Weekend Review: Stylish Dress Book: Wear With Freedom

Stylish Dress Book: Wear With Freedom / Yoshiko Tsukiori;
trans. by Masashi Karasawa
North Clarendon VT: Tuttle, c2008.
80 p.

I'm starting off my fall with a look at some of the Japanese Sewing Books that I have in my collection. I've shared one, on refashioning, earlier this year, but this title in the Stylish Dress Book series is much more of a classic.

I've had this one for a long time; I think it was the first JSB that I ever bought. Yoshiko Tsukiori is my favoured author in this kind of book, she has a sensibility that I like -- dreamy and Japanese hippie-ish, but not so much so that I wouldn't wear any of it. Also the sizing has been adjusted for a Western audience in this English translation (at least partly) and so the sizes run from 6 - 16 (30 - 40" bust). I can fit into the largest sizes.

In this book there are 26 patterns, each named after a letter of the alphabet (the English alphabet -- which makes me curious as to how this book was organized in its original Japanese). Like every book of this kind, the fashion images are all up front, in a series of lovely photos showing off the designs. This is then followed by the list of patterns with diagrams and instructions. There are patterns as well, in an envelope in the back of the book to trace off.

While I wouldn't necessarily style myself in the way these pictures have been styled, there are still some interesting designs and shapes to these dresses and blouses. There is even a cookie recipe included ;) Each design, from A-Z is quite distinct and not just variations on one pattern, so there is a lot of value in this book.

Out of the 26 patterns there are only a couple that I don't like personally, and I have my eye on View E (the cover image) and View V (below) to try out first. I'll report back on the process when I get started!

For charming inspiration and a series of dreamy dresses all made in Liberty of London prints, though, you can't go wrong with this book.