AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: I Maded You a Widget But I Forgotted It DATE: 6:11 AM ----- BODY:

I made a widget over on Widgetbox months ago, but because this blog is older than dirt and I never upgraded to the Blogger "Layouts" feature instead of the regular ol' "Templates", worrying that doing the conversion would eat up a Saturday better spent sewing, I have not told you about it. Until now.

It looks like this:

Click on that image and it will take you to the Widgetbox page for installation instructions. Unfortunately, because of the "older than dirt" restriction as mentioned above, I have no idea how normal people would install this widget on *their* blogs. Supposedly it "just works," but Steve Jobs didn't harm anyone in the construction of this widget, so take that with a grain of salt.

If you want to make your own random dress widget from your own pattern images, let me know -- I'm happy to share the code, such as it is! You'll need to be able to create a new directory & ftp into to rename files for it to work.

Labels: patterns, random, widget

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

beangirl DATE:Dec 16, 2009 8:39:00 AM Very cool. (In THEORY, if you click on the button at widgetbox, you can get the plain code for your widget without it automatically trying to embed it somewhere for you. I hate that. It never works and I don't care what Steve Jobs or the evil monkeys say.) Anyway, this is cool, thanks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

manda DATE:Dec 16, 2009 1:03:00 PM i bought a dress very similar to this at artfulwears. seriously, such a chic and timeless look! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

bani DATE:Dec 16, 2009 1:53:00 PM I'm not even sure what a widget is. *sobs* ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Artemisia Moltabocca DATE:Dec 16, 2009 3:56:00 PM ::raises hand::

Is there a way you can hide the "Get Widget" button?

Thanks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Dec 16, 2009 4:13:00 PM At first I thought the quote was about buying us a WIGLET!

That is another one of my favorite pattern illustrators! (Not that there seems to have been that many.) Hence, another avatar of their work, in tribute. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Dec 16, 2009 4:19:00 PM This is my very favorite artist, though. They also drew for Simplicity, but the Children's Pattern Division.

I kind of wonder if it's the same illustrator as the one above, just working in a simpler, more child-appropriate style? Anyway, I love the look of these Children's illustrations! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

beangirl DATE:Dec 16, 2009 4:40:00 PM OMG, I didn't even know what a "wiglet" was (and oh man, was I ever hoping that my stab-in-the-dark guess was wrong... WRONG! It was totally right. I had to Google it.) Wiglets! They're freaking me out.

I've decided I love Cookie. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

meredithp DATE:Dec 16, 2009 7:49:00 PM WIGLETs would be very appropriate when discussing or wearing vintage designs from the 60's. My mom had one. They were all the rage. They turned into "falls" in the 70s. They are now akin to "extensions", but not the same thing. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

bani DATE:Dec 17, 2009 2:25:00 AM Oh feck, you made me google wiglet too. Teh horror, ladies. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Dec 17, 2009 1:37:00 PM The first time I saw a wiglet, I was with my mom in a beauty parlor in the 1970's. This woman was getting her hair all teased and done up in a dome shape, and I was fascinated. Then, like the cherry on a sundae, the stylist popped this...hair thing on top. It was like those ribbon rosettes that go on giftwrap, but made of hair. I thought it was all extremely fancy, and wanted my mom to get one, too. She was always extremely pretty, in a very casual way, and she thought about it and said, "But I don't have to."

Now I think wiglets are a little creepy. How do you shampoo them and not break up the manufactured style??? They must end up like Marie Antoinette's crusty wigs that she just kept spraying with perfume. (Not to offend any wiglet wearers out there...) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

the_lazymilliner DATE:Dec 17, 2009 4:45:00 PM A widget! I need to do that. Sometime soon. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Dec 18, 2009 11:40:00 PM Dear Author www.dressaday.com !
What necessary words... super, a magnificent phrase ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nishant DATE:Dec 24, 2009 11:35:00 AM Is there a way you can hide the "Get Widget" button?
Work from home India ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Dec 25, 2009 10:57:00 AM I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: ONE WEEK ONLY DATE: 7:30 AM ----- BODY:

For ONE WEEK ONLY the Commercial Pattern Archive at the University of Rhode Island is offering free online access! Login with the username "guest" and the password "pattern".

COPA has about 48,000 vintage patterns (including the small scale pattern piece images!) dating from 1868—2000. Believe me when I say you can be there ALL DAY. (Instructions for searching their archive are here.)

The cost for a full subscription, for individuals, is $120/year -- a bit pricey. But think of what you can find out in a week!

Labels: archives, COPA, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ashlea DATE:Aug 19, 2009 9:44:00 AM Oooh! Thank you for letting us know! I'll be wasting a lot of time this week, it seems! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Sarah DATE:Aug 19, 2009 10:04:00 AM Wow! Thank you so much for the tip. A busy week looms..... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Packrat DATE:Aug 19, 2009 11:03:00 AM Thank you. Oh my, I had other things planned for this week. LOL ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Charles DATE:Aug 19, 2009 11:10:00 AM I see that they also have 3-month and 6-month subscriptions available, for a proportionately smaller cost.

Also one can get the collection on four CDs for $360. Maybe not an option for many individuals, but if your local sewing guild has a library and everyone could pitch in $20 ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin DATE:Aug 19, 2009 11:20:00 AM The only problem with the CDs is that they don't work on Macs. :-( ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Sara DATE:Aug 19, 2009 11:26:00 AM Excellent! Thanks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Alyssa DATE:Aug 19, 2009 12:00:00 PM The other problem with the CDs is that they have a less than half the images the online database gives you.
I know lots of sewing groups are splitting the costs up between themselves. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Miss Amelina DATE:Aug 19, 2009 1:20:00 PM I have died and gone to heaven....for a week, at least. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kate in England DATE:Aug 19, 2009 1:40:00 PM Wow, that is an INCREDIBLE resource - thank you so much for posting the link. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mary DATE:Aug 19, 2009 1:54:00 PM Am I missing something here? I can see pictures of the dresses, but what I really want is instructions on how to put the pieces together.... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

bethany DATE:Aug 19, 2009 2:05:00 PM That's what I am wondering too-are these just for looking at or can I actually use these patterns? And how?
Thanks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

harthad DATE:Aug 19, 2009 2:25:00 PM The FAQ's indicate that you can enlarge the images of the pattern pieces and drape them yourself to recreate the garment. So it would appear that no instructions are available online. Still fun to look at them all, though. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kelli DATE:Aug 19, 2009 3:24:00 PM Thank you! I've managed to waste several hours today already. :)

I doubt these had instructions to begin with (or only very rudimentary ones). I have some German sewing magazines that come with the patterns stapled into the middle, and they have thorough directions like:

"attach sleeves" and "construct bodice" I guess they expect a lot of knowledge (and luck!) :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Aug 19, 2009 6:42:00 PM I think I read at some pattern history site that maybe until the 1940's, many patterns didn't have instructions, or even markings on the patterns for darts or seam allowances...or anything! It was just a society where women sewed for themselves all the time (especially during the Depression), and it was just assumed the customer knew how to put in hems, finish seams, create gathers, place button holes, etc. etc. Women were taught how to sew by their moms and grandmas, and in junior and senior high school. And many went to 2-year "finishing schools" instead of college, all but the most ritzy of which were geared toward turning out a charming, gracious, somewhat-cultured, and CAPABLE homemaker who could at the least run up her own curtains and dresses...and maybe slipcovers for extra credit. Knowing sewing and cooking and housekeeping was these ladies' JOB! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Aug 19, 2009 8:57:00 PM What pattern # is that on the link picture? That is perfect for some fabric I have. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ivalyn "Tee" Jones-Actie DATE:Aug 19, 2009 9:50:00 PM oh my, I saw so many patterns from when I was in Jr.High...I even saw my 1979 sr prom gown...brought tears to my eyes!!!!!!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Oldpatterns DATE:Aug 19, 2009 10:05:00 PM I was able to visit there a few years ago. Joy Emery is very nice! I've worked with her on a few research projects. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin DATE:Aug 19, 2009 11:18:00 PM That pattern is Advance 7827 ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Grateful Gramma DATE:Aug 19, 2009 11:57:00 PM I was wondering about instructions also. I am a VERY novice sewer (sew-er? seamstress??) but would love to be able to make some of these for my granddaughter. Not at all sure my skills are enough to "drape" the patterns though, whatever that means. Any suggestions from anyone? I thought about trying to enlarge the pieces but not even sure how to go about that to get them the right size.

LOVE the pictures on the site so any help would be greatly appreciated! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

harthad DATE:Aug 20, 2009 12:28:00 AM Grateful Gramma--If you're a novice, just go to one of the many great vintage pattern dealers listed here on Erin's site, or to ebay, and buy a pattern with real pieces and real instructions! Seriously, attempting to recreate any of these a teeny-tiny picture will only lead to tears. "Draping" is what fashion designers when they are creating a clothing design from scratch--working with muslin pieces draped on a dress form to determine the right shape and size. I consider my sewing skill level to be moderate, and I don't remotely have the chops to do it. Once you hit the 1940's-50's, you'll find that most patterns have decent instructions. Or, try one of the reissued vintage patterns from one of the big pattern companies; they're often re-tooled for modern fit and techniques. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

hathad DATE:Aug 20, 2009 12:30:00 AM bleh, should have said, "attempting to recreate any of these FROM a teeny-tiny picture..." Sorry. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Grateful Gramma DATE:Aug 20, 2009 1:04:00 AM Thanks, hathad. That's what I feared.... :-( It did seem too good to be true. But still lots of pretty pictures to look at, I guess. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sarah DATE:Aug 20, 2009 9:08:00 AM Kathleen at Fashion Incubator has brought up a group subscription idea...looks like if she got 30 people it would be something like $8 a year, with 100 it would be less than $4! Surely we could get at least 30 people to do this...I need way more than a week!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Aug 20, 2009 11:28:00 AM Is it asking Erin too much to compile a list of willing group members, if we email her individually? This is, of course, the rebirth of the International Sewing Conspiracy.

(We might need a link to the Conspiracy's murky and shrouded history somewhere here, for readers who weren't here when the shocking allegations rained down. Maybe we can build a profile entry at an indexed conspiracy research site?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin DATE:Aug 20, 2009 12:11:00 PM I have to admit I was treating COPA as a giant shopping list, more than as a source for actual patterns to sew with. :-)

If folks want to do a group rate, I'm up for it. I've set up a google group, click on the link to ask to join.

http://groups.google.com/group/copa_coop?pli=1 ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Vegan DATE:Aug 20, 2009 1:59:00 PM Regarding instructions, I have some Butterick patterns from the 1930s that say they include the new "Delineator." The Delineator was a set of instructions, so including sewing instructions with a sewing pattern must have been a new idea at the time. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sarah DATE:Aug 20, 2009 3:24:00 PM I'm in! Just signed up. Fingers crossed we get 30!

And yeah, I'm with you, Erin... ultimate shopping catalog! I could see maybe trying to reproduce some of the simple things, kid's aprons or what have you. But mostly....it's just going to make me hit ebay. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lizzy DATE:Aug 20, 2009 4:07:00 PM Oh! thanks for sahring this with us! Honesty I didn't have any idea of what is COPA =/ , but I click on it and I can be here hours and hours looking the patterns, I want to reproduce some, and as you say, we can be there all day!!....the only problem is that right now I'm at work hehehehe
I'll joing to the group =)
Love your blogg!! =)
Greetings from Mexico ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Aug 20, 2009 6:14:00 PM I joined the Conspiracy. And I have $8.00. (Maybe even $10.00, on a good day.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

brocadegoddess DATE:Aug 20, 2009 6:35:00 PM Meh, I had a look and you can see the same thing on any vintage pattern website or in those reissued victorian pattern books. And my university has a commercial sewing patterns collections in it's clothing and textile collection from which I can trace any of the patterns I wish. Although when you're working with 100 yr old tissue paper, it can take probably almost as long as enlarging those pics, lol.(Univeristy of Alberta, for anyone who might be up and out there ever - it's worth making an appointment to get a tour if you're in the area!) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Chantelle DATE:Aug 21, 2009 10:28:00 AM brocadegoddess, I didn't even know that the UofA had commercial patterns... and I'm a graduate of the former Home Economics (now Human Ecology) program!

I'll be back in Edmonton in October or November, and I'm definitely going to make time to see if I can visit the collection. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

evalyn DATE:Aug 21, 2009 11:58:00 AM Regarding lack of instructions: Every sewer can benefit by some good "how to sew" books: pattern making, tailoring, basic sewing and garment construction. It's not rocket science, but it is a very individual art. If you can master basic construction, you can do anything after that. But like any art form or craft skill it takes practice, patience, paractice, persistence, practice, vision, practice and a brave heart. Did I mention Practice?
If nothing else, find a modern pattern of about the same garment and read those instructions. Measure, cut, fit. Seams are seams and darts are darts, era and genre notwithstanding. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Amy S DATE:Aug 22, 2009 11:48:00 AM OK I might be missing something - I am using safari and I am unable to get in. What is it exactly that goes into the login and password fields? Thanks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Aug 22, 2009 12:16:00 PM login: guest / password: pattern

The only way I've been able to view images is by going to SEARCH and then selecting specific catagories from the menues; i.e., "suit", "1960", "women".

The patterns don't seem to be broken down into different gallaries on their own.... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Aug 22, 2009 3:29:00 PM I'm unable to log in. Weird :/ ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sewducky DATE:Aug 22, 2009 3:36:00 PM I am too, thought it might have just been me.

You can make a usable garment with moderate skills. Break it down into bite sized chunks, make a sloper or get patterns that fit with the same styling and go from there. I just did this with some shorts from the 40s and figure I'll really see if I can do it.

I'd go along with it. I think I have $8 lying around. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Aug 22, 2009 4:13:00 PM I could log in yesterday,not today. It was pretty glitchy yesterday, so they probably had too many people logging in and either shut it down or it's just messed up.
(sorry for anon., can't log in here today, either :/ )
betsyhoneyvenom ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mad Maudlin DATE:Aug 22, 2009 6:31:00 PM I can't log in either. I click the "log in" button, username: "guest"; password: "pattern"; click "log in" and it takes me back to the home page. I'm really disappointed. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Pam DATE:Aug 22, 2009 6:32:00 PM I can log in fine today...but when I click on "search" the login page comes up again!

I thought it was just me - so I'm strangely comforted to know others had problems, too. I'd been using Firefox but got the same results with Internet Explorer (I know it's optimized for Firefox, but thought it was worth a try!)

I'm up for a group membership! I'd love to have access over an extended period of time. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Sarah DATE:Aug 22, 2009 10:28:00 PM I can't login either. Perhaps it's just a matter of trying again... and again... and again... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

MaHubbard DATE:Aug 23, 2009 2:10:00 PM Their server was down yesterday but it's working ok now! (My comment was as "Pam" yesterday, a few comments up.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Aug 23, 2009 10:36:00 PM I love that dress with white polka dots and the big pockets, oh I love pockets. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

JustGail DATE:Aug 25, 2009 7:48:00 AM Hi -
thanks for setting up the group to share a membership!! and for your Dress-A-Day blog, love seeing the vintage patterns/dresses and the stories you and the commenters come up with. Now that I've signed up for the COPA group, I thought I'd better at least take a few seconds to stop in and say "hi" and "thanks!". ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

SewCherie DATE:Aug 27, 2009 5:27:00 PM *sign* couldn't get printer working in time to try and get some stuff printed out. :(

Hopefully they'll do this again! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sewaddicted DATE:Sep 3, 2009 10:32:00 PM In the next couple of days I'll go & join the co-op. I love the huge range ... and unlike brocadegoddess & others in real life I don't have access in to a catalogue of patterns. it's internation shipping to get to me. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: Fontana Attempts the Difficult and Dangerous Reverse Bolero! DATE: 8:05 AM ----- BODY:

Fontana of Italy, in a feat never before attempted in pongee, novelty cottons, shantung, or faille, is performing the incredibly difficult REVERSE BOLERO with this pattern.

Previous attempts have ended in weird stomach wrinkles, odd tan lines, intermittent choking sensations, and having to ask strangers in the ladies' room to unbutton you when you get too hot.

Fontana, however, remains confident that this pattern will be the one to pull it off. "It will take a special kind of woman to help me complete my dream. Preferably, one who never sits down. That would be ideal."

Independent observers are skeptical. "Even if he does pull it off," said one Austrian judge who preferred to remain anonymous, "Everyone knows the Russian judge will give him lower marks on principle. As will Chanel."

Thanks to Lisa for sending me the link to this eBay auction ...

Labels: bolero, ebay, patterns, Spadea_339

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lisa Simeone DATE:Aug 6, 2009 8:34:00 AM Wow -- a pattern from the fabled Fontana Sisters??! This is pretty impressive.

As is the description written by the seller, which has me giggling almost as much as your blog posts, Erin:

"For a gay twosome, a smooth fitting bodice is set atop a buoyant skirt then given a dashing tri-cornered escort."

Wish I could have that dress as an escort . . . ! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

QuiteLight DATE:Aug 6, 2009 8:41:00 AM Perhaps the choking sensation caused by the devilish reverse bolero woul be a greater issue for those without 3 foot long stalks for necks? The Great Fontana has clearly designed this dress to curry favour with his chinless model. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ladygrande (Texas Marie) DATE:Aug 6, 2009 10:49:00 AM This pattern (or a very similar one) was made by my cousin many, many years ago. She looked lovely in it ---- but, she was and is a teeny size. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:Aug 6, 2009 11:08:00 AM Oh. My. Goodness.

I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Thank you so much. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mimi Jackson DATE:Aug 6, 2009 11:35:00 AM And with a simple sleeve alteration, it could easily be converted into a fashionable straight jacket! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

floribunda... aka Julie DATE:Aug 6, 2009 11:49:00 AM ack! I get claustrophobic just thinking about that pattern! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cathy DATE:Aug 6, 2009 12:21:00 PM I'm sorry, I thought she had a napkin tied on for spills. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Sara DATE:Aug 6, 2009 1:13:00 PM Hahahahaha! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kristen DATE:Aug 6, 2009 2:03:00 PM lovely from the back though. (silver lining, anyone?) am fighting the urge to rub my neck. feeling choked just by looking at it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jen ~ MOMSPatterns DATE:Aug 6, 2009 2:21:00 PM *Can't speak.. choking* lol ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Aug 6, 2009 3:54:00 PM Difficult as the reverse bolero is, the score would have been higher if the designer had attempted the even higher degree of difficulty of the reverse fauxlero, which enjoyed renewed interest in the 1980's. --the French judge ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

evalyn DATE:Aug 6, 2009 4:12:00 PM Egads! I'm sorry to be blunt, but that's just a bad idea. The simple dress, while not outstanding, is a nice look. No need for the upside-down/bib/choker thing-a-majig. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Little Hunting Creek DATE:Aug 6, 2009 8:04:00 PM The reverse bolero is a well meaning yet doomed attempt to make Giraffe Lady's neck look shorter. Pity. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Shelia DATE:Aug 6, 2009 8:07:00 PM I love your commentary Erin!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cel Petro DATE:Aug 6, 2009 8:12:00 PM Have I said this month yet that I love how your mind works?

BTW--months ago you posted contact info for Little Dresses for Africa...I passed the info around and first my mom made about a dozen, then a friend made 8 or 9. THEN, my quilting group made 100! So, good on you, and thanks. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

emedoodle DATE:Aug 7, 2009 12:24:00 AM Awesome site! I think I may have met a family member of yours today? An older man, grey hair, pleasant? I think he said you were his... daugher in law? Anyway, I was rather busy at the time and at work (used book store); he was selling some books which included a couple of Sew U books (way cool) and I was chatting with him about it. He called someone (his wife maybe?) to verefy what the website was named. There are two "dress a day" websites. This one seems more sewing related.

Anyway, great site, and cute old man. Hope you're related to him. Oh and I now own your old Sew U books! :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

emedoodle DATE:Aug 7, 2009 12:29:00 AM Oh, and after all that, I forgot to add. This all happened just outside of Chicago, Il. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

La BellaDonna DATE:Aug 7, 2009 8:27:00 AM Aaaaiieee. Even the awesomeness of Erin cannot salvage what is, essentially ... a really unfortunate design idea. It is a credit to your cousin, Ladygrande, that she looked lovely ... but I'm guessing that she looked lovely despite, and not because of, this pattern.

Reverse fauxlero for Teh LOSE ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin DATE:Aug 7, 2009 8:47:00 AM Oh, emedoodle, yes, that was my fantastic father-in-law, George! He's a sweetheart, told me all about the "nice girl at the bookstore who loves to sew!" :-)

Your store got a lot of my "sewing book duplicates" and ones that didn't make the moving cut. I bet you had to add extra shelves to that section just for me ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Aug 7, 2009 11:13:00 AM Spadea is my favorite! (Though I would rate this choice of theirs merely...valiant.) The story is they supposedly worked closely with design houses to create patterns of their garments, using the featured designer's TOP SECRET techniques and ideas. Hence the enormouse PATTERNS ARE NOT RETURNABLE FOR EXCHANGE warning. For you see, Dear Customer, once you have glimpsed the inner secrets of Fontana of Italy or Biki of Milan or whomsoever, it goes to the grave with you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

theresa DATE:Aug 7, 2009 7:16:00 PM so, is this why Spadea costs so much ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Aug 7, 2009 7:17:00 PM I had this dress in high school. I got called into the office and was forced to wear a male teachers handkerchief pinned in the back of the bodice so I wouln't "excite" the male students! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mischka DATE:Aug 17, 2009 5:31:00 AM Is it just me or is that the Hunchback of Notre Dame's niece there at the bottom? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: "What's the Story" week, part 2 DATE: 7:30 AM ----- BODY:

Today's story comes to us courtesy of Out of the Ashes and this pattern:

Two editors from Mademoiselle have trapped a hapless, unknowing reader in a block of clear lucite, where they will subject her to countless literary and sartorial experiments (until the demise of the magazine in 2001).

You can tell the woman in beige is a senior editor because her eyes are completely dead. (Also because, look, beige!) The woman in red is a market editor. Also, the editor in beige is on the verge of tearing a button off her jacket and hurling it at the poor trapped reader. Just because she can.

Labels: McCalls_3791, patterns, whatsthestory

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 10, 2009 7:38:00 AM Just as in Story Part One, I suspect that one of the major characters in Part Two is a MAN!

