I hadn’t realised that this issue arrived so late until May came nearly a week after it, but it means I’ve got two issues to show you in rapid succession. It’s always about this time of year that Manequim do their famous “Oscar dress special”, too, and squeeeeeee! this is it!
See? Brazilians do wear sweaters in winter! pfff. But seriously, despite it’s cropped proportions, it’s got some nice colourblocking, and the skirt lines are great, too.
Bomber jackets are huge this year, but I do believe this is the first sequined one I’ve seen – and here I thought I’d seen every variation possible in my pattern magazines so far! The skirt is also interesting, though I don’t think I’d be confident enough to put all my trust into a zipper like that…
Normally I’d be awfully excited to have a bodysuit pattern in my size, but frankly, it’s nowhere near as exciting as Closet Case Files’ Nettie pattern, which is already in my sewing queue. The trousers look like good basics, though, and they’re offered in a few sizes, too.
I must’ve flipped past this at least three times before I noticed that this boring shirt has actually got an asymmetric twist – the collar is rotated and the opening shifted off-centre. So what was boring is now highly interesting!
End up with an extra leather skin and don’t need another handbag? Manequim have a solution – make a biker jacket with just leather on the sleeves! I don’t know that I fancy the “lumberjacket” look (especially not with those trousers!), so I’d go for a grey wool coating for the body instead, but I like the concept. Certainly makes sewing the pockets, topstitching, and zippers easier if it’s not in leather!
This is a really useful pattern – a raglan-seamed sweatshirt with a central panel for showcasing a fancy fabric (like a certain piece of leftover galaxy print ponte, maybe? At first I thought those seams wrapped round from the back like my StyleArc Ivy tee, but no, there are little triangular panels and side seams. Missed a treat there, guys!
Just… NO.
These ladder shorts are certainly interesting, so they get points for creativity, but I don’t think I’m particularly keen to wear them. The jacket drawing looks nice, though, but I wish they hadn’t tucked it in to show off the shorts.
And now, the Oscar dress special, which for this year includes a mix of Oscars and Golden Globes dresses, includes gowns worn by Naomi Watts (Tom Ford, Golden Globes), Charlize Theron (Dior, Oscars), Julia Roberts (Givenchy, Oscars), Hayden Panettiere (Tom Ford, Golden Globes), and my two favourites:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a stretch, halter Narciso Rodriguez gown at the Golden Globes…
…and Amy Adams wearing a stunning Gucci gown at the Oscars. I love everything about this gown – the midnight blue colour, the train, and especially the architectural quality of the folded pieces at the bust and hips.
Now, imagine my surprise when the May issue arrived so quickly and it was even better than this one! Fortunately for you, you only have to wait til tomorrow to see my picks, but the smart ones will be heading to eBay right now to grab it. Trust me!