Last night was a good night for sewing. No, it was a great night. I didn’t actually have time to do much sewing, but I did manage to put the buttons onto my McCall 5525, which I am now calling ‘Key Lime Trench,” so that project is now done, photos forthcoming. But beyond that, I just happened to be at a German restaurant and someone had left behind a big stack of Burda back issues that they were trying to unload. And not just any Burdas but early 1980s German Burdas. I thought about grabbing the whole stack and running, but then I thought the better of it considering how many unused back issues I already have. The likelihood of me suddenly wanting to sew lots of garments from the July 1984 vintage seemed pretty low, considering I haven’t even touched July 2009 and 2008 yet. But I did grab three of them (because I knew you’d want to see too!), most notably March and April 1981:
I didn’t really have any particular plan for these 29-year old treasures other than to flip through them, see if it would be worthwhile to make anything from them, and maybe have a chuckle or two with you. But then eagle-eyed reader Inkstain cued me in on the fact that the Burda 5.2010 preview is now available online on the Russian Burda site (again, how are those guys so on top of things??)
Inkstain asked if I had any “acid and grouchy” commentary regarding the new issue. What? Me? Acid? Believe me, after flipping through those awesome 1981 issues of Burda, I have nothing but good things to say about the new issue because it is a treasure trove of current looks that are destined to be classics. Girls, they’re not joking when they say the ’80s are back. And you’d better pick up your May issue of Burda because these are the styles you’re still going to be wanting to wear almost thirty years from now. In the year 2039. Check it out!
Hot in spring 2010? Big ol’ shapeless shirt dress with band collar and bib detailing!
Guess who else loved this style? 1981! And ruffles are so au courant right now, so 1981 may even have the leg up on the hot new trends
The matronly chambray shirtdress is surely the Next Big Thing in 2010:
But it’s also a timeless classic from the dawn of the MTV era!
Khaki carrot pants with cargo pockets?
If you didn’t hang on to the ones you made in 1981, you’re just going to have to sew them again.
And while we’re at it, you may need a matching belted safari jacket:
Of course, savvy Burda Mädels know that the safari jacket is a wardrobe staple, and have decades’ worth of them in their closets:
How about this flattering ruffled silhouette for May of 2010?
Your mom might know a thing or two about that from her fashion plate days:
Or this dainty frock?
1981 offers up a couple of predecessors:
[Okay, all joking aside. Is it just me, or is that second 1981 version actually starting to look pretty good? You know, take up the hem about five inches and make it up in deep plum? Also, does anyone else also covet her shoes?]
Roomy blouse with a band collar for summer:
Burda 1981’s all over that!
Shorty shorts with contour hem?
You know it!
Actually you can’t see it in this picture, but the 1981 version does not have a drawstring like the current one does. In fact, it has a belt. That’s right- belted tennis shorts. Surely that means that belts for sporting attire are the next big thing on the style horizon. We’ll probably see it pop up in July 2010’s Burda, so you might want to go ahead and make this month’s version with a belt to keep ahead of the trends. And you can tell people that you heard it here first- the Selfish Seamstress is nothing if not a style icon.
Shorty shorts too short for you? Maybe you haven’t got the tight derriere you flaunted back in 1981 anymore? Don’t worry, shorts lovers, because the versatile pleated-waist cuffed Bermuda is also here for 2010, ready to flatter any figure and cut the lines of your legs right at the knee!
Pair it with a matching jacket for the perfect sophisticated office ensemble:
Or try it in a fun print with a coordinating blouse for a weekend getaway!
Finally, let’s not forget a key piece to any classic wardrobe, the safari-themed jumpsuit:
Please note, however, that this look is updated for 2010 with the addition of elastic cuffing at the ankles to give it a sleek and modern twist. As opposed to the oh-so-tired, ho-hum, non-elastic pant hems we’ve been seeing for too many years – finally, a little fashion innovation to take us into the 21st century!
There you have it- I’ve got two data points in three decades of fashion, and from them I extrapolate that May 2010’s looks have got some real staying power. And that’s my Burda forecast. [Ok, for serious now, there are some really covetable dresses in the May 2010 issue that have nothing to do with 1981. Go have a look. I’ll post my top picks later.]