That little white hat, those gloves, the 3/4 sleeves -- all disguising her/his masculinity. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Libby Fife DATE:Mar 10, 2009 8:20:00 AM They are actually two women from a long lost Amazonian tribe called the Fashamazonistas. They are plotting (please see the knowing elbow which is about to strike)on the best way to rip said Lucite Lady our of her Time Warp Box in order to steal her much better dress and then devour her as an apertiff. They have the distinct advantage of one leg which is much longer than normal(characteristic of their kind) which they will use to break the Time Warp Box and to extract Lucite Lady. They will then impail her on the umbrella, cart her off to their native land, season her with fresh herbs, and begin the roast...all to obtain The Dress. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Libby Fife DATE:Mar 10, 2009 8:24:00 AM By apertiff, I of course meant apertif and while I am at it, I really, really meant appetizer:) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

xstpenguin DATE:Mar 10, 2009 8:33:00 AM Beige EditorBot's eyes are slightly out of focus, so she is retuning with her central dial.

Or possibly that is the control for her extra length leg. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

mickey DATE:Mar 10, 2009 8:44:00 AM These former Mademoiselle models are gloating; Red over the fact that her face is visible while her arch enemy, Blondie, only gets her backside view on a propped poster. Beige is expertly pointing out that proper button placment is the key to eliminating gaposis, but wonders why she has been given an umbrella that looks to be as useful as an iron to a bachelor. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

MadeByAmanda DATE:Mar 10, 2009 10:09:00 AM It's actually a time-travel portal. The lady in beige is an assassin-bot from the future. She is setting her eye lasers to "stun", and will walk through the portal and onto the catwalk in a few moments in a ploy to stun and capture all of the leading fashion designers and haul them back through the portal to her vintage-fashion-obsessed mistress. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cel Petro DATE:Mar 10, 2009 11:23:00 AM What are you guys drinking? These posts (and comments)are so much fun, I'm speechless. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:Mar 10, 2009 12:16:00 PM For Crying out loud - BEIGE has an ADAM's APPLE!

Thank God for you , Erin and all you commentors...I am havinga sh**ty day and this really cheered me up! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

wundermary DATE:Mar 10, 2009 12:36:00 PM I agree that the lady in beige is an assassin-bot from the future. A very specialized type, though. She is actually the "Cleaner", as is evidenced by the sinister black bag. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Vegan DATE:Mar 10, 2009 1:11:00 PM That is hysterical! I've never seen a pattern envelope where the main view interacts with a little inset of the back view, and especially not by draping her arm over it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 10, 2009 1:18:00 PM Red Dress: Are you ready Doctor?
Beige Dress: Yes, I see we all have our gloves on, lets get started.
Red Dress: Imagine being born with your long leg in the back like that. Can we really fix it?
Beige Dress: In my experience it's a very quick fix. Just move the long leg to the front, like the rest of us, and she'll be fine.
Red Dress: It must be hard to have to walk through life backward just because your leg is in the wrong place.
Beige Dress: That's why we're here. To help this poor soul go through life front-wise.
Red Dress: It's a rea shame for someone so skinny to have a handycap like that.
Beige Dress: Yes, you're right. Skinny people like us have a right to face forward in life.
Red Dress: Nice hat, by the way.
Beidge Dress: Oh, it's not really a hat. It's the lid to my double boiler. I didn't have room in the cupboard for it, so I just put it on my head.
Red Dress: It's a good thing we're so skinny.
Beige Dress: Open my black back and pass me the umbrella. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 10, 2009 1:19:00 PM Bag. Open my black bag. Honestly, I need a proof reader. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

indigotangerine DATE:Mar 10, 2009 6:32:00 PM hahahaha clear block of clear lucite. hehe.
-indigo ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lynneguist DATE:Mar 10, 2009 6:36:00 PM I'm so glad you used the word 'lucite', as commenters on my blog claimed that the word is dead! My vocab is vindicated! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marge, Born Too Late Vintage DATE:Mar 10, 2009 7:11:00 PM Beige Lady to Red Lady: "Are you absolutely sure you can make my, you know, backside look just like the one pictured in the lucite cube?"

Red Lady to Beige Lady: "Are you kidding? With the Hubba Hubba Heiney you'll have all the men drooling!"

Beige Lady to Red Lady: "But the cost! My stars it'll take forever to pay it off!"

Red Lady to Beige Lady: "Ah, but so very, very worth while."

Beige Lady to Red Lady: "Well, okay. When do you need the money?" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lizzie DATE:Mar 10, 2009 8:29:00 PM I think this would make a great illustration for the phrase "talking behind her back!" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Vilmantė Apytiksliai DATE:Mar 10, 2009 10:37:00 PM http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=21147495

take a look at this corset :)
not letter print, but close! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 11, 2009 2:09:00 AM The lady in the black dress is pulling a Jonathan Strange and walking into a magic mirror to explore the lands on the other side. Her assistant in the red dress looks smug and confident because she's seen this stunt before. The government official in the prim tan with the Peter Pan collar, however, is shocked and incredulous. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 11, 2009 2:57:00 AM L in black to L in beige :"You should talk about hats?!!"
L in beige : "I did not say anithing."
L in red: "It was me. Any problem?" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 11, 2009 3:04:00 AM anything. Sorry for my English (not mother tongue ) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

foodandshoes DATE:Mar 12, 2009 6:00:00 PM Beige: I think we over-did it with the sunlamps. My right eye feels a little wonky.

Red: Your eye?! Half my hair is singed off. I feel so woozy, I can barely keep my eyes open. I need to lean against this picture frame-at least you have that umbrella-whew. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Melissa DATE:Mar 13, 2009 12:48:00 PM White Hat needs a Bromo-Seltzer. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: "What's the Story?" week, part 1 DATE: 8:45 AM ----- BODY:

So all this week I think I'll be posting pattern images that evoke (at least for me) elaborate and possibly impossible backstories. This one is from Your Pattern Shop -- check it out:

Is it just me, or is Anjelica Huston about THIS CLOSE from punching out Joan Crawford in this picture? Or maybe she's hiding a gun behind her back? I think they are rivals in the same nail salon (thus the smocks), fighting for the affections of the head masseuse, Sven, who isn't away at the front because he's 4F. (Yes, I know that AH and JC aren't really contemporaries, but this is the World of Pattern Envelopes, where anything goes.)

Later, it turns out that Sven is NOT 4F, but a German spy! JC and AH band together to expose his perfidy (he was hypnotizing his subjects during massages to extract secrets VITAL TO THE WAR EFFORT) and they each get a medal.

They don't wear these dresses to the medal ceremony, just so we're clear.

What do you think is going on in this illustration?

Labels: patterns, Simplicity_1199, whatsthestory

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Libby Fife DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:09:00 AM Well, I think it is more of this:

Green Stripe Lady: "Darling, what do you think of my new dress? I absolutely had to have it and cried and cried until Marty bought it for me. Isn't it just divine?"

Polka Dot Lady: "Well, if that is what you like. I guess it is fine for some."

They either then go shopping or fisticuffs ensue... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

bellaguinness DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:12:00 AM I think you nailed it, Erin! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marge, Born Too Late Vintage DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:17:00 AM Betsy who prefers sandals and ruffles, has just told her counterpart, Marie, of the black tresses and a distinct preference for polka dots, that her Jolene Creme Bleach isn't doing the job on her rather impressive mustache.

Marie having contemplated knocking Betsy into next Tuesday, decides to act the lady and has told Betsy that her deodorant has failed yet again and it's the joke of the neighborhood. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Skulleigh DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:32:00 AM Stripe has been hypnotically implanted with state secrets that she doesn't know that she knows. Dot is a German spy, and is hiding a syringe of Truth Serum behind her back! She's giving Stripe one last change to spill, but Stripe is of course denying all knowledge. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Miss Amelina DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:55:00 AM This post has been removed by the author. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Miss Amelina DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:57:00 AM I think the illustrator hated drawing hands...and judging from the stealth claw emerging from Joan Crawford's hip, I can see why. That's why they're nail technicians...they make other people's hands pretty...because theirs will never be. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

cgirlslife DATE:Mar 9, 2009 10:08:00 AM Stripes, a femme fatale with a flair for personalization, just absconded from the mental ward (hence the walking about town in a hospital gown) without the doctor's permission, but with an extra bottle of opiates.

Dottie, one of the first female detectives is just about to take her into custody when; alas, Stripe's son turns the corner on his way to his babysitter's after elementary school.

Dotty ever mindful of Stripe's pride and the child's emotions, quickly hides her handcuffs behind her back. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

mere DATE:Mar 9, 2009 10:12:00 AM Anjelica rememebered the day that she and Joan went shopping at the fabric store. Joan had criticized her pattern choice in that little way she always did, saying it was "a precious little smock", and later said that she thought it was good that Anjelica had chosen the brown fabric because "darker colors are so thinning." She was miffed then, but bit her tongue, just like she always did. And now here was Joan in exactly the same pattern but with the ruffles! Anjelica had planned to make up the same dress for Easter, but now there was no way she could. The nerve! She so wanted to say that it was a good thing that Joan had chosen a vertical stripe because it's so slimming, but then noticed a spotch of bird poop on Joan's shoulder and--Oh look! Who was approaching, but Bradley! As Joan saw him approaching she stepped forward and straightened up a little. With a little smile to herself, Anjelica decided not to tell her about the "accessory" on her shoulder.

mere ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 9, 2009 10:15:00 AM Ohhh, Erin!! Is this another book in the works??? Can't wait! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Amanda #1 DATE:Mar 9, 2009 10:16:00 AM Am I the only one troubled by the length of Stripe's arm? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

wundermary DATE:Mar 9, 2009 11:38:00 AM I think you have the plot line correct. But "simple to make" implies that these salon girls are easy... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Alison Cummins DATE:Mar 9, 2009 11:45:00 AM If Sven is a masseuse, then she’s a she. If Sven is a he, then he’s a masseur.

(Sorry, I have never been able to convince my inner pedant to be in.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Amy B. DATE:Mar 9, 2009 12:28:00 PM This is obviously the grocery store backhanded compliment match.

"darling, i haven't seen you in so long, why last time I saw you, you're hair didn't have a hint of grey!"
"oh well, I know it's been so long! Why I remember that dress looking brand new!"
"what's that in your cart? carrots? on a diet again, sweetie? well, I can see you know what your body needs don't you?"
"did I see your husband out and about yesterday? He's looking well. He made that blond he was with look almost dowdy."
"I heard Jimmy is going to flunk fourth grade! how sad for you!"

etc. You know how it goes. ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Mar 9, 2009 12:30:00 PM This is, so help me, a still from the little-known movie Joe or Jane? (The working title was Joe or Joanne?, but it didn't roll of the tongue as easily.)

In this heart rending scene, the wife returns early from A Trip to Mother's, to find her husband (left) has used one of her sewing patterns to run up a secret housedress for himself! (She has a rolling pin behind her back, with which she was going to hit the intruder, as she thought her husband had used the time apart to embark on a fishing trip and was startled to hear someone in her sewing room.)

Originally a tender domestic drama pleading for tolerance, the studio inserted new scenes in which the Germans brainwashed Joe while he was a POW, then groomed him to be an unsuspecting operative on American soil.

Eventually, the Pentagon objected, so the film was pulled from release and all copies destroyed.

COME ON, PEOPLE.....GREEN STRIPE LADY IS A MAN! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Deirdre DATE:Mar 9, 2009 12:31:00 PM Woman in green: "You look like hell in that dress."

Woman in brown: "I slept with your husband." ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 9, 2009 1:02:00 PM Joan: Well, the pattern said "Simple to Sew".

Angelica: This is what happens when you mix one pattern, two women and no hands.

Joan: Yeah, this can opener wasn't much help.

Angelica: Nice ruffle.

Joan: Only one pocket, though? What's up with that. ONE pocket?
ONE LOUSEY POCKET!

Angelica: The perfiy. Perhaps some sort of spy plot. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 9, 2009 1:08:00 PM Perfidy. I always muff the punch line. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:Mar 9, 2009 1:24:00 PM Thanks ?Cookie, I didn't want to say it and seem insensitive. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marge, Born Too Late Vintage DATE:Mar 9, 2009 1:31:00 PM " Deirdre said...
Woman in green: "You look like hell in that dress."

Woman in brown: "I slept with your husband.":

OMG!!! LOL LOL! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 9, 2009 1:55:00 PM Cover story for ears in the walls:

Joan: Did you hear that someone has been spreading rumors that I am, in fact, a man?

Angelica: Really? Whom do you suspect?

Joan: Well....

Actual secret spy message:

Joan: Can you keep Sven occupied while one of our girls goes through his belongings?

Angelica: Offfff course, dahling. I can be very distracting, you know.

Joan: I cannot believe he convinced all those women to allow tiny flesh-eating fish to nibble on their toes and call it a pedicure.

Angelica: Well, I admit that one tickled me a bit.

Joan: To think, they blame 'loose lips.'

Angelica: How long do you need?

Joan: About 20 minutes should be fine. If he has that crossword puzzle with the code in it, we'll find it somewhere obvious. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Mar 9, 2009 3:57:00 PM << Thanks, Cookie, I didn't want to say it and seem insensitive. >>

Thank you for backing me up on this, Theresa. I think several things have made us see drag queens in some of the recent pattern pics. 1.) The artists are not always that great, anyway, and some have a hard time really delineating a human face or figure, 2.) We're so used to seeing the vintage, idealized, hyper-feminine style in other illustrations that when one of these figures looks "different", our Red Alert sounds, 3.) We're now wary of being tricked again by drag queens on sewing patterns, and are just LOOKING for the least little indication to drop the net!

Is there a support group for us? Will vintage patterns ever look the same to us again?? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 9, 2009 4:18:00 PM These are house dresses. The "gals" are making catty remarks about each other's sloppy housekeeping. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

indigotangerine DATE:Mar 9, 2009 4:29:00 PM I was staring at the woman in brown and was like, she looks familiar.... then you said AH and i was like YES THAT WAS IT.
I love your World of Pattern Envelopes.!
-indigo ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Danika Paige Myers DATE:Mar 9, 2009 9:40:00 PM I am pretty sure that green stripes has some kind of insanely long squid arms with backwards hands. look at her! she has some kind of tentacle extending from her right shoulder, behind her hips, and peeking out on the right. In fact, I'm not convinced that what appears to be her left leg doesn't actually start at her left shoulder. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

ISS Man 71 DATE:Mar 9, 2009 10:32:00 PM "Sandals" Mcgee: Well, I know we all lost our jobs down at the plant because of course, the boys coming home need the work, but how am I supposed to pay my rent? I already sold all my clothes except this smock...

"Chili Pepper" Fosse: At least yours has ruffles! My man came back from the Pacific theater with certain "ideas" about the bedroom! And don't get me started about the screaming in the middle of the night.

"S" McG: I suppose dealing with the harsh reality of sexism in the workplace is not as difficult as living the reality of dealing with a broken, but hidden, psyche.

"CP" F: (hahaha) No no. I mean it would take a massive meltdown of the financial system to match the forced unemployment we gals have seen! At least my man can buy us a house and go to school with the GI Bill!

"S" McG: You're right. I could no more complain about my lost independence than you could about living a reality completely dissimilar from how people will one day view this era.

"CP" F: (hahaha) Say, when I hold my arms like this, can you see the bruises?

"S" McG: ...

"CP" F: Um, uh ... Did you see the new fabric down at the Ben Franklin? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Bessie B. DATE:Mar 10, 2009 2:13:00 AM Dot: (under breath) You little snake. You are just trying to steal Robert away from me---I never should have told you he has a fetish for wrap dresses with one pocket! And I thought you were my friend. I thought I could trust you!

Stripe: Nothing personal, honey. It's every man for himself. And I have ruffles. Face it, you're beat. There's no competition. My dress is better.

Dot: Ha! YOUR dress? I happen to know that Robert thinks rick-rack trim is MUCH more attractive than a bunch of frilly ruffles. You look like a little school girl. Nice try, you little thief.

Strip: Listen, darling. Don't mess with me. You don't have a chance. I am prettier, cleverer, a better seamstress and I have a wicked claw that could scratch your face off in a second (see?). What would dear Robert think of you then, with your pretty little face covered in scars? Heh heh. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:Mar 10, 2009 9:20:00 AM cookie, maybe we should start one and soon I am starting to look supiciously at tall women in the office...

It probably is the poor quality of the drawings...or maybe that's what they want us to think...

Whne I lived in Houston, in Montrose on Friday nights the Drag Queens were every where. My mom lived a sheltered life and she was confused by all these tall, stunning women. My sister and I said "Mom, there men. Let's go. This just caused my very sweet mother to gawk in disbelief. I was afraid someone would think she was just being mean, but honestly she was blown away she had no idea Drag Queens even existed. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jennifer DATE:Mar 10, 2009 9:26:00 AM Oh, I think you nailed it. I almost fell out of my chair laughing! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

tammyo DATE:Mar 10, 2009 12:28:00 PM i think they're both just really bored and probably having the age- old "what do you wanna do/i don't know what do you wanna do" conversation... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

RavenzTarot DATE:Mar 10, 2009 6:15:00 PM Local: outside on the sidewalk near some tready apartments.

Stripes: "Really you think she would be more discrete considering."

Red "yes but just think.. they were right there I mean I could just see them plain as day from my balcony!"

Stripes "Surely you could have not seen what you thought you saw"

Red "I am not that far. I know I saw what i thought I saw"

Stripes " Well I hope She doesnt think she is going to get away with that at my HOUSE!"

Red "But do you know what is really happening when your gone?"

To be continued....... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

goldilocks DATE:Mar 10, 2009 10:25:00 PM Green Stripe and Brown Dot are the same woman, separated in time by five years.

Brown Dot wistfully wonders if she will ever find a husband, or if she is doomed to spinsterhood and feeding pigeons at the park.

Green Stripe, now a respectable matron and mother of three, is looking back on her single, angst-ridden self from five years past.

With a tender, but knowing, smile, she says,

"Honey, be careful what you wish for. You just might git it."

LOL. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

tampopo DATE:Mar 10, 2009 11:00:00 PM On a related note, I just received a wonderful new book on the house dress as a gift:
The House Dress: a story of eroticism and fashion, which looks at the history of the house dress and its presence in cinema.
http://www.amazon.com/House-Dress-Story-Eroticism-Fashion/dp/8831795252/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236743886&sr=8-2

Sweet. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 11, 2009 2:15:00 AM To me, it looks like nothing so much as a dance lesson. Green Stripes is demonstrating a very straight-backed version of the Charleston, while Red Dots looks on attentively with her hands behind her back. In a moment, she'll be dancing too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

coco DATE:Mar 11, 2009 10:18:00 AM movies in the world of pattern envelopes would be amazing! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

foodandshoes DATE:Mar 12, 2009 5:53:00 PM Green to Red: ...Behind the back is so conspicuous. I nonchalantly slip my hook-hand in my pocket and no one's the wiser. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: Oh, Oh, Oh ... Merry Christmas! DATE: 9:13 AM ----- BODY:

Birgit at Stitches and Loops sent me these, and only my sense of bloggish responsibility kept me from buying all of these myself and not posting them:

Christine at Alley Cats has these for some lucky Jazz Age babe:

Hotpatterns is doing a sale: buy any two of their three bestselling dresses and get the bag pattern of your choice free! (You have to email in your choice of bag pattern to sales@hotpatterns.com and they will add it to the order -- Offer ends Dec 31st! One of their three bestsellers is this one, which I love and plan to make Real Soon Now:

Labels: gifts, patterns, presents, sales, xmas2008

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

The Celebrated Author DATE:Dec 17, 2008 9:47:00 AM The top one! It glows! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

the_lazymilliner DATE:Dec 17, 2008 9:53:00 AM A slew of Hot Patterns would be high on my Christmas wish list. Trouble is who'd buy them for me? I need a Secret Santa. Badly. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kristen DATE:Dec 17, 2008 12:27:00 PM Bwah-haha! Butterick 6707 is MINE!! All mine!!! That's all the motivation I'll need to lose my baby weight in the spring. woot!

Thanks Erin! You are so selfless. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Dec 17, 2008 2:20:00 PM Butterick 6707 is another FAUXLERO! Add it to the Fauxl of Fame! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

joni DATE:Dec 17, 2008 5:06:00 PM Hooray! That wonderful thing from Vogue is now winging its way me-ward. Thanks, Erin! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: A Guest Rant on "Why Are Vintage Patterns So Expensive?" DATE: 5:12 PM ----- BODY:

I got this great "guest rant" from a pattern seller (who will remain anonymous) and I thought it was worth posting.

[Although] I will note that no one's raised the issue of "How much did they pay people for the valuable vintage they are offering us" or "I bet they paid $5.00 for 20 patterns, how can they charge us $15.00 each for them??" (or significantly more, in some cases).

[It's] a very valid point and I don't want to ruin your comment section by addressing it ... I have a good answer for how and why I price my offerings:

Yes I often buy boxes of old patterns for very little cost for the box. But I got up at 4:00AM to be first in line at the estate sale that I thought might possibly have vintage patterns. I stood in line for 2 hours and tried to be first in the door. When I got in the door I started pushing past people and heading for the garage or shed where the patterns usually are and lo and behold there are 2 boxes, rat pellets, roach carcasses and all ...

I make my best deal and tote the smelly mess to my car. When I get them home I sit down and go through them to see if there are any beautiful finds that need my immediate attention. I sort by priority which goes first and which gets stored for another day. Then I start with the high priority ones and spread out and check to make sure all the pieces are there and cry when they aren't. I remove old pins (usually unless I miss one), I iron the envelope and the instructions so they are nice and readable.

Then I scan (or rather the DH scans) the envelope and sends it to me. I size it and clarify it a bit so it is readable. If I'm feeling creative I "clean" the front just for my files and cause I like 'em that way. Then it's time to write the listing. Gotta hold that pattern so I know the proper size and measurements ... 'cause they're mostly different through the years.

Then I package the little beauty in a plastic bag and file it away until it goes to its new owner ... by this time I've spent an average of 1-2 manhours, gasoline (at $4 a gallon) and we don't even count the time spent in line at the estate sale ...

Now it's listing time ... we all know that eBay doesn't do anything for free (and even website space costs) so I've got 1-2 hours time, a plastic bag, gas money, and then we add FEES. Take away everything else and the fees alone eat into the profit. If I manage to get $9.99 for a pattern and it better be a special one ... I get to put $8.00 of that in my pocket. Take away a few cents for packaging and equipment (scanner, computer, iron) maintenance and we're down to $7.50 ... O yeah, the 25 cents I paid for the pattern ... we're at $7.25. IF THE PATTERN SELLS! Considering the 1-2 manhours involved ... That's below minimum wage.

I thought this was worth posting because so many of us forget about the overhead and just plain TIME that's involved in running a small business, especially when you're doing everything yourself (or with the help of your spouse, who may or may not have another full-time job). Sure, I hear people say "I could buy that at the Salvation Army for a dollar," but I always want to ask them "Really? That exact pattern? You're sure it's there? When do they close, by the way?"

