterling (Peyton List and John Slattery) in Mad Men, season 5. Image via AMC.

With Mad Men entering its final season, my Mad Men-era series concludes with two posts on fashion designers whose work became available to home sewers in the mid-Sixties. (Browse the series by clicking the Mad Men era tag, or start at the beginning.)

Before the Vogue Americana line there was McCall’s New York Designers’ Collection. In the fall of 1965, McCall’s introduced a new pattern line: New York Designers’ Collection plus 1. (The “plus 1” refers to one foreign designer, Digby Morton; later, as McCall’s added designers to the line, it became “New York Designers’ Collection Plus.”)

The Fall/Winter 1965 issue of McCall’s Pattern Fashions & Home Decorating introduced readers to the new designers. According to the catalogue, the new line featured “the most outstanding fashions of seven leading American designers and one famous London couturier” (click to enlarge):

Meet McCall’s new designers. McCall’s Pattern Fashions & Home Decorating, Fall-Winter 1965–66.

The original list of designers consisted of Larry Aldrich, Geoffrey Beene, Bill Blass, Laird-Knox, Digby Morton, Originala, Mollie Parnis, and Pauline Trigère, whose agreement with McCall’s dated to the mid-1950s. (Trigère was already featured in an earlier Mad Men era post.) Later additions would include Anne Klein, Jacques Tiffeau, and Rudi Gernreich.

This post looks at three of the best-known American designers in McCall’s new line: Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene, and Anne Klein.

Bill Blass

Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Bill Blass (1922-2002) showed an early talent for fashion design, studying briefly at Parsons before enlisting in the U.S. military in 1942. After the war he returned to New York to work in the fashion industry; by 1959 he was head designer for Maurice Rentner—then a conservative, established Seventh Avenue label. (McCall’s patterns credit the designer as ‘Bill Blass for Maurice Rentner, Ltd.’) In 1970 he purchased the company and renamed it Bill Blass Ltd. Blass was known for his sophisticated but youthful designs favoured by high society. He retired in 1999.

McCall’s 8927 is an asymmetrical, sleeveless shift dress with applied bands and an inverted pleat on the left-hand side:

McCall’s 8927 by Bill Blass (1967) Image via Etsy.

Geoffrey Beene

Born in Louisiana as Samuel Robert Bozeman Jr., Geoffrey Beene (1924-2004) trained at the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York and École de la Chambre Syndicale in Paris, where he also apprenticed with a tailor. Returning to New York, he worked at Harmay and Teal Traina before founding his own company in 1963. Beene was renowned for his innovative, modern designs, as well as his iconoclasm.

Veronica Hamel models McCall’s 1028, a dress cut in seven panels with seven-eighths kimono sleeves and triangular, bias collar:

McCall’s 1028 by Geoffrey Beene (1968) Image via Etsy.

Anne Klein

Born in Brooklyn as Hannah Golofsky, Anne Klein (1923-1974) also trained at the Traphagen School of Fashion. The pioneer in American sportswear worked in petites and juniors before founding Anne Klein and Company in the late 1960s. Her final collection was completed by Donna Karan, who had begun work at the company in the summer of 1967 as Klein’s intern.

McCall’s 1020 is a sleeveless shift dress with angular armholes and fabulous standing (and convertible) collar. The model is Hellevi Keko:

McCall’s 1020 by Anne Klein (1967) Image via MOMSPatterns.

All three New York designers would later make the switch to Vogue Patterns: Blass in 1967, Beene and Klein in the 1970s.

Next: Butterick’s Young Designers: Mary Quant, Jean Muir, and Emmanuelle Khanh.

Megan Draper (Jessica Paré) in a Mad Men season 7 promotional photo. Image via AMC.

My series on Mad Men-era designer patterns concludes this week with three Butterick Young Designers: Mary Quant, Jean Muir, and Emmanuelle Khanh.

In 1964, Butterick launched its Young Designers line, appealing to the youth market by licensing the work of up-and-coming, international fashion designers. The line would continue through the 1970s with the addition of new designers like Betsey Johnson, Jane Tise, and Kenzo. (For more on the Young Designers line see The Vintage Traveler’s Butterick Young Designers page.)

Mary Quant

Mary Quant (b. 1934) was the first designer to be signed to the new pattern line. Born in London, Quant met Archie McNair and her future husband, Alexander Plunket Greene, at art school; together they opened a boutique on the King’s Road, Bazaar, in 1955, selling Quant’s fun, youthful designs. Quant is perhaps most famous as a pioneer of the miniskirt. Butterick released its first Quant patterns, featuring Celia Hammond photographed by Terence Donovan, in the fall of 1964.

Butterick 5475 is a mini-length shirt dress with plenty of details including epaulets, side slits, and a self-buttoned belt:

Butterick 5475 by Mary Quant (1969) Mini dress.

