My love of Style patterns is well-documented on this blog, so when I found this counter catalogue for sale I couldn't resist. It only arrived recently, so haven't yet had time to look at it in detail. It seems to have been issued in December (but contains an oddly high number of sleeveless dresses, possibly to be used as party frocks?), but despite combing the front and back sections for small print, I've been unable to find a year. My guess is late 1950s.
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| With 6" ruler for scale |
Style pattern envelopes were still only black and white at the time, but the catalogue is almost all in colour. The only monochrome images are of the pattern envelopes of the new releases.
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| Six of the new pattern issues |
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| The other three |
I have the pattern featured on the cover. The bodice darts, an important part of the design from a dressmaking point of view, are barely visible on the envelope art but far more clear in the catalogue illustration.
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| Comparison |
I wonder how many people made the version of this dress with the massive collar?
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| Dramatic, but potentially very annoying! |
Some, but not all, of the patterns include a schematic of the pattern pieces.
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| With schematics |
There is a fairly even split between designs with very straight and very full skirts.
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| Straight |
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| Full |
While most illustrations are on plain white, some have a brief sketch of background.
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| Simple outlines of a chair and fireplace |
As someone whose local fabric shop sells a lot of remnants, I really liked the idea of these patterns.
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| Patterns for remnants - ooh! |
There are lots of things I want to look at in more detail, but that’s it for now.
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