You're really paying for everything above, plus the luxury of choice -- being able to select from the range of patterns in the seller's web store. And (at least for my advertisers) reassurance that all the pieces are there, and a good chance of a refund if they're not (try that with the Salvation Army ...).

One last thing: if you do think vintage patterns are too expensive, you have a lot of options. You can not buy them, for one. Modern patterns are much, much cheaper (if you wait for the $1.99 pattern sales at the major fabric chains). You can set up a wait-for-it search on eBay and hope someone who doesn't know what they have will list it. And, of course, you can always draft your own.

That pattern up above? It's $75 (at The Blue Gardenia, sorry, there's not direct link to the pattern page). Unused, an in-demand bust size, a fancy pattern, and a great illustration. Is it worth $75? It is to somebody!

Labels: commerce, McCalls_3893, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ellie Finlay DATE:Jul 17, 2008 6:27:00 PM That's a great rant and I agree with every word she says.

Personally, I'm surpised vintage patterns don't usually cost more than they do! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

baylibrarian DATE:Jul 17, 2008 6:35:00 PM Supply and demand set the market, and I appreciate having the work laid out for me. Friend with an art gallery constantly hears "oh, I could do that. Arg. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 17, 2008 7:18:00 PM Where did this discussion start? I'm feeling like I've missed something.

Plain and simple, the price of patterns is based on supply and demand. How early a vendor gets up in the morning doesn't really concern me. We all have some drudgery associated with our jobs, no matter what they are. You are selling something that 99.9 percent of the population would toss into the rubbish bin without a second thought. We KNOW you didn't pay much if anything for it, and that's okay. But please, let's not make excuses for the outrageous prices of some patterns.

I appreciate the effort that goes into counting vintage pattern pieces, but I ain't paying $75 for a pattern unless Coco Chanel personally drafted it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Terry DATE:Jul 17, 2008 7:54:00 PM My first reaction to seeing that pattern was that I would pay $100 if that was in my wife's size. It is a stunning illustration.

People who complain in a manner similar to that described are simply reacting without thinking. Once you explain it to them, they tend to understand. It is just easier to rant.

Posting information like this really helps educate.

Semper Fi,
Terry ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Rachel DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:01:00 PM I think ebay is quite reasonable...I've gotten patterns for as little as $4 including shipping. And I've tried checking out estate sales to no avail...either machines but no patterns or patterns in the wrong decade (I prefer 50s or 60s). So I think that the prices aren't that bad considering I like the design (today's stuff just isn't as attractive IMHO) and the fit is better for me. Would I pay $145 for the pattern I saw online that I loooooove...not unless it's a birthday present to myself. Considering the cost of the pattern, fabric, notions and what-not I think I come out ahead anyways. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Amanda DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:03:00 PM While I do understand the point of the rant, I think it's ludicrous to say that that pattern above is worth $75. Usually, patterns highlighted on your site sell immediately. I notice that one's still there. Apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't think it's worth that much--no matter what time the seller got up to go to the sale. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

TootsNYC DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:09:00 PM It's true, the price of anything is a function of supply and demand.

The supply of vintage patterns is pretty small, and it's pretty hard to find except through a certain supply stream.

The demand isn't very *broad*, but within its niche, it can be high.

If someone can charge $75 for a pattern, and someone will actually pay it, then that is the true value of that pattern.

It's not morally wrong somehow.

It might be morally wrong for a drug that saves people's lives to cost an exhorbitant amount, but not an optional item like a vintage pattern.

And likewise, someone who puts in all the effort described isn't morally entitled to a higher price, nor do they deserve it. They'll likely GET that higher price, because someone wants the pattern they've salvaged and prepared and made available through that aforementioned supply stream.

I would imagine that if the folks at The Blue Gardenia find that no one wants to buy that pattern you showed, they'll drop the price. Until it sells. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:11:00 PM There's a lot of this going around. People expect themselves to be paid well but balk at paying anyone else well. (insert your own Walmart rant here) And as you say, it's up to that "someone" to decide the item is worth the price. There's a pattern I've had my eye on for a while but am not sure it's worth the $45 the seller is asking. So far, I guess, the answer is 'no' but it's a very cool dress, with exactly the skirt I want on it. As you also say, you could learn to draft it yourself. It's either time or money - spend your time or spend your money to pay other people to spend theirs.

And Erin, that is a beautiful pattern you've used to illustrate the point. I'd make it without the flower and wear an impressive necklace. Then I'd go dancing and give that skirt plenty of chances to twirl around me! Thanks for the discussion.
Dawn ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:11:00 PM I never wondered this at all. I wondered how anyone could make a living selling them for less than $15 or so! Heck I even chalked up the $85 patterns to being rare/unique and desirable/collectible...supply and demand.

The answer left out Pay Pal fees. Once you sell something through PP, you gotta cut them in for their share too.

And let us not forget that contemporary pattern go for...how much? $15 - $25 for Vogue patterns unless you are like me and refuse to buy them until Hancock or Joann have the $3.99 sales.

Vintage patterns have a certain provenance that make them worth paying more for, imho. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Bec DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:32:00 PM I'm willing to pay more just to have someone else deal with the dead cockroaches. Eeeeewwwwww!!!!1!

Hee. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Bec DATE:Jul 17, 2008 8:32:00 PM This post has been removed by the author. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

real-vintage.com DATE:Jul 17, 2008 9:05:00 PM I dont sell a lot of patterns, its not my forte', but this is an interesting post to me as a vintage clothing seller with a website and a real-world store. I have often, in one day, had a customer balk at a dress priced at or above $100 and then a customer who is in town from NYC or the west coast (I'm in Iowa) shop like crazy and exclaim as they check out that they love the shop, selection and would pay double back where they live.

I'm lucky to have an established site and have sold long enough to know what the market will bear so I can price accordingly. I naturally hestitated to ask those prices here in Des Moines....but a year and half after opening, I have found most customers here just as savvy and understanding of the value of vintage as "big city" buyers.

Its still insulting to have people come in and expect thrift store prices and assume I buy from thrifts! I rarely, if ever, get time to shop and the thrifts rarely yield the type of merchandise I offer, in the condition I offer it. I work with estate dealers, private sellers and auction houses. I have a pile of handwashing, mending and stain removal projects taller than me in my dining room! I consign some things so often my price is for 2 people to make a profit. The time I spend...mending, washing, removing stains, researching labels, comparable items online and the prices they sell for, sewing/design techniques, textiles used, dating....add to that the time taking pictures, editing pictures, painstakingly measuring and describing garments as well as the financial upkeep of my shop AND website all factor in to my prices.

It makes me crazy to be told someone can buy the "same thing" themselves at Goodwill (or whatever).

I work about 70 hours a week at least to maintain my business. All said and done, I'm hardly a jabillionaire. I'm a single Mom who gets no child support and I have to maintain a nice apartment, bills, car payment, debts, food/gas/daycare, rent at my shop, utilities there, advertising and a fairly constant influx of expense for stock to keep the shop & site current and interesting to repeat visitors.

Vintage clothing and patterns are perhaps not necessarily scarce, but not all that easy to find in good enough condition to offer with no work involved to restore or make presentable.

And again, the marker is determined by the buyers. If the market won't bear the asked price, the price perhaps will drop. Or go up. Or the item the customer wanted will be sold and gone forever....which happens more often than not in my experience!

Thanks for posting this, Erin, sorry to be so wordy!

Ang ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Libby DATE:Jul 17, 2008 11:20:00 PM For anyone to get indignant about the cost of something so unessential to life as a vintage pattern is ludicrous. Yes, we love them. Yes, we want them. And if someone is willing to pay $75 for anything then I guess it's worth $75. Personally, I delight at seeing a pattern as exquisite as this, even if I don't choose to own it. Phantom Ranter I wish for you that from now on you can simply roll your eyes at these complaints. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:09:00 AM When I find myself going ballistic over the price of a vintage pattern, I usually end up laughing. Why? Because I recognize that I'm reacting at the emotional level of a 2-year-old who wants something, now, on his or her own terms. There's a sense of consumer entitlement at issue here that I find more disturbing than high prices for non-essential goods. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lisa DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:16:00 AM I'll agree, it's what the market will bear, but can you put a price on a memory? I just found a pattern the other day, for a 70yo woman. She wore it to prom in 1955, but couldn't remember the number, the maker....none of it. I got her email (with photo) in January. Found the pattern for her the day before yesterday -- not in my store, but on ebay -- and her granddaughters are elated. They can now wear grandma's prom dress to their own prom.

Can you put a price on that kind of thing? That's why I love patterns. They are a piece of history, that without people to preserve them, would literally fall apart in front of us, and be lost forever.

And just for the record, I *love* treasure hunts like the aforementioned one. I didn't make a penny on it, but it's great to help someone find their dream pattern.

Just try to put a price on that.

And for the record, I'm not a morning person, so 4am at an estate sale deserves something, in my book. That's usually about when I go to bed. LOL ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:45:00 AM Anon at 7:18, The fact that 99.9% of the population would throw them in the trash is why most vintage patterns sell for $10-$30 instead of $100-$300. Even at $75, you're only paying 3 or 4 times the full retail price of a new pattern. The "rant" from the dealer doesn't even mention that most of the time, after waiting in line at that estate sale for 2 hours, there are no patterns to be found. I once went out of my way to an estate sale in a swanky, old-money neighborhood that advertised a sewing machine among the items available. There's got to be patterns there, right? No, not a single pattern. No fabric, either, for some reason.

When I was younger, I would hit the local flea market bright and early every weekend. Most of the time, there wasn't a single pattern to be found, although I'd usually pick up other items. Can you imagine how many hours you would have to spend scouring estate sales and flea markets to turn up something like this stunning 50s special occasion dress pattern in pristine condition? In your size? Now that I'm a mom, I can't hit the flea market every weekend, so I'll gladly pay someone else to do the legwork of finding these gems and bringing them to light. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:55:00 AM Very interesting background on how one seller finds their patterns, especially the vintage one.. I don't have that luxury of estate sales, but somehow find those lovely vintage 50s ball gown patterns and earlier... One concern I have is the mention of rodents and that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. We don't know where a lot of these patterns have been,, there is a hantevirus scare to do with mouse droppings.. If I suspect a mouse has been to the pattern first, I throw it out. Has anyone that sells out there encountered this and what is their solution? Can a pattern be sanitized!!!! and thanks again for the insight.. My most unusual antique pattern find was in an antique shop, and they had an old Laura Secord chocolate box in the corner and three patterns inside dated 1920s and 1930s... great find!!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Becky DATE:Jul 18, 2008 1:14:00 AM Anon @ 7:18 p.m.:
How early a vendor gets up in the morning doesn't really concern me. We all have some drudgery associated with our jobs, no matter what they are.

Yes, all jobs have drudgery, even selling patterns. It is her job, and she deserves to be compensated for her time, whether it's at 4 a.m. or 4 p.m. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ruth Singer DATE:Jul 18, 2008 3:00:00 AM sigh. There is something fundamentally wrong in our society when we don't think it is worth paying a reasonable fee for someone's time and EXPERTISE. The cost of most goods comes from the time they take to make / source / prepare rather than the raw materials. Its the same with my work:
http://mantua-maker.blogspot.com/2007/02/pricing-your-work.html

The finest vintage patterns are collector's pieces. Its well understood in other fields (like high-quality vintage classical LPs which my mum sells) that rarity value and quality up the price. Look at fine art! How much does that cost to produce, in terms of the raw materials??
Our society still consistently undervalues women's work and the low perceived value of sewn work and associated ephemera like patterns is all part of that. We need to work towards changing it, not continuing it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

ansis DATE:Jul 18, 2008 4:34:00 AM I'm fine with those sorts of prices on a number of levels (and goodness the example above isnt' even the most expensive on that site!). Firstly the price reflects supply and demand, simple as that. If someone will pay the asking price for it then it's worth it. Secondly, as many people have mentioned, people deserve to be paid a fair price for their time, labour and your convenience. Not everything is made in a sweatshop in China and therefore sold for pennies. And how much is the convenience of sitting on your butt in front of a computer screen scrolling through lovely, preselected patterns worth to you? If you get paid $25/hr at your job and you spend 3 hours searching dusty bins in op-shops to find one pattern, then by my reckoning that pretty ordinary pattern cost you $75. And lastly, I'm blown away that you can actually get an original pattern designed by Balenciaga at all - it's a piece of social history, possibly unique, and it's sitting there online ready to buy. Cheap at twice the price really. Obviously not all patterns are so unique, or beautiful like the one above, but some are and boy they deserve the respect that big price-tags command imho! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Linda DATE:Jul 18, 2008 4:36:00 AM Great "rant". It helped me to get a better perspective. As to whether I pay a certain price depends on my budget, my "want" factor and whether it is my treasure or someone elses junk. It does get down to my choice, to buy or not to buy. Thanks for posting this. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

the_lazymilliner DATE:Jul 18, 2008 6:33:00 AM In the knitting world, some consider yarn to be expensive only if it's never used and the completed project never worn. Is that true with vintage patterns? If so, I've got lots of pricey old patterns. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marge, Born Too Late Vintage DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:10:00 AM One thing about patterns and cost is that you can use your pattern again and again.

So if you pay say $12.00 for a pattern (patterns in my store are $12.00 or less) and make that dress say 6 times you're looking at $2.00 for the pattern use and whatever you spend for your notions and fabrics.

Comparatively speaking, using a vintage pattern allows you to have as many custom tailored outfits as you want for a very reasonable price. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Elle DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:42:00 AM Let's put this in perspective. The original comment was probably made with respect to patterns now selling for significantly more than the $10 to $15 range that most patterns go for.

I've seen Vogue Paris Originals/Couturier patterns double in price over the last year, and I think that part, but only part, of the reason is because people have become aware of the detail involved in these vintage patterns. So the increase in price is indeed fueled by supply and demand.

However, there is an interesting phenomenon developing in the trade of these patterns, which is driving up the supply price (kind of a Reagonomics supply drives demand phenomenon). When I go onto eBay and try to buy a pattern and get outbid by a sniper with 1000s of purchses to his/her name, and then I see it show up for multiples of what was paid, I personally get pissed off and won't buy from that person again. Yes, my decision. But I actually want to make something from that pattern and now it has moved out of my price range. (And it languishes on that site.)

This fuels more similar action. Now I can't afford the patterns that I was able to buy a year ago.

Where will this lead? I hope that Vogue and Butterick wake up and really start digging into their archives, reproducing more of their couturier patterns. Make them available to many, many people who like to sew. If the copyrights have expired, more and more people will copy them and offer them for resale at a much more reasonable price. More power to them. I've bought quite a few of those.

Frankly, I think some have gotten too greedy. I see a lot of patterns are staying on websites, prices not reduced. Not a surprise. With the economy heading south, it will be interesting to see what happens. Probably more overseas designers will buy them up (this is who can afford the extremely high prices because it is a business expense and they need the design ideas -- I had this from a seller of these types of patterns), which means they go away.

So I tried to build my "library" while I could, and I'm sad that so many beautiful patterns have moved out of my reach. Does that give me the emotional maturity of a 2 year old? Perhaps I would feel less disgruntled if the actual creator of the designs were getting a chunk of the exhorbitant prices being charged for some of these patterns.

I buy from a number of sellers, and I don't mean you. I mean those who I have stopped buying from. And I have a number of sewing buddies who feel and act the same way.

Just to put this in perspective.

Regards,
Elle ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jen ~ MOMSPatterns DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:46:00 AM Interesting post! I've never really broken it down to a 'per hour' sort of thing, selling patterns.. but I KNOW the amount of time involved in selling them. I feel like I've ALWAYS got a box full in front of me in some stage of being listed. I've got the Pieces Need To Be Counted Bins, the Counted, Needs to be Scanned Bins, the Scanned, Needs to be Typed (from the back) and the DONE, Needs to be Listed Bins.

My own pricing is based on supply, demand, size & condition. Do I have an 80s Butterick A-Line Skirt, Waist 23" pattern with a ripped up envelope? Eh, I might not even list it. Do I have a 50s Vogue Patou Evening Gown, complete, size 16? Do I wanna bite my nails all week hopeful for a bidding war, or just sell it directly in my store for $75?

As I'm personally trying to leave ebay fees far behind, I'm putting more and more of my 'cherry finds' into my store, and trying to establish fair prices. A price where I can be competitive with 'auction' pricing while not creating a frenzy of bids; a price that at the end of the day, I'm happy with, and my buyer is happy with!

Like Ang, I feel I've also been doing what I do long enough to know what my good stuff is, and what to price it at fairly.

And hey! Most web sites or online sellers offer coupons or discounts for being on a mailing list.. or as a promotion with a previous purchase.. or with multiple buys.. or we broadcast it here with Erin! I know I do! So when you find that hefty priced pattern you MUST have.. no harm in checking around for % off discounts, and never hurts ASKING to barter :)

So you've taken YOUR time to read my pre-coffee mumblings & jumblings? Visit my store and use coupon code 'fireworks15' and you'll save 15% off your order at my store. See.. that was EASY! lol

Peace to the Pattern People! Everyone enjoy your weekend! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

fuzzylizzie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:58:00 AM There is something fundamentally wrong in our society when we don't think it is worth paying a reasonable fee for someone's time and EXPERTISE.

Exactly! And add to that, editing skills. I buy for resale, maybe 1% of the vintage patterns I encounter. I feel that my "eye" is an important part of my site, and it sure feels good when a customer emails and says they appreciate the carefully edited offerings.

The majority of the patterns on my site are $15. That is the "make or break" point; any less and I'd not be making any kind of a profit. And then what would be the point? I'd have no reason to continue selling.

I believe that when you spend your money, that's when your opinion matters most! There are plenty of people who are willing to spend $15 for a great vintage pattern. For those who are not, they must spend the time and do the leg work (or seat work, if they shop eBay!) to get their $1 "bargain." ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Canine Diamond DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:58:00 AM Gotta confess that the prices of some vintage patterns just make me think it's time to learn to draft my own. Today's pattern is lovely but it's not so complex that it couldn't be draped herself by somebody who knew a little about what they were doing. Might not be made *exactly* the same way, but you could get darned close (close enough).

While I am all for people doing jobs that they love, and people are certainly free to charge what they want for things, I also think it's true that some jobs are not a living. (I'm not saying pattern selling isn't or shouldn't be a living, mind you.) I paint, and I certainly love it enough that I feel it should be my job, but the truth is that it is not necessary enough, to enough people, for it to be my primary occupation. If I were to persist in trying to make it so despite numerous clues that that is not a practical ambition, I can hardly blame the rest of the world.

* * * * * * *

I wonder sometimes if the "old book" mindset doesn't sometimes come into play. People tend to think that, just because something is old, it's valuable. I see this all the time at work: People think that just because their books are old, they're valuable. The truth is that the vast majority of old books are not valuable (even if they are relatively rare). They're just used books. Disappointing, but true. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Fuzzylizzie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:07:00 AM Let's put this in perspective. The original comment was probably made with respect to patterns now selling for significantly more than the $10 to $15 range that most patterns go for.

Possibly, but I have read comments on this blog to the effect that $15 is too much for a patern. I remember it so well because Erin used one of my patterns as an illustration, and one of the first comments was a complaint that the pattern cost too much - $15. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

cpeep DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:08:00 AM Erin, that's why I sent YOU all my old patterns. It's too much WORK to sell them :)

I'm amazed that people will spend $6 for a cup of (burnt tasting) coffee and won't invest $8 in the perfect pattern!

Carol ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Sold A Moke DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:11:00 AM I have always believed that if something is priced too high for me then buying it is out of the question. Everyone has this option, because let's face it, who really needs a pattern? It is a luxury.

I too operate a small business and I can tell you that my overhead is large, my time investment is large too. I make sure I am compensated for it, if I weren't I wouldn't do it. But I don't go down the list with everyone to make sure they appreciate how much I do.

Nobody gripes to me about my fees because I do a good job and deliver a valuable service.

So, either buy the pattern or don't. The seller just puts it out there and that is literally their business. If it does not sell they will most likely lower the price. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mystique*61 DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:24:00 AM I must admit I wouldn't dream of putting 75 on a pattern like this one but yeah for capitalism & if it sells I'll be rethinking my pricing structure for sure. :) I would add though whether you're a collector or reseller of vintage anything - if you run into cockroach carcasses & rat droppings at a sale it's probably not worth whatever is waiting to be bought - you might cart home something else besides a new treasure! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Carol@Dandelion Vintage DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:56:00 AM Wow, this is a great post and great responses. I don't think buyers take the time to consider all of the time and work that goes into selling patterns and vintage clothing (add cleaning and measuring to the preparation time for getting clothing ready to sell) Plus, you may have to go to 10 sales before you find some patterns or clothing to buy.

Not every thrift is full of fabulous and cheap vintage stuff. Not all sellers are paying thrift shop prices for their stock. I haven't bought stock from a thrift shop in about 5-6 years. If I depended on a thrift shop to provide me cheap stock, I would have gone out of business years ago.
Vintage-anything can't be found in your size, in great condition at your price on every corner.

People will pay over $100 for a pair of new shoes. How much do you think it really cost to make those shoes? But someone will buy them because they are super cute, well, made, maybe a good name maker.

If you really love something, you decide how much you are willing to pay for it. If you don't like the price, go find something in your price range - don't insult or think badly of the seller. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

La BellaDonna DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:59:00 AM As a designer and seamstress myself, I will never. EVER. EVER! bargain with someone else over the value of what she is selling, whether it's artwork, or jewelry, or vintage patterns. If I have the money for it, I pay it and say "Thank you!" and move on. If I don't have the money, I admire it wistfully, smile, and move on. I won't bargain down what the maker/owner thinks something is worth; this isn't a flea market (I WILL bargain at a flea market, it's part of the ambiance, and expected). Either I can afford it, or I can't.

Canine Diamond, I think we must be looking at different books. I have found that some of the books I've bought have more than tripled in value, and they weren't cheap when I bought them. Unfortunately for me, there are plenty of books I've meant to get, and then when I try to find them, even though they're only a couple of years old, they've completely gone out of my Book-Buying Range.

As far as vintage patterns go, if it's something unusual, or part of a particular silhouette that I collect, I will pay more for it (if I have the money). If I don't have the money, well, I have a ruler and a pencil; I don't expect the seller to drop her price just because I wish the patterns were cheaper! (It doesn't work with gas, I tried that first; so why would it work for patterns?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 9:05:00 AM A pattern drafted by Chanel herself would be selling for way more than $75! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 9:12:00 AM I have purchased patterns for $30.00 or even $45.00 dollars. I buy from sellers and at prices I think are fair. I have not yet purchased anything from the featured seller because the prices are relatively high compared with other sellers in the market.

As a second issue, I am sure that many/most resellers do get up early to be the first in line at an estate sale. On the other hand, in the metropolitan area where I live, resellers often get preferential treatment, including being able to "shop" an estate sale the day before the genral public or for several hours before the general public is allowed into the estate sale. This is a decided advantage in the market.