Jean Muir

Also born in London, Jean Muir (1928-1995) showed an early talent for dressmaking and needlework. During the 1950s, after working her way up from the stockroom at Liberty, she was hired as designer for Jaeger; she stayed with Jaeger until 1962, when she founded her first label, Jane & Jane. She launched her eponymous label in 1966. Muir was known for her fluid dresses with charming dressmaker details.

Butterick introduced Jean Muir patterns in the spring of 1965. This short, high-waisted dress dates to the late 1960s; the bodice front and slashed, modified raglan bell sleeves fasten with rows of tiny buttons:

Butterick 5657 by Jean Muir (c. 1969) Image via eBay.

Emmanuelle Khanh

Born in Paris as Renée Mésière, Emmanuelle Khanh (b. 1937) married avant-garde industrial designer Quasar Khanh in the late 1950s, around the same time that she began working as a house model for Balenciaga and Givenchy. Turning her hand to fashion design, Khanh was soon at the forefront of yé-yé fashion (Paris’ answer to Youthquake), designing for brands including Cacharel and Missoni before launching her own label in 1969. (Read a 1964 LIFE magazine article about Khanh here.) Today her company focuses on accessories, particularly eyewear.

Butterick introduced Emmanuelle Khanh sewing patterns in the fall of 1965. This turquoise, suit-effect dress creates interesting effects with topstitching and collar details:

Emmanuelle Khanh dress on the cover of the Butterick Home Catalog, Fall 1965. Image: myvintagevogue via Freshly Given.

I’m not sure of the pattern number—it may be Butterick 3718. This photo shows a full-length view of the dress:

An Emmanuelle Khanh dress made from a Butterick sewing pattern in heavy turquoise blue wool jersey (1965) Image via Amazon.

It’s interesting to see an established company like Butterick responding to contemporary Sixties youth culture, facilitating access to Youthquake and yé-yé fashion in the process.

Patrick Kelly Fall 1988 collection. Photo: Oliviero Toscani. Image via Dazed Digital.

This past weekend, the exhibition Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love opened at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Read WWD’s coverage here.) The show is the second Patrick Kelly retrospective since the designer’s death from AIDS in 1990. (The first was the Brooklyn Museum’s Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective in 2004.)

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Patrick Kelly (1954-1990) found success as an expatriate in Paris: he was the first American, and also the first black designer, to be elected to the Chambre syndicale du prêt-à-porter. Much of Kelly’s work references his southern, African-American heritage through the use of vibrant colour, buttons and bows, and reappropriated black memorabilia motifs such as watermelons and golliwogs. (Patrick Kelly shopping bags emblazoned with his golliwog logo, as seen in the above photo, were deemed too controversial to be used in the United States.)

Dresses from Patrick Kelly’s Fall 1986 and Fall 1988 collections. Image via the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Between 1988 and 1991, Vogue Patterns licensed Patrick Kelly designs, first in the Individualist line and later as Paris Originals. Here is a selection of Patrick Kelly sewing patterns, grouped by collection.

1. Patrick Kelly Spring/Summer 1988 prêt-à-porter

Vogue Patterns’ licensing began with Kelly’s Spring/Summer 1988 collection, his first under contract with Warnaco. This collection played with the culture and racial stereotypes of the American south. (Watch a YouTube video of the collection starting here.) Vogue 2077, the first of several Patrick Kelly patterns featuring African-American model Gail O’Neill, is a flamboyant peplum suit with back bow:

Vogue 2077 by Patrick Kelly (1988) Image via PatternVault on Etsy.

The suit seems to have made the cover of Vogue Patterns magazine:

Vogue Patterns magazine, Summer 1988. Image via Flickr.

Vogue 2078 is a tiered, off-the-shoulder dress for stretch knits:

Vogue 2078 by Patrick Kelly (1988) Image via Etsy.

More knit dresses from this collection can be seen in this photo by Oliviero Toscani, the photographer best known for his controversial Benetton ads:

Patrick Kelly Spring 1988 collection. Photo: Oliviero Toscani. Image via the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

2. Patrick Kelly Fall/Winter 1988-89 prêt-à-porter

Variations on the heart motif characterized Kelly’s Fall 1988 collection, entitled More Love; the collection was later included in “Heart Strings,” a touring fundraiser for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA). Vogue 2165 is a long-sleeved, colour-blocked dress with heart-shaped bodice:

Vogue 2165 by Patrick Kelly (1988) Image via eBay.

A version with red contrast can be seen in Toscani’s ad campaign; the red bodice also appeared in the bridal look that closed the collection. Given the ‘love’ theme, it’s surprising that the red version was not photographed for the Vogue pattern:

Patrick Kelly Fall 1988 ad campaign. Photo: Oliviero Toscani. Image via Philadelphia Museum of Art on tumblr.