Oh, and don’t worry- there’s lots more fun stuff from 1981 that I didn’t show here. I’ll get around to it- you won’t miss out on a a thing from that classic fashion year.
38 comments
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April 8, 2010 at 8:36 am
julie rae
you’re funny when you’re snarky :)
April 8, 2010 at 8:43 am
melissa
hahah you crack me up. I kept thinking through Burda’s preview “my god, Burda really have run out of ideas, haven’t they?” but you’ve completely rumbled them here. They’re just reprinting their old archives, thinking we won’t notice!
April 8, 2010 at 8:48 am
Auntie Allyn
Excellent detective work there, Jeeves! It just supports my belief that some fashions are timeless . . . good and bad, they just seem to pop back into the forefront every decade or two. Right now, even as I type this, I’m wearing a dress made from a vintage 1980’s Vogue Ralph Lauren pattern — it’s a classic shirtdress that never goes out of style (you just adjust the hemline to suit the current fashion). I am anxious to get the latest BurdaStyle, as I usually can find one or two things there that pique my interest.
April 8, 2010 at 8:50 am
Rose in SV
I enjoy your observation about sewing and Burda. It’s fun to see that everything old is new again. :)
April 8, 2010 at 8:57 am
amber
I love your Burda preview posts. This one, in particular, is quite fabulous.
April 8, 2010 at 8:57 am
Karin
Hah, that’s hilarious, great obervation!
But 1981 was a great year for fashion. I was 8 years old and had just woken up to realise that clothes are FUN, and made my mum buy me: 1. A chocking-pink (neon, almost) cordoroyd jacket in a classic denim-jacket-style (I was HOT, seriously, I was a reddish strawberry blond so it matched me well) and 2. A white polyester (yuk, but I was less fiber-concious back then) dirndl-blouse with multi-colored embroidered flowers around the neckline (so cute).
I have no memories however of khaki pants of shirt-dresses, but the shorty-shorts and dainty dress do bring back memories.
Oh sweet childhood…
April 8, 2010 at 8:58 am
Katie
Oh. My. Gosh. My kids are wondering what is so funny (since I’m laughing out loud in my sewing room). Maybe I’ll clue them in in 30 years…
April 8, 2010 at 9:14 am
Trudy callan
Brings back memories.
April 8, 2010 at 9:33 am
Angela
Hahaha.. that’s too funny!
April 8, 2010 at 9:39 am
Chedva
Is it just me or do some of the ’80s versions actually look much better than the 5/10 issue?
April 8, 2010 at 9:46 am
mjb
Is it weird that there are a couple things from 1981 that I want? This is how Burda can develop so many patterns each month – they’re pulling designs from the archive and tweaking details.
April 8, 2010 at 9:58 am
Carolyn
Oh my but that was just tooo funny! Thanks for taking the time to write out the comparisions…it was very enlightening. I can’t wait to see what you did like in the May 2010 Burda!
April 8, 2010 at 10:35 am
Jan
SS, didn’t your fashionable mom tell you that fashions run in 30-year cycles? So Burda’s right on time. I was just starting my first job in 1981, so I had tons of those ruffled shirts that buttoned down the back (’50s echo). Yeah, those were fun to get into back in the days when I was single! Ha.
I inherited a big pile of vintage Burdas from a freecycler recently–1994 to 2006–and am finding lots of classic styles. (I’m making up Burda 5.2005.113 in a lovely floral georgette for this summer … possibly to wear to a wedding.) BTW, anyone read Russian or Hungarian? :-)
April 8, 2010 at 10:43 am
oonaballoona
what kismet for your snarking! this is hilarious. and telling of my possible lack of fashion sense that i like a LOT of the 80s stuff…
April 8, 2010 at 11:45 am
Shelley
I just laughed so hard I think I peed a little. Really. And I don’t know what’s funnier – your snark, or my memories of my early 80’s closet. Thanks for this….
April 8, 2010 at 11:46 am
Uta
Well, I was 10 years old in May 1981, so not terribly fashion conscious, but this takes me back in two ways: 1. I had a T-shirt-dress like that with short cut-on sleeves that I had my mom sew to my specifications. In true 80s colors, navy blue with thin horizontal stripes in pink, turquoise etc…. wore it with a skinny belt and loved that dress to death! 2. A lot of these looks remind me of early “Lady Di” style in the paparazzi pics of the day. (The model even has her hair!) Squinting hard, I can sort of see what was coventable about them!