Just saying. It's the other side of the coin.

Amy ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Oldpatterns DATE:Jul 18, 2008 9:52:00 AM I'm sorry to say that the big 4 patterns companies do NOT have an archive. They only keep what is in stock at present and recently discontinued. Perhaps some of you might remember when Vogue began their Vintage Vogue line, they requested people to send them patterns. They do not have a secret stash of all the patterns they created. They, like many of the other people re-printing vintage patterns, have to work with patterns that people saved. I can't tell you how many times I've heard - "Oh my mom sewed! I threw her patterns out when she died." I'd hate to think about what will happen to my stash when I'm 6 feet under. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

What-I-Found DATE:Jul 18, 2008 10:13:00 AM I didn't write the rant, but I could have. I sell patterns now, but sold antiques for years and the story was the same. These are jobs that are really labors of love, because you won't ever get paid for your time. Finding the right pattern and matching it up to the right person takes a tiny miracle...and it has to be the right size!

I think of vintage patterns as pieces of history, treasured things to be honored. Use them, wear them, but don't forget the journey they took to get to you.
Tina ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 10:29:00 AM As a pattern buyer, sometimes I see something I really like priced WAY above my budget... but then I think, would I pay that much if I wanted to use this as my wedding dress?

I can usually answer yes, so I just close my eyes and imagine how happy the pattern will make the person who can justify its purchase. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ladygrande (Texas Marie) DATE:Jul 18, 2008 11:08:00 AM Any item is only worth what someone will pay for it. If someone wants it - they will pay the price for it - and they should not complain.

I don't pay listed price for any of the new patterns. I always wait until they are on sale at the fabric stores for $.99 or $1.99.

But, I am lucky on vintage patterns == all the ladies in my family were great at sewing their own frocks in the '40's and beyond, and I am the respository of those patterns. I can't use the sizes myself, but they have family history involved in them.

I do buy patterns on Ebay and at other venues - some just for decoration/inspiration, but I only pay what I want to pay - it's not a "do or die" situation at any time.

Put limits on what you are willing to pay, and let it go at that! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Dusty Penguin DATE:Jul 18, 2008 11:13:00 AM What a beautiful, beautiful dress. I wish I'd found that pattern in April when I was looking for a dress for my daughter's wedding. I tried on everything reasonably non-ugly in 3 counties for up to $400.00 and couldn't find anything I was happy with. I bought a pattern and remnant cloth and made a suitably pretty dress, but at that time I would have paid $75.00 for this pattern. Love it! But don't need it now! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kristine DATE:Jul 18, 2008 11:54:00 AM Interesting discussion. As a vintage clothing reseller, this "thrift store" mindset does come up periodically.
Look-- I do this FOR A LIVING and do you know how much vintage I have THAT FITS ME in my own closet? Not much. Why? Because I can search for hours and hours and days and days and if I'm LUCKY I might find ONE item that I like and that fits me.
Most of my own vintage I bought at retail prices from other sellers.

Also -- every now and then I'll have a customer exclaim something like "$40!! I could by that at Goodwill for $5!"
I say then go do it! I'll bet you leave empty handed after way more than $40 worth of your time.

But what's really funny is that whenever an item illicits that response, invariably someone else comes along shortly and pays the $40 without blinking.

It's all perspective. Just because it's not worth $40 TO YOU doesn't mean it's not worth $40.

AND-- I don't get this attitude that it's somehow "greedy" for a seller to purchase something at the asking price and attempt to sell it for more? That's just plain silly. That's what our whole economy is based on! Every last bit of it!
Is it greedy for you to go to work and expect to be paid? I get the feeling that there are people out there that RESENT the fact that those of us who do this professionally actually do make a living. They seem to think we only have a right to do it as a hobby and therefor charge a pittance for our time and goods.
No offense, but unless you're willing to cut your pay in half, please don't suggest that I cut mine. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

marcia in austin DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:05:00 PM I agree with ruth singer that there is still an almost universal down-valuing of things related to tasks and interests that are traditionally women's.

There is also a tendency to look at the final product as an absolute: Is it a vintage pattern reflecting the knowledge and skills of the drafter, reflecting the social history of the time, and miraculously preserved? No, it's a bunch of old tissue paper in an envelope. Is it a fabulous dress that perfectly reflects the wearer's personality, a dress in which she both looks beautiful and feels at ease-- a dress which took creative thought and planning and skill and effort to bring to fruition? No, it's... jeez, it's a *dress* already... you could've gotten a dress at the store and saved yourself the trouble... what's the big deal?

People often overlook the intangible things that give an item its value. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Adrienne DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:24:00 PM There are the have's and the have-nots; it's nice to be able to afford it, but that $75.00 is more than likely too steep for those of us who learned to sew from our youth not only for personal choice & fit, but to save money.

Ergo; although I do sympathize with what the seller(s) must put into the patterns in order to make any kind of a profit at all, it still will belong to those who have great jobs or a wealthy dead Uncle.

For the rest of us - we as well need to look for a deal to make ends meet.

It all makes drafting a pattern look more and more attractive, doesn't it?

Best of luck to both sides. God Bless. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Bradie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:36:00 PM What a great post! As the owner of 10,000 vintage sewing patterns, I can totally relate to what she is saying. I too would haunt those estate sales, and labor with love through counting, prepping, and ironing those pieces. Finally it got the best of me, and my lonely patterns sit, waiting for the day I will renew my enthusiasm for them. I can appreciate every word that she has typed. You deserve every hard earned penny.
Bradie ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:40:00 PM I don't resent those who put in their labor to improve the product (picking through envelopes, matching pieces, etc).

I do resent those who get up at 3 am to snatch up the patterns/clothing so they can, without adding substantial value, make the end-users pay more for them. They're not creating anything. They're basically parasitic.

Are they entitled to make a certain wage? Am I entitled to cheap patterns? No, and no. Do they have a right to make a living this way? Sure, whatever, free country. Do I have a right to be annoyed by it? Yes.

I simply have a preference for professions that either create something or add value. Too often resellers do neither, enriching themselves at the overall detriment of the market. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lisa @ The Hem Line DATE:Jul 18, 2008 12:57:00 PM As with any shopping spree . . . if you LOVE IT and WANT IT you will pay the price. I don't care if it's a bottle of wine, a great pair of shoes, a new car or a sewing pattern. Obviously the person selling patterns makes some determination of the value based on their own taste as well as market demand. I know as an antique dealer and seller of vintage patterns, I am constantly saying, "If I can get $200 for my Roseville vase, I will sell it. Otherwise I will keep it and cherish it!" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kristine DATE:Jul 18, 2008 1:39:00 PM Resellers are parasitic for saving these items (often from the the trash bin or raghouses or even worse fates) because you can't get them at rock bottom prices or for free?
Sounds like nothing but sour grapes to me.
And considering that NOT everyone has the time or inclination to get up at 3am to source these goods, those who do so DO, in fact, add substantial value to these items for the people that they buy for. I know that not a darn one of my clients is going to drag themselves through MY day to purchase something (that will probably not fit them anyway) just to save a few dollars - instead, they're grateful that someone else is doing all that and bringing it to them. THAT is supply and demand.
So it's not for you? Fine - but that doesn't make it parasitic or wrong. I find more value in what *I* do than all those millions out there pushing papers and selling insurance under fluorescent lighting.

What, pray tell, do YOU do for a living that you so enrich the world?

Is a copy editor simply living off the back of the author/writer, bringing up the overall costs of books and "enriching themselves at the overall detriment of the market"? What about the producer? what about the distribution house? Etc etc.

EVERY industry is somehow linked to another and sustains itself by connection. To deny that is foolish and ignorant.
Would that I could buy all my food, paper goods and laundry soap AT THE SOURCE at much cheaper prices. I should rail at Target and the local grocery for bringing all these things to me under one roof for a higher price! (of course, with the cost of gas, my prices after driving around to purchase items at the source would likely be higher than at the local store!) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

The Crafty Academic DATE:Jul 18, 2008 1:40:00 PM This discussion prompted me to pony up the $18 for a vintage pattern I've long been wanting! Great perspective on the work that goes into the business.

I think I tend to get spoiled by the $1.99 / $3.99 pattern sales at JoAnne's. Good reminder that the modern patterns just don't have the finesse that the vintage ones do. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Zoltar Panaflex DATE:Jul 18, 2008 1:40:00 PM I totally agree with the 'rant'. I have a perfect understanding that a seller might not be profiteering off of me, but their overhead is such where there is going to be a difference between point A and point B.

I have zero problem with someone making a profit.

I try to find bargains myself, but I don't have the leads/opportunities/options that a professional pattern picker-througher might have.

I am not one to complain about prices. If I truly want the pattern, I pay the price and clutch the pattern to me like a long-lost Leonardo.

Thanks Erin, for bringing forward an oft-neglected truth, and shining some light on yet another facet that most people don't consider! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 1:51:00 PM What an interesting topic. Most of the vintage patterns I see seem quite affordable. As for the really pricey ones; they're like museum pieces, in that they are rare. Yes, you might find that in your grandmother's attic, but how many grandmothers do you have, and how many attics did SHE have, and did she even sew in the first place? You might be able to search out the same pattern for less (some day, some way) but the time that would take and the travel involved would, practically speaking, make that newfound cheaper pattern more expensive than the original one you fell in love with. It's the old "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish" thing. Basically, if every vintage pattern were $75 we'd all be in deep, deep trouble. But they're not. (PS: I am feeling that demon Image Wunderlust again! Please excuse my changing appearance!) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 2:56:00 PM PS: I'm shocked pattern companies don't keep archives. It's not like tissue paper patterns take up THAT much space, do they? This 1966 pattern on the right was just featured on the Burda site as part of a retrospective slide show, and they can't even tell me what the original pattern number WAS! To a bookworm like me, there's something rather SCARY about that! (I'll load the image at the vintage pattern wiki site as Burda 0002, in case anyone ever learns more info and can update it.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

CEMETARIAN We Dig Memories DATE:Jul 18, 2008 3:39:00 PM This is one of the most fun posts we've had..........that includes both buyers and sellers.........and I LOVE the fact that us Offerers of Vintage Lovelies have a new Job Title.

professional pattern picker-througher

I LOVE IT and I'm going to Steal it, Zoltar. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

What-I-Found DATE:Jul 18, 2008 3:44:00 PM Love what Cookie said...how many Grandmas do you have?
In my case I don't get up at 4 AM for anything...but I travel all over the US and go to tiny towns you've never heard of. I find patterns in obscure stores and out of the way shops. I am sure that you (or your Grandma) have never been there. But I was...and I gathered together all the really good patterns...just to make it easy for you to find. You're welcome. ;-)

Tina - who sometimes stays up till 4 AM...listing patterns! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jen ~ MOMSPatterns DATE:Jul 18, 2008 3:50:00 PM Hiya Cookie! I sure wish pattern companies had at least ONE of all their patterns as well. Especially the old McCall's Designer Series ones. I mean come on.. Pauline Trigere? Givenchy? WOW!

However, I totally understand why they DON'T! I barely have room for one of each VERY INCOMPLETE archive of each pattern that I sell. Churning out about what.. 2000 a year, since 1920 something.. man, that's a LOT of room needed for archival and preservation! Hindsight, I bet they wish they had found a way and done it but man.

That is a LOT of space! lol ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Karen DATE:Jul 18, 2008 3:51:00 PM I fit squarely on both sides of this debate. Almost all the time, I won't spend more than $4 on a pattern. I generally won't buy single patterns on ebay, unless I need to cheer myself up. I started realizing that I'm collecting though, I've only made 5 out of the dozens of patterns I've bought in the past year. the vintage ones I'm afraid to touch or cut because they're rare, unique, and not replacable.

I lost myself in one ebay auction and spent about $75 on a pattern as wonderful as this one, and I have never regretted it. maybe i'll treasure it, maybe i'll take the time to carefully trace it in a moisture/dust/pet-free safe environment, maybe i'll just divve in with my sissors.

also, I have about a hundred vintage patterns I started collecting/rescuing from garage sales etc. I don't have the heart to throw them away, but I also don't have the energy to sell them properly. I feel so trapped! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 3:56:00 PM Um, wow. I am really surprised at how heated and rude this discuss has become. As resellers, you can put something up for sale for as much as you want to. And sure, there may be someone, somewhere, willing to spend very large amounts of money for a pattern.

On the other hand, I have been collecting patterns for 20+ years. I have seen the market for vintage patterns expand, and prices (and therefore competition for them) increase, and I have a pretty good idea of what a fair price is for a pattern. I let my judgment guide me. I also know that vintage pattern prices rise and fall.

Sellers want to maximize their earnings and are therefore always pushing to see what the upper price range is for patterns. Well, they find it, and then their sales slack and they have "sales" or just re-post the listing on ebay for less.

Another innovation that I love to see, are the sites that offer reproductions. Since I am sewing with the patterns, a reproduction is as good as the real thing to me, and for rare/highly desireable patterns, far more economical.

For Pete's sake, folks, the free market works surprisingly well.

Amy ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Penny Hodgson-Dell DATE:Jul 18, 2008 4:13:00 PM What a lively dialogue... and my rationalization for having over 100,000 patterns waiting patiently to be listed,,and 15,000 presently listed, I think I have reached the ultimate limit in house space, is a parallel to the Mormon philosophy. I am not Mormon, but they have a mission to gather all the birth and death and geanealogical records they can get their hands on... I feel like I am doing the same.. I am gathering up all this valuable historic data and treating it like a treasure. A lost part of history..This collection of patterns has led me into other areas, books on 1930s and 1940s fashions etc.. I find it historically fascinating the hats, gloves, shoes on the patterns of those eras... so pattern sellers, we are on a Mission!!! and enriching the world!!! my two cents worth, and yes a seller is the only one that can put a price tag on their product, the web, Ebay and Paypal fees and the cost of living has close to doubled at least...and we have to figure that into the final figure. Thank you to all pattern sellers for providing a valuable product no matter what the cost is... Penny, recently married at the end of June!! never too old to get married.. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Tosha DATE:Jul 18, 2008 4:31:00 PM WHEW! I am TIRED just from reading! I have never really tried to get a vintage pattern, though looking through your site I can see just how there is a simplistic elegance to alot of them. BUT, when I do I FOR SURE know what I am paying for. And I can tell you, VERY MUCH WORTH IT! Thanks for the insite and the "rant"! :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 4:50:00 PM Jen: It's neat that we're in a different era now, and pattern companies can store electronically. I don't know how one easily PRINTS OUT a downloadable pattern...but soon we'll be there! And I agree with Penny: << we are on a Mission!!! and enriching the world!!! >> All I can say is, thank goodness SOMEONE takes the time. Because most of us can't : ) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Vintage Goddess DATE:Jul 18, 2008 5:19:00 PM In my case I don't get up at 4 AM for anything
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hahahahaha
me either Tina.

That's why I lots when it seems like there is nothing left around here.
(though I did buy a pattern cabinet a few months ago, FULL, at an estate sale...it was, as they say, a good buy)

I pay more when I buy lots then at a sale, BUT I am paying for the service provided by the seller who has gone out and done all the things I don't want to do at the moment, like get at 4am.

So that is what I think sellers do, besides save and offer great vintage, we provide a service to the buyer who wants vintage clothing or patterns or whatever, but does not have the time to go out and find it.
A service always comes at a price, you just have to decide what you are willing to pay for that service. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lanetz Living DATE:Jul 18, 2008 5:21:00 PM Great Blog,
to add my 2 cents. Not all pattern sellers buy dirt cheap. I buy the majority of my vintage patterns from estate liquidators who know what I am looking for.

In the last 2 weeks alone I have had a large cash outlay of over $3,000. It is not unusual to spend $5000 a month on inventory. You never know what it going to be found so you have to be ready to lay out the cash up front and then hope it does not stay on the shelves to long. It is a fine balance to find the right price that is fair to the liquidators, seller and buyer.
I also do not have the luxury of a spouse that helps and I pay employees $10 an hour to inventory, scan, sort, organize and ship the dozens of orders we get every day.
I personally hand pick the patterns that make it to the website but could not offer the the volume and variety of patterns with out paid help.

Advertising is another issue that has not been addressed. Erin is "cheap" ((grin)) but to put an ad in Threads, Sew Stylish, Etc costs $100's of dollars a month.

There is alot that goes into pattern selling and even though we are "small sellers" it is still a Business with cost and overhead way beyond the costs of the pattern.

Love this blog as it helps for both sellers and buyers to see both perspectives.
Hugs,
Janet ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Penny DATE:Jul 18, 2008 5:25:00 PM If someone reading this blog and rant today about patterns wishes to set up an instant online children's patterns website or whatever they wish to do with them, I have perhaps 500 or more children's patterns, almost all uncut, some from the 40s to present day and would give them all to a good home for the cost of shipping... It would probably cost close to $100 for a shipment of this size.. You would be pleased and it would be an instant kids and babies and teens pattern business, you just have to do all the legwork and add a price!!! contact me through my website www.antiquedollhouseofpatterns.ca if you could use all of these kids patterns all sizes, all ages, all eras for shipping cost only. Then I can have more room for my vintage adult patterns!!!! Thank you.. Penny ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Elsewhere Vintage DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:06:00 PM Anon said: *** I am really surprised at how heated and rude this discuss has become.***

Yes, I agree. Calling someone "parasitic" for their career choice IS rude.

It's not like we are LAWYERS or something. ;)

What it comes down to is that the free market DOES work - and most of the vintage & pattern resellers DO sell their items. Often at the prices they want for them.
Like ANY retail establishment, they will have sales and reduce the prices of some stock to move it out. That's inevitable- no matter the form of retail you're engaged in. Even books go on sale.

But it amazes me that in THIS market a few seem to view it as sellers "being greedy" when in every other market, it's simply business.
It's sure easy to criticize folks who have something you want for a price you don't want to pay - but God forbid those folks defend themselves against unfair attitudes. We ALL live in this world - please try acting like it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mike White Deer Pattern Village DATE:Jul 18, 2008 7:47:00 PM Iee with every thing that has been said, I don't have to many high end vintage patterns, but I have many modern ones and they do take a lot of time. and in some markets pattern prices are going down. I have a pattern that I paid 33 for at SA and saw it on an other buying site for 15.00 or more so that can happen but it is rare. I think more buyers should read blogs like this. Maybe they would getr some appreciation of the work we go through ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:08:00 PM Janet at Lanetz, you doll!

Your patterns are REASONABLY PRICED. Your site is the best--well organized, good vintage selection (though the B38 section could stand a little restocking :) ) and easy to shop at. Your customer service is A+. You clearly are making money (otherwise, how would you have $5K on hand to shop for new inventory?) and YET you do it by asking a fair price. As a (repeat) Lanetz customer, I appreciate that!

It's hilarious reading people's defense of this prosaic $75 McCall's pattern. (Circle skirt + plain, kimono sleeve top=ordinary prom dress. A high school student could draft this. And you can certainly whip up something just like it using current patterns from the Big 4.) The pattern envelope is in poor condition, too, btw.

Well, what a hoot! My favorite comments on this thread have been: the ones that admonish that since this is not an essential purchase, one shouldn't complain about price (in other words, if you're poor, keep it zipped, please); the commenter who said that $75 is only (!) 3-4 more times than the full price of a current pattern (yes, and it's also as much as a tank of overpriced gas, 15 gallons of milk, blah, blah, blah), and BellaDonna's comment that "I will never. EVER. EVER! bargain with someone else over the value of what she is selling, whether it's artwork, or jewelry, or vintage patterns." (as if bargaining is some kind of moral failure.)

The world of vintage clothing, patterns and notions has changed tremendously since I got into it as college student in the 80s. My friends and I were drawn to vintage for the nostalgia but also for the prices. We could afford to dress well without spending a lot of money. Today I could not afford to buy those clothes that I wore in college! I certainly couldn't afford to buy the vintage alligator purse I bought in '86. (Thank god I kept it!)

Now vintage is all dominated by the pros. You (or your pickers) get first dibs on everything, mark things up like a million percent and put it on ebay or sell it at shows. So who's buying? Quirky wealthy people who like to amass "collections" that hang in some secret closet or fashion designers/retailers that want to rip off a vintage item. I was at a textiles show a couple of years ago and the vendors were whispering about how Betsy Johnson had been there earlier and had snapped up a bunch of stuff. That's who we regular people vintage lovers are competing with for stuff: Betsy Johnson.

With vintage patterns it's mind blowing to see these outrageous $75 ea. prices for an item that was specifically intended for financially strapped people. (Depression era frocks patterns come to mind.) I think that's why some of us find the prices insulting. Most of us who sew may do it for the love of it, for the custom fit, but ALSO to save money. (Somehow I doubt Melinda Gates, Oprah or the Queen of England sew their own clothes.)

My first reaction when I discovered a few of these sites that sell nothing but over $45 patterns was WHAT THE...?! I looked at their offerings and then I moved on. Nothing but nothing is going to make me spend $75 on a pattern. I'm not tempted, it doesn't tug at my heartstrings, I don't shed a tear. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:14:00 PM I have got to add that I can NOT buy the same thing (vintage or otherwise) at any second hand stores in my area.

The thrifts are disgustingly filthy, have no sewing patterns, and I have yet to find anything wearable - meaning no ruinous home alterations, stains, fabric that is so thread bare or faded that it is a joke, horrible odors, etc.

I have ranted about this more than once since I joined Wardrobe Refashion. I have no thrift stuff to refashion! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Elsewhere Vintage DATE:Jul 18, 2008 8:42:00 PM Anon -
You don't seem to get it. But, oh well.
This isn't about a $75 pattern.
It's about those who think they, and ONLY THEY, have the right to purchase these items - because they were "into it" first.

Yes, designers buy vintage. Yes, some quirky wealthy people also buy vintage.
But if you really think that's who is supporting your local vintage store, you're way off the mark.
Every damn one of us would be starving, if that were the case.

I, also, got into vintage in the 80's. And you know what? The price of EVERYTHING has gone up since then! Heck, even gas was under $1!! So what makes you think that vintage should be any different?
Because you were into it first?
That's such a teenager "I was into this band BEFORE they were popular!" kind of mentality, and I just don't get it. It's selfish and egocentric and just plain RUDE to try to tell other (successful!) people how to run their business to SUIT YOU.
Get off your high (and anonymous yet apparently rich and fulfilling) horse for a reality check. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Jul 18, 2008 9:15:00 PM << It's not like we are LAWYERS or something >> Wait a minute! I work in a law office (uh, between Big Band songstress engagements, of course). I'll have you know, we NOT only bilk the rich, but we accept pro bono cases as well. Good golly! It's like they say; "Everyone hates lawyers until they need one." ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

denise@thebluegardenia.com DATE:Jul 18, 2008 11:07:00 PM Cookie,

To add levity into this discussion (and I hope you accept it as such!) I believe writer Christopher Buckley said in one of his books (and I paraphrase) " . . . And then they REALLY hate them!"