Vogue 2304, a stretch-knit dress with Kelly’s trademark buttons applied in a rainbow triangle, is visible in the Toscani photo at the top of this post:

Vogue 2304 by Patrick Kelly (1989) Image via Fashionista Fabrics.

3. Patrick Kelly Spring/Summer 1989 prêt-à-porter

Having just been elected to the Chambre syndicale in June 1988, Kelly showed a Mona Lisa-themed collection for Spring 1989 in the courtyard of the Louvre. Vogue 2286 is a pattern for a full skirt, wide-legged pants, and a double-breasted top with notched shawl collar:

Vogue 2286 by Patrick Kelly (1989) Image via eBay.

The red version of the top can be seen in this campaign photo by Oliviero Toscani:

Patrick Kelly Spring 1989 ad campaign. Photo: Oliviero Toscani. Image via Dazed Digital.

4. Patrick Kelly Fall/Winter 1989 prêt-à-porter

Presented the year of the bicentenary of French Revolution, Kelly’s final collection was conceived as a celebration of France and America. Vogue 2385 is a shawl-effect dress designed for stretch knits; the contrast front inset extends into a shoulder drape. The illustration’s red drape version may be seen in Runway of Love:

Vogue 2385 by Patrick Kelly (1989) Image via Etsy.

The grey stripe version was featured in the Fall/Winter 1989 ad campaign:

Patrick Kelly Fall 1989 ad campaign. Photo: Oliviero Toscani. Image via Pinterest.

Vogue 2556 is a button-studded ensemble consisting of jacket, skirt, and coat. The design requires forty-one buttons for the jacket alone:

Vogue 2556 by Patrick Kelly (1990) Image via Etsy.

The Vogue 2556 jacket and skirt were photographed for this Apollo Landing-themed campaign image:

Patrick Kelly FW 1989 collection. Photo: Oliviero Toscani. Image via Philadelphia Museum of Art.

A hot pink version, included in the Philadelphia exhibit, has a matching hat and cape, and rainbow buttons:

Patrick Kelly suit and cape ensemble, FW 1989 collection. Image via Dazed Digital.

Despite covering only two years, the sewing patterns are an excellent sample of Kelly’s bold and playful work.

Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love runs through November 30th, 2014.

One-seam coat by Patrick Kelly, 1985. Image via the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

As part of its current exhibition, Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is sharing a pattern for a one-seam coat designed by Patrick Kelly in 1984.

After Kelly moved to Paris in 1979, he worked as a costume designer for Le Palace nightclub while also selling his coats on the sidewalk of the Boulevard Saint-Germain. When he secured a stall at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, the famous Porte de Clignancourt flea market, his raw-edged jersey tube dresses caught the attention of his first backer, Françoise Chassagnac of Victoire. Thanks to Chassagnac’s connections, Kelly’s entire collection was featured in Elle magazine:

“Les tubes de Patrick Kelly,” Elle France, February 18, 1985. Image via Shrimpton Couture.

Although the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s coat dates to 1985, the design is the same as those Kelly sold on the Boulevard Saint-Germain.

Kelly’s one-seam coat would become a recurring feature in the designer’s work. A rethinking of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s iconic 1961 one-seam coat, it may have been inspired by Issey Miyake’s cocoon coat—Kelly was once the house guest of Miyake’s publicist, Victoria Rivière, in Paris.

The original coat is a quilted cotton knit. It has a simple revers opening in front, box pleats in the back, and batwing sleeves formed by the shoulder seam:

These technical drawings show the coat front and back:

Download the one-seam coat pattern

Size: One size fits all

Fabric requirements: About 3.5 yards (3.2 m) of 60″ (~150 cm) fabric

Recommended fabrics: Fabrics with a good hand and drape, e.g. double knits and double-faced fabrics. The original is a quilted single knit.

Finished length: 52″ (132 cm)

Pattern length from top to bottom: 57.5″ (146 cm)

Tips, caveats: No separate instructions; scale and seam allowances are not marked. The coat must be cut on the cross grain. The original coat has a simple turn and stitch finish, with a sleeve binding piece for the sleeve openings.

A Parisian friend of Kelly’s has posted instructions to make a doll-scale version based on her Patrick Kelly original.

Thanks to Monica Brown, Senior Collections Assistant, Costume and Textiles, for answering questions about the project, and Paula M. Sim, Costume and Textiles intern, for drafting the pattern.

Nena von Schlebrügge on the cover of Vogue Pattern Book, Autumn 1960. Image via eBay.

(A late Mother’s Day post since I was under the weather yesterday.)

In honour of Mother’s Day, this models post is devoted to a mother and daughter who both modelled for designer sewing patterns: Nena von Schlebrügge and Uma Thurman.

