I’ve been buying Burda magazine (formerly “Burda World Of Fashion”, now “Burda Style”) since 2005, and I’ve seen its greatness come and go (and then come back again) in waves. It’s been getting steadily better over the course of 2012, but this August issue is the best one in a LONG time! Definitely the best this year (along with May 2012), but possibly it ranks up there with September 2010 and August 2006 even in my own personal Burda Issue Hall Of Fame!
I pretty much love everything in this “Clear and Bright” feature with the white background, but let’s take these one step at a time.
First up is this blue tuxedo with slim trousers and a great jacket with interesting, non-standard lapels. How could I not love this, when I’ve already made a blue tuxedo with slim trousers and a jacket with interesting lapels back in 2008 (and also from Burda patterns)??! LOVE.
I really love the shape of this dirndl-inspired dress, with its cap sleeves and interesting bodice seams, but part of me is also concerned by the sharp seaming – they look awfully similar to the seams on a Burda slip pattern I tried that really didn’t work for me (ahem, pointy boobs) so I’d want to definitely muslin this bodice before going further.
This is a great coat design – it can work for casual or dressy occasions, has enough length to keep legs warm, and would be great in a nice, thick wool.
Burda hasn’t had a great track record for “twists on the basic teeshirt” patterns – IMHO Patrones and KnipMode have produced more patterns in this regard, while Burda usually tend to do great basic tees or unwearable “big shirts” when they try to branch out. This, however, is a GREAT Twist On a Basic Teeshirt! It’s a long sleeved teeshirt but with added drape piece that folds and twists along a curved seam. I can really see this in my winter wardrobe already!
This top pattern is surprisingly for wovens, which you don’t see very often (especially not in the teeshirt style), paired with some faux sailor trousers (the buttons are only decorative, unfortunately!).
I really like that Burda are starting to use some reader models like KnipMode used to do, though KnipMode were great about using a wide range of ages, ethnicities, and body shapes, so I hope Burda branches out a bit more from the thin, young, and white readers in this issue. At least they’ve started to use a bigger model for the Plus patterns (which are also great in this issue, btw).
Burda call this vintage reprint pattern “a bikini” but look closer, remove the awful frilled trim and you’ll see that it’s actually a bra pattern complete with underwires. Holy smokes, after 7 years of buying Burda magazine, they’ve finally given us a proper bra pattern!!
In another issue, this lovely crepe dress with fantastic seam lines might’ve been the absolute star pattern, but here its merely a bit player and far too easy to overlook. Unfortunately it’s shown in black here so it’s difficult to see said seam lines, too.
I’m not big golfing fan, but I really like this vest/waistcoat (sewn with sweater knits – a good use for 1 metre of the expensive stuff!), and a basic skirt with an interesting asymmetric godet.
I saved my absolute favourite for last – the peplum top and skirt seen on the cover. I LOVE this! It’s got a long sleeved version, too (with a longer dress, but I’m not really into that). This is going to be my go-to business meeting combination, made all the better if I can choose between slim trousers and a skirt for the bottoms, too.
On an aside, my trench jacket has the same short-in-front peplum hem going on and I absolutely adore it – the shape is just so flattering on me paired with a variety of bottoms.
EDIT: Oh, and some of my favourites are available as downloads already on the English BurdaStyle site! It’s nice the delay between magazine and downloads is decreasing…