pattern junkie

Flasher Fashion

Oh, Vogue.  You've come out with some scrumptious dresses for spring...and then there's your new pattern for men, 8720.  This goes straight into the Department of WWTT (What Were They Thinking?):

Was it really necessary for the coat to be buttoned all the way to the neck?  Did the model need to shove his hands forearm-deep into the pockets?  And why, in the name of all that is holy, did someone decide to throw sunglasses into the mix? 

I don't see this and think, "My goodness, there's a stylish man!"  I think "That guy's getting ready to expose his junk.  Remind me not to look his way."

Togetherness Is...

How nice that Butterick 5266 includes relationship advice on the pattern envelope:

 

Hmm.  It seems Togetherness is Also...

...His and Hers Pants in Identical Fabrics and Styles

...His and Hers Striped Belts

...His and Hers Tan Kerchiefs Knotted in the Jaunty Style

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Bratling, who provided a great alternative story to Simplicity 1617 and thus wins the first Pattern Junkie contest:

"...I think that stripes has the golf club as protection from squinty eyed white pajama man. There is obviously something sinister about white pajama man's book. Perhaps it is a manual on how to take over the world, and Stripes' golf club is the only thing that can stop it! Perhaps the golf club is a Bond-esque weapon that will stop White Pajama man from enacting his nefarious plan!... The golf club blends in for camouflage! So when Stripes attacks to stop Squinty-eyed White Pajama Man, he won't know where it's coming from!"

 

Bratling, the pattern is yours!  Just email me your address (my email is at the upper left) and Stripes and Squinty will come home to you. 

Sometimes A Cigar is Just a Cigar and Two Men in PJs are Just...

Remember just last week when I suggested that Simplicity 1617 here was a prime example of The Pajama Problem?  That the poor illustrator, perplexed at having to visually explain why two men were in PJs together, made it into a virtual horror movie -- what with Stripes and his missing eye and different colored hands?

Lo and behold, a few days ago I was going through patterns to list in my etsy shop and I found this very same pattern!  It was then that I discovered that some of my conclusions were quite wrong -- the mismatched hands and missing eye are the result of aged paper, not illustrator madness  See?  Here's my copy:

Stripes isn't missing an eye -- both of his eyes are closed.  And I can't believe that I missed the golf club in his right hand!  For some reason the stripes on his pajamas show through it -- is it clear?  Invisible?

So, dear readers, I must revise my earlier interpretation.  White isn't in the middle of performing horrible medical experiments on Stripes.  And, of course, there's a perfectly logical reason why these men are in pajamas together.  Stripes is sleepwalking (hence the closed eyes) and has wandered into White's house, disturbing him as he's reading.  Furthermore, I'm pretty sure Stripes is dreaming about golf -- that's why the club blends so perfectly with his pajamas.

This mixup of mine calls for a mea culpa in the form of a PATTERN GIVEAWAY, so let me know what you think!  Is there another explanation for what's going on here?  Leave your answer in the comments -- you have until Sunday night, 2/21/10, midnight PST, and the pajama pattern is yours!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Round Two

Alas, it's time to wrap up men's week and bid a fond adieu to the men of patternland -- at least for now -- with a look at some of the "bads" and "uglys" I've found of late.  Enjoy -- and who knows?  You may find your own swan among these geese!

Let's start with Simplicity 8207.  I get the drawstring bell bottoms.  I get the color-blocked shorts.  I get the motorcycle jacket.  What I DON"T get is combining them all together:

Speaking of strange combos, how 'bout these fabric choices for Simplicity 9400?  Wowza!!

While we're on the subject of ties, McCall's 3434, the "reversible tie and ascot pattern" raises my suspicions right away.  The pattern envelope is trying WAY TOO HARD to convince me that this is a great idea:

Sure, there's only one guy the envelope for McCall's 2455 -- but his mustache and ALL THAT FRINGE demand inclusion, don't you think?  You can't stop the fringe!

Simplicity 9087 -- which I first spied over at Male Pattern Boldness (thanks, Peter!) -- is a stunner, if only for the fact that the man in the ponyskin vest stands out the least.  Really, how is THAT possible?!  We've got a couple of early Beatles wannabes, a Great White Hunter, Mr. Blue Two-Way Polyester and...

...???  WHAT IS THAT?  The man in front.  The one wearing striped pants, a matching striped vest and NO SHIRT?  

Striped Vest confuses me greatly.  Since I spent the early 70s learning how to walk and tie my shoes, I sent the picture to Ma & Pa Pattern Junkie with the question: what on earth could this man be doing?  What activity is he dressed for?  My father's answer was "disco" while my mom was confused by the whole pattern, which she termed a "mod-safari-cowboy-circus fusion."  So Striped Vest is a mod circus cowboy.  On a safari.  Good enough for me.

