Everything's Coming Up....

ROSES!

Yes, peeps, I made my decision and have opted to "say it with flowers."

SHOCKING -- Man Exposes His Pelagia on Peter's Blog!

Thank you, reader Rachael, for identifying the name of this Liberty of London print yesterday.

Give me Liberty!

Oh, the joys of sewing with luxury fabric!  I mean, sure, a Ralph Lauren bedsheet is nice, but Liberty of London is a whole other animal.

The Overbooked Sewist

You didn't think this was going to be about scheduling, did you?  I don't even own a calendar.

The Return of Monday Nagging w/ GOALS

Happy Monday, everybody!  Did another week really go by?  Hard to believe but my calendar tells me yes.

Fashion Confusion 101

Wise readers, is it me, or has fashion lost its way?

Cathy models the 1937 Hollywood dress!

The purple dress finished, yesterday Cathy and I set out for another fun-filled fashion shoot on the gritty streets of Gotham.

I'm a baaaaaad boy + slips vs. linings

I know, I know, I need another Forties dress pattern like I need another laugh line, but I saw those dropped yokes and thought, how cute (or in Forties-speak, what a smart frock!).  It's certainly not because I'm a big fan of Renee Haal, whoever she was.  It was one of those "best offer" eBay listings so I got it for $6.

Sewing and the "Oh, $&%^*$!" Moment

We've all had them (I hope).  Everything's going along swimmingly with your latest sewing project...la la la...when suddenly ugh:

Do you decorate like you dress?

I've often been struck by how passionate people often are when discussing clothes.  I've read countless fashion and sewing blogs where commenters are borderline apoplectic over other people's choice of outfits, or what they think is or isn't an appropriate way for someone to dress.

It's even happens here at Male Pattern Boldness -- and I've encouraged it!

OMG, it's Monday again! w/ GOALS

From NEW LOOKS

Now in case you were wondering where you've seen this outfit before....it was here!

The Color Pur -- no, I won't say it!

The journey begins: behold the six-panel skirt of Hollywood pattern #1471.

Fabric Shopping with Amazing Grace

 

One of the treats of blogging is getting to meet your readers in person.  Yesterday I had the privilege of spending time with the brilliant Grace P.  You may know Grace from her engrossing blog, Bad Mom, Good Mom, or from Pattern Review, where she's known as gsp1066.  (Really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?)  

Peter and the Purple Rayon w/ POLL

I'm in a quandary, dear readers.  I have two projects I love equally that are competing for my attention and I can't decide which to do first.  (I intend to enter one of them in the Pattern Review vintage sewing contest that has just begun.)

Gloves and Girdles and G-Strings, Oh, My!

Another day, another impulse purchase!

Yesterday on Amazon I ordered a copy of "How to Make Hats and Accessories: Instructions for Making 1940s Fashions." A reprint of the original 1946 book, it provides instructions on making not only period hats, but also gloves, muffs, handbags, belts, and more.   Do any of you know it?

Is Glamour Dead?

I just borrowed what looks to be an interesting book yesterday entitled, "Glamour, A History" by Stephen Gundle, a British writer.  It's a study of the concept of glamour throughout history: its origins and its varying definitions during different eras (the 1930's and 40's in particular), up to and including the present.

Tuesday True Confessions

 I am VERY excited to share my latest pattern purchase with you, dear readers:

Monday Morning Coffee Klatsch and GOALS

Good morning, friends, and Happy Monday!

I think I can best sum up the "week that was" in one word:  yellow.  I learned a lot about this color last week and if I still don't quite love it, I have certainly learned to respect it.  I also learned, when in doubt, throw a little faux tiger skin over it -- works like a charm!

Cathy models the yellow 1941 dress!

Could there have been a more beautiful April day than yesterday?  The perfect sunny weather to model a daffodil-yellow dress!

WE HAVE A WINNER: The Official MPB Sewing Machine!

What do you mean, you didn't know there was a competition.

The Official Sewing Machine of Male Pattern Boldness is.....

BREAKING: What Women Have That Men Do Not

The following post is for adult male readers only.  Ladies, please return tomorrow. 

Global Warming, Political Upheaval, and Cher

OK, so it was nearly 90 degrees here yesterday, the international news just goes from bad to worse, and don't even get me started on the national news...

I Am Curious (Yellow)

 

Forgive the obscure Swedish film reference -- and the socks.

Back in the saddle

So I sewed yesterday! 

I finally cut my fabric for Simplicity 3873, my two-piece dress from 1941, and started putting this puppy together.  I decided to do the whole thing in the YELLOW cotton-poly sheet I'd found at the Salvation Army a few weeks ago.

Monday: You're off the hook, kids.

Greetings from DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in Brooklyn, where I spent most of Sunday with my old friend Nora and her bf Derek.

Dressing for "me" or for "thee"

Happy whatever-you-may-celebrate-even-if-it's-nothing-at-all, everybody!

IT'S OVER: Why I Broke Up With The Sartorialist

I tried to make it work, really I did.  But at a certain point you have to accept that it wasn't meant to be.  There were no angry confrontations, no broken plates or slamming of doors; I just left.

High Class and White Trash

If you're a fan of old Hollywood movies, you may not think of them as anything more than highly entertaining comedies, dramas, and musicals full of glamorous old stars.

"Age Appropriate" Dressing

I made a kind of off-handed joke last Sunday about the saying that goes, "if you were old enough to wear it the first time around, you're too old to wear it the second time around."  (I think this originally applied to mini skirts.)