The Pattern That Would Not Die!

Readers, yesterday we discussed rare vintage patterns.  Today, let's talk about the not-so-rare pattern.  Let's ponder the pattern that, every time you stumble upon it while doing a vintage pattern search on Etsy or eBay, you think, OMG, not THAT again!

Maybe the pattern was in print for many, many years, or maybe, quite simply, nobody bought it.  Or everyone did.  In any case, it seems with regard to Simplicity 4972, a lot of people want to pass their copy on to someone else.

Do a search on Etsy, for example -- and you'll see literally dozens of copies of this nightgown/duster pattern, with prices ranging from $2.95 to $34!  (Hmm....I think I'll take the $34 one.)  Maybe it's the snooty rose-sniffing blonde in the filmy negligee or the blue-clad brunette who looks like her wrist is about to snap, but there's something eerie about this pattern.

Much like birds, one is charming, seventy thousand is a Hitchcock film.

You may notice that Simplicity 4972 is very similar to Simplicity 3216, which I used to make Cathy's opera coat.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the blue duster in 4972 uses the exact same pattern pieces, so you could use it to make a coat of your own.  Or just a lovely duster.  Watch those wrists, though!

My hunch is that many women purchased Simplicity 4972 -- and probably a few men -- and never got around to making it.  Think about it: when's the last time you whipped yourself up a negligee?

Readers, are there patterns you see everywhere, yet you never see anyone wearing them, reviewing them on Pattern Review, or blogging about them except to comment on how ubiquitous they are?

Perhaps this rare beauty?

Or this!  (I must credit Shelley with first calling my attention to this cursed Eighties pattern and how I wish she hadn't -- it haunts me.)

If you could banish one pattern from ever again appearing in your vintage pattern searches, which would it be?  (I know which one I'd choose.)

Have a great day, everybody!  Tweet, tweet.