Last but not least, Simplicity 6440, which is the hands-down winner in the "so bad it's good" category.  Any pattern that lists an actual bottle opener in its notions list and uses the phrase "rick rack steam" in its description is a winner in my book:

Yes.  The bottle opener actually hangs off the vested apron.  Genius!

Have any "good, bad and uglys" of your own?  Send 'em my way and I'll post them!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Round One

Welcome to THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.  These are a few of the men's vintage patterns I've found that count as my "goods."  If Mr. Pattern Junkie, the rebellious ex-early 80s punk rocker, did not strictly adhere to his own unique dress code (black, black, black; Vans shoes with skulls; shirts never smaller than way too big and shorts never shorter than 5 inches below the knee), these are patterns I'd make for him.  Of course, tastes vary -- you might call these your "bads" or "uglys"!  Enjoy.

First: I've got to tip my hat to Butterick 3960 for making plain shorts more interesting with the stripes variation on view B.  Both Mr. View As seems quite jealous, don't you think?

 

I really love this mod shirt and pant combo from McCall's 8475, not to mention the pattern illustration itself.  Yeah, baby!

Butterick 5738 has a deep V-neck vest with a low-slung belt.  Everything about it screams bad polyester and hideous 70s fashion.  So why do I like it so?

McCall's 5628 is easy to love: it's a classic car coat.  Even Mr. Pattern Junkie might go for this one:

 

Here's a car coat updated for the 1970s, McCall's 2981.  I thrifted a coat much like View B in college and wore it to death until my mother "accidentally" donated it to Goodwill.  She's still in trouble for that one.

Finally: Butterick 5898!  With my big collar obsession, how can I not love a robe with wide lapels?!  FUNKY!

Next up: my bad and uglys!  Got good, bad and uglys of your own?  Send 'em in and I'll post them!

Men's Week Day Four: All About the Subtext

Remember the old joke about the fortune cookie fortune that read, "Help!  I'm trapped in a fortune cookie factory"?

Occasionally I run across patterns that remind me of that.  See, it's easy for me to forget the people behind the pattern illustrations: the trained artists who made a living by turning out drawing after drawing of wrap dresses, button down shirts and fly-front pants.  But sometimes an illustration comes along that -- whether through its composition, color or subtext -- is the equivalent of that fortune cookie message.  Pick up the envelope and listen.  You'll hear a soft whisper: "I studied at the Sorbonne.  I have more in me than another zip-front housedress.  I have things I want to say."

Here's one example: Butterick 2305, circa early 1960s.  I lack the artistic training to explain just why the composition is striking, but it really does jump out.  (Maybe it's the way the men face different ways, their arm gestures almost mirroring each other?)  Sure, it's an illustration for a shirt design -- and an interesting design for the view B hemline, at that. 

But look closer.  Can't you imagine it hung in a gallery as a 50s suburban update on the happy/sad drama faces?  It would be titled "You wouldn't believe what the little woman did this time!" -- the first instance having a wacky sitcom interpretation, the second a more sinister Belle de jour one:

Yeah.  That made me feel sort of icky, too.

Let's move on to Simplicity 4971, also from the early 1960s.  If Butterick 2305 is compelling, subtle and disturbing, this is...wow.  This is the kind of thing you get in freshman art class.  Look:

The sensitive young boy in capris and espadrilles touches the elbow of the jacket-wearing tough as the Pants of Oppression look on in disapproval!  This isn't a pattern illustration -- it's a coming out story.

Tomorrow: The Men's Week wrap-up begins with Day One of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY!

When The Pajama Problem is Just Too Much

Welcome to Men's Week, Day 3!

Yesterday I presented the Pajama Problem faced by illustrators of the past: what to do when a men's nightwear pattern had two views?  How to explain two men in PJs together?  Usually an array of props -- golf clubs, memos, etc -- presented the event as an odd nighttime business meeting.

But sometimes, the Pajama Problem was just too much.  Here in Simplicity 2289 (circa 1930s), I can feel the illustrator's terror rising right off the page.  "No!  No!  Just because it's two men in pajamas doesn't mean they have to look (whispered voice) gay."  And yet in trying so hard NOT to do that, the artist came up with something that seemed to betray his or her worst fears.  Stripes has shoulders so wide he makes Tan look femme by comparison, and Tan clutches the clock as if he's washing dishes.  In fact, Tan's lips are almost red:

 

The illustrator for Simplicity 1617 (late 1930s), on the other hand, seems to have suffered a nervous breakdown at the prospect of showing (gasp!) two men in pajamas together.  Take a look:

 

It's as if his or her neurons just misfired all at once.  "Two men in pajamas -- does not compute!  Too bizarre to contemplate!"  Green Trim with his villainous mustache clutches a book (with that freakishly long finger!) in one hand, but what's he hiding behind his back?  And what's happened to poor Stripes?  Dear God, his hands are different colors and he's MISSING AN EYE!  But he's better off than Back View, who is not only missing a right forearm but his entire head.  This isn't a pattern illustration, nor is it simply two men in pajamas -- it's a scene from a horror movie!