Nena von Schlebrügge (b. 1941) was born in Mexico City to German-Swedish parents who had fled Nazi Germany. In 1957, two years after she was discovered by Norman Parkinson, she moved from her native Stockholm to London to pursue modelling, later moving to New York to sign with Eileen Ford.

Nena von Schlebrügge, first test shots, Stockholm, 1955. Photo: Norman Parkinson. Image via artnet.

Nena von Schlebrügge appears on a number of Vogue Pattern Book covers and Vogue patterns from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Here she models one of Vogue’s first Dior patterns by Yves Saint Laurent—Vogue 1472, a skirt suit and full coat with big, shaped collar:

Vogue 1472 by Yves Saint Laurent for Christian Dior (1959). Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Von Schlebrügge can also be seen on Vogue 1484 by Madame Grès, a 3-piece ensemble that includes a voluminous coat with three-quarter sleeves, loose back panel, and elegant contrast lapels and lining:

Vogue 1484 by Grès (1960) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Detail of Vogue 1484 by Grès (1960) Image via Etsy.

Uma Thurman (b. 1970) is the daughter of Nena von Schlebrügge and her second husband, Robert Thurman. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Uma Thurman dropped out of her prep school there to pursue acting in New York City, where she worked as a fashion model before landing her breakout roles in Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988).

British Vogue, December 1985. Photo: Patrick Demarchelier. Image via Vogue UK.

Uma Thurman is featured on a handful of 1980s Simplicity patterns, including two by Cathy Hardwick. (These may date to Tom Ford’s time at the company.)

Here Thurman wears Simplicity 8054, a wrap dress with halter back and capelet sleeves, in classic red:

Simplicity 8054 by Cathy Hardwick (1986) Image via Etsy.

Here she models a pure ’80s LBD with big shoulders and flutter sleeves, Simplicity 8055:

Simplicity 8055 by Cathy Hardwick (1987) Image via Etsy.

Nena von Schlebrügge later became a psychotherapist and director of Tibet House and the Menla Center; Uma Thurman is an Academy Award nominee for her role in Pulp Fiction (1994). Thurman’s presence is already evident in her Simplicity patterns. Isn’t the family resemblance striking?

Rebecca Lobo photographed by Michel Comte, Vogue, November 1997.

In 1997, Michel Comte photographed pro basketball player Rebecca Lobo for Vogue magazine in an evening dress made from a Vogue pattern. The American Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) had had its first game earlier that year, and the New York Liberty forward was featured in a health and beauty portfolio, “Women on the Verge,” on six women in the public eye.

Rebecca Lobo, Vogue, November 1997. Photo: Michel Comte.

The caption reads: “Rebecca Lobo, forward for the New York Liberty, former college basketball star, and Olympic gold medalist, is too tall (six feet four) for off-the-rack women’s clothes and too stylish to be relegated to baggy unisex sweatsuits. Her solution: a custom-made wardrobe. Here, satin evening gown from Vogue Pattern #9400.”

Lobo’s bias evening gown is view C of Vogue 9400 from 1995, made up in silk crepe-backed satin:

Vogue 9400, In This Issue, Vogue, November 1997.

Lobo appeared in the same issue as my previous Patterns in Vogue post—apparently the last issue to feature sewing patterns.

Kate Moss photographed by Juergen Teller, Vogue, June 1994.

It’s Kate Moss Month at SHOWstudio, so I was able to update my “Courrèges Edge” post with a newly released, early fashion film by Nick Knight featuring video of Kate Moss from the 1995 patterns shoot.

An earlier Kate Moss editorial shows the model in sophisticated summer looks, all made up in red using Vogue patterns. Photographed by Juergen Teller, “Red Hot” appears in the June, 1994 issue of Vogue magazine.

Here Moss models a simple, silk charmeuse gown, Vogue 8689; on the right she wears a sheer nylon shirt, Vogue 8447, with a pair of Ray-Ban mirror shades (click to enlarge):

Vogue, June 1994. Photos: Juergen Teller. Fashion editor: Camilla Nickerson.

On the left, Moss’ silk charmeuse romper was made using Vogue 9765, a 1980s bias lingerie pattern; on the right, the jacket from Vogue 1326 by Claude Montana becomes a short, patent leather trench coat:

Vogue, June 1994. Photos: Juergen Teller. Fashion editor: Camilla Nickerson.

Here Moss’ basic silk tank is Vogue 1342; on the right, her silk satin pantsuit is Vogue 1402 by Genny, worn with a black, silk charmeuse cami made with another ’80s lingerie pattern, Vogue 2146:

Vogue, June 1994. Photos: Juergen Teller. Fashion editor: Camilla Nickerson.

As always, in the back of the magazine readers could find all the details on the patterns used in the shoot:

In This Issue, Vogue, June 1994.

Click the Patterns in Vogue tag for more posts in the series.