Doctor T Designs

The summer collection from Vogue has been announced! While I feel like this might not be the best collection for me, I do think there are a lot of interesting options available. And if you are the sort of person who loves to sew a whole new wardrobe for your vacations, I think you might find a lot to like in this release. There are lots of new things to see, so let’s get started:

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V1618 – Rachel Comey. Based off of the line drawing, I would have guessed that this outfit would fall into the “too much” category, but I actually really like the proportions of it on the model. The sleeve ruffles don’t look crazy, and the balance of proportions with the pants is actually quite good.

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V1622 – Rachel Comey. I think I prefer the styling/fit of this shirt more on the male model, but I do like the option of a less fitted woven top. Personally, I think this style would probably need a lot of adjustment to fit around my hips, so I’ll pass on it for other tops I have in the stash. But the relaxed style lines are nice for summer.

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V1623 – Isaac Mizrahi. This is a cute dress design; I do like this interesting shoulder detail on the front. The overall shape of the dress is nice, and it would be easy to swap out different skirt options if you just like the bodice design.

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V1624 – Badgley Mischka. Another pretty dress design. I think this very much reminds me of the Burda dress in the April issue that had a similar shoulder treatment. Personally, I think I’m ok with just having the Burda version in my collection, but if you missed out on that issue and like this style it could be a good pattern to pick up.

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V1625 – Tracy Reese. The ultimate summer vacation dress. In the line drawing it seems like there is a lot going on, but on the model it really seems like the ultimate in vacation wear. Perfect for a beach event; long enough to give the impression of a maxi dress, but not long enough to be dragging in the sand and making a mess.

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V1626 – Nicola Finetti. This is a pretty simple looking dress, but I do appreciate the way the pipping detail extends into the straps on the back. It also looks like it would be a comfortable dress to wear to a summer event.

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V1627 – Zandra Rhodes. Another style that could work well as part of a relaxing summer vacation wardrobe. The giant bow might be a bit much, but the overall look has a very resort feel.

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V1628 – Zandra Rhodes. This layered dress has an interesting look. It seems like it should be a bunch of separate pieces, but is actually mostly one layered dress. I could see this working well in a mix of lots of interesting fabrics.

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V1629 – Tom and Linda Platt. I really like these blouses. I think the neckline treatments are very pretty, and I think they could even be interesting to frankenpattern onto a dress.

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V1630 – Today’s Fit by Sandra Betzina. This looks like the most practical pattern in the release. I mean, who wouldn’t dress like this on a regular basis? I especially like the shirt; the asymmetric sleeves add an interesting detail to what otherwise would be a rather plain blouse.

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V9369 – Claire Shaeffer’s Custom Couture Collection. I love this dress! As shown the seaming would be a nice, subtle detail, but it could really be played up with a mixture of fabrics. Her patterns always have fantastic instructions as well, so I’m really looking forward to any interesting construction techniques that might be included in this pattern.

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V9370 – I like the collar on this shirt/shirtdress pattern. I feel like the volume of everything might be a big exaggerated in the drawings though; it looks much more reasonably proportioned on the model. I do enjoy how Vogue used the stripe fabric to showcase the design elements in the garment photo.

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V9371 – Vogue Easy Options. I feel like I’ve already got plenty of loose shirt dress patterns in my stash (especially since I don’t wear them often, or, well, ever really), but I can understand the appeal of such a simple pattern. It looks like it would be great to wear for a semi-casual summer event or even to work during the warmer summer months.

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V9372 – This is one of those dress patterns that I like, but, realize is not for me. It’s nice to see a formal gown with a high neckline as I feel it’s been hard to find styles like this recently.

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V9373 – I’m much more intrigued with adding this pattern to my stash. I love the option to have this as a more formal full-length gown or as a shorter, more casual summer look. Simple, but very chic!

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V9374 – Marcy Tilton. I really like these trousers from the Marcy Tilton line! They are like elevated forms of cargo pants – the seam lines are making really cool shapes.

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V9375 – When I look at the line drawing I feel like this should be some sort of PJ pattern, but the fashion sketch makes it seem a bit more cool. The model’s outfit takes it a little bit back to PJ land though. I feel like I’d wear a lot of these pieces actually; just not together.

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V9376 – Marcy Tilton. This tunic/dress is possibly the least wild pattern I’ve ever seen from that line, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I do like the shaped cuffs on the dress, but aside from that there isn’t much here to comment about. At least it has pockets!

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V9377 – Custom Fit. I do like the plane cardigan version of this pattern, but it actually reminds me very much of a few other styles I have in my stash, so I think I can give is a skip. The giant ruffle dress-like versions are… a bit much for me. I’m sure we’ll see an amazing blog version of this that will make us all super excited, but, at least for now, this is one I feel I can skip.

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V9378 – Ron Collins. I really like having an interesting option for a man’s polo shirt! I think it’s a style that I tend to see men wear a lot, but we don’t seem to get a lot of patterns for. I’m aware this probably has more to do with how traditional polos are produced, but I at least like having the option.

And that’s it! On the whole I feel like I can personally give a lot of these patterns a pass, as I’m not living the glamorous summer vacation lifestyle these seem to be geared towards. However, I do think there are some nice designs scattered throughout this release, and I’ll probably add at least one or two to the stash (I’m thinking the Tom and Linda Platt blouse pattern would be a nice addition to the collection, and I’m always a fan of the Claire Shaeffer designs). What do you all think? Is this the summer collection you’ve been waiting for? Does the whole collection really just make you feel like you need to take a summer vacation as an excuse to sew some of these up? Or are these designs all pretty similar to styles we’ve all already got in the stash? Feel free to discuss in the comments!