Across the pond

My collection of Vogue Pattern Book magazines consists entirely of British issues. My understanding was that the pattern pages of the US and UK editions were the same, and it was only the advertisements and some of the articles, such as items for sale and fabric reviews, which differed - and of course I was more interested in what was familiar to me. But I recently found an American issue for sale online without the crippling postage charges which are often more than the magazine itself. What I hadn't realised until it arrived was that the US edition was published six times a year in 1950, and this was the February-March issue, whereas the UK edition was still quarterly, and my issue was for Spring.

Spot the differences

As well as being published more frequently, the US copy is much thicker; 82 pages instead of 52. As a result, the contents pages look very different.

More obviously different

Part of the difference is explained by this announcement in the UK edition.

I hadn't realised that paper rationing lasted for so long

The US edition has a lot more advertisements, and more colour printing. It looks like a different, and far more prosperous, world.

American ads, glossy and colourful

British ads are mostly monochrome

With more pages available, articles can be longer. "Spot news" is a few paragraphs in the British edition, but an eight-page feature with illustrations and photographs in the American one - although the fashion information is much the same in both.

Everything a British reader needs to know, in 15 lines

The first page of the US equivalent

Similarly, the Paris Originals feature in the UK edition is half the length of its American cousin, albeit with more illustrations.

All eight designs in a double-page spread

Larger illustrations . . .

. . . but fewer views shown of some designs

There are some articles in my American copy which aren't in the British one, such as these knitting patterns.

Instructions are provided, but are brief

But surprisingly, the reverse is also true. Possibly this was in either the December-January or the April-May US issue?

I doubt if jersey dresses were a purely UK thing

Even when articles appear in both copies, there are differences. In terminology, unsurprisingly, but also in colours.

Same illustrations, different printing

Some elements appear in both illustrations, others are changed

Occasionally most of a feature will be exactly the same (apart from colours), but then vary significantly.

The previous 14 pages of this 16-page feature use identical illustrations

I'm ending my comparison where I began, with the contents page, and one small but perplexing difference in the description of the cover image.

US suit made from "navy blue serge by Miron"

UK suit made from "George Harrison's blue-navy wool herringbone"

It can't be made from both! I'll be keeping an eye out for other US editions, to see how they compare once both magazines were being published to the same schedule.

Mrs Exeter's sewing plans

I'm still not in a position to do much dressmaking, so instead I'm living vicariously through Mrs Exeter's plans for her 1952 spring/summer wardrobe.

The April/May 1952 issue

Mrs Exeter was clearly quite a selling point for the magazine at the time; not only is she mentioned on the cover, but this is also the lead article.

Before even new Couturier or Paris Original patterns

It is written in the first person, with Mrs Exeter stating that she has been "filled with a new enthusiasm: to make more of my own clothes". She follows the regular advice of the pattern book, which is to begin by buying her undergarments. Her choices, which look quite formidable, are illustrated.

A long brassière, and a girdle

The first item she wants to make is a coat-dress, Vogue 7624. "So many women of my age and measurements feel they can't wear a wide skirt, but I think - as long as the hips are smooth - they're wonderful for making waists look a bit smaller."

'Mrs Exeter' photographed by Norman Parkinson

She does, however, choose the long-sleeved version because she hates showing her elbows.

Vogue 7624

For her coat, she thriftily chooses a fabric which will work for both day and evening - grosgrain - and a design which she will also make up in a thicker fabric for later in the year.

Vogue Special Design 4291

It also appears in the "7 Wardrobe Bases" feature

The pattern

Mrs Exeter's second day dress choice is "a slender wool one - the sort that is quite indispensable for an English summer - with a white collar and cuffs (I shall have at least two sets)".

Vogue Couturier 678, on the right

This too appears twice in the issue, the second time as a suggestion to make in linen.

It is this pattern.

Showing the separate collar and cuffs

Which I immediately recognised as this reissue.

With the usual slight, unnecessary, tweaks to the artwork

Mrs Exeter is particular in her choice of suit pattern; it must be "uncluttered and classic", as her figure "demands long lines". She also intends to make a blouse to wear with it.

Special Design 4282 and Vogue 7607

To round off her spring/summer wardrobe, Mrs Exeter requires two more dresses. One is a dinner/evening dress in a style which she calls a "hostess gown" - Special Design 4292, shown with the suit and blouse above. The other is a "good, all-purpose print dress". For this, she intends to make what she calls a "long-standing favourite of my generation", a redingote with a matching slip.

Vogue 7615

Sadly, I couldn't find any other illustrations of this pattern online, so I'm unable to compare it to Vogue's idea of a redingote as a coat.

So in total, her plan is - four dresses, one suit, one blouse, and a coat. If I tried to make all of this, starting in April/May, I would be lucky to have it done by Christmas. Clearly, Mrs Exeter was a very speedy seamstress!

Summer, reissues, and a very strange pattern

After a brief dalliance with warmth and sunshine the weather has reverted to being cold and grey, and I'm back in winter clothes. So I'm taking refuge in a new-to-me issue of Vogue Pattern Book, June - July 1954.

Dressing like this feels a long way off

Here light summer colours reign supreme, in striking sketches of summer dresses with accessories to match.

