Newsflash: New Vogue, New My Image, and a Burda Plus Early Preview

My schedule continues to be super busy, so I didn't manage to get around to posting all the pattern news until now.  It was a busy week, with Russian Burda posting an early preview of the Fall/Winter 2013 Burda Plus magazine, the Fall/Winter 2013 My Image Magazine has gone on sale (with a new website, and a new children's magazine called B-Inspired), and the Vogue fall collection has been officially announced.  With all the new patterns coming out, you would expect me to be super excited about something, right?  Ummmm, well, hmmm.  Maybe not.

Burda Plus Fall/Winter 2013

I know it is only an early preview, but so far there is very little impressing me in the Plus issue.  A few nice dresses, and a whole lot of meh.  Oh, and more dresses that look like they have been pulled from a moldy old closet in Downton Abbey.

The lace dresses are pretty cute.

I would wear this...

And this isn't bad...

Hmmmm.  Not sure how I feel about this.
Makes me think 1984.

Why?  Burda, stop with the granny wear already please!

My Image Fall/Winter 2013

I always look forward to the Fall/Winter My Image issues - usually there are some great tops and winter dresses, and always at least one fabulous coat.  Well, this year I feel a bit let down.  Looks like a lot of great cardigans and a few cute dresses, but really not a whole lot of wow.  Is a bit more difficult to tell than usual because they seem to have gotten rid of the feature that let you flip through the magazine and look at all of the model photos.  So I am going off of line drawings and the few small images that are available on the order page.  EDIT: You can look through the whole issue here.  I haven't ruled it out yet (I am liking the looks of M1363 cardigan, M1353 dress, and M1361 jacket), but it isn't an obvious must buy like the issues in previous years.

The jacket on the left looks pretty cute on the cover...

Looks like some nice cardigans, and a few interesting tops.

The line drawings are a bit easier to see on the actual website.

Vogue Fall Collection 2013

I feel like I have been a bit underwhelmed by the fall pattern collections so far.  Hate to say it, but Vogue seems to be following along in that vein.  Looks like a whole lot of meh.  Well, to be fair there are a few interesting patterns, but I probably wouldn't make or wear them, so they won't be going on my list.  In any case, let's take a look...

V1365 - A Donna Karen coat patter.  Probably my favorite of the release.

A look at the line drawing - love the fitting seams on the front.

V8933 - Coat.  I like the collar, but the rest is fairly boring.

V8930 - I feel like it would just be easier to drape a blanket over your head.

V8934 - A Marcy Tilton coat pattern.  The shape is interesting I guess?

V8932 - I do like the shape of this jacket.

V1361 - Donna Karen dress.  I sort of like this one.

The back is sort of interesting as well.

V1358 - Anne Klein dress.  A bit too poofy for my taste.

V1362 - Bellville Sassoon.  Probably my favorite dress in the release,
but I am not sure I would ever wear such a big crumb catcher.

V8923 - I sort of like the color blocking pattern on this dress.

V8919 - Don't like the pattern on this one nearly as well.

V8921 - I like it, but I feel like I have seen it before.

V8922 - Cute, but not that interesting.

V8920 - I feel like this is a few rhinestones short of
 being ready for dancing with the stars...

V1366 - Anne Klein.  I sort of like it, but the shirt sleeves
 might have just a bit too much poof to them.

V1367 - Rebecca Taylor pattern.
I feel like this is what I see a lot of people wearing right now,
but I don't think it is necessarily something I would wear myself.

V8936 - Probably my least favorite peplum pattern so far.
But it does come with cup sizing.

V8926 - Perhaps it is the fabric, but I think this is a bit much.

V8925 - This top has some nice seam lines for fitting.

V8928 - I like this skirt, but that slit is awfully high.

V8938 - Now I like a nice wide-legged trouser, but this gets close to ridiculous.

V8942 - Apparently wearing animals as bags in the in thing right now?

I actually saw a cute owl purse the other day.
But it was a bit more abstract and a bit less taxidermy.

And that's what I got.  So - anything from any of these catch your eye?  Or a whole lot of meh?  I feel like there are a few stand out pieces in the Vogue set, but they aren't things I would necessarily wear.  Let me know what you all think in the comments.

EDIT:  I am trying to get caught up on blog reading and noticed a lot of people liking new Vogue pattens I hadn't seen when I did my original post.  Seems like Vogue put up more patterns compared to when I first looked at the new patterns page?  Or maybe I just had weird loading issues; I know there wasn't a man's coat pattern the first time around...  And there are a few other pattens I really like that didn't seem to show up on the page my first look through.  So now I am a bit happier with this fall collection.  A few other patterns have made it onto my list:

V1359 - Love the draping on this one!

