Holiday Vogue Collection 2014

OK, it is just me?

I have been studying the new Vogue patterns, which came out today, and I am filled with the desire to beat myself into a stupor with bunches of invisible zippers, tied together with horsehair braid.

Yes, there are some lovely dresses, with beautiful silhouettes, unusual cut outs, and interesting inner seam lines.

But.SO.many.dresses.

I work in a company filled with women in their 20s and 30s. And, yes, some of them wear dresses. But MANY of them wear separates to work! Many many many.

Many.

In fact, MOST.

You know I love you, Vogue, but OY. I would love to see a little more balance in the offerings. I mean, even the vintage ladies and girls got dresses (which makes a certain amount of sense, especially for a holiday release).

But you missed an opportunity with the men. They got a combined vest/cumberbund/tie pattern. If you had offered a view with an attached kilt, sort of a kilt onesie, if you will, you would have accomplished an all-dresses-for-all-categories release!

(And, yes, some of these dresses would look great on my daughters, but I don't sew for my daughters, for the most part. Down that path lies misery and suffering.)

In summary: WHERE ARE THE PANTS?!??! I mean interesting pants. Pants with details. Pants with character.

Sigh

OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's talk.

But not about dresses.

So, this should be pretty short.

Let's start with my absolute favorite pattern of the release. And it's a bag.

I don't make many bags, but this one is gorgeous. Both of these bags are staring at me imploringly, with their little zipper mouths. Yes! Yes, I will buy you, little zipper mouth bag pattern! I will!

Marcy has three new patterns in this release, making up for the fact that she had only one last time. But not one of them is pants! (insert unhappy sniveling noises)

I love Marcy's new raincoat pattern. This photo looks a bit weird, but the line drawing drips with promise. (Though I hope that the collar won't actually funnel the rain in.)

This may be my favorite new pattern of Marcy's. A skirt! (I rarely wear a dress, but I love me a skirt!)

Marcy's final offering looks like a nice top with several views.

Sandra Betzina has two new patterns this release, also featuring zero pants. The first one (either a dress or a top) has an unusual neckline, which is a bit hard to see in this busy print, though I like the creative use of a border print. I like the line drawing very much. It's a dress I might actually make.

(ducking to avoid hurling projectiles)

Sandra's other offering is a loose, drapey top and a skirt.

On the right person, this top is chic and dramatic. On someone like me, with a "full front" with my large bust, it can be a bit much.

So, what other patterns jump out at me from this batch? Not a whole lot. Some of the remaining separates look similar to past releases. But there are a couple that I will probably pick up on sale.

I like this top, which has an Issey Miyake-like hem. It would look best in a very drapey fabric, like rayon batik. But I would wear it as styled here, with skinny pants, and not as shown in the second view, with the skirt. This could skew frumpy very fast.

I like view A of this pattern, though I'd add sleeves. (I do not care for views B or C at all, which look like maternity smocks.)

But, I am sorry to say, that this top looks all kind of wrong to me.

I don't know, maybe someone out there can make a version that proves me wrong, but it seems, to me, like it draws attention to the most problematic part of the body and creates some weird proportions.

So, that's it for me! What do you think? What did I miss?