Some of my favorite customers are lawyers, paralegals, legal secretaries, BTW. So I surely don't hate 'em. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Elsewhere Vintage DATE:Jul 18, 2008 11:50:00 PM LOL Cookie!

I actually LOVE our lawyer! I was more making a poor joke on the typical lawyer stance and how dumb it is to lump all of ANY category of people together.

Sorry if it came off otherwise! ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

wundermary DATE:Jul 19, 2008 2:11:00 AM I personally wouldn't pay $75.00 for a pattern. But, I can draft, so I am probably not your target girl. None the less, I can appreciate your rant. There isn't any reason why you shouldn't sell a pattern for $75.00, if you can. I appreciate vintage items and understand that what was once commonplace is now special. Pricewise, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I don't care if you picked it out of a dumpster. If you've got the prize, you've got the prize.
Once, while selling cute VW bus shaped planters made entirely by hand by hubby & me, I dealt with an angry man who was upset that I no longer had a hunter green one left at the end of the day. He said: "But, you had one when I was here this morning!" and I said: "If you wanted it, you should have bought it when you saw it. This isn't Walmart." The people you are ranting about need to go back to Walmart, too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Carol@Dandelion Vintage DATE:Jul 19, 2008 5:19:00 AM It's not entirely sellers who decide the selling price of an item. It's Supply & Demand that is the biggest factor. Vintage is more popular now that it was 20 years ago. Vintage cannot be found in most thrift stores anymore - especially since alot of the big name stores ship alot of their stuff overseas and other countries send groups of pickers over to hit thirfts and estates sales too. So sellers are competing with many more other sellers now.

I was buying vintage for myself in the 1980s too. My mom was buying Victorian, Edwardian and vintage children's clothing back in the 1970s, so she passed this sickness onto me! I'm miffed about the higher prices and the smaller resource too. But that's life. The value of older hard to find items goes up with popularity and time.

I feel so lucky to have been able to turn my love of vintage clothing into a job, 10 years so far and still going strong. And I work hard to find good quality stock and I also keep it priced within reason so that I can make a profit and pay my bills and so that my customers can afford to add wearable vintage to their wardrobes. Most of my prices are no higher than what you would pay for new clothing. So I'm not inflating my prices a million times what I pay.

I don't get special treatment from estate sales, I'm not there at 3AM. I stand in line like anyone else. I'm paying what they're paying. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Claire DATE:Jul 19, 2008 8:50:00 AM There are so many varying opinions on this subject. I, of course, cannot be quiet, but feel I must throw my 2 cents into the ring.

I know that a beautiful rare vintage pattern will call for a higher price. I don't have an issue with $15 for a pattern. I've even gone as high as $60-$65 for one that I have to have.

I do not buy from those vintage sellers who price evening gown patterns at $175 and everyday patterns at $25. I know a lot of time and effort goes into finding the patterns and maintaining a website..paying Ebay and Paypal fees and so on..... BUT I do feel we hit a point where a seller simply "appears" to be greedy. (notice I said "appears" as the seller may truly not be greedy and it's not up to me to pass judgement on their motives).

There is a "supply and demand" and "what the market will bear", but let's compare this to our friends, a/k/a the "oil speculators". Supply and demand for oil and gas is very high. HOWEVER, do we really deserve to pay such outrageous prices for fuel??? I don't think so!!

This is the approach I take on how much I'll pay for a vintage pattern. If I decide a Lanvin is worth $75 of my hard earned dollars, that's my choice. I generally won't shop, or visit, vintage sources that price all their patterns in a high range.

They have a right to charge that amount and I have a right to say no. If someone loves the pattern and says yes, then both a happy and I'm happy for them.

I do think that some of the prices need to come down and I'm guessing some of the sellers will begin to see their patterns move faster if they would lower thier prices to something more reasonable. They are not making a profit on patterns languishing on a site, unsold. Whereas a more reasonably priced pattern will move faster and will result in a faster profit and turn-around time. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Primatoide futile DATE:Jul 19, 2008 9:05:00 AM Just to add a quick comment: where I live, there are no 1$99 sales on the recent patterns from the big four. You are lucky when the pattern is less than ten euros. There are no sales of second hand patterns, and of course I cannot access estate sales in the US. Even Ebay from my country has very little interesting patterns.
I am happy and grateful that someone has gotten through the trouble of looking after patterns, bringing them home, checking them, putting them on ebay. I am mostly surprised by the prices : I do not know how the ones on the lower end (I mean around 5$) of the price range manage it. And I have found many nice patterns within my price range (and sometimes, seen the prices rocket over to where they aren't, but well, that is the game), patterns I would never have had access to without this.
The only thing I regret are that some sellers do not ship overseas, but I only have to remember last time I went through the hassle at the post office to understand them. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

real-vintage.com DATE:Jul 19, 2008 9:43:00 AM I am honestly surprised to see how this conversation has devolved into a debate about the worth of what some people do for a living. I debated whether to post but its tough to sit comfortably with being called a parasite. Given that the ultimate goal of what I do, what any of us do by sourcing and reviving vintage/antique/old items is recycling, its a rather odd term to use.

The reality is that vintage clothing and patterns have increased in popularity and their visibility by the general public has become heightened. A person who was used to buying great vintage in the 80s certainly has reason to be annoyed with the competition that has created to be able to GET good vintage, but the upside I feel outweighs it. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone come into my shop who saw a story on TV about vintage, or someone wearing vintage on the red carpet, or read about my shop or big city boutique in a paper or magazine and told me had they not heard that people "like those old clothes", they would have thrown away Grandma's closet full of dresses. Thrown away!! I bet I hear that same story or a variation of it once a week...never mind the stories about what WAS thrown away.

If vintage were only worn and valued by a small super-secret sector of the public, my bet is literally millions of pieces both beautiful, wearable and valuable in the scheme of fashion history would be rotting in landfills.

My first big buy, the one that enabled me to take a hobby I loved and make it a career, was the estate of a woman named Jean who had no children. The house was jam packed and the clothes were not something anyone wanted or wanted to worry about. I bought them all, new/old/worn out/mint in package. With that I also got her wedding dress & invitation from 1928 and all the correspondence from her family to her from the 20s to the 50s.

Jean's life in clothing, as it was reflected from the 20s til the day she died, would now be in a landfill. As it is, every piece that I sold kept a little bit of Jean's soul alive....every piece cherished and worn again rather than vanishing from the Earth forever.

Because I do what I do and have made it a career, I have a shop. Because I have a shop, I have a yellow page ad. And because of that very ad, a year or so ago I got a call from a woman sorting through her neighbor's house. The neighbor had passed away, alone, no children. The house was in serious disrepair. There were old books, which lead the woman to think some clothes may be old. She looked in the yellow pages and saw my ad and called me.

The clothes were in rough shape, mostly newer, utilitarian and for living in a house with no heat (very eccentric, this woman was!)....but in a box on a cedar lined closet, up high and nearly out of reach were 2 Claire McCardell dresses (one of which Erin featured here a while back!). This fascinating woman had gone to a University in Europe when she was younger...well read, well travelled. And she had 2 special dresses for social events. These were those.

I was not only thrilled to handle 2 Claire McCardell dresses from the 50s, but thrilled to keep these dresses by an important designer in America's history from going to the burn pile, and thrilled to keep Anne's dresses she cherished so from being destroyed.

Make no mistake. IF vintage had not gained popularity to the degree that it enables me & so many others to make a living doing it full time & for me to place that little ad in the yellow pages, those dresses would be ash. I did not beat someone else out to get to those dresses, plain and simple.

What I know for fact is this....most vintage does not make it to the Goodwill to sit on the magical-mint-condition-$2 a pop Vintage Clothing rack. Most of it gets burned or pitched. If people didn't make a living selling it, if there were no market at all, the awareness would simply not be there.

If that makes me a parasite....and if being a parasite in any way helps keep these lovely clothing, patterns and antiques from being thrown away.....then call me a parasite.

I know better.

Ang ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jilly DATE:Jul 19, 2008 11:40:00 AM What a great post and awesome comments. I never knew the amount of effort that goes into selling vintage patterns, clothing etc. online. I have a limit, 45 is tops what I'll pay for a pattern. It's just my limit and I've paid for several at that price. But, I am so glad that there are people out there like Ang and all the others that I have bought from that are preserving and selling vintage stuff. How dreary our life would be without it! I have often thought of going into biz in the vintage area, but man, too much work!! Rather get a regular paycheck so I can spend it at your lovely shops!
Jilly ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

propriatrix DATE:Jul 19, 2008 12:40:00 PM buy it or don't buy it! All the various view have been expressed already...I'm sure most buyers of vintage widgets had no idea what it takes to make a business successful, and the long hours we work...being self-employed is very different from holding down a job as an employee.
Yes, we sellers provide a Shopping/Finding service for you, the wonderful buyer ....I have no issues with anyone else going to estate sales at the wee AM's...spending hours trolling the thrifts, and garage sales...If you put in the work, you get to have it before me!
I love the idea of someone sitting at their computer for a few minutes, looking at websites of lovely pictures, shopping on ebay or etsy, clicking a few buttons, and then a few days later, as if by magic....Their lovely Vintage Widget is being held in their hands...all from the comfort of their chair. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

whitestone DATE:Jul 20, 2008 4:55:00 PM No comment on the price of patterns. HowEver! That is The Dress I Wore to Prom! Really! Everyone else was wearing chiffon but I made mine from polished cotton so I could wear it later! I really, really liked that dress. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Rachel DATE:Jul 20, 2008 11:02:00 PM Oh my gosh, I just googled vintage patterns and found you. I'm struggling with deciding if it's worth learning to sew in order to make some stuff I really love. Then I about had a heart attack looking at the patterns I really love...from the 50s.

Yeah, I've pretty much realized it is not a money saver to sew my own stuff (even if I could learn). But still oh, so tempting. Great site! I'm bookmarking you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sandritocat DATE:Jul 20, 2008 11:08:00 PM I'm fairly selective on the patterns I purchase~they have to appeal to me in style and size. I too, only purchase a small percentage of the patterns I come across, and they are getting harder and harder to come by over the years. I agree that not all pattern sellers buy at dirt cheap. My most recent buying spree, I purchased patterns for $1,$3, $5 and $10. I'm willing to pay more for patterns I know will be "hot". The most I've ever sold a pattern for was $65 and it was on Ebay at auction. Most my patterns are $5 -$8 in my store with some $15-$30. Would I pay that much for a pattern? You know if it was my favorite dress pattern my mom made me as a child or a prom dress, Yes, I would too! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sandritocat DATE:Jul 20, 2008 11:10:00 PM Oh, I forgot to add~just for reading this great (and long) post, come on over to my etsy store and save 10%! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

When Ladies Dressed DATE:Jul 21, 2008 9:26:00 AM It is with great interest that I've read this blog entry and all of the responses. I love vintage patterns and have a little collection. I noticed as with many things, the cost of vintage patterns on ebay seems to have risen in the last year. I regularly pay $10 - $20 for a vintage pattern that I like, and often I pay $50 - $60 for ones that are more unique or collectible. Recently I've been outbid more and more despite maximum bids of $70-80. I'm getting priced out on the more desirable ones. What can I do? I made a decision to attend estate sales and auctions. My husband and I have always enjoyed "the hunt" for stuff. We both have various types of things that we like... Small kids have prevented us in recent years from attending sales and auctions, but we are going to pick it up again. In fact, we went to a preview a couple of weeks ago; although I didn't return to the auction, there were a few things I'd have liked and on a different day I'd have tried for them. I know it's hit or miss, but I'm willing to take the misses for the hits. I have no intention of reselling, just picking things up for myself. Like Erin said in her post, we have choices: don't buy, set up a wait-search on ebay or draft your own... she didn't mention, however, that you can go and hit sales and auctions yourself, if you have them in your area. I realize it's not an option for some folks, but for me it is, especially since I have the time. In the meantime, good luck to everybody who has a passion for collecting vintage patterns. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

La BellaDonna DATE:Jul 21, 2008 11:42:00 AM "and BellaDonna's comment that "I will never. EVER. EVER! bargain with someone else over the value of what she is selling, whether it's artwork, or jewelry, or vintage patterns." (as if bargaining is some kind of moral failure.)"

Anonymous, if I think something is "a moral failure," I will step right up and say so; no one will ever have to guess, or make assumptions. I stated that I will never[. EVER. EVER!] bargain over the value of someone else's work - not that you couldn't, or shouldn't. My point of view: I'm not going to dicker with the seller over what something is worth. I happen to think a lot of people's work is undervalued. If someone's selling something I want, and I have the money, I'll spend it. If I don't have the money, I won't. Just because I don't have the money doesn't mean it isn't worth what its maker/current owner is charging for it. It means I don't have the money.

Do I wish that I DID have the money? Sure, for lots of things. So what? I don't see why that should affect the value the seller places on what she has to sell. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

velvet plazq DATE:Jul 21, 2008 12:11:00 PM I bought 8 patterns , allin my size for $1 each in a vintage store in Va. Why? Because people didn't buy them there. I jsut got lucky. She may never have patterns for me again, but I am glad I found the ones I did. If something is rare, beautiful and I love it...I will save my money for it. And if someone else's get before me oh well. I barely find time to sew the patterns I have. I definitely don't have the time to LEARN to draft patterns, then to draft them...sheesh! To me it's worth my time (and money) for Jen, Marge, whoever, to find it for me and sell it to me at a fair price. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:Jul 21, 2008 2:19:00 PM Elsewhere + Blue Gardenia: I must say that since I began working in a law office, I've become pretty horrified in grasping the reality of what well paid lawyers can do for you. God help you if you can't afford a decent attorney, or worse, don't speak English! Have you ever tried to read a standard summons or a municipal code? Terrifying! Most people (including me, probably) can't even make out the fine print on the back of a parking ticket, unaided! It really does seem to boil down to whoever has the most expensive legal defense wins...if only because cases can be tied up for so long before going to court, and most people just can't handle that, either financially, schedule-wise, or emotionally. If I may get biblical (AND I'M NOT EVEN RELIGIOUS!) Jesus wept. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Doris DATE:Jul 21, 2008 3:07:00 PM Thank you for this post. It is SO true and so applicable to much more than vintage pattern sales. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anwen DATE:Jul 21, 2008 4:27:00 PM A few thoughts:

The anonymous person who complained of vintage resellers driving up prices compared to twenty or so years ago gives the impression of being just as elitist as she thinks 'new' vintage buyers are.

Also, I am poor *and* disabled, and frankly the vast majority of non-internet resources for vintage stuff are horribly inaccessible to a multitude of disabled people - either shops with narrow floor space and steps, markets which are too big and exhausting for people with mobility problems who don't actually use a wheelchair, masses of dust and such to trigger all kinds of respiratory and allergic conditions or some other thing. The internet, on the other hand, I can shop in my own living room.

I am constantly amazed at how cheap some of the vintage patterns are - I mean, there are patterns on momspatterns and the other sites for $4.50 - that's less than I can buy any new pattern for! Over here (UK) the lowest any sale ever goes to is £2.95 (about six bucks) for New Look or half price (£6 or £7, so $12-14) for Vogue (the other Big 4 companies generally are somewhere in between).

Also, I went to a shop the other day which said it was having a clearance on fabric remnants and 'vintage patterns' - it wasn't very far out of my way and I got some nice pieces of cloth, but the patterns were tatty and old-but-not-vintage (late 80s/early 90s ugly shapeless tops and tent dresses for the most part) and cost £1.50 ($3) each. The patterns on vintage reseller sites, on the other hand, while they are often not to my taste and the sites certainly carry the more recent (80s-90s) patterns, they are generally the higher quality type (designer ones and such) with design interest and such. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 21, 2008 4:46:00 PM Anwen-
Nobody is complaining about the prices of sellers like mom's patterns or lanetz. However, the price of $75 for the pattern on this post is really ridiculous. That's what my complaint is about. This particular pattern is not that old or unusual (there tons of patterns floating around from the 50s). If this were a technically complicated pattern from the 20s or 30s, I'd consider the price close to reasonable.

Your post reminds me of another thing. International buyers with stronger buying power (go Euro!) are also driving up the prices of items in the U.S.

Elsewhere Vintage wrote:
"This isn't about a $75 pattern."

Actually, yes, that IS what the discussion is all about. At least for me it is. It's NOT about "I got into it first." It's about the fact that NEW and OLD (that would be me) lovers of vintage patterns who actually use them and sew with them are getting priced out of the market. It's about the fact that patterns were always intended for people who made their own clothes. (In other words, the cash-strapped.)

But hey, whatever. Why stop at $75? Why not price vintage patterns at $750? Or better yet, $7,500?

It's funny to hear dealers justify their prices. "Oh, I get up early in the morning." "I have to scan the patterns." Why not be honest and admit that what you charge has nothing to do with that. You charge the maximum that you think you can get for the item. (If you didn't, you wouldn't be a good business person.)

This morning I found an online seller who is selling recently out of print patterns from the Big 4. There are plenty of these to go around yet. No scarcity. This dealer has them for like $25-30 each, more than they cost new a few months ago. Why? Because she thinks she can get that for them. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

CatMacGregor DATE:Jul 21, 2008 5:26:00 PM I'm late in coming to the discussion, so I apologize if I repeat something already stated.

I think it helps to understand what goes into the price of an item. Especially when you break it down into a per hourly rate of what the person is making. Not forgetting to add in small business mean providing your own insurance/401K/etc.

Do I think $75 is too much for a pattern? Yes - for me. Everyone has a different budget. I am a beginning level sewer with a fondness for vintage. If I were a serious collector of patterns, $75 probably wouldn't even bother me. If I made more money and had more discretionary spending, I might be more inclined. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nancy (nanflan) DATE:Jul 21, 2008 6:12:00 PM Ananymous at 4:46 pm:

Yes, they sell the maximum they can get for a pattern. That's a big part of why they get up early and scan all those patterns in! Some patterns don't sell, some sell for less than they'd like. The seller needs to make up for it with other items in your stock. Nothing wrong with charging what the market will bear.

As to the online seller marketing recent OOP Big 4: good luck with that. Most people who sew won't deal that way, especially if they can still be found on the pattern co. websites or through their sewing friends. I've even see online sellers try this with Big 4s that're still in print. What's wrong with these people?

Heck, I've been seeking a particular Calvin Klein pattern for a while and I won't buy the one that keeps popping up on eBay because the buy it now price is what I consider too high. I'll take my chances with another seller's auction, thank you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 21, 2008 7:00:00 PM I notice that despite the tremendous publicity from Erin's influential and highly trafficked blog, and despite the overwhelming support by most posters here regarding its $75 price tag, this pattern remains unsold.

Whenever other patterns have been featured here, they've sold almost instantly. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 21, 2008 7:20:00 PM Can I say something kind of off topic? I, too, shudder at the cost of some patterns, but I figure that I make less than 20 grand a year and so there are a lot of things priced so that I shudder. But my off-topic point is that I like to poke around at estate sales and yard sales and NOTHING is more disappointing than to get somewhere and realize that someone came and bought out the entire stock of whatever was there. This is, of course, entirely someone's right, but it's also entirely someone's right to demolish a historical (if unimportant) building if they own it. These are two unrelated things that drive me nutty. So that's it - I have anger that I can't poke around in some dusty, buggy patterns because I don't want to get up at 4 am. Sigh. But I do enjoy Lanetz Living! (Did I just negate my nag?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Myra DATE:Jul 21, 2008 8:26:00 PM I can see charging for the work involved, but I agree with many, if you can afford it, get it if you want, if not, go on down the road. I used to collect depression glass, got what I wanted and stopped when the pieces I wanted got out of reach. Same here. I will pass on something if the bids get too high and set a search on ebay. Or do what I just did, trade a dealer (antique, etc.) for something else they may want that you have/can provide, whether it be a much sought after pattern or labor. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:Jul 21, 2008 8:37:00 PM kinda on and off topic. Did you see yesterday's email from Julie at Damn Good Vintage?!?!? (for those of us on her list)

Some really, really gorgeous stuff in there! There's even a McCall's pattern reminiscent of the one on this post.

I didn't look at the price... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 21, 2008 11:42:00 PM Ang, your eloquence amazes me. Thanks for your post about Jean and the other estate at which you saved the clothes, and thanks from a vintage collector for preserving fashion history! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Oxanna DATE:Jul 22, 2008 1:53:00 AM When a discussion involves money and emotion, basic economic principles seem to go out the window.

First: there is no set price that the seller is "entitled" to, because they got up early, scoured garage sales, and scanned in the envelopes. Nobody owes them a red cent. There is a price which they feel adequately covers their costs (tangible & intangible - time, etc.), and makes it worthwhile to go to all that trouble. If they couldn't set a price high enough to satisfy themselves, they wouldn't be in the business at all, and patterns might end up locked away in small town basements, crumbling/rotting away in obscurity, or thrown away.

On the flip side, there is no set price that is "reasonable" for a buyer - except what the buyer is willing to pay. It's that simple. The market determines the price. The market may vary by where the seller and buyers are located (small town vs. the Internet). One buyer may want to purchase only patterns that have been thoroughly examined, are clean, free of tears, and will be shipped in 15 layers of bubble wrap. She'll probably pay more for what she wants. That's not unjust, that's a fact of life. In addition, she may value it more because of the amount she paid for it. If every pattern cost $1, people would be snapping them up like hotcakes and using them rather disposably. (Remember, there are other people who buy patterns - people who will happily chop them up for arts and crafts, and not preserve them. It's not just the historically minded out there.)

Someone posed this question:
But hey, whatever. Why stop at $75? Why not price vintage patterns at $750? Or better yet, $7,500?

If someone tried to sell this exact pattern for $7500, it would never sell. Why? Because buyers would refuse to pay that price. Again, it's market forces that affect how much a seller can charge and how much a buyer will pay for an item.

Two hundred years from now, that same pattern might well be worth $7500 to somebody. Today, it's not worth $7500, but that's not because of anything inherent in the pattern. It's simply what people are willing to pay for what they see in that pattern. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jen ~ MOMSPatterns DATE:Jul 22, 2008 8:25:00 AM Good morning, everyone!