Pink, and surprisingly modern-looking shoes

Blue, and some covetable earrings

Mauve, with impossibly high (for me) sandals

A whole suit of yellow might be a bit much

Sunshine yellow carries on into the feature on Couturier designs.

The feeling of summer

I thought that I recognised one of the patterns and, sure enough, it was reissued in 2015.

Couturier pattern 800

Reissued as 9105

In fact, summer 1954 couturier designs seem to have been a bumper source of reissue patterns. I have two more in my collection.

794 top right and 797 bottom right

Reissued as 8999 . . .

. . . and 8687

One pattern which Vogue has not reissued (to the best of my knowledge) is 8338. It's heavily promoted in this issue, with a double-page spread.

Vogue's "special choice for summer"

"simplicity itself"

It also turns up in an advertisement for Wemco fabrics.

The striped fabric accentuates the construction

The dress is described as slipping over your head, fastening together at the front with a single hook and eye, and then tying at the back. The line drawing on the pattern envelope gives an idea of its shape.

Full at the front and straight at the back

It's almost a back-to-front version of this pattern, which came out in 1952 and was reissued in 2001.

Vogue 2401

Much as I liked my version, there’s no denying that the skirt was prone to flapping open. At least because the opening is at the front, I could see what was going on, and act accordingly. I really don’t think I would be comfortable in a dress which is similar, but with the opening at the back (especially as the back pattern piece, as shown on CoPA, doesn't look very wide)! To me, the design gives the impression of being something which Vogue put out as a competitor to Butterick's 'walkaway' dress, possibly without a lot of thought to the practicalities of wearing it. I would love to know how well the pattern actually sold.

A tale of two Hollies

When I saw a picture of a Pierre Balmain 'Holly' dress on Kerry Taylor Auctions' Instagram, I assumed that it was the annual repost of the dress which I fell in love with in 2015. But it looked a little different, and when I read the text I discovered that this is another Holly dress, and it's in the Passion For Fashion auction this coming Tuesday (10 December).

The dress for sale, and the original image from L'Officiel

I still have all the images of the first dress stored away, so I thought that I would compare the two. (All images, apart from those of my own dress, are copyright Kerry Taylor.)

Front views

From this, it's obvious that the dresses are very different shapes. The 2024 version is longer, and looks less full-skirted. The short, bell-shaped, skirt appears to have been a feature of Balmain's 1955 dresses, as it also appears on the 'Medallion' dress sold by Kerry Taylor in 2022.

Why yes, I 'would' like to recreate the Medallion dress one day!

Of course this difference may just be because the client for whom it was made was a different shape from the owner of the 2015 version. However, the dress currently for sale has a narrower and deeper front neckline, and wider shoulder seams. The difference between the necklines is even more obvious at the back.

Back views

The differences are explained in the condition report on the Kerry Taylor website, which states that the dress has been heavily altered. The report speculates that the upper part of the dress may have been damaged, and the lower section used to make a new dress. If so, it has been very skilfully done, given that the embroidered leaves on the bodice go over the princess seams, as on the 2015 version.

The princess seams on both are nigh-on invisible

The embroidery is, rightly, described as "superb", but there is no doubt that it differs from the dress sold in 2015. This is perhaps best illustrated in the side view.

The side seam is more apparent

Unsurprisingly, I have never bought a dress from a couture house - the nearest I have come to that is watching Mrs Harris Goes to Paris - so I have no idea how much the client can influence the overall look of their purchase. But there is no denying that the embroidery on the two versions is very different. The most obvious variation is in density. It's apparent in the two images above that the leaves on the 2015 version are far more tightly packed, with some overlaps, and the berries more bunched. Of course, the more widely spaced leaves of the 2024 version may be due to it being made from the lower section, where there are fewer leaves. Equally, some of the berries may have been snipped off and redistributed.

Another difference is that all of the leaves on the 2024 version are a broadly similar shape and all, with the exception of those around the neckline, point downwards. The dress sold in 2015 had a number of different leaf shapes, and they were orientated in different directions.

The actual design of the leaves is different, too. On the 2015 version, the central spine is indicated by a slight gap in the embroidery, whereas on the 2024 dress it is embroidered in silver thread. Also, all of the 2024 leaves are made with one side in a more blue-based palette and the other side more green and gold, whereas in 2015 there were some leaves entirely in the cooler shade, and less densely embroidered.

Close-ups of the embroidery

I should add that none of this is in any way meant to denigrate the dress currently for sale, it's just that having spent far longer than is normal studying the dress sold in 2015, I was fascinated to explore the differences. The idea that there are different versions of the Holly dress out there pleases me immensely, as I feel that my version has elements of both of them.

My version - this remains my proudest sewing achievement

And yes, I did base my jewellery choices on the L'Officiel image!

Update, 10 December: Despite being unlabelled, heavily altered, and having an estimate of £200-£300, the dress sold for £2,400. Clearly I'm not the only one who loves the Holly dress!
Further update, 13 December 2025: The dress appeared again in Kerry Taylor's December 2025 Passion For Fashion auction, and this time sold for £1,300. I shall be looking out for it in December 2026.