Cathy models "The Ugliest Pattern Ever"!

Talk about twisting arms.

It wasn't easy but I finally got Cathy to agree to model Vogue 9128, which as you'll recall, was chosen "The Ugliest Pattern Ever" from among a dozen worthy competitors.

MPB readers proclaimed it "a male maternity jumper," "so sad," and "like wearing a fashion barrel."

So here is the result and I hope you enjoy it.  We even ran into an honest-to-goodness Cathy fan on our shoot!



As always, to see these photos full-size, please click on any image and then, in Picasa, choose "View All" in the upper left hand corner, and "Slideshow."

You can leave your impressions below, but please be kind.  Remember: it was chosen ugliest for a reason.

Do you think Cathy has redeemed this look?  Can anybody?

Enjoy!

Eighties hate-ies: Revisiting Fashion's Despised Decade

Folks over thirty-five, I have news for you:  THIS is what young people think of when they think of Eighties fashion.




And this:



And this!  ("Eighties" theme parties -- do you believe it?)



Well I was there, and that is NOT the Eighties I remember.

This is the Eighties!  (courtesy of Vogue)

































To be Eighties style you need at LEAST three of the following (not one of which is a crucifix, a bustier, or anything pink):

1) BIG shoulders -- BIG!

2) Jewel tones

3) A V-shaped silhouette

4) Angular architectural shapes

5) sculpted, moussed hair (bonus points for double processing)

6) heavy, frosted eye and lip makeup

7) oversized everything

8) wide belts

9) gathered sleeves, yokes, skirts, handbags, shoes!

10) big clunky jewelry

Beloved middle-aged contemporaries of mine, please add whatever you think I've missed.

What is it about Eighties style that makes it so despised?  It's interesting how many people think Eighties style is all about Madonna, Madonna, Madonna.   She helped to create one (very) popular look.



Let's not forget about these fashion icons:











Again, I ask you:  WHAT was (is?) so embarrassing about Eighties fashion?  Is it the scale of it all: the big shoulders, big accessories, big hair?  Is it the Reagan-era pretension of big jewelry, gathered cap sleeves, and prissy shoes and bags?  Is it something else entirely?

I mean, the decade WAS preceded by the dust-ruffle midi skirt and followed by grunge -- was it really THAT bad?

So, readers-over-thirty-five and anyone else who has an opinion on the matter (ok, I guess that's everybody), let's get to it:  What makes the Eighties the Hate-ties?  Please be specific.  Who's more guilty of unpardonable fashion violations: Molly Ringwald or Linda Evans? Cyndy Lauper or the cast of "The Facts of Life?"

I believe it is may be time to redeem the Eighties.  Based on yesterday's comments, I know there are a few closet Eighties aficionados out there, mainly Aussies.

Will you help me, can you help me, mates?

Cathy models the Joan Collins dress!

 

We couldn't have wished for a more glorious first day of Spring.

It was the perfect occasion for my cousin Cathy, still a little jet-lagged from her Paris-New York flight, to model my latest creation, McCall's 9037, the Joan Collins wrap dress.

As always, Cathy proved herself a trouper.  She wasn't completely sold on the Eighties look, but when I told her to "think vintage Thierry Mugler," her eyes lit up.  The rest, as they say, was a piece of gateau.

As always, this is more than just a photoshoot, but also a journey into the life of a complex, albeit highly glamorous, woman.



If you'd like to see this slideshow full size -- highly recommended -- please click on any image and watch it in my Picasa gallery from start to finish (click "view all" and then "slideshow" in the upper left hand corner).  It's a veritable thrill-ride.

You can also read my Pattern Review here.

(Cathy completists can catch earlier adventures here and here.)

Thanks go out to Michael for his wonderful photography -- and his patience.

Happy Spring, everybody!

Dynasty dress update w/ POLL

My Nolan Miller creation is almost done!  Still need to hem, understitch, add closures and shoulder pads, and accessorize (found those shoes at the Salvation Army on Tuesday -- perfect!).   
Everything in this dress that could be gathered, is gathered: the shoulders, the sleeves, the bottom bodice edge, the top bodice edge, the skirt, the sleeve caps.  I think that's the secret to Eighties fashion. 

How many miles of thread are headed to the landfill as a result of this garment!



With forecasts in the 60s for the next few days -- and Cathy back from Paris tonight -- I'm hopeful we'll be able to do our photo shoot soon.  I sure hope she likes it.

While you're waiting for the real thing, sit back and enjoy this little trip down memory lane as we recall Eighties fashion at its shoulder-padded best:



Have a great Thursday, everybody!

The Joan Collins dress

So I made a decision about what to sew next for Cathy!  (drum roll please)

 

Hold onto your hats, kids, we're going back to the EIGHTIES!

(Who groaned?  WAS THAT YOU, RIPPLE?)

I bought this pattern on eBay many months ago and I don't even remember why.  I was never a big Dynasty fan, though I did once borrow a Joan Collins beauty book-on-tape from the library and loved the way she pronounced vitamins, vit (rhymes with fit) - amins.  So veddy British.

Anyway, I was looking through my patterns yesterday when it hit me: I would make this dress for Cathy!  I even have the hat for it.

I think she's going to love it, peeps.

In fact, I was so enthusiastic about it that I looked online to see if there were any other Joan Collins patterns.  And there ARE.  In fact, there is an entire McCall's DYNASTY by Nolan Miller collection!

I know you're going to think I'm crazy (I say that a lot, don't I?) but I want to collect and make them all.

Feast your eyes on these and tell me they don't make you fantasize walking down a sumptuous marble staircase with John Forsythe on your arm -- or just being really bitchy.

And these are just some of them -- there are more, a LOT more!  (But where is Heather Locklear?)

I decided to use a vintage flowered Ralph Lauren flat sheet from the Eighties (I used to have the same sheet, so I know) I had in my stash that I think works very well.



This is a real departure for me and my identical cousin, but I think it's going to be fantastic -- and fun.

Here I am modeling the bodice yesterday. 



 

I hope Cathy has triple-strand pearls because I sure don't.

What do you think?  Is this a fashion faux pas or flat-out, unadulterated brilliance?

Have you ever made/worn any of these Dynasty outfits?  Do you think I can bring these shoulder padded, cap-sleeved creations back into fashion singlehandedly?  Twenty-five years is too long to wait for a revival.

I'm still wondering what happened to the McCall's "Green Acres" collection.

If you worked for McCalls, what collection would you most want to create?  (You have the entire history of television at your disposal.)