MPB EXCLUSIVE: An entire BOOK about the sewing pattern industry!!!

Last Saturday my friend Johanna lent me a library copy of A History of the Paper Pattern Industry, written by Joy Spanabel Emery and published by Bloomsbury in 2014.

Jeez Louise, where have I been??? I mean, can you imagine a book more up my alley?

If you're the type of person who lies awake at night wondering whatever happened to DuBarry or Advance or why there was a flood of men's suit patterns in the 1970's, this comprehensive, authoritatively written book is for you. There are many color plates of patterns from all eras, and as much information about the history of paper patterns as you're likely to find anywhere. If you're a vintage pattern maven -- and I know many of you are -- you're sure to appreciate A History of the Paper Pattern Industry.

You can read an interview with the author, Professor Joy Spanabel Emery here.

You can find copies of A History of the Paper Pattern Industry on Amazon, naturally. You might also try your local library.

In other news, my mother got a haircut yesterday. She's doing very well: cooking up a storm and whizzing through mystery novels. She's not walking outside on her own -- we go out together, generally -- but that should be the worst thing thing someone in the their mid-Eighties has to deal with, am I right?

Mom's braised chicken with sauteed onion and giblets -- yum!
I just received a pair of new old-stock Jockey boxers from the early 1960's, purchased on eBay. Somewhat miraculously, the elastic waistband is fully functional; I'm not going to throw them in the dryer, however, just in case. The fit, in case you're wondering, is baggy but they're eminently wearable. You can find more for sale here and the seller has them in a few other sizes.

What else? I caught three shows at FIT this week: the small Lauren Bacall: the Look (which sadly closes tomorrow), the fascinating Faking It: Originals, Copies, and Counterfeits, and the glorious (and I mean glorious) Yves Saint Laurent Halston: Fashioning the 70s, in the large downstairs gallery. All close this month so get your you-know-whats over there if you can, pronto.

Finally, I joined Netflix yesterday (just for streaming, to watch on my computer as I don't own a TV). If you haven't seen the documentary Advanced Style (based on Ari Seth Cohen's blog) I highly recommend it.

Have a great day, everybody!

(Many of the Lauren Bacall outfits from the FIT show were featured in the 1968 TV special excerpted below -- she's a hoot!)