Exactly why I don't think I've ever thought of breaking things down in a Per Hour sort of way.. BECAUSE at the end of the day, you're right! Someone is only going to pay what they're going to pay, and something is only truly 'worth' what that buyer ends up paying! And I STILL can't get into the mindset of 'all the work that went into getting this ONE PATTERN online for sale' when it's beat up, tore up, crumbling in my hand and a small size! Whether I paid .01 for it or $8.. I just might be at a loss on that one! lol

And in regards to my comment of 'asking for a price reduction or discount'.. I hope that didn't come off as EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS UP FOR NEGOTIATION! I DO think that MOST everything CAN be; but agreed. You can't go into Walmart or the Grocery Store (or Prada lol!) and ask to barter. It is what it is! What I meant was that there ARE times if something online seems priced high, there are other options for acquiring it at a lesser price. Mainly via coupons from mailing lists, blogs, or repeat/returning customer discounts. Hope I clarified that one!

I truly appreciate the positive comments for the pricing at MOMSPatterns, you guys rock :)

I'll take this opportunity for one more plug - coupon code fireworks15 will save you 15% off your orders at www.momspatterns.com til the end of the month.. AND I spent about an hour last night moving some more patterns into an On Sale section where there's nearly 200 patterns there priced $1-$4!

Now, I have to go comment on those shoes! Hope everyone has a fabulous day! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Vintage Goddess DATE:Jul 22, 2008 11:04:00 AM Thanks lorrwill for the "shoutout"!

"Exactly why I don't think I've ever thought of breaking things down in a Per Hour sort of way.."

Jen, that's because we, like most small business owners, would need a stiff cocktail if we thought about what we get paid per hour.
;-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jen ~ MOMSPatterns DATE:Jul 22, 2008 11:45:00 AM Julie, baby!

Oh is THAT why there seems to be a neverending river of vodka martinis in my house?! Now it all makes sense!!!!

lol ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 22, 2008 12:12:00 PM Actually, everything IS up for negotiation, especially at a place like Prada where sales people work on commission. Try it some time. (You'll have better luck at the end of the month.) Of course your offer needs to be reasonable. Usually the higher the price, the more likelier something is negotiable. (Think cars, real estate.) There is an art to negotiation. If done properly both buyer and seller benefit with their egos intact. (Most sellers like to move merchandise.) On a separate note, wealthy people are the most likely to bargain. (For example, Donald Trump has claimed he doesn't pay retail anywhere, not even a department store.)

oxanna-
When I asked "why not $7,500" I was making a point. People price their patterns based on what they think they can get away with. If this seller thought she could get $7,500 she'd certainly be putting up for that price. The point I was trying to make is that there is no correlation between the "work" that goes into something and the cost of that item. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Wendy DATE:Jul 22, 2008 12:18:00 PM I'm a vintage pattern seller with a small shop, and it's been fascinating to learn from this discussion how customers see sellers. I'm surprised by the wide range of thoughts and feelings about the mundane process of searching, finding, counting, scanning, pricing, listing, and selling patterns.

Of course, the market sets the prices, as with everything else that's bought and sold. I wonder if some of the resentment about prices at the higher end is rooted in a feeling of regret that we can't go back in time and purchase them at their original price, or receive them as family heirlooms, or just go back in time. I often wish I'd saved my own patterns from the 60s and 70s. And my favorite dresses.

My aunt was a seamstress in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. What happened to her patterns? My mother sewed beautiful clothes for me. Where did her patterns go? I've worked very hard to hold onto a few pattern gems for my collection, rather than sell everything I find. It seems like it should be easier to hold onto our sewing pattern history. But, if it were easier, I don't know if I'd value it as much. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

kathleenCrowleyCostumeCouture DATE:Jul 22, 2008 12:52:00 PM Great Rant!
Most just do not realize or care what goes into what is coveted.

You always have to break down the time put into selling something.

If you even knew what vermin crept on or around the fabric some of your clothing has been made of, you would bathe in bleach!!!!!

Thanks for sharing!
I love your blog!
X ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

daisyfairbanks DATE:Jul 22, 2008 12:53:00 PM The idea that people sew to save money is obsolete. Back in the day, when clothing was manufactured in the US by small manufacturers with workers who made a union wage, to buy a dress off the rack was a splurge. Buying a pattern, fabric and notions was the thrifty way to go. There were no stores with racks bursting with discounted clothing that was mass-produced overseas by an underpaid labor pool. Women carefully crafted their own wardrobes with a deliberateness that if for the most part lost today. They also didn't have three bedroom closets overflowing with clothing they bought "on sale" that they just never got around to wearing. Having a modern and vintage consignment store I can attest to the consumer waste visible in most women's closets today. Bu back to sewing. Those who sew today aren't doing it because it's cheaper. They do it because they love to, and because the quality and uniqueness of a handmade garment can't be purchased in the store. For the level of quality they represent, vintage sewing patterns are a bargain. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 22, 2008 5:32:00 PM The idea that people sew to save money is absolutely not obsolete. I say this as I wear a lovely top that cost me less than $5 to make (that includes the amortization of the pattern, purchased new at a chain fabric store; the fabric itself, bought by the pound at a sale bin at my local garment district; the thread, etc.). A top like this at my favorite boutique would run $80-120. (And mine is better built. The pattern matches perfectly at the seams. Ahhhhhhh...)

A dress at J. Crew or Anthro starts at about $150. At the cool, independent stores I like, dresses start at $100 and go to about $350. I can make a dress using the best materials for $40-75. Can I afford to shop for clothes at Target or J.C. Penney? Of course I can! But I'm tired of wearing horribly drafted crap that falls apart before the season is over. I got fed up with shopping at poor people stores. It's demoralizing to realize you can only afford to wear crap. Pretty soon you start feeling like crap too. This is what drove me to get my trusty old singer out and have it serviced. Do I enjoy sewing? Not as much as I like getting a chic, quality dress for a lot less money. I'm not sure how much sewing I would do if I won the lottery.

Please, give us an example of a millionaire who sews. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Heather DATE:Jul 22, 2008 6:53:00 PM You have made an excellent point, my dear! There are so many costs involved with running a small business, especially when you are doing all the work yourself. I totally understand your point completely and truly enjoyed reading this piece! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:Jul 22, 2008 9:47:00 PM So I take from all this that Jen, Janet and everyone else who makes those gorgeous vintage patterns available at prices (even us poor folk can afford) should at very least get a big hug as well as our repeated business.

When I win PCH then I can snap up some 1930's patterns ($60 - 80) that I have my eye on.

And on a final note, I have a couple of 30's and 40's patterns I bought to use and just can not cut. I have to trace them first. Very carefully. On the light table.

They are a part of history and who knows? Maybe when I keel over, they will become someone else's treasure. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Elsewhere Vintage DATE:Jul 23, 2008 1:49:00 AM Anon-

You may be talking about a $75 pattern. I am not. No pattern is worth $75 to me as I no longer sew. What I'm talking about is someone slandering an entire industry of people based on their career choice - a choice that is generally based on a love of what they do. It takes a lot of bitterness for someone to try to make that into a bad thing.

What I found most interesting was this:
** "It's about the fact that NEW and OLD (that would be me) lovers of vintage patterns who actually use them and sew with them are getting priced out of the market." **

Do you think that those on this thread who've said they are willing to pay $45 or more for a pattern do not deserve them?
I'm not quite sure what you think these people (many of who have said they appreciate the service their vintage/pattern dealers provide) do with said patterns once they have paid for them? Shockingly, many of them use the patterns for sewing!

While it may be more difficult for you to buy patterns at cheap prices, it is just as difficult for many of these people (who are willing to pay $40/$75/etc) to go out and find them - whether because of time, location or inclination. I simply do not think this makes them any less deserving - all of the people who buy these items are doing so for the love of the item.
Some pay with time, some pay with money.

No one I know is getting rich off vintage - most merely get by. For every item that makes a tidy profit, there are many more than won't.

Personally, I go through what I do for vintage because I love it - and after I have adored the item for a time, I pass it along to yet another caretaker- generally someone who does NOT have the time to go in search of the items they love.
Do I sell everything cheap? No, I don't. I try to charge enough to cover the separation pangs I'll feel when the item is gone.

But I am lucky in that a good amount of people enjoy the items I find for them and are happy to pay me to continue searching for them as they cannot do it themselves.

For this, you call me (and the many fine vintage dealers out there) a scavenger?
Hardly sporting. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jessica DATE:Jul 23, 2008 9:59:00 PM Anonymous, as a current university student I buy vintage clothing. Sure, I can't afford to buy a million dresses or a million vintage patterns at the prices I see most of them at today, but it's taught me to be selective and only buy things that I really want or would actually wear/use. I make my own clothes and buy second hand because it's fun, much more exciting when I find something I do love, and it's more ethical - a form of recyling and less supportive of sweatshops. Of course some patterns/clothes I would never buy because of the price, so I don't, but there you go. The clothes/patterns I do have I love and use often, and thus that makes them value for money, albeit they may have not always been entirely cheap at the initial purchase. The best way to protest against prices you do not like is to not pay them and forego the product, easy enough. You obviously have patterns you like and make good quality clothes that you love anyway, which is terrific and I suppose all that matters in the end. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 24, 2008 12:22:00 PM Anon at 8:08, you have to realize that when we were wearing vintage 50s and 60s clothes in the 1980s (Yes, I was buying and wearing vintage 20 years ago, also), those clothes were only 20-30 years old. That's why they were so cheap and abundant. If you want to wear 20-30 year old clothes from the 70s and 80s now, there's tons of it at yard sales. And it's cheap because most vintage clothing dealers do not want stuff from the 70s and 80s. In another 20 years, that stuff from the 70s and 80s will be as expensive (adjusting for inflation) as the stuff from the 50s and 60s is now.

If you're still looking for 50s and 60s pieces now, those pieces are much older and the supply is smaller than they were in ths 1980s because people throw old stuff away. It would be like trying to buy clothes from the 1930s and 1940s in the 1980s. I bet you didn't find that stuff for cheap back then, because I sure didn't. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 24, 2008 12:52:00 PM Perhaps someone mentioned this, but there were so many comments, I couldn't read them all. And let me also comment that this is my personal opinion and you may not agree, but....I don't mind paying a high price for a vintage pattern I really want. What really irks me, particularly on eBay, is when someone lists a pattern and then they are asking $5, $6 or more to ship the pattern. I happen to know that it costs less than $1 to ship a pattern via 1st class mail and about $4 for priority mail, so where do some of these people get off trying to list paterns this way? I've often passed on a nice pattern because I felt people were being less than honest with their shipping fees...I'd rather they start the bidding at $15 and charge a buck or two to ship. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Vintage Goddess DATE:Jul 24, 2008 8:31:00 PM I happen to know that it costs less than $1 to ship a pattern via 1st class mail

Actually a 3 or 4 ounces pattern costs about $1.50-$2.00 to ship now depending on how much packaging material your seller uses.
I agree that $5 or $6 is too much to ship. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Claire DATE:Jul 29, 2008 10:42:00 AM This post has nothing to do with the price of vintage patterns.........

I've been pondering the Donald Trump comment about how he brags that he never pays retail, even in a department store.

I come from a bank/brokerage background and I'll tell you the reason the rich can negotiate fees and prices.....it's because they are rich and the store/dealer/broker/car store/bank, etc, wants to keep them as a customer and wants the rich guys to refer his/her friends.

If a business can boast that they have Donald Trump and friends as customers then how much more likely are they to start picking up even more customers. (Like in England when a business can state the Queen shops in their establishment)

Yes, many items are negotiable, but out in the business world you'd better already have pots of money if you want to negotiate, otherwise you'll just get in line and pay the going rate. Ask me how I know.............. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Claire DATE:Jul 29, 2008 10:44:00 AM PS. Unless you are in the market right now for a large SUV or truck. Right now the dealers will practically give one away to anyone who will take the vehicle off their hands. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Felix DATE:Aug 5, 2008 8:20:00 AM I love this intelligent discussion you started and the details of economics being openly discussed are very interesting and informative. I am an artist, striving to price my efforts in such a way that I can live from them, as plumbers and dentists live off theirs.

I am interested in how one makes enough to live on, following a passion.

This post is highly informative, as are the comments people have left. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Nov 6, 2008 10:37:00 PM Wonderfully enlightening conversation. I have spent over 8 hours of my day cataloging old patterns for my wife, and honestly think that any human who spends this much time to preserve a pattern and re-enter it into the market place is doing a historically significant duty . I don't feel so alone knowing that others dredge through rat feces to bring a vintage pattern "back from the dead" kudos to you ! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jun 1, 2009 9:20:00 AM Hi, I sell vintage patterns on eBay for anywhere from 2 cents per pattern up to about 80 dollars, depending on the pattern. I spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday scouring Estate Sales and Garage Sales and yes it does take a lot of time, energy and gas. It also takes time to check the patterns and scan them and list them, but I really do love it. My hope is to get more of my patterns listed so I can eventually start making money because, even though I may sell a $50 pattern once in a while, most of my patterns are of the $5 variety, and eBay had gotten greedier and greedier with its fees and percentages.
Just a short note about digging through nasty sheds and garages: Being a pattern seller myself I can appreciate that patterns are hard to find, however, I am disgusted by anyone who would sell patterns that had been littered with rat poo or roach carcasses. I think that is disgusting, revolting, and downright dangerous. I walk away from huge pattern stashes that are not clean. I also buy vintage patterns eBay and I pray I've never bought from rat lady because it sounds as if it could be an unhealthy purchase. EW! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

VictorianTimeMachine DATE:Jun 1, 2009 9:45:00 AM SHIPPING COSTS FOR REGULAR SIZE SMALL FORMAT PATTERNS WEIGHING 5-6 OUNCES:

$2.07 (Not including price of envelope and other packing materials such as plastic sleeve.)

"Package" postage is charged when seller uses cardboard backing or unbendable envelope.

If you don't care whether or not your priceless vintage pattern is bent, folded, crushed, etc... then ask the eBay seller to slap the sucker in a paper envelope and save yourself about a dollar. Most sellers of vintage patterns are really nice folks.

As for the boobs charging 5-6 bucks shipping on a pattern, they won't last long - they'll either be suspended by eBay (who does NOT allow excessive shipping) or they'll just disappear. When no one buys their stuff they'll scratch their heads and fade away... LOL ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: Etsy's loss is your gain DATE: 5:55 AM ----- BODY:

Jace (at Gremly Girl) recently let me know of a change to Etsy's search that I wasn't aware of ... the new default Etsy search is for handmade items only:

So if you search, say, "fauxlero" on Etsy, without changing the default to "Vintage" ... well, you wouldn't get much. Then you would believe there are no fake boleros on Etsy, and, considering how many fake-bolero links I've been sent in the past 24 hours, that's un-possible.

In order to make it worth your while to change the little drop-down in the search box from "handmade" to "vintage" (see below)

a bunch of Etsy sellers have banded together to offer a special "Buried Treasure" promotion. They're offering 10% off through the end of May to Dressaday readers who put "dressaday" in the message to sellers. The site won't input the discount automatically, so buyers will get a revised Paypal invoice from the seller. (Some pattern sellers offer additional shipping and quantity discounts, which they'll combine with the dressaday discount.)

Here's the list of participating Etsy sellers, in alphabetical order:

Bamabelle -- vintage clothing
Enigma Vintage -- vintage clothing
Gremly Girl -- vintage patterns
Joules -- vintage clothing and patterns
Just Picked Vintage -- vintage patterns & notions
Pattern Mania -- vintage patterns
Pattern Shop -- vintage patterns
Pattern Stash -- vintage patterns
Sandritocat -- vintage patterns

I suggest you take advantage of the discount by perhaps snapping up something like this:

Or this:

It'd be a shame to let those dresses languish, undiscovered and almost undiscoverable, just because Etsy changed their search ...

Labels: etsy, helpfulness, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lydia DATE:May 21, 2008 8:55:00 AM Augh! *covers eyes* I'm looking at buying a possible third vertical file for pattern storage. For dog's sake, no pattern sales. Please, please!

--Lydia ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

banzailibrarian DATE:May 21, 2008 9:05:00 AM I've got a nice dress pattern up on Etsy right now, but it's only a 32" bust: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9731652 ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

abigailrose DATE:May 21, 2008 9:18:00 AM Hello from a faithful Dress A Day reader! I have a small etsy store with a few vintage patterns up, and I'd like to extend your offer to my store for all of your readers. :) The link is

shinyprettythings.etsy.com

Thanks! :)

-Abby ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

MadeByAmanda DATE:May 21, 2008 10:35:00 AM So how would an Etsy seller get in on offering this discount? I have patterns in two Etsy shops, and would be perfectly willing to offer the same deal for Dressaday readers.

www.bbsvintage.etsy.com
www.butterflyblue.etsy.com ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

The Boss DATE:May 21, 2008 11:00:00 AM I am an avid etsy shopper and am not a fan of this new search feature. THANK YOU so much for posting this offer! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Teresa DATE:May 21, 2008 11:14:00 AM Okay, thanks to the great sewing conspiracy, I just spent a good 30 minutes perusing patterns from the 60's & 70's! I even found the pattern that my mom used to make me a great ORANGE vest and pair of bell bottoms when we switched from Catholic to public school and no longer had to wear a uniform. If only I still had the pattern or the bell bottoms! If only I was still a size 12!

Thanks Erin & Etsy for the walk down memory lane. I may just have to give in to the conspiracy and spend $5.00 to get that pattern!

Regards,

Teresa ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:May 21, 2008 12:17:00 PM The girls on the first pattern look to be drawn by Diane Arbus! NO ONE is going to adopt them looking like that. The one on the right looks VERY odd...though maybe the paper is just crumpled? Or, my search for my own perfect posting pic has turned me hyper critical. (When the search is over, I'll offer both unfortunates a makeover in photoshop if they're still around.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

fashionambition DATE:May 21, 2008 12:39:00 PM hey awseome blog! interested in link swapping?? check out my new blog http://fashionambitions.blogspot.com

i love love love vintage! keep up this amazing blog!

fashion ambition ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

propriatrix DATE:May 21, 2008 12:42:00 PM thanks for the nice post on this issue..erin.....etsy is so secretive on the new changes on the search function....no notice to someone about to search....they just assume everyone can read their mind on the dropdown box thingie.......Of course, anyone who says DressADay to me is my new bff...at least long enough to score a discount! wink. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jean S DATE:May 21, 2008 1:47:00 PM the vast sewing conspiracy just smiled on me--I found a Vogue Vintage pattern that I've loved (and that Vogue has discontinued) on one of the sites you mentioned! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sandritocat DATE:May 21, 2008 2:16:00 PM Thanks Erin (& Jace) for this article. It's already helped, I just sold a pattern to a reader ~one of the few I've sold since this change, so thanks and Bless you!
I adore you blog!
Sandra ~ Sandritocat ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Velvet Plaza DATE:May 21, 2008 4:26:00 PM the one in plaid in Simplicity 3560 looks like she's grimacing while smiling. The other jyoung lady looks like she's trying to impersonate her mother at PTA meeting or Parent-Teacher conference.

And is anyone a little bothered by the armhole-sleevey things on the second pattern?
Has Erin uncovered, the horror, faux sleeves!? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Chantelle DATE:May 21, 2008 4:57:00 PM I wondered why all of a sudden some of my favourites were sold!

Of course I just went and bought a bunch of patterns - I don't want to lose more of my favourites :)

Thanks for offering this deal and thanks for publicizing it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Just Picked Vintage DATE:May 21, 2008 5:19:00 PM Thank you so much for mentioning my shop! The tutotial was also great, it's just a little change, but it makes a big difference!

Christine from
Just Picked Vintage ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

anthrokeight DATE:May 21, 2008 5:33:00 PM The lady in the Vogue pattern 7689 in the lavender dress with the glasses- is she going to a 3D movie? Or is she putting on her Secret Ray Gun Specs?

If 1) Green Stripe had better get hers out or she'll be staring at a weird red-and-blue screen for an hour and a half.

If 2) she'd better get hers out or she'll be a sorry pile of smoking cinders in a minute or two.

Either way, it would be a losing situation... get your glasses Green Stripe! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

anthrokeight DATE:May 21, 2008 5:35:00 PM Also, Turquoise Dress in Simplicity looks like she has been practicing her Marylin Monroe head-tilt.

Tilt, Turquoise, tilt!

Next she'll be practicing "Happy Birthday Mr. President" on pattern covers! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Pattern Stash DATE:May 21, 2008 7:32:00 PM Thanks for bringing the Etsy search change to your readers! We've been so invisible, and I'm delighted to offer the discount.

Wendy ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:May 21, 2008 8:07:00 PM Ah the irony. Here I got Etsy'd - slapped with the inspiration stick - by this Tetris Skirt that I found there last night: http://tinyurl.com/3xbqp6

Which in turn lead to the matching necklace: http://tinyurl.com/6amhej

And now you point me back to Etsy to get a fix of my favourite new drug: Vintage Patterns!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Too bad I am facing impending unemployment (stupid gov't contracts!) and have to keep my pennies close :-( ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:May 21, 2008 9:38:00 PM Here is a "fauxlero" dress I made for my DD, http://www.flickr.com/photos/9423018@N04/1460395688/in/photostream/, and here is my review of it on Patternreview.com. http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&reviewnum=23460

Tina W ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kelly DATE:May 21, 2008 10:07:00 PM Great patterns today Erin.. and Tina that dress that you made for your daughter is fabulous. You did a wonderful job.

k
the one with no sewing conspiracy drag name ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Velvet Plaza DATE:May 22, 2008 8:27:00 AM Kelly we need to make one up for you. Maybe we can do your mom's pet and street - since your didn't work for you...or How do you feel about Kyana Seldon? (My son's first pet and his first adress?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

shannon DATE:May 22, 2008 9:27:00 AM I certainly think etsy could have made it more clear that the search has changed, maybe with an announcement on the front page? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:May 22, 2008 12:06:00 PM Tina the dress is gorgeous. That is the way a fauxlero should be done! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:May 22, 2008 1:22:00 PM Oh yes...that little girl's dress is delightful! Tina: I read your pattern review and was so impressed that you maneuvered some common sense changes and expanded the lining, etc! I'm sure your daughter will remember that dress her whole life. BTW: Everyone, we have proposed classifying the sub-division of Baby Feauxleros (child sized) as being called Beauxleros. The discussion is still going on in the previous posting blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:May 22, 2008 6:14:00 PM Hey Kelly what about Xanada Rose?

Xanadu Isabella Avataris was my little pooch when I lived on Rose Way in the 80's. I got her in the 70's in case you couldn't tell by her full name. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:May 22, 2008 8:11:00 PM Kelly: You could also choose from some pet name combinations from my mom's family. She is not part of the conspiracy, so she doesn't need them.

