Talk about twisting arms.
It wasn't easy but I finally got Cathy to agree to model Vogue 9128, which as you'll recall, was chosen "The Ugliest Pattern Ever" from among a dozen worthy competitors.
MPB readers proclaimed it "a male maternity jumper," "so sad," and "like wearing a fashion barrel."
So here is the result and I hope you enjoy it. We even ran into an honest-to-goodness Cathy fan on our shoot!
As always, to see these photos full-size, please click on any image and then, in Picasa, choose "View All" in the upper left hand corner, and "Slideshow."
You can leave your impressions below, but please be kind. Remember: it was chosen ugliest for a reason.
Do you think Cathy has redeemed this look? Can anybody?
Enjoy!
It must be Cathy's slim, boyish figure that makes even that awful outfit look elegant. Ish.
ReplyDeletewatching the slideshow was so much fun, great job.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job, Peter. I always love your slideshows. And I would have totally rocked that look in the 80's! Thank goodness there are no photos, though! I had dozens of stand-up collar shirts with neckties, and was constantly in trouble for stealing my grandfather's suit jackets and cuffing up the sleeves.
ReplyDeleteNo redemption here.
ReplyDeleteIt's still bloody ugly.
Nice try Cathy.
Ha! It is so fabulously hideous. What are you going to do with that thing now??
ReplyDeleteLaundry bag perhaps?
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned before that I actually had that pattern -- bought when it was issued, in fact. I never got around to a making it, though.
ReplyDeleteI have no regrets.
I also remember that pattern very well, though I can't remember if I actually bought it!
ReplyDeleteGreat slideshow. :)
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that is one ugly jumper. I wonder if dressing it up with a belt and a frilly blouse would improve it? Great photo shoot, I hope Cathy forgives you.
great photoshoot! i like how you slipped in the pants...looking good ;)
ReplyDeleteYou really turned Cathy into a "Ballsy Broad"! Great shoot!
ReplyDeleteThat was awesome! How true that clothes can really change your attitude. I'm sure Cathy will recover.
ReplyDeleteAs they say, clothes maketh the (wo)man! Sensational photo shoot.
ReplyDeleteI think Cathy can carry that one... but personally, I prefer the old, softer, sweeter, girly-girl Cathy.
ReplyDeletemy 3 year old and 5 year old boys didn't like the dress, but I loved it. But then, I grew up in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I feel about this honestly. I cringed, but I couldn't look away.
ReplyDeleteYou are a very brave woman, Cathy! The show must go on, regardless of what the costume department gives you to wear. Bravo!!
ReplyDeleteGood job on the dress, and great photo shoot!
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show what a 'boyish' figure can do, even with something like that jumper (I thought the checked one in the magazine was amazing - mind blowingly ugly). On the other than, I do feel that it's not Cathy's best look - it's fierce; don't get me wrong. But she doesn't look 'happy' in it, if you know what I mean. I think Cathy wants something softer in her life.
ReplyDeleteI think Cathy has just enough attitude to pull it off as a costume perhaps now and again. If she lacked her model fierceness or warm smile even a little bit it would be a sad ensemble indeed, but she manages to pull off a difficult assignment.
ReplyDeleteOMG Peter, you...er, Cathy has some awesome legs! Totally jealous here :-/ However, she really needs a brow wax, though the extra bushies DO go great with the whole '80's man-wear thing. And I can't believe how fast you whipped this up, matching plaid and all. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteOk, Peter, how should we say this, but let's leave that one back in the 80's and I was a teen/young adult in the 80's, loved it, etc., but not the menswear look like that. Although your work on it is impeccable as always and the slim figure can carry it off, but it just reminds me of a handbag or cloth sack. I love the graffiti in pic 11 of the little boy with the overalls over Cathy's shoulder.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm just speechless. I might have liked the jumper better with a long sleeved tee shirt done in a very nice jersey. But with the shirt it is just ugly. In fact, the whole thing is too extreme. But then, I note that shoulder pads and oversized tops seem to be making a comeback. Perhaps in 3 years the jumper will seem au courant.
ReplyDeleteI love you Peter and Cathy, well I just adore her, but this may just be too much for all of us. More ghastly than the "diaper pants"..thank goodness you didn't ask Cathy to pose in those, that might have been the very end of her.
ReplyDeleteI smiled through the whole photo shoot. Those legs of Cathy's should not be hidden under a skirt. How about doing a little 60's mini-skirt number for Cathy next so she can show off her gams.
gracious! how did Cathy make *that* sack look fashionable? I won't wear it, but Cathy wore the heck out of it, especially when she exhibited attitude.
ReplyDeleteRose in SV
Peter, you, your sewing, your slideshows, your writing, and Cathy are AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteI remember that pattern!! I remember how cool that style was back then, but clearly it really wasn't. It makes Cathy look way bigger than we know she is ;) She can, however, almost pull it off.
