Doctor T Designs

I don’t feel that I would have much argument with the statement that Burda has been knocking it out of the park this year.  There have been a lot of stylish, wearable looks that are very on trend and exciting enough to make me (and a lot of other people) want to sew.  Typically I love the fall/winter months – October, November, and December tend to be among my favorite issues each year.  Which is why I was so looking forward to this year’s November issue, and possibly why I feel so disappointed.  Now don’t get me wrong – there are still some good wardrobe pieces in this issue – but no real stand-outs.  I fell like all the pieces I’m really responding to are very similar in silhouette and style to pieces Burda has published in recent months we well, or at least to patterns I’ve got in older issues.  Which probably speaks to the wearability/versatility of the designs, but it also doesn’t make me stand up and start tracing. In any case, let’s take a look:

Since it’s starting towards winter, let’s start off with the coats:

I love the bright happy colors that Burda chose, but we’ve seen this silhouette before.  Kind of a lot, actually.  Definitely on trend, but not anything we haven’t seen from Burda before.

Another coat pattern that looks rather similar to previous Burda offerings.  The fabrics and styling are pretty cool, but the pattern itself is pretty similar to styles from the past.

This sweatshirt/jacket is actually pretty cool.  I’ve been feeling the need to dress more adult – this gives me the hoodie feel I’m used to, but offers slightly more sophistication.  It has some nice details, but looks like it would be simple to fit and sew, which makes me happy.  It doesn’t make me go wow, but it does make me think, yes, I’d wear that a lot.

Love the styling of the printed version of this jacket.  I’m not actually that fond of the giant ruffly peplum – I really need to have more waist definition to not look like a giant sack – but Burda has sold me on the idea that this could look good.  Just probably not on me.

It wouldn’t be fall without some giant vests.

With the dresses and tops it is sort of the same deal – lots of repetitive pattern designs:

Ok, I am going to come out and say I like this, but, I always tend to like these quasi-peasant blouse designs.  Love how Burda showed it in a dressier material as well as the more common chiffon/crepe/viscose.  Totally a useful wardrobe workhorse sort of pattern.

I like the idea of this ruffle dress, but I think it is more successful as a skirt.

Simple, but effective use of the fabric.

We’ve had a lot of the slip-style dresses before.  It’s actually been a pretty popular trend with Burda this year.  Can’t say I’ll find it particularly useful in November, but, then again, I seem to be a bad predictor of what I’m going to sew and when I’m going to sew it.  Can’t imagine making this dress though.

Another style that isn’t particularly innovative, but it is sort of pretty.

I sort of want to give Burda props for giving us some interesting sleeve details.  I’m just not sure if I actually like them.

I love the garment photo of this dress – it looks very striking.  I’m not loving it on the model quite as much, but it may just be the awkward pose?  It doesn’t really show off the dress to best effect.

 

This is the designer exclusive pattern for the month.  Looks suspiciously like a dirndl.  I sort of love the vintage inspiration and look of the dress on the model, yet I’m sort of feeling that it looks dated.  I’m torn, possibly because I know it would probably be a good look for me, but I’m not totally inspired by it.

The tie blouse is nothing new, but I sort of love both of these variations.  Even if the sleeveless version might require me to get creative about bra choices.

There aren’t many pants in this issue, but they are all pretty solid options:

Burda love the Marleen Dietrich pants, and so do I!  I’d totally wear both of these, even with the pleating.

Ok, these aren’t the sort of pants I normally go for, but for some reason I’m finding the trousers to be incredibly cool at the moment.  Possibly because I just finished watching the fifth season on Project Runway All-Stars and I’m having a Kini moment.  (Yes, I know it ended in May.  I’ve been busy!)

Skinny trouser/leggings.  Really cool, but might be hard to find an appropriate fabric?

This mini skirt seems like such an oddball piece.  I know skirts over leggings are really popular in colder climates, but this seems too small and tight to be practical.  It doesn’t even look like it fits the model.  I’m suspicious.

The Burda Plus section this month feels a bit disjointed:

Ok, so I LOVE this dress.  I mean, maybe not the fabric that Burda chose, but the style with the lattice work is SO COOL.  I’m not really sure why this is in the November issue, but I like this.  I’m not sure how wearable it is going to be with so little support on the top, or how difficult it would be to construct, but I’m excited to get the magazine to see how they did it.

Simple dress with ruffles.  Boring.

This coat is nice, and I like the in-seam pockets, but, again, somewhat similar to previous Burda Plus styles.

The bow tie blouse is always a popular style, but I’m not loving the fabric choices here.

I always love the idea of a softly tailored jacket, but in practice I always find them to look a bit sloppy.  The under-sleeve gussets are awesome though.  Just wish I liked the overall style a bit more.

This tank top – how does it fit with anything else in this section?

The most basic of trouser pants.  Totally wearable.  Not very exciting.

And that’s about it!  The kids section isn’t any great source of innovation this month either.  Like I said, there are certainly plenty of wearable looks, but nothing really outstanding.  Which makes it a bit difficult to pick the top and bottom looks for the month.  Nothing spectacular, but nothing truly heinous either.  After much internal debate I’ve decided to award the Best of BS November 2016 to:

The white sweater/hoodie/jacket/thing!  I really loved that Plus dress, but this look felt more seasonal, more versatile, and quite possibly more wearable.

The BWTF was also a bit difficult to pick out, but after fully considering the options I have given it to:

The awkward mini skirt!  I mean, really.  Can she even walk in that?  How does it not ride up?  The flap looks purely decorative, and the fit looks incredibly uncomfortable.  Not Burda’s best look.

And there we have it – another issue of Burda in the books.  I’m still a bit disappointed – November is usually one of my favorite issues.  But the looks all feel very disjointed this month.  Almost like a hodge-podge of leftover designs that didn’t quite fit in other issues.  I often don’t think I would style a lot of pieces in the same way as Burda, but I often feel like certain selections are at least a cohesive wardrobe option.  This month, not so much.  As Nina Garcia would say – who is their girl?  I can’t really tell.  There are certainly things from this issue that I want to sew, and likely may make in the future.  But on the whole I’m not as impressed as I’ve been the rest of this year.  Hopefully this means we will get a bang-on December issue, but only a month of waiting can tell.  So, what do you all think?  Is this issue you jam?  Are you ready to dive into pre-winter sewing with these styles?  Or is this issue a total miss for you?  Which design would you give the Best of BS to this month?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!