Dutchess Mountfort (circa 1950), Tweeter Post (1960's), Pandora "Panda" Eardly (1970's), Desiree Mark (1980's) and/or Dolly Pacific (present)

Clearly, she moves around a bit. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

natalie DATE:May 23, 2008 2:00:00 AM hey, i wanna join in on this buried treasure sale business!

homegrownms.etsy.com

enjoy! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Velvet Plaza DATE:May 23, 2008 8:10:00 AM Hey I like Desiree Mark and Dolly Pacific! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cookie DATE:May 23, 2008 9:16:00 AM I must say, Xanadu Avataris is catchy, too. I see her in a spangly tinsel wig, like Olivia Newton John wore at the end of that movie. Dolly Pacific sounds like a jolly, Good Time Girl. She and Xanadu would be pals. I think she must own a saloon or something. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:May 23, 2008 1:30:00 PM Lorrwill, no joke. I"m on etsy all the time and had no idea. Who knows how long it would've taken for me to notice if Erin hadn't posted this. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Pattern Peddler DATE:May 23, 2008 7:09:00 PM I just made an Etsy pattern sale, and dressaday was imbedded in the message - NOW I KNOW WHY! Thank you, Dress A Day! Count me in on the May discount plan. And to my buyer, Amy, look for a PayPal credit of 10% forthcoming.

Connie
"Pattern Peddler"
patternpeddler.etsy.com ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Laura DATE:May 9, 2009 2:07:00 PM What happened to the 1st two listed? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: For your little lost lambs who have lost their way DATE: 10:18 AM ----- BODY:

Julie sent me a link to the Pattern Rescue site, and I'm so happy she did.

Their site seems amazing; there you can, according to their home page:

Restore your damaged or incomplete vintage sewing patterns from the spare bits and pieces others have donated. Search our inventory of incomplete sewing patterns for the pieces you need. Replacement pieces are free; eligiblity restrictions apply.

Preserve a vintage sewing pattern and build Pattern Points by providing scans or copies of small pattern pieces, or by lending your pattern to duplicate larger pieces.

Recycle unwanted patterns that are not particularly collectible. Browse through the donations and pick out a few to add to your pattern stash -- or send us the ones you no longer want but can't bear to throw away. Recycled patterns are free; quantity limits apply.

Trade collectible vintage patterns that you don't want for one that you'll treasure. Wander through the special collection of vintage patterns and embroidery transfers in need of a new home. Collectible patterns require a trade of Pattern Points you've earned.

Post a pattern request so we can help you find that elusive sewing or embroidery pattern you've been looking for, or for a pattern piece or two to patch up your incomplete pattern. Check the posts and see if you can help. Free service; moderated.

Have any of y'all used this service or sent patterns (I have dozens I could probably send and never, ever miss)? If not, what do you do with patterns that are missing pieces? (I swear at mine, it doesn't help to get the dress made but it does make me feel better.)

I should probably get them hooked up with the Vintage Sewing Patterns wiki, no?

Labels: pattern_rescue, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

shely DATE:Feb 12, 2008 10:33:00 AM I donated & ordered 3 patterns. They shipped quick, and the patterns are in good shape :o) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Canine Diamond DATE:Feb 12, 2008 10:39:00 AM Thanks for the link! What a great idea!

It depends on what's missing and how complex is the pattern. Usually, I either borrow it from a similar pattern or make it up based on the pieces to which it would attach. I definitely do a muslin when borrowing major parts, though. I've gotten to be pretty good and winging A-line or semi-circular skirts, and, unless something has very unusual piecing (like some of the 1930's dresses), I can usually get really by tweaking a part from another pattern. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. DATE:Feb 12, 2008 10:53:00 AM Happy Abraham Lincoln's birthday! Would you be willing to share on my blog a comment about a memory of how you used to celebrate the day as a child when you were in school?

Mary Todd Lincoln was a dress fanatic too by the way.... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Vintage Goddess DATE:Feb 12, 2008 11:29:00 AM >>>>(I swear at mine, it doesn't help to get the dress made but it does make me feel better.)<<<<

That is what I do too, but now I have a box ready to send them of patterns missing this and that. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lisa DATE:Feb 12, 2008 12:01:00 PM I just sent them some last week. I have to email and tell them where they came from. LOL ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ladygrande DATE:Feb 12, 2008 12:19:00 PM Thanks so much for this link. I have several vintage patterns I can donate - way too small for me!

Marie
I love Texas! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:Feb 12, 2008 1:36:00 PM I think you should definitely link them up with the Wiki - jsut the folks here alone could really help swell their inventory. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Sharon DATE:Feb 12, 2008 5:19:00 PM I posted about their service a few weeks ago on my blog after I had stumbled upon their site looking for some Hollywood pattern covers. I was given seven Hollywood patterns without the covers. They posted my request resulting in one cover being found so far. I've also sent them patterns for their recycling area and received three I requested. I think they have a great idea that we can all benefit from - both giving and receiving. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie DATE:Feb 12, 2008 5:32:00 PM Great idea!

...must go through my stash that goes back all the way to junior high... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:Feb 12, 2008 11:32:00 PM This post has been removed by the author. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

lorrwill DATE:Feb 12, 2008 11:41:00 PM hmmm I wonder if they could scan a 70's pattern I have that smells like it lined the bottom of the hamster cage for awhile?

It smells so bad that I don't even want to handle it. But it is so cute that I don't want to chuck it (not to mention I paid money for it).

Have to check this out. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Keely DATE:Feb 13, 2008 7:41:00 AM This should be on the sidebar, definitely! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Laura S. DATE:Feb 13, 2008 8:13:00 PM I donated a bunch of patterns to them last year, and I just a few weeks ago I received a completed pattern from them! I also sent in a copy of a piece that was missing from a blouse pattern. So, I guess I've done just about everything you can do with Pattern Rescue.

It's a great resource, and the people are really friendly. Two thumbs up from me! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Altissima DATE:Feb 14, 2008 5:19:00 AM Hello Erin,
Off topic, but I just discovered this site by your namesake and wondered if you'd ever seen it?
http://erinoriginals.com/
She makes beautiful things from recycled zippers, measuring tapes etc. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Oct 27, 2008 6:21:00 AM I am an active participant of Pattern Rescue. I have donated many patterns & received many recycled & trade patterns. They also buy high-end patterns to sell on their sister website Pattern Palette. They are an awesome group!!! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: Busy, Day Dress (or Busy-Day Dress) DATE: 8:19 AM ----- BODY:

Okay, so for the last day of this incarnation of fabric week, I thought I'd show something made up ... I bought this fabric on eBay, I'm pretty sure, a decision based solely on that color green. I love that shade of green.

Of course, as with all fabric I bought in 2006, it was supposed to be part of a Duro dress. I could never find anything to match that raisin-y brown, though, and I thought matching the pink or the green would be too Lilly Pulitzer. So it sat in my fabric closet (which is not of Tardis-like proportions, despite rampant speculation in the comments, but is pretty darn close) for a while.

Then I needed some fabric to "test" a new pattern -- this is in fact the bodice from one pattern and the skirt from another; I'd show the images but I can't find them, arrgh -- and thought of this stuff. The idea was the pattern would be SO BUSY that any bobbles in the construction wouldn't show.

Of course, I wasn't able to match the large medallions right on the bodice:

busy dress

But the pockets turned out okay (they're curved!):

busy dress

Despite the many flaws of this dress (the facings like to turn out, despite practically supergluing them down, and for some reason I got a bad spool of thread so the seams are weak and constantly need repair) it's actually incredibly wearable. The pockets are just the right size and the bodice is very comfortable (it's the same bodice as this dress). In fact, I'm thinking of making this again but in red with white polka dots ...

Labels: ebay, erin_sewing, fabric, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 13, 2007 8:54:00 AM I really really really like that bodice. It looks faboo with this fabric!

--Lydia ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 13, 2007 8:58:00 AM I love, love, love the fabric with the lines of that pattern. Beautiful! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:09:00 AM You did a great job. What kind of fabric is it? Rayon? Cotton? Silk? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Claire DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:23:00 AM That is really adorable! Great print! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

kitty DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:32:00 AM Love it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

geogrrl DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:37:00 AM Okay, now I want THAT fabric. Any more details on where it came from, besides E-Bay? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

sara jane DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:53:00 AM Fabulous! I share your green-lust as well and with that raisin color - it's drool-worthy. Any chance of you scrounging up the vintage pattern it (and the previous link) is based upon? Thanks for the daily eye candy! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nora DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:58:00 AM Love the fabric, and the pockets. Yay! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 13, 2007 10:00:00 AM Yes, more information please! What pattern is that? I love the shape of the pockets! What kind of fabric is it? When you buy fabric on ebay, you can't touch it before you buy it, so how do you know it isn't cheap scratchy fabric? Tell me your secrets, please!

-Amy ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Donna DATE:Jul 13, 2007 10:02:00 AM Great job on aligning the print - esp the design in front of the shoulder seams, that looks very professional. Love the pockets as well. Wear it with pride! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

gaile DATE:Jul 13, 2007 10:23:00 AM That's so dang cute - and as if I didn't already love your blog, now you're making Dr Who references again. Hurray! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

barbie2be DATE:Jul 13, 2007 11:12:00 AM i LOVE that fabric! it's gorgeous! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

jail diet DATE:Jul 13, 2007 11:25:00 AM This dress is amazing! I love the fabric and green is my favorite color! Fantastic and very creative. I'm going to haunt your blog from now on! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Beth DATE:Jul 13, 2007 1:49:00 PM been lurking for a while, but the tardis comment brought me out of the woodwork. thank you for a big grin in the middle of my work day. :)

i need a tardis for yarn storage. gosh, that would be handy. i aspire to a similarly sized collection of fabric...and sewing skills to match.

and by the way, i totally want your day job. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nicole DATE:Jul 13, 2007 2:37:00 PM I love this dress so much. I wish I had the skill to make it! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

bani DATE:Jul 13, 2007 3:03:00 PM Very pretty. Love the pattern! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marie-Christine DATE:Jul 13, 2007 4:05:00 PM Boingy facings are usually too narrow... I think it was Sandra Betzina who pointed out that good RTW has facings that are 6" deep in the center back, for instance. Since I started 'wasting' fabric that way (and it need not be the same fabric, let me remind you), I haven't had one of those pesky ones. Check it out... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Juliane DATE:Jul 13, 2007 9:00:00 PM Oh please, please, show us the skirt pattern--just gotta see those pockets? Are they inset into the side and waist seam? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 13, 2007 10:11:00 PM are the facings understitched? to prevent turnout?
Love the fabric and pattern! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Thursday DATE:Jul 14, 2007 5:38:00 AM Just beautiful! I love your blog, I've been reading it for over a year now. This dress really reminds me of the "day dress" from Trashy Diva. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Joni DATE:Jul 14, 2007 10:42:00 AM I just finished a wrap dress, and I cheated and topstitched the facings in place. M-C makes a good point about them being wider.

Love, love, love this dress and fabric. Wear it someplace fun. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 14, 2007 3:45:00 PM Ok so I've never made anything that required the fabric details to line up (like you medallions or stripes or plaids) but I had a thought. With a large print like this could you trace that design element (your medallion) onto the pattern when you pin down the first piece (i.e. the right side front)and when you flip the pattern piece over to cut the left side front make sure to line it up with the outline on the pattern? Of course you'd have to cut the two pieces separately instead of at the same time like most directions instruct but it would be worth it if it worked. Thoughts? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 14, 2007 3:47:00 PM Scratch that...I just realized that the object might not line up if it's not symmetrical. It might help a little..
jenL ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mandy DATE:Jul 14, 2007 8:35:00 PM That dress is totally gorgeous. Don't you love it when a test dress turns out well? :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Myrte DATE:Jul 16, 2007 3:52:00 AM This is lovely indeed. The fabric the style, perfect. I'd wear it immediately, if I ever came across this kinda thing over here, which unfortunately is very unlikely. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Linda DATE:Jul 16, 2007 5:57:00 AM I love green! I truly like this dress. I love the pocket detail as well. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

carolyndh DATE:Jul 16, 2007 6:32:00 AM This is an incredible dress! We all seem to love it. I bet you will get loads of compliments when you wear it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nancy Bea DATE:Jul 18, 2007 3:41:00 PM I love the curved pocket detail. It's a pretty strong patterned dress. I am fairly quiet-featured and colored and I could never wear something so screaming loud: it'd look like the dress was wearing me! But I imagine it looks smashing on a different type. You, probably! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

<a href="http://m1.aol.com/CoryDyer55/index2.html">phentermine at discount p</a> DATE:Oct 26, 2007 12:59:00 PM hGG3Jt Wonderful blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

name DATE:Oct 26, 2007 1:59:00 PM 6He5Lf Magnific! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

<a href="http://m1.aol.com/IvySalas33/107_261007.html">meridia weight loss</a> DATE:Oct 26, 2007 2:13:00 PM Please write anything else! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: How Not to Sell Your Patterns Online DATE: 8:08 AM ----- BODY:

Afraid of hard currency? Have a strict 225-characters-per-day typing limit? Listing your patterns only to make your significant other believe you are trying to sell them, but don't actually want to give them up? Here's some handy tips to make sure your eBay auctions end without bids!

-- have FIVE lots of FIFTY patterns each, but take only ONE picture. Make the sure the picture prominently features two of the same pattern, both of which are nightgowns. (No joke; take another look at the image above.)

-- give no sizing information. At all.

-- give dating information that is vague (1950s-1960s -- well, WHICH IS IT? That's TWENTY YEARS, people!)

-- if possible, give incorrect information (label a pattern LUCY DRESS!!! when it's a 1960s shift)

-- affect either a manic ("OMGWTFBBQ!!!! BEST A+++ PATTERNS!!!") or completely flat ("Patterns. For sale.") affect. Normal range of expression is discouraged.

-- give a list of buyer requirements that would be too onerous even for SELLING A HOUSE ("I only accept Paypal, and your payment must be timestamped between 2-3 AM GMT. Put your SSN and shoe size in the comments, IN THAT ORDER. DO NOT BID if you CANNOT FOLLOW these INSTRUCTIONS!")

Hannah sent me this UK pattern listing (click on the image to visit the listing). But think carefully: do you want to encourage this kind of eBay-havior? Or do you just want to get a grab bag of 50 patterns for £1 (plus shipping)? If the answer to the second question is "yes," I sympathize, I was almost ready to bid myself. Then I realized I don't need fifty mystery patterns, especially as I will probably never, ever, sew myself a nightgown.

Labels: ebay, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nora DATE:May 2, 2007 9:31:00 AM I like the tongue-twistery "practical paper patterns." I've never heard of that pattern company before.

You know, I really DO prefer dealing with buyers that seem like human beings (as opposed to the Living Dead). Not that I'm buying any more patterns. No sir. But I have bought one nightgown pattern, which I thought would work well as a dress - even many nightgowns of yore seem to have more interesting designs than many dresses of... whatever the opposite of "yore" is. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

mickey DATE:May 2, 2007 9:33:00 AM ...and include "what you receive may be different from what is pictured,". Oh yeah. Let me jump on that one. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kate in England DATE:May 2, 2007 9:38:00 AM It looks like there are two duplicates in that picture - the pink dress/gown and the other nightgown. But since there are five lots of 50 patterns available, and the same picture is used for all, you might not even get these ones!
But since I also live in Kent, I'm quite tempted to bid on them all and get 250 patterns for £5! £5 postage for 50 patterns seems suspiciously cheap, too, as I'd imagine 50 patterns take up quite a lot of room. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:May 2, 2007 10:34:00 AM Did you catch this "mixture of adult fashion and childrens clothes.PLEASE NOTE i have 5 lots going on so picture may be different from those received.any questions please email me" My luck i'd get 50 children's patterns!
This reminds me of the ad copy I get at work..."512 Trolley Cafe now open" Than I have to spend 6 hours pulling info out the managers. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

harthad DATE:May 2, 2007 10:40:00 AM You know what also bugs me about some ebay vintage pattern listings: (1) the description gives the size but no measurements, and (2) the seller can't be bothered to scan the back of the pattern envelope. This stuff is important, people, if you're doing anything but framing the thing to put on your wall. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Zaftig Goddess DATE:May 2, 2007 11:42:00 AM I buy in lots so you see this sort of thing a lot. I need a picture that shows ALL of the patterns. A few pictures are even nicer. It only helps the seller...more pictures = more bids.

I'll buy a grab bag of patterns not knowing if all the pieces are there but I won't spend my money on a picture of a box full of patterns with none of the patterns pictured.
Yes, I see auctions like that all the time.

>>>You know what also bugs me about some ebay vintage pattern listings: (1) the description gives the size but no measurements, and (2) the seller can't be bothered to scan the back of the pattern envelope.<<<<

Nice info to know harthad. I try to always include the back of a pattern in my listings, but do forget sometimes or worry that I have too many pictures in a listing.

Erin, funny you should mention sellers "terms of service" today. I just blogged about the crazy stuff some folks put in their TOS and thought about adding this to my TOS:
"Please be aware that for each Non Paying Bidder God kills a kitten, please think of the kittens folks and pay for your auction" ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Gail DATE:May 2, 2007 12:24:00 PM As an ebay pattern seller, www.MoonwishesStore.com I have learned SOOOO much from stupid listings like that. For everything I hate in a pattern listing, I do the opposite. At least this picture had the patterns on what looks like a table, some take a distance shot of a bunch of patterns laying on the floor (you wonder what kind of dirty floor they are laying on). I don't though add the back of envelopes to my listings because of the fees that ebay charges, but always send them to folks who ask.

I also love it when people state I don't know anything about sewing, patterns, etc. I think they are complete but I don't really know, feel free to ask questions. How can they answer a question if they don't know anything about patterns?

I'd better shut up, but you really hit a nerve of mine this morning! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

ambika DATE:May 2, 2007 12:39:00 PM The BBQ bit at the end of your OMGWTF made me laugh.

I've only recently started browsing patterns but I've already seen some listings that say 'empire shift square neck' and the picture of the pattern is some 1970s jumpsuit. Just weird. How do they think you'll ever buy it if you can't be sure of what you're getting? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mary DATE:May 2, 2007 1:05:00 PM I image that this sort of listing would be attractive to a reseller who would try to pick up a bunch of patterns for cheap and then would carefully list them individually.

I make nightgowns and pajamas all the time because I can pre-shrink the fabric and not have my elbows hanging out after the first wash. Such is the lot of a tall girl..

Gee, I sound argumentative. Didn't mean to do so. I really see your point. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

KathB DATE:May 2, 2007 1:30:00 PM I am so tempted to bid just so that I can fill everyone in on what the mystery patterns actually are. But I too fear getting a load of childrens patterns I will never use, or a whole batch of Bust 29".

Still, there's no such things as too many patterns, right? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Margo DATE:May 2, 2007 2:29:00 PM I can quickly get verrrrrry irritated when I browse through Ebay! There are some great sellers, BUT far more numerous are the online-garage-sale type, just overpriced junk with little information on the product. I enjoyed reading the cathartic scold, Erin! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Zaftig Goddess DATE:May 2, 2007 3:01:00 PM I don't though add the back of envelopes to my listings because of the fees that ebay charges, but always send them to folks who ask.

Gail, from one seller to another you need to sign up for photobucket and stop giving ebay any more money then you need. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Oxanna DATE:May 2, 2007 4:14:00 PM Get this, the seller is also selling a sewing machine (no, there's not much more info there, either...) for 1 pound plus shipping.

I'd be tempted to bid...but with the description, I'm wondering if the person has 50 patterns TOTAL and has divvied them up into 5 lots? Hence, 10 each. Also, I'd be afraid of getting kids' patterns and non-50's/60's patterns. :) But it's almost worth it, seeing as the same patterns may show up later on eBay at ten times this amount. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Reethi DATE:May 2, 2007 4:31:00 PM Yes, I agree with all the comments on what an idiotic auction this is. But I have to say, I'm so, so, so tempted. And I can't really sew clothes either. Then again, I'm the kind of person that buys mystery anythings, simply for the sheer surprise factor... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Hoardmeister DATE:May 2, 2007 5:24:00 PM Dahlings -

There is nothing like a badly written mystery auction to pique one's curiousity. Today, as it happens, I wrote a blog about Ebay sellers who break the law routinely and get away with it...got some very interesting hate mail. (Speaking of curious, why is it that people who write hate mail simply cannot SPELL?) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marie DATE:May 2, 2007 6:10:00 PM I would totally love a grab bag of patterns for 1 pound, plus postage, if the postage didn't require it to get entirely around the world. Yay, mystery cheap stuff - it is better than just normal cheap stuff because it is so fun. I'm such an idiot... :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marie DATE:May 2, 2007 6:13:00 PM "...and include "what you receive may be different from what is pictured,". Oh yeah. Let me jump on that one."

I was buying material once, cheap sari stuff, from an online auction that said "design and colour may differ from that shown". Well, umm, what's the point of even including a picture if it may be ENTIRELY different? They didn't tell you the fabric composition or anything, so they might as well have listed it as "material. sari length" and left it at that. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

SweetJen DATE:May 2, 2007 7:58:00 PM BBQ...lol

I, too, dislike it when I see a size but no measurements, particularly with vintage patterns. Obscure-maker vintage patterns. The torture! And of course, those are the sellers who never respond to questions, or if they do, it's ten minutes before the end of auction. Brilliant!

Still, I might be tempted by this one were it not in England. They could always be sold on ebay if they weren't something I was interested in... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kate in England DATE:May 3, 2007 4:22:00 AM What's even odder is that the same person has now bid on all 5 lots - fair enough - but has been outbid (by 60p) on one of them. How did that second bidder choose which of the five identical lots to bid on?? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Linda DATE:May 3, 2007 9:35:00 AM I sure do hope that other Ebay sellers see this blog entry and take heart. One thing I want to add to your list: Include a gallery photo. I know it costs more, but with the thousands of patterns being sold on Ebay there is no way I can take the time to click on ones that don't show the photo in the list page. No photo, no look, no purchase. I bet you I am not the only one who trolls like this. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lisa @ The Hem Line DATE:May 4, 2007 11:40:00 AM I just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in here . . . I am a pattern seller on eBay as well. First, I love to buy HUGE lots of patterns, but I only look for good deals and definately check sellers reputation out first. Second, I don't include a photo of the back of the envelope with my listings. If someone would like an image I will possibly email to them (I do this for repeat customers often). I don't include the image for on specific reason . . . a good seamstress or designer can copy that image, enlarge it, and create their own pattern. Simple as that. It is done all the time. I have a friend who is a costume designer for a Studio in LA and she tipped me off to this "industry trick". Sellers beware! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Beth DATE:May 4, 2007 1:42:00 PM Although, I have gotten some of the best buys via the fuzzy/ bad photos sellers. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Pamela DATE:May 4, 2007 8:17:00 PM I have to admit that, as much as they frustrate me, I love bad listings. I've found some of my finest "bargains" this way. Years ago there was the seller listing "50 vintage patterns" with a very blurred picture. I corresponded with her; she was selling the patterns for a neighbor and "knew nothing about sewing." I ended up buying 150 patterns from her, all Vogue designer, including nearly every Jean Muir, Cardin and YSL pattern issued through 1976. I also look for the telltale 30s type envelopes in the backgrounds of lot shots. My favourite trick is to copy the bad photos into photoshop and enlarge and sharpen them.

