Doctor T Designs

It seemed like everyone was pretty enthused by last month’s issue, and hopefully everyone will be equally excited by the options for September.  This month, in my humble opinion, is even better than last month.  Yes, there are certainly a few oversized ruffly pieces and a spread in horrible 90s-esque dark florals that obscure some lovely designs, but there is so much good stuff I can’t even handle it.  I want it all in my wardrobe, like, right now.  So without further ado, let’s jump in.

Here are a couple of preview videos I’ve found on YouTube:

 

As we are now in the deep of fall fashions, we are getting a lot thicker fabrics, longer sleeves, and more coats.  Lots to cover, but first up, the dresses:

Love this pink dress! The criss-cross detail is beautiful, and it is especially nice in the beaded trim.  Also loving that the regular and plus sizes get a mixed photo shoot in this issue.  The pink dress is clearly the sand out, but the purple plus dress holds its own.  Also nice to see this style made up in a more subtle, work appropriate fabric.  Super versatile.

Another swoon-worthy sheath dress!  This is actually a vintage reprint, but the exposed sip makes it feel super modern.  Love how subtle the tucks at the shoulders are, and the extra seams at the waist are a nice feature.  Definitely on my to-sew list.

Although this dress doesn’t scream “September” to me, I love it for spring/summer.  Though, to be fair, it tends to be rather warm where I live through mid-October, so I’d totally get tons of use from a dress like this.  The beautiful fabric choice is totally helping to sell this this look too.

This is definitely much more fall inspired.  Lots of interesting seams on the bodice, and a fun pleated fabric on the skirt makes for an interesting combination.  I could see some lovely versions of this, with some interesting fabric combinations.

We always need a wrap dress!  I like the sleeves here – a nod to the voluminous sleeve trend for the year without being too over-the-top.  Interesting styling – seems that the neckline was too low, even for Burda!  And the slit doesn’t seem to have much overlap.  Perhaps this would be best suited for a wrap top rather than a dress?  Or, at the very least, caution towards checking fit would be advised.

Love the dress hate the fabric.  The simple knit dress with one open shoulder feels so effortlessly chic, I love it! But the large florals that blend in with the model’s skin totally mitigate the design feature in the photo.  Could be a real winner in different fabric choices though.

The ruffly, boxy 90s-inspired dresses aren’t my favorite.  I know it’s the trend right now, but this entire look is a total pass.

More 90s era dark florals and boxy shapes.  Moving on.

Next up are the jackets, which aren’t as numerous as I expected, but the quality makes up for lack of quantity:

I love when Burda does biker!  So many yummy, yummy details!  Also love how the looks are shown in an expected black leather, a refreshing bright blue wool, and a super chic wool houndstooth print.  The back flap and removable fur collar are lovely details, but I also love the simplicity of the leather jacket, which allows the shoulder topstitching detail to really shine.

This peplum blazer is pretty cute.  It’s got a bit of a cropped/undersized feel, so it might be best to do a muslin on this one before cutting into the good stuff.

These sorts of fluffy, boxy jackets are never my favorite, but I actually really like the collar and sleeve detail.  Probably not going on my sewing wishlist, but it has some nice features for those who like this sort of silhouette.

The tops this month are all pretty versatile and wearable:

The solid color showcases this design so much better than the dress does!  Still love it; still totally want to make it.

This looks like the perfect sort of sweater to throw on for those lazy days when you don’t want to do anything.  The extra shoulder/turtleneck piece is great; a super chic alternative to a scarf.

I don’t know if I could be bothered to attach the extra collar bit, but it is a fun way to add a bit of fabric that wouldn’t necessarily play well in the wash.  The sleeve ruffle is incredibly subdued; I like it.  The neck flounce also seems to have a very pretty drape.

Again, I think the little bows are a bit too fussy for my taste, but I do like the overall silhouette of this top.  Burda uses some rather thin fabrics, and the drape looks really lovely.

We don’t get a ton of bottoms this month, but the selection does provide a lot of wardrobe versatility:

The hip ruffles aren’t my favorite detail, but the simple yoked pencil skirt with the slit is perfection.  I want one in every color.  I will admit, though, that the blue fabric Burda chose is quite stunning – makes for a very editorial photo.

Love the details on these pants – the buttons on the yoke are a very stylish feature.

Simple skirt, but a great pattern for tricky fabric like the sequined material Burda chose here.  One of those pieces that plays well with others, but is also quite a stand out on its own.

While I was really happy to see the Burda Plus models paired with the regular sizes in the photo shoot, I wasn’t as impressed by the pattern selection in the larger sizes this month:

I do love this dress – definitely one of the better pieces.  There is some interesting opportunities for color blocking here, though the solid looks great as well.

This looks like a very simple coat to sew, but the yoke feature and pockets are nice details that keep it from being too simple.  Love that it comes with its own belt.

Not loving this as a dress – it’s far too stiff and overwhelming – but the top has a nice drape that is quite pretty.  The color/fabric combo could be better, but the design itself is nice.

Awful.  Like, it is sooooooooooooooooo big!  Way too large for that model.  Also, the line drawing makes it look like it should be for a rather structured fabric, but the collar looks so limp and sad in the drapey knit they used.  I feel like the only way to redeem this is make it dress length and add a belt.  And even then… it’s a lot of fabric for one body to handle.

I’m excited to say we get a men’s pattern this month!  Just a vest, but a classy vest, so I’ll take it:

Notice how Burda snuck one traditional dress/Oktoberfest/male equivalent of a dirndl into the September issue?  Sneaky Burda.  Sneaky.

The kids section has lots of nice options for back to school:

Particularly love both the girls and boys jackets, and the boys sweatpants.

As with all Burda issues, some patterns are less exciting than others, but on the whole there is a lot of really good stuff this month.  It was really difficult to pick the top and bottom looks for the month, I was super conflicted between a lot of the dresses and the biker jacket, but I finally settled on giving Best of BS for August 2017 to:

Pink criss-cross sheath dress!  The detail of the cross in the front prevents this from being a boring sheath dress, and the showcasing of this in both the bright pink and more subdued plaid is great to show the versatility of the pattern.  Although I picked this as the top pattern, I really do think the vintage reprint sheath and the biker jackets are in a near dead tie for the top spot, but the versatility of making this pattern work or cocktail party appropriate bumped it to the top spot.

There were also a few patterns vying for the bottom spot, but trying to put my anti-90s fashion bias aside, I had to give the BWTF for this month to:

Oversized Burda Plus top!  The line drawing does have some nice details – the collar and yoke look great – but the execution leaves much to be desired.  The result is oversized and frumpy looking.  Not Burda’s best effort.

And that’s it!  Despite a few misses in this issue, I am really happy with the design offerings and I can’t wait for it to arrive in the mail.  I’ve got at least six or seven styles that I’d love to sew up right away, but I expect this is one of those classic issues that I’ll pull patterns from many years from now.  What do you all think?  Are you as obsessed with this issue as I am?  Or does it skew too classic to be interesting?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!