ReplyDeleteCan I have Cathy's glasses by the way!!
Everything Cathy wears looks beutiful in her....even this one :)
ReplyDeleteAre the young people in photo 34 in a state of shock or confusion? It's difficult to tell.
ReplyDeleteCathy does pull it off, though. I think it would even sort of work--with a big rhinestone belt that says 'apple bottoms' or something. ;-)
If anyone could redeem it, it would be Cathy. Alas, I don't think there's a hope in the universe. :-)
ReplyDeleteD'you know, however ugly that pattern may be, Cathy actually pulls it off, which is no mean feat! It's all in the attitude... Loved the photo-shoot as usual and I love how you keep it fresh!
ReplyDeleteI think Cathy totally rocks that 80s look! But then she can just about wear anything and look fab!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone can redeem a dress like this, it is Cathy. It looks pretty good, all things considered, but it is not her best look. I like the fabric choice, though.
ReplyDeleteThere must be a printing error on the pattern envelope - this can't be a 36", it looks more like a 136"!
ReplyDeleteI sort of disagree about it being the ugliest? I thought the combination of the sewing, Cathy's pizazz, wonderful slide show and the attitude made it rather attractive. Really! And, yes, whoever mentioned Cathy's legs was right on! Amazing and wish mine looked like that. Great job, Peter. I hope Cathy appreciates you! ;-)
ReplyDelete"Its just a dress, not a lifestyle."
ReplyDeleteGold. Pure Gold.
Reading over these comments, the general feeling seems to be that a supermodel can pull off this look but the rest of us should leave it alone. I'd love to see if even Cathy could rock that awful dress with the giant puffy sleeves - a challenge!
ReplyDeleteNot quite the right look for Cathy, but she did do her best. I agree, she would totally rock a color-blocked 60's mini dress complete with white go-go boots and fishnets. :) Loved the photos, especially the "Vogue" at the end. Keep 'em coming, Peter!
ReplyDeleteA dress that masculine really ought to have a fly... ;-)
ReplyDeleteCathy makes me want to hide in my Norma Kamali grey sweat jumpsuit!
ReplyDeleteGreat job at jogging my 80's fashion memory!
You're stirring some horrible things from the dim back of my brains. I see.. navy blue wool. I never committed the shirt though, and I wouldn't have used shoulderpads that thick. So I'm partly innocent :-).
ReplyDeletePlus sorry to complain but the shoes are all wrong. First of all, on the street downtown this would have been worn with white tennis shoes. And then at work they'd have to have been much lower pumps. Or then you'd need Doc Martens.
I don't think I've had navy blue since then. Good thing.
Good Lord, Peter - if that dress thing can make even an international model like Cathy look as wide as a bus, there's truly no hope for the rest of us, is there?!
ReplyDeleteLovely pics as usual...
Love the slideshow - Cathy really sold that look - what a trouper!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, as usual. I loved the slideshow. Cathy totally rocked the look, despite her girly inclinations. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite picture was the one with the two teenagers with their mouths hanging open. That had me laughing out loud...
ReplyDeleteI think Cathy channeled the era of excess very well, although I am sure she was relieved to be done with the shoot.
ReplyDeleteCiao Peter, I decided to take a look at your blog at last. Fabulous. Cathy rocks even with this outfit and I loved the story with the photos. I'll most certainly be back. Baci
ReplyDeleteI think Cathy should become cover girl for my local Value Village...I'm pretty sure she could pull off any of the clothes on their racks (are the nineties vintage yet ?) even the brightly colored jumper pants I recently spotted...
ReplyDelete(check it out here: http://petitejosette.blogspot.com/2010/06/vancouver-shopping-value-village.html)
Props to Cathy for the absolute elegance and to Peter for the "roman-photo"...an true delight
You're right; it's terrible. I had one that added insult to injury by having enormous pockets on the sides. And a jumpsuit-type thing that was so big, I could have fit several cats and a couple of children in it with me.
ReplyDeleteIt's very well accessorized! Love the glasses and the men's shirt fits it!
ReplyDeleteSorry! But I think you are all just being too hard on that fabulous outfit. I really think the only thing wrong is that its a little big for Cathy's svelt form. Come on now! Admit it!!! it has a charm all its own & I for one am waiting eagerly for the return of the jumper dress.
ReplyDeleteFabulous job all round.
I can't believe I've not commented here on this. I LOVED this jumper, I made several of them, but i was not as stylish or as young as Cathy. It was exactly in it's time and place, but it lacked the belt loops and men's belt to finish the paper bag effect it implies in the drawing. Laugh while you can, style mavins! Your era will be the butt of my children's jokes someday.
ReplyDelete