I have no tolerance for sellers who list patterns individually and don't check the piece count or for the instructions. I paid way too much for a pattern I had wanted for a long time, only to have it arrive sans instructions. The seller offered to take it back, but what I wanted was the instructions or a partial refund. I figure I am able to sew it, but I doubt it would have gone for the price it did, had she discovered and mentioned the pattern lacked instructions.

I also wish every seller would simply list the bust measurements of the patterns they are selling, preferably in the title. A size 12 was a 30" bust in the 50s. I am sick of having to explain where to find the bust size on a pattern to sellers.

Can we discuss fabric listings sometime soon? I have burn test instructions I mail to sellers who don't know anything about fabric. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

La BellaDonna DATE:May 5, 2007 5:58:00 AM Like Nora, I will often buy vintage nightgown patterns. < Pause to shoot self in foot, in the event others are similarly inspired > I too find that the cut is usually more flattering than dresses of yere (I'm going for "yere," as in "the yere and now," as the opposite of "yore"), AND the fit is more forgiving. More flattering AND more forgiving! How can you beat that? Plus, they are often sturdier. Seriously. You probably have fewer nightclothes (for those who wear them) than anything else, right? And you (meaning "me") twist around all night, which doesn't generally happen to a suit, or a day dress. So nightgowns have the potential to be sturdy, stylish, and figure-adaptable.

Confession: I wear a lot of nightgowns. Although, I guess, what I wear are truly nightgown/dress crossovers. I get home, and I usually change into a bias silk something. Yes, for an evening with the cat. A lot of bias silk dresses that I would be really doubtful about wearing to the office, I will buy to sleep in. They're comfortable - even more comfortable than sweats - they're washable, and they're prettier than sweats. And of course, there's that whole "underlayer" possibility when worn with wrap dresses over them.

And vintage nightgown patterns, made up in a pretty cotton = summer dress extraordinaire! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Oldpatterns DATE:May 7, 2007 9:07:00 AM Hey Erin,

Wonderful blog as always! I love reading vintage sewing books. The clipping left in them are just too funny!

You've been tagged. Check out my blog to find out what I mean. Patterns from the Past ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Jul 30, 2007 3:50:00 PM someone bought it!!! for 30 pounds!! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: Whatta dress! DATE: 6:24 AM ----- BODY:

This dress is actually made of awesome, is it not? It's from Jen, at MOMSPatterns -- you know Jen, her ad's right there on the right (your right, my left, as I face you through the computer).

If this weren't a B32, you'd never see it here, as I would be jealously guarding the auction like some kind of medieval guardy thing, waiting for my bid to go through at the very last second. But since it's on the small side, I'm happy to share it with you. Go! And if you win it, make it IMMEDIATELY, and send me a picture, please.

Of course, if you're not on the small side, Jen has something for you too -- in fact, she's running a special sale! MOMSPatterns is having a Weekend Spring Cleaning Sale and A Dress A Day readers get 1st dibs on more than 1,000 vintage sewing patterns ...

The sale starts today [Thursday] and ENDS at midnight Sunday, April 29, 2007. Use coupon code 'springcleaning30' to save 30% off of ANY sized order. Don't forget that Jen ships for free to the US & Canada with the purchase of 5 or more patterns ...

That panel-ly thing on the side of the skirt, up there? Actually BUTTONS ON. For extra swoosh. Man, I wish this was in my size!

Labels: ebay, patterns, WomansDay5026

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 6:27:00 AM Woman's Day was an A&P magazine?

Her shoes look painful! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nadia DATE:Apr 26, 2007 7:28:00 AM Wow! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Suzanne Earley DATE:Apr 26, 2007 7:47:00 AM Since becoming a stay at home/work at home Mom, I have pretty much completely stopped wearing dresses. Reading your blog, though, has started to convince me that I might need to rethink the dress thing. Especially when I see pieces like this. Good thing it's too small for me, too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Maggi DATE:Apr 26, 2007 8:29:00 AM Love this! I am having two simultaneous thoughts: 1- it's a pity that my sewing has not yet adventured beyond historic reproductions; 2- hmm, I could size that up!

Gah. So pretty. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nanette DATE:Apr 26, 2007 8:56:00 AM Anonymous said...
Woman's Day was an A&P magazine?

Yes. Woman's Day started out in life as a supermarket giveaway. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Pargolo DATE:Apr 26, 2007 8:59:00 AM erin, I have a doofy question. I am not a dressmaker, but i'd love to try it.

how hard is it to size up patterns? i.e. if this won't fit you, can you just enlarge the patterns? or is that going to screw up the proportions because a 32 is not the same as a 38?

(given that i'm a taller girl with shoulders to match, i love vintage but often cannot find anything that fits.) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

canadian sadie DATE:Apr 26, 2007 9:24:00 AM This is SPECTACULAR!

I've become addicted to your site, thanks for the daily dress-porn! :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 9:25:00 AM pargolo--I am a pro and it is possible to alter patterns up in size to fit. It's not something that should be done for a first time project, as it reqires an understanding of grainlines, matchpoints squaring and truing pattern lines. The term for this is "grading" and a google search finds many helpful articles about grading. The sewing magazine Threads had an article a few years ago (can't recall the issue number) on how to grade a pattern by cutting it apart and re-arranging the pieces on a grid. I had a lovely thirties era dress that was too small, I traced the pattern and tried the method and it worked well. I would never cut apart an old pattern! I understand the vintage dillema, I'm tall and broad shouldered, too. A good book on fitting, such as the vogue sewing book; will have information on fitting the broad shoulder and once mastered it's quite easy. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 9:48:00 AM Hey! Don't be disuaded when an awesome pattern such as this Woman's Day pattern is not your size. A new division of graded vintage patterns is up, running and expanding every month at EvaDress.com! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Ladygrande DATE:Apr 26, 2007 10:13:00 AM Shades of Joan Crawford! What a dress! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

dorotheasclosetvintage DATE:Apr 26, 2007 10:31:00 AM Thats gorgeous.....would that I could sew (I have a machine, but its still in the box after, oh, 2 years). As for wearing a dress as a stay at home Mom, when I worked solely online, I wore cute 30s & 40s housedresses all the time! Comfy, cute, have pockets for errant toddler hair ties and zanax (hahahaha).....love them! Ang ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:Apr 26, 2007 10:34:00 AM This dress is my favorite so far. Won't fit me either. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julie The Zaftig Goddess DATE:Apr 26, 2007 11:01:00 AM As for wearing a dress as a stay at home Mom, when I worked solely online, I wore cute 30s & 40s housedresses all the time! Comfy, cute, have pockets for errant toddler hair ties and zanax

Ditto. When The Boy was younger and I was smaller vintage housedresses were my favorite way to dress. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Joni DATE:Apr 26, 2007 11:16:00 AM I think, actually, that this is the same lady in the dress with the shoulder straps from that 1930's pattern. She's obviously reached a certain age but hasn't settled down one bit. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 11:21:00 AM wow. I opened my browser, and there was this dress and I said, literally said out loud, "oh my god, I want that dress." it's a good thing my roomate's out at the moment or there might have been an akward exchange. annoingly I am not that size either, but I shall figure out this dress, it is amazing! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

iopine DATE:Apr 26, 2007 12:25:00 PM I nearly flipped my wig-hat when I saw that dress! Wowee! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 1:56:00 PM Well drat, I can't remember my blog login.. it's ME, Jen! Thank you for posting this, Erin, and I'm so glad it's found an adoring audience!

Regarding resizing, here's a link that might help you all:

http://www.sensibility.com/pattern/resizepattern.htm

Jen
www.momspatterns.com
Come shopping! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

harthad DATE:Apr 26, 2007 2:29:00 PM On the subject of resizing, I've had pretty good luck with the methods described in Nancy Zieman's "Fitting Finesse." Probably wouldn't work for everything, but it's a nicely simple technique. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 7:56:00 PM For the novice sewers: Don't forget that B32 is actually your chest measurement (around upper chest, above breasts). Cup size must be accommodated with dart adjustments. I have a 38" bust, but make a 34B pattern and do a full-bust adjustment for larger cup size. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Apr 26, 2007 7:58:00 PM Holy hot. That dress defies description. The model's pose is perfect. You just know she's hiding a cigarette behind her back. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Nora DATE:Apr 26, 2007 9:30:00 PM Wowza, what a dress! Leaving aside the issue of size, I wish I had the attitude to wear a dress like that! Then again, sometimes a dress like that wears YOU, and you can borrow attitude from it... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

AmeliaB DATE:Apr 26, 2007 11:57:00 PM Wow!(thought not said because I'm speachless).:-)

~Amelia ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Dave Hampton DATE:Apr 27, 2007 1:16:00 AM Erin's old prom date here - just thought I'd check by the site, which is pretty fun and apparently blessed with good visitors.

Sakes alive... seeing the dress above, I'm trying to think which would be more traumatic:
1. Seeing a traincar full of men stumble over themselves to talk this woman up, or
2. The mad dash to get out of the way had she been wearing tennis shoes.

Sorry ladies, but... like the way a great building meets the ground, a dress this striking requires shoes like this.

(and it only makes it that much tougher to find a guy that looks good on her arm...) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

stacy DATE:Apr 28, 2007 7:39:00 AM I also stay-at-home and have not worn a dress since becoming a mom (okay, just once, to a friend's wedding). Skirts, yeah, all the time, especially in summer. But have yet to find a dress that is nursing-accessible that I like or would actually wear. We need more choices than the fugly elizabeth lee patterns!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Joyella DATE:Apr 28, 2007 4:30:00 PM I love it too! I'm wondering what makes the collar stand up like that? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

JamieLynn DATE:Apr 29, 2007 5:26:00 PM I think I have those shoes!!!! Ha! Can't one take the pattern and alter the size to accomodate? I have never tried it... but heard it could be done! Fabulous. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

JamieLynn DATE:Apr 29, 2007 6:59:00 PM Check out Simplicity Pattern 3748 from the retro collection. Very similar to this dress. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

<a href="http://m1.aol.com/CoryDyer55/index29.html">phentermine rxdrug</a> DATE:Oct 26, 2007 1:08:00 PM ddt2bM Nice Article. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

<a href="http://m1.aol.com/IvySalas33/126_261007.html">purchase meridia online</a> DATE:Oct 26, 2007 2:20:00 PM Wonderful blog. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: Again with the Summer DATE: 7:48 AM ----- BODY:

I know, I know, there's still snow outside (at least there is in Chicago) and I'm jumping ahead again to the summer dresses. What is wrong with me? Can't I live in the now? Stay in the moment?

Well, no, not when the weather in the now sucks so badly. In general, too, I much prefer the future to the past, but vintage sewing gives me the best of both worlds. I can rummage around in the so-called dustbin of history for aesthetic flotsam like sewing patterns, and then wear them in front of my computer. I can't imagine that the makers of this pattern, for instance, ever even touched a computer. Maybe they never even saw a punch card! And yet the only way I could really find their work now is through one. It kind of gives you hope for all sorts of other things assumed to be ephemeral. Perhaps our work will live on in ways we never intended or imagined?

I love the brown version here -- I love brown for summer, especially brown and yellow -- although the border print is really cute, too. Although right now, with the snow and the cold and the having to wait yet one more week for Daylight Savings, I'd probably like anything that promised summer!

As you can see from the image, it's B32. Click on the image to visit the eBay auction ... I think this is at about $12 right now.

Labels: Butterick_5248, patterns, vintage

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Gail DATE:Mar 3, 2007 9:15:00 AM I love that this is a quick and easy pattern--I just bet when you look at the collar and yoke. Threads magazines newest issue has an article on funnel neck-lines proving that in fashion all things do come back around! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 3, 2007 9:46:00 AM All things summer (well most) can be winter too! Extend the sleeves to mid-forarm and make it out of wool crepe. That neckline is worth it.
-Sarah ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Susan DATE:Mar 3, 2007 11:51:00 AM Very pretty, and I agree with you - I'd rather think of summer coming, instead of this yucky Chicago weather! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

iopine DATE:Mar 3, 2007 2:27:00 PM The shape of that bodice is so great. I think it would fail on me (34A), because it seems to want a 36C to fill it out, regardless of that Bust size they post. I mean, really, 32? Does that mean the waist is 16"? crikey. It's a Barbie dress, and I LOVE it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Carrie DATE:Mar 3, 2007 2:31:00 PM I have never been the hugest fan of brown and yellow, but it's really grown on me lately. I always thought it was dated, but now 'the way things used to be' looks really good. I know, I'm getting old =) There's no clearer sign... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Marie-Chrisitne DATE:Mar 3, 2007 3:25:00 PM I'm totally with you on summer dress fantasies when it's howling outside... Besides, what if spring came and we had nothing to wear?? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 3, 2007 7:18:00 PM I love this pattern! Do you own this? If so, where'd you get it?

Don't feel bad; you're not alone looking ahead to summer clothes. I've already picked up some summer fabrics and patterns, including a cool batik and the McCall's Duro pattern. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Becky O. DATE:Mar 4, 2007 8:25:00 AM "Besides, what if spring came and we had nothing to wear??"

Oh, Marie-christine, I never thought of that! Sneaky Spring : )

I love these dresses with full, swishy skirts. Great hips need lots of fabric to show themselves off.
~Becky ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

ambika DATE:Mar 4, 2007 10:13:00 AM THis is one of my absolute favorite necklines. And summer clothes are something I'm craving--even pulling the whole dress over jeans fashion foul just to feel a a little less wintry. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 4, 2007 5:03:00 PM It's already getting warm here in SC. And I am sure Spring will come and I will have nothing to wear. I love that this is one of those wrap dresses. Those sleeves and that neckline would not work with my football player shoulders. Sigh. I bought the other wrap dress pattern from the Butterick Retro collection. I need to find/buy the fabric. I like chocolate brown with light pink or teal. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

valentina DATE:Mar 4, 2007 6:50:00 PM Gasp. I cannot believe that you wrote Daylight Savings. Tsk, tsk. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin DATE:Mar 4, 2007 7:45:00 PM Um, why the tsk-tsking?

Daylight savings time is an acceptable variant, and some usage guides prefer it -- for instance, Brian Garner:

daylight saving(s) time. Although the singular form daylight saving time is the original one, dating from the early 20th century—and is preferred by some usage critics—the plural form is now extremely common in AmE. E.g.: “When daylight savings time kicks in, a guard will be posted from 5 to 10 p.m.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune).

The rise of daylight savings time appears to have resulted from the avoidance of a miscue: when saving is used, readers might puzzle momentarily over whether saving is a gerund (the saving of daylight) or a participle (the time for saving). Also, of course, we commonly speak of how to “save time” (of saving time), and this compounds the possible confusion. Using savings as the adjective—as in savings account or savings bond—makes perfect sense. More than that, it ought to be accepted as the better form.

Regardless of whether you use the plural or the singular, you can prevent most miscues by hyphenating the phrasal adjective: daylight-savings time or daylight-saving time.

from: "daylight saving(s) time" The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. Bryan A. Garner. Oxford University Press, 2000. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

LaLa DATE:Mar 4, 2007 8:13:00 PM Hey! LOVE Your site! So cute :) I thought you may be interested in mine as well:

TRA LA LA

If you want to do a link exchange, just let me know doll!

- Lauren ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Alison DATE:Mar 4, 2007 9:17:00 PM Rats! I have been outbid!

Does anyone know of a pattern with a similar collar? I must have something like that for my wedding. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kate DATE:Mar 5, 2007 4:42:00 AM Over jeans? Ye gods! I've lived too long! Why not enjoy the anticipation of summer? Plenty of time to work on the dress to perfect it. Whatever happened to pretty? Go for the hat too. K Q:-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Theresa DATE:Mar 5, 2007 7:36:00 AM Alison, if you don't rquire a full skirt..Erin posted a pattern with that neckline a while back. I think it was a Vogue pattern. (I think it was during Fashion Week) I know I've seen it. I'd look for it for you--but I am at work and they block the images on that site--why? I have no idea. www.voguepatterns.com/indexfv.html ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Alison DATE:Mar 5, 2007 10:44:00 AM Theresa, is this the dress you are thinking of? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Mar 6, 2007 5:08:00 AM Erin, do you think it is possible to add a small ca sleeve to this without ruining it? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Erin TITLE: The Culture of Sewing, edited by Barbara Burman DATE: 7:20 AM ----- BODY:

In my prowls through the library I came across this title, and I have to say I learned an enormous number of things from it, including:

Vogue, Butterick, and McCalls produced more than 600 patterns a year each in the 1930s and early 1940s, dropping to an average of 500 patterns a year thereafter. (And when you put it that way, I hardly have any patterns at all! Let's see, the 10 years of the 1950s times three pattern companies times 500 ... and that doesn't even count Advance or the newspaper pattern companies ... or modern patterns ... )

McCalls were the first printed patterns, patenting them in 1919. When the patent expired in 1938, most of the other pattern companies started using them, except for Vogue, which continued to use hand-cut patterns until 1956. McCalls was also the first company to produce patterns that were licensed copies of Paris designs.

The price of a Singer sewing machine in the 1860s was $100 -- $50 if you were the wife of a minister (which should tickle the writer of this funny and useful blog; thanks to Sendhil for the link!).

The Culture of Sewing also led me to this book (which I'll have to try to get from interlibrary loan), and this one, which I can't believe I didn't have, and will now have to buy.

All in all a successful read ... although some of the essays (it's a collection) were much too theoretical for my enjoyment, most of them were very good reads. One even had a word I can't find anything else about: humby, in this context:

Household duties -- worried over new poplin dress, bought last winter which is a perfect humby -- looking as if it were rough dried. Pressed it.

This is from the diary of a Susan McManus, in Philadelphia, in 1869. There was an actress named Humby about that time (it's a commonish surname) but I can't make any links or find evidence of other uses like this. Yet.

Is there anything more pleasurable than reading a good book about a subject you're fascinated by? (If there is, don't tell me, I have enough trouble keeping up with all I have to do already.)

[No cover image, as it's NSFW. It's an arresting and beautiful image, but I have to say that one of the New Laws of the Internet should be that if you want people to blog about your book, it helps to not put nekkid people on the cover.]

Labels: books, industrial sewing, libraries, patterns

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Everyday Sewist DATE:Feb 21, 2007 9:15:00 AM I read this book when it first came out. I found it at the library. The librarian chuckled at the cover. :) The naked lady is sewing a tulle or something similarly sheer, and she said, "I don't think that's going to keep her warm."

As for the book, it changed the way I think about sewing. Although it's very academic-type writing, I agree, it's definitely worth reading or at least browsing through. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Cathy DATE:Feb 21, 2007 11:24:00 AM So of course I had to look at the cover, because I was surprised that a book about sewing would need to have a naked person on the cover.

-And if you can't find out what a humby is, with your skills and knowledge, I won't bother using that method of work avoidance! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Bottom DATE:Feb 21, 2007 11:27:00 AM Humdinger?

I've been reading your blog for some months now. What a delight it was to hear you on the CBC's 'And Sometimes Y' a few days ago. Such interesting work! Thank you for your lovely words. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Andrea DATE:Feb 21, 2007 12:43:00 PM Having just bought a brand new Singer for $300 today, this very morning, I was interested what that $100 Singer would cost in today's dollars.

If that was an 1860 price, today's adjusted price would be about $2500. If that was an 1865 price, today's adjusted price would be about $1200.

Lots of inflation during the war, eh? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Andrea DATE:Feb 21, 2007 12:45:00 PM By the by, the inflation calculator I used is located at http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ppowerus/ ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:Feb 21, 2007 1:18:00 PM Well, that makes my collection of a couple of hundred vintage patterns less remarkable. Especially since the age ranges from the teens through the 1960's. Thanks for the perspective. I think.

Amy ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

john DATE:Feb 21, 2007 4:32:00 PM interesting that when i click on the link for this book, what comes up has the name of a town just 20 miles from me-

can't figure out what that has to do with this book-

! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

oracle DATE:Feb 21, 2007 6:37:00 PM Gad zooks. You were on the CBC a few days ago, and I missed it! I'd have been all excited! Dag nab it.

On another note, can anyone help me with this? I'm going to be in Chicago nearly all of next week, and want to go to fabric stores. I'm staying in the Loop, and will be using public transportation to get around -- am travelling to Chicago by train! I've never really "been" to Chicago before, so know little about it. I love cottons and rayons and linens and blends of the same and gauze and crinkle and stuff, and am not into dressy or couture fabrics or styles. If any of you Chicago types have any advice to offer, I'd appreciate it!

Or is it too late in the day to hope for an answer in today's comments? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kay DATE:Feb 21, 2007 7:46:00 PM I can't resist adding this - Douglas Adams (of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) and John Lloyd collaborated on a little "dictionary" of definitions made up for different place names, one of which was Humby. The entire text (I think) can be found at http://folk.uio.no/alied/TMoL.html#anchorH - it's rude but hilarious (as is the entire book). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Mary Beth DATE:Feb 22, 2007 7:35:00 AM Thanks for the great links today! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Maureen DATE:Feb 22, 2007 6:40:00 PM Okay, Chicago fabric stores:

Vogue Fabrics, on Roosevelt and... Canal, is it? Not precisely sure; if you're staying downtown, take the Red or Green or Orange Line to the Roosevelt Stop, then take the #12-Roosevelt bus westbound. I've been there only once, but it. Is. Awesome.

There's also a small fabric store on Monroe between Wabash and Michigan; the selection is sort of eclectic. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin DATE:Feb 22, 2007 8:01:00 PM The "better" Vogue is in Evanston, on Main Street west of Chicago Avenue; the Purple Line stops right at Main, so it's pretty easy to get there from the Loop (although it would take about 45 min to an hour, depending on the time of day).

It's much bigger than the Roosevelt Road one ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Laura DATE:Feb 23, 2007 1:24:00 AM Oh, I love Mary Brooks Picken. The local university library has several of her books, which I've devoured. And, it looks like they have The Culture of Sewing, so off I go...

John, the link for the book is to Worldcat, which is an online service that looks to see if a book is available in a library location near you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

oracle DATE:Feb 23, 2007 5:55:00 PM Maureen and Erin, thanks so much for the fabric store recommendations! I'm leaving Ontario on Monday (Feb 26), but I'll check this line of comments until then in case anyone else adds. I do appreciate it. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

quiltyknitwit DATE:Feb 25, 2007 4:18:00 PM It seems to me I've heard that expression before - but I thought it meant "humm bee" - and is supposed to be something really great. ----- --------