V8931 - Lots of darts for fitting on this jacket.

V8940 - This man's coat is hot!

So maybe the Vogue fall collection isn't quite as boring as I had thought.  Helps when I get to see all of the pattens though!

Newsflash: August Burda Full Preview Posted

To all of my regular readers: I am in the final push of my crazy busy insane sewing/skating summer schedule.  Posts will continue to be light for a while, but with any luck I should be back sewing things for myself (or at least postable objects) by the end of next month.  In the meantime, let's take a look at the latest Burda magazine...

The Russian Burda website once again is the source for the first look at the new issue.  Overall I have to say this issue looks like something of a mixed bag for me.  There are some patterns I really really like, and some that leave me a bit puzzled.  All in all it is much better than July though (not that that took much effort).

This issue somehow seems to be "the jacket issue."  Pretty much all of the god stuff was a coat or jacket of some sort:

Coat love!  The shape is classic and lovely,
but the single lapel is modern and interesting.  And it is blue!
What more could a girl want in a coat?

Simple clean lines...

Looks nice in green too!

Love this short jacket in all of the variations...

Ok, so I am not such a fan of the sleeves...

...but the body part of this jacket is awesome!
I'll just steal the sleeves from another pattern.

Love the cape with the built-in scarf.
Never really wanted a cape before,
but this one has maybe changed my mind...

I fell in love with these pants during the early preview...

Want!  Love the shape, the pockets, everything!  This is going in my to-sew list.

 A few more pieces are worth mentioning.  Not really anything to get too excited about, but, well, wearable enough I guess:

Not a fan of the tabs over the hips or the boxy cut on this coat,
but I do think the shape of the collar is interesting.

Sort of generic, but I do like all the seam lines for shaping
(though they may be hard to see with this print).

The crazy peplum top...

With a few alterations to the shape of the peplum this could actually be quite cute.

Dress is ok...

....but I like it much better in lace.

Another dress that is wearable, but not exciting.

Not really a fan of this jacket, but I think the hideous colors might be throwing me off a bit.

With a color change the skirt might look quite cute though.

The "exclusive" pattern for the month.  Flowy and pretty, but not super exciting.

As I was going through the Burda Plus section I kept thinking that the designs weren't spectacular, but I also kept thinking that I might end up using a fair number of these patterns because they look like things my sister might wear:

Button down dress is pretty cute.

You can see the details better in the line drawing.

Love this simple dress!

Super wearable and comes with pockets!

Hmmmm... doesn't this look familiar?

Yup, it is the vintage reprint from last November graded up for the Burda Plus sizes.

Short jacket looks pretty cozy.

And I can definitely see myself using this cardigan pattern in the future.

Ok, while I agree that the picture frame around the crotch
might not be the best look for everyone...

This pattern could be super useful, even if only for PJs.

Of course, along with the good stuff this issue had a fair number of head scratchers as well:

The neck ruff makes me think of a demented clown.

Can't decide if it is better or worse as a dress.
Especially when the pattern looks like it is covered with spider webs.

Why does Burda think we want to dress like out great grandmothers?
Between last issue and this issue I am beginning to wonder
if the Grandmother look is a hot trend or something.

An bizarre cross between Downton Abbey and Star Trek. 

Ok, now this sweatshirt is maybe not inherently bad.
But it makes me think of the 80s.
Actually, the overall impression of a lot of the clothes makes me think of the 80s.
No evil 80s!  Stay away!

And, well, normally I don't discuss the kids fashions, but in this issue I thought these little coats were too adorable to go unmentioned:

Super cute coat for girls.

And a classic one for boys as well.

And that's what I got.  Which means it is time to pick the best and worst patterns of the month.  This month for me it wasn't too hard; for me the Best of BS August 2013 obviously goes to:

Blue coat!

The coat looks classy, elegant, and modern I thought the design was simple, wearable, and unique.  Also, the color blue may have swayed me decision a little bit.  Maybe.  A little.

As far as the worst pattern of the month, it was a bit more of a challenge.  Mostly because all of the weird stuff is so evenly matched.  In the end though I think the BWTF August 2013 must go to:

Downton Trek shirt.

It just doesn't make sense in terms of design or fabrication.  As Mr. Spock would say, "That shirt is illogical."

So there it is!  What do you guys think?  See anything you really like, or is this issue a pass for you?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!