The latest issue of the Brazilian pattern magazine Manequim arrived already, and it’s not only the start of their Fall fashions, but also a tribute to Mother’s Day (which is celebrated in May in a large portion of the world).
First up, in the celebrity style section (which is normally filled with Brazilian soap stars I’ve never heard of), I see a familiar face – Kate Middleton! The dress is quite a classic shape with a wide, boat neckline, and comes in a variety of sizes, too. It’s designed for scuba fabrics, which are becoming more widely available in the past few years, too.
The cover feature this month pairs a soap actress with her daughter (who I’d assumed was about 16, but reading the article, is apparently 12?!), with dresses and separates for both mother and daughter to wear. I particularly like the two wrap dresses the mother is wearing, though they’re very similar styles besides the hem length.
Some of the daughter’s patterns are actually for sizes “16 years” or “12 years”, which I’ve never seen in Manequim before, like this collared sweatshirt pattern. They’ve not included a size chart in the back of the magazine at all for these tween sizes, so how they compare to the smallest adult size, 36, is anyone’s guess!
They’ve used the usual “designer style” section this month to instead showcase the Plus patterns. Except that the long sleeved tee on the left isn’t really in Plus sizes (I wear a 42 or 44!), which is kinda cheating. The jersey wrap dress on the right is at least offered in larger sizes, and is a classic look, especially in three quarter length sleeves.
I love this dress with its contrast side panels and surplice skirt. Totally love it – it’s modern, flattering, and gives an opportunity to colourblock!
I’ve never been a fan of maxi skirts to begin with, but I’m thoroughly sick of seeing them now (file under “anything peplum”). Except Manequim have managed to find a fresh maxi silhouette! This elongated pencil skirt with its angled waist seaming just looks so fashionable – and you could always make it knee-length instead!
There are so many boring trouser patterns out there that anything unusual immediately catches my eye. But with these, I’m not sure the innovation was a good idea, as they look to be pooching out a bit around the model’s midsection, which is not a good look for anyone…
The final section of the issue this month features lots of different winter fabrics along with a handful of patterns to use with them, including this lovely tweed coat. The princess seams would make this easy to fit, the long zipper leaves no gaps for the cold to get in, and the gun flap adds a bit of visual interest, too.
And finally, I rather liked the jacquard pencil skirt with the two long zippers, but the leather playsuit just seems like a bad idea – hot, inflexible, and awkward to get on and off, especially since you’d need to layer it over tights and a long sleeved top at the very least…
I know that all of these are meant to be Fall and Winter sewing, but I often find the most to like out of these and the Spring issues, where it tends to cross over a bit and be compatible with English seasons!