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<\/a><\/p>\nHere is one of her great dresses, with its matching coat.\u00a0 Dated 1964, this ensemble is featured in the Museum at FIT exhibition catalog “American Beauty”.\u00a0 The graphic quality of this outfit is absolutely stunning, and still as fresh as though it came down this season’s runway.<\/p>\n
My experience designing sportswear makes me approach each new season much the same way I used to when I worked at it:\u00a0 flip through countless magazines looking for images to feed my head, make bulletin boards of inspiring images, organized by themes, sketch out the pieces to make those themes happen, and then sketch technical flats to work out the cutting and fitting details as they evolve in my head.\u00a0 This being the library at FIT, I have awesome resources to get inspiration for summer dresses.\u00a0 This post is about some of the sources I found this week that helped me sketch up far more than just four good dress ideas.<\/p>\n
I have lots of delicious magazines to choose from.\u00a0 So I flipped through a few to share.<\/p>\n
I started with the Tobe Report<\/em>, which is industry fashion research.\u00a0 I found some great images from their coverage of street fashion in St. Tropez last spring\u00a0\u00a0 (=forecasting for this<\/strong> spring):<\/p>\n That’s a cute dress, but it’s been pretty done here, already, I think.\u00a0 Seems to me I saw a version from the Gap which was almost these exactly, including the “bra-friendly” wider straps.<\/p>\n Flipping through “2013 Hot List” issue, I found this interesting update, also from Tobe<\/em>:<\/p>\n Food for thought, this one.\u00a0 Since “Fit & Flare” is pretty much where my 1950’s-loving-eye always ends up for summer, that advice is easy to take.\u00a0 Anyway, Tobe<\/em> produces a “Hot List” for every season, and it’s worth taking a look to get their (sales-driven) point of view.<\/p>\n As I continued my periodical-flipping, I came across this fabulous placement print by (of course) Prada, photographed for Another Magazine<\/em>.\u00a0 Definitely a shirt-type dress, though.\u00a0 And pencil, not flared skirt.\u00a0 Hmm.<\/p>\n Form fitting seems to dominate the dresses I found in The Gentlewoman<\/em>, too:<\/p>\n Of course Beyonce has a certain professional imperative driving her both sartorial choices and her self presentation.\u00a0 But the magazine stylist must have had something to do with this choice.\u00a0 Interesting that the strong linear quality of this dress echos the Trigere dress above, even if the shape is very different.<\/p>\n But overall, this magazine, UK’s The Gentlewoman<\/em>, is very stylized in it’s visual presentation.\u00a0 Most of the layouts had a very sleek black and white noir-ish feel.\u00a0 I had a hard time finding a color image to attract your eyes, Reader.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But here’s a fabulous one.\u00a0 The movement of the silk georgette and the buttons up the back are romantic, while the color and styling are straight out sexy.\u00a0 Not surprisingly, it’s by Valentino, the Italian designer who’s famous for his use of red in evening gowns.\u00a0 Coupled with the Prada dress pictured above, the red might signal a coming theme…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even though this dress is really dressy, there are still some good ideas that can be applied to a comfortable summer dress.\u00a0 Perhaps the sheer overlayer that buttons would be pretty down the front, or diagonally down the side of a dress.\u00a0 And the color is divine!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I continued to flip through magazines and news papers in our department, the daily issue of Womens Wear<\/em> came in.\u00a0 And lo, it had a fabulous dress on the cover:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not red here, but still the strong graphic qualities of the Trigere ensemble.\u00a0 Plus an interesting use of a new dress material: neoprene.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then, because I am planning to sew, I thought it would be worthwhile to flip through Threads<\/em> magazine and see what’s cooking over there.\u00a0 Threads<\/em> is an old sewing\/crafty title that had gotten a bit stuffy.\u00a0 However, recently it’s been revamped and it seems a lot more fashionable.\u00a0 Still pretty middle-America (as opposed to Brooklyn), but definitely more responsive to the younger-spirited DIY action that’s been growing the last five years or so.<\/p>\n And then I stumbled onto this:\u00a0 Not only does this layout have a super cool steampunkish feeling, but careful reading revealed that the artist whose work is shown is one Mimi Prober, AN FIT FASHION DESIGN GRADUATE!\u00a0 (Issue 166, May 2013) \u00a0 Mimi won the 2012 Critic Award for these gowns, and no wonder!\u00a0 The construction techniques put together antique lace into corsetted-looking sheer layers.\u00a0 The whole effect is both elegant, artsy, and comic-book-heroine-fabulous!\u00a0 I want this dress! And now I know how the layers are constructed, and the lace stitched together.\u00a0 This is a bit much for a summer dress to wear to evenings out at the Frying Pan, but it does have me rethinking lace insets a bit… Good job on the update, Threads<\/em>!<\/p>\n But look where else edgy romantic dresses show up:<\/p>\n Lana Bittman (the librarian who runs PERS) always talks about Sassy<\/em> magazine being her growing-up printed companion, so I thought I’d take a peek.\u00a0 I just randomly pulled out a volume from the 1990s, since all the designers researching here are currently obsessed with this decade.\u00a0 This layout from the April, 1993 issue spotlights lacy, gauzy, romantic white dresses for summer!\u00a0 This is very much what’s happening here in the city, (again) I’d say.<\/p>\n Finally, I picked up the current issue of Vogue Patterns<\/em>, the sales magazine for the Vogue Pattern<\/em> company.\u00a0 I’ve always had a soft spot for this magazine, even though it had gotten sort of dry.\u00a0 I enjoy having access to it to see the styling of the new season’s sewing patterns.\u00a0 Plus, Vogue<\/em> patterns have better instructions than Butterick<\/em>, their less-expensive sister company.<\/p>\n Like Threads<\/em>, the new Vogue Patterns<\/em> included good how-to articles on special techniques by such industry leaders as Nancy Zieman and Claire Shaeffer.\u00a0 Like Threads<\/em>, it included a wrap-up of current runway styles and the patterns that relate to them.\u00a0 But Vogue Patterns<\/em> seems aimed at a more upscale designer\/stitcher, and the articles looked more fashion-forward than Threads<\/em>.<\/p>\n And even better, there was an article on the founder of Marfy Patterns<\/em>, which is also a title we carry at the Gladys Marcus Library.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I found it heartening to see that the red theme I saw in Another Magazine<\/em> and The Gentlewoman<\/em> was carried through in this project on Vogue Patterns<\/em>‘ pages.Maybe I just liked it better because Vogue Patterns<\/em> felt more “New York” to me, and this is where I live and work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hope you found something to inspire your own summer creativity in this post.\u00a0 Once again, I encourage you to stop up at the Periodicals Desk on the 6th floor, and take a look at our great resources.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some places you can find out more about Pauline Trigere:<\/em><\/p>\n On the 5th floor, in the Main Stacks her work is discussed in:<\/p>\n American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 5th Floor, Main Stacks TT 505 .M43 2012<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>I’m really excited to say that Vogue<\/em> has also stepped up their game.\u00a0 The last two issues of this magazine are much more colorful, styled more modishly and modern-looking.\u00a0 Plus this issue highlighted serious couture finishing techniques like creative smocking and passementerie flowers, with a spot on the best sewing tools for fine handwork.\u00a0 There was also a well-researched and illustrated article on embroidery, a topic near and dear to my heart (as you may have guessed).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n