Burda magazine April 2014

I wasn’t overly keen on last month’s issue, but there’s a lot to love in this one! Even the designs I didn’t like definitely had their own merit – lots of details and designs with thought behind them, and nary a shapeless sack in sight! But let’s take a peek inside for my picks…

I didn’t like much from the Southern style feature (nothing wrong with it, just not for me!), but I love that Burda have snuck in another cycling pattern, hot on the heels of last month’s seat cover! I really love the look of panniers, and I think these are a great design, with or without the frills.

The only Southern style garment that really jumped out at me was this shirt with the front, “bib” yoke. I don’t tend to sew many woven shirts for myself, but I really like this pattern, and it’d definitely be good in the summer heat!

I’m convinced that someone at Burda HQ has either studied at Bunka, or else is just really into Japanese-style pattern cutting, because we’ve had at least one design a month that just has Bunka written all over it, and this dress is certainly it. I had a bit of a “Burda WTF” reaction at first, but the more I looked at it, the more I think it might actually be kinda cool. Or uncomfortable – I’m not so sure about that left sleeve with the flat sleevehead. But I’m kinda into the uneven tube concept, even though I’m unsure whether it’d work in real life.

Here we see the cover dress in more detail, and it’s utterly gorgeous. This is the best about Burda – a flattering, edgy, and well designed dress that’s made accessible to everyone. Those skirt petals are just inspired and the topstitching and seaming is just icing on the cake.

I wasn’t overly keen on last month’s issue, but there’s a lot to love in this one! Even the designs I didn’t like definitely had their own merit – lots of details and designs with thought behind them, and nary a shapeless sack in sight! But let’s take a peek inside for my picks…

I didn’t like much from the Southern style feature (nothing wrong with it, just not for me!), but I love that Burda have snuck in another cycling pattern, hot on the heels of last month’s seat cover! I really love the look of panniers, and I think these are a great design, with or without the frills.

The only Southern style garment that really jumped out at me was this shirt with the front, “bib” yoke. I don’t tend to sew many woven shirts for myself, but I really like this pattern, and it’d definitely be good in the summer heat!

I’m convinced that someone at Burda HQ has either studied at Bunka, or else is just really into Japanese-style pattern cutting, because we’ve had at least one design a month that just has Bunka written all over it, and this dress is certainly it. I had a bit of a “Burda WTF” reaction at first, but the more I looked at it, the more I think it might actually be kinda cool. Or uncomfortable – I’m not so sure about that left sleeve with the flat sleevehead. But I’m kinda into the uneven tube concept, even though I’m unsure whether it’d work in real life.

Here we see the cover dress in more detail, and it’s utterly gorgeous. This is the best about Burda – a flattering, edgy, and well designed dress that’s made accessible to everyone. Those skirt petals are just inspired and the topstitching and seaming is just icing on the cake.

Here’s the top version of that Bunka-esque dress from earlier, teamed with a high waisted skirt. But the interesting this for me are the men’s patterns, even if they are the same ol’ blazer we’ve seen a thousand times before, and trousers that are only slight variations…

At this point I’m just hands-down loving this “Summer White” feature so freaking much! Seriously, I’d make and/or wear pretty much everything in it – I’m totally a minimalist girl deep down, and I just adore this surplice-hem top, too, even if midriff-baring isn’t my thing (hint: it’d be ridiculously easy to lengthen this by a few inches!). It’d be easy to overlook the trousers here, too, but they’ve got some great detailing at the waist, and look like they’re almost sailor-style.

Aaaaaah, stop it, Burda, you’re killing me with amazing designs here! Seriously, this crossover dress (or its top version) are just so freaking cool! I was pretty much guaranteed to make this anyway, but you’ve gone and given this one the illustrated instructions, too?!? Twist my arm already!

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I’m not usually a fan of jumpsuits, but I wanted to show you a little comparison I put together. There’s a jumpsuit pattern in this issue (hilariously, incorrectly called both “overalls” and “catsuit” in different places), and this really highlights the importance of fabric choice. The version on the left looks totally classy. The version on the right – awful and trashy, the worst kind of Versace over the top crap. So pick your fabric carefully, ladies.

Ok – what was the point of the ten page spread showing various people I don’t care about wearing the same two blazers over and over again (literally the same – no fabric differences or anything)? Because I seriously couldn’t give a crap about whether some German lady’s daughter steals her clothes. This had better not be a new recurring feature. Ugh.

I thought the Plus offerings were a little lackluster this month, but I’m a total sucker for knit tops, and this one looks very nice indeed, especially with the square neckline.

So what did everyone else think? Any favourites I missed? And who’s going to be the first to try out that Japanese dress in person?

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