My All-Important Opinion: BurdaStyle 12/09 and 01/10

The Burda Review: December 2009, January 2010

Ah, the beginning of an age: my very first sewing magazine was sent to me for free (!) thanks to those nice Germans across the pond. It came in the mail, and in my hands I felt such power--so many patterns in one little package! It was seemingly impossible; I was probably drooling. Though my excitement was a tad overboard, the 12/09 issue didn't completely disappoint.

Some of the "party" clothing was a bit, how do you say, raunchy? Hoochie? Stuff that you haven't seen in ten years, and even then was on someone of "questionable" taste? Yeah, there was some of that. For example, Exhibit A:But for the most part the other stuff was just "not my style" if I didn't like it. There was one that was quite pleasing, the 106. It's in petite sizes [rawr!] but I'm sure I could figure out how to finagle it. It's just too good: the one-shouldered goodness is too much!

This one was cool, but wearable? Unlikely.

I need this cardigan. So badly. I have a cozy sweater knit picked out and everything! So simple yet so...usable! (It's the 119)I dunno, this jacket is really cool. The length would be awkward on me but I don't really care. It's still cool! You'd have to be a top stitching god to get it perfect though. (Burda 111)
And so, I was eager to see the next issue, and it just so happens I got a year subscription as a Christmas present! Heck to the yes.

The whole white on white thing was weird, and you couldn't see like ANY of the clothing, but I really liked this dress (103).

Ah, then we leave Miss All White with blonde wig-looking hair and instead follow the newsgirl reporter in her fab, home-sewn olive/black wardrobe. This shirt (113B) looks super low (!!) but the mix of jersey and poplin is so clever. Of course, I'd change it to poplin and satin, but no matter. It says "Hello, I'm a German model-gone-news reporter who does indeed sew her own clothes!"

I don't care how tall or skinny you are: these pants probably look good on .01% of the population. Ankle length: impossible! Pleats: unnatural! WHY then, do I still find them attractive? I must love this color far, far too much (It's the 106C). Obviously I don't have corporate meetings with my student body of guys who wear their pants at their ankles and girls in the land of the yoga pant (though I do adore yoga pants, I feel so conformist), I think that this blouse, the 121, is awesome. The collar, French cuffs, really spiffy in a stripe, too (I'm jealous of their fabric choice!).

Plus Size gets all the fun! Look--how adorable is this girl?! Freakin' adorable, that's how much. Any size would be freakin' freakin' adorable if they had this top. Seriously.

It seemed Burda 01/10 could do no wrong, but then I realized they hired the Crafty-DIY-Demon-From-Hell. He or she can take perfectly classy items and incinerate everything they stand for with just a snip here or there. I give you....the horror!

Letter to the photo editor: please attempt to choose flattering pictures of children when they are smiling without balloon strings in their faces, even though no child would look happy in that costume. Thanks ever so much.

Ohh, this was so much fun! I'm sure to do more soon.

Buttload of new stuff:

Ahh...enjoying my Taro Gomi coloring book and oil pastels...they're my new favorite medium--they just do what you want!

***

Great golly gosh there were so many things I needed to share, so here they are in one big heap:

First of all: mum and I went to the Goodwill, a) to drop off 7 bags of things we don't need and then b) to look for hilarious white elephant gifts (our family is kind of beastly at finding hilarious, grotesque presents for the exchange on New Year's Eve). So can you guess what I found? Probably not. It's a necklace--with a sloth charm!

Most people don't even know what a sloth looks like, let alone seen one in the flesh, let alone PET one. But...I have! The world's only sloth rescue center is in Costa Rica, and we visited it on vacation a few years back. They're slow but the babies are sooooo cute! Wook at their widdle thwee toesies and big eyesss! [Note: I prefer animal babies much more than human ones.] They just kinda sit and hang at the top of trees, but they sometimes grab onto electrical lines and their limbs have to be amputated...SOB!

On a separate note: April Burda came!! As predicted, the safari stuff is nothing to be wowed over. I really like the classic section as I thought I would, but that's about it. Crafts, as usual: abominable. More in depth with pictures to follow.

I began my Allusion dress as planned, incredibly simple, and as always ADJUSTMENTS! Higher neckline (no hoochie for Easter dresses!) It's a dress not a top like the pattern is designed for, there's a bias waistband, and then I'm finishing the inside with Hong Kong finishes [which is new for me]. Oof! Not to mention the stripes REFUSE to line up... you match two and ten down they're off again--WTH? Probably the stretch's fault: HUMPH.

"Oh, it can't be any worse, Joanna," I thought. THEN I tried on the skirt...

Can you say "So-Totally-Not-Pride&Prejudice-Hoochie-Miss-Look-at-My-Butt?" Gosh, I was cursed with an otherwise useful and curvy tush...but not what I was going for...there goes another $12 for more fabric! UGH. It kinda reminds me of the late 90s early 2000s skirts, like in Mean Girls.

Not that I don't adore Mean Girls!

It's just...not Regency skirt material. I'd prefer to not have people saying some "Hail Marys" on Easter, when I hope to wear it.

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