You may think there's an obvious solution to the Pajama Problem: throw a woman or two into the mix.  Nope, that presents its own problems.  Two men, one woman?  Two men, two women?  Why are all of them in PJs together?  As far as I can tell, pattern illustrators didn't try this one out until the advent of the sexual revolution, with some particularly humorous results.

Here's McCall's 2218 from 1969.  Three Hefner-esque guys and one woman -- and they actually wrote "Quickie" on the pattern?

 

Even better: Butterick 4158 from the early 1970s.  Looks like Mustache lost out tonight -- and don't tell me the illustrator didn't know there was a suggestion of that!

Do you have any examples of The Pajama Problem?  Send 'em to me, I'd love to post them!

Two Men in Robes = Panic!

Day Two of Men's Week brings us to...The Pajama Problem.

Look through vintage pajama and robe patterns for men and one thing becomes clear: pattern illustrators of the past got very nervous when they had to illustrate more than one view of a male nightwear pattern.  Because that meant...that meant...

...that meant they'd be showing two or more men in nightclothes TOGETHER.  And that raised the question...WHY were these men in pajamas together?  Hmmm?  Hmmm?!

The most common solution to The Pajama Problem?  Give the men objects to show they were DOING something.  Because if they were doing something, they couldn't, you know, be doing something else...

In Simplicity 5039, it's quite simple.  Shorts is golfing (golfing?!) while Nightshirt and Blue discuss Important Business:

 

The "sheaf of papers in hand" in Blue's hand is a favorite solution.  Men, you see, just can't stop Meeting About Memos, even if it's time for beddy bye.

Advance 5878:

 

McCall's 4186:

 
Even in the 70s, that sheaf of papers came in handy.  In Simplicity 7080, Yellow may be getting a little friendly with Plaid, who just stepped out of the shower, but Red has a TPS Report that needs discussing, stat!

Another favorite remedy (as shown in McCall's 4816 above), was to show the robe worn over a tie, pants and dress shoes.  Here's another example, Simplicity 4349:

 
And yet another, Vogue 8753.  Little Mr. No Pants in the back there may be going to bed, but Red and Gray are wheeling, dealing and trading stocks even though the market is closed:

Truth be told, I found so many examples of robes over ties that I have to ask my readers who've studied fashion and costume history: was there a time when men came home and doffed their suit jackets for robes?

Tomorrow: When the Pajama Problem is just too much...

Men of Patternland

Hey!  It's MEN'S WEEK here at Pattern Junkie!

Why?  Well, Peter over at Male Pattern Boldness had a fantastic post last week on the paucity of male sewers, and Gertie followed it up with a wonderful post of her own yesterday.  Both got me thinking  (er, "losing hours to the Vintage Pattern Wiki"), and there's just too much male pattern goodness not to share.

I want to kick things off with a little historical survey of Men of Patternland.  Personally, I think men's patterns used to offer more interesting design variations than they do now.   One thing I can say with confidence?  Men in decades past could look at a pattern envelope and say to themselves, "Hey, that's a guy I'd like to be."  Now?  That's not so true. 

Take the 1930s.  What do you see when you look at Simplicity 1793?  I see sophisticated.  Literate.  A man who knows how to mix a martini:

The 1940s.  How much cooler can you get than film noir and Bogie?!

The 1950s: men smoked cigarettes and talked about space age things.  (Check out the shirt, by the way -- I love the design!)

In the 1960s, men were people with Things!  To!  Do!

 

The 1970s.  A touch of mod remains, and funk creeps in.  Sure, Yellow there looks like he might corner you at a party and talk non-stop about his hi-fi system, but Blue and Brown were hunks in their time even with the double knit polyester!

Now let's jump over to McCall's and see what the men of today have to look forward to in the pages of the pattern catalog.  What reflections of themselves do they see?

I rest my case.

P.S.  I have a copy of the 70s pattern, Simplicity 9992, size 38-40, for anyone who wants it.  The problem?  No instruction sheet!  Email me if you want it -- first come, first served.  (My email is at the top left-hand corner of the page.)  Just promise to send photos of the completed project!

UPDATE: the pattern has found its new home!