April 8, 2010 at 12:42 pm
~buzzybee~
Oh dear – I think I made that 1981 khaki jumpsuit!
Actually it can’t have been that exact one because it is size 42 and I was grobe 36 then with absolutely no grading skills! But I did make one just like it in olive green and wore it with a red belt and shoes – lol!
April 8, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Lindsay T
Nuh-uh, 1981 was a horrible year for fashion! I was there. Seriously, is this the best of the latest issue?! I think it’s a good thing I let my subscription lapse…
April 8, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Megan
Oh wow, I can’t believe May 2010 preview is already here! And I was just thinking about it last night, too! It is really amazing how similar a lot of Burda patterns are. I run hot and cold with Burda because often it looks like they take the same pattern, add elastic here, make some tucks over here…and poof– It’s a new decade! It also looks like they’re digging Liberty prints again this spring. I think they did a feature with Liberty prints in Spring 2005? And they definitely do cargo/safari styles heavily every 2-3 years. It would be neat if they’d bring back some designer collabs, or even the reader-designed outfits. I really miss those, as they were an extra little surprise each month.
April 8, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Becky
Well, I’m not the foremost expert on the fashion of 1981, considering that I was, oh, under a year old at that point. But I do hope that there’s something in that magazine that doesn’t resemble the 80s, because that’s pretty much my least favorite fashion decade ever and I’m so glad that I was a teenager in the 90s instead, grunge-era and all.
Though I did actually have a chambray shirtdress in the 90s–one that I sewed myself. The big draw on the fabric for me was that it was chambray that had little sunflowers embroidered on it. I know it sounds dorky now, but I loved that dress back in the day!
April 8, 2010 at 4:52 pm
allisonC
It really is true that there is nothing new in fashion anymore (nothing people would actually wear at any rate). Well that does it, I’m hanging on to all my old Burda’s.
April 8, 2010 at 5:11 pm
amy Barthel
Awesome!
April 8, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Deb
Unbelievable! So I guess we’re not missing anything if we don’t have 1980s Burdas. We just look at this year’s Burdas. I was in junior high in 1981. I wore those short-short contour hem shorts with the contrast band on the edge in 1981!!! With knee high athletic socks!! The white socks with color bands at the top. Always coordinated the bands with the shorts. And Reeboks. And my butt and thighs looked good in those shorts and I didn’t even appreciate that back then! WAAAAAAAAAH. This would be a great Halloween costume idea if people still would want to see my current butt in those shorts.
April 8, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Collette of Serendipity Handmade
OMG, I think I had that pink shirtdress…sans ruffle. And with lace ankle socks for sure. That brought back the memories.
And yes to coveting the shoes. Hideous safari jumpsuit, however.
April 8, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Vicki
OMG…I think I will jump off a bridge NOW!
April 8, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Christie
OMG…and this is exactly why I save all my patterns. I have some that are older than 1981. I even have some of the things I made back then. When I saw some of this year’s “new” styles- the”boyfriend jacket” and anything with shoulder pads, I thought I was having flashback hallucinations.
April 8, 2010 at 9:37 pm
dana
You should see my students: 80’s are totally in (except the hair, that should stay gonegonegone). Check out this year’s prom dresses, especially with the “vintage” 70’s stuff: http://www.nwsource.com/shopping/fashion/got-your-perfect-prom-date-now-get-right-fashion%20?cmpid=2628
April 8, 2010 at 10:45 pm
paisleyapron
That is just freaky. I lived through the eighties and it should stay in the past. Seriously.
April 8, 2010 at 11:23 pm
Laura
*shakes head sadly* Selfish, that was an unselfish thing to do, leaving those poor, lonely Burdas behind. You’re slipping. The truly selfish thing to do would have been to take ALL of the left behind mags, weather you can use them or not!
April 8, 2010 at 11:41 pm
sara
I recently got a hold of some 1980 and 1981 Burdas, and though a lot of it is terrible, there are some things I would like to make some day. I have marked that same dress from the April 1981 issue, page 12 and 46. It’s actually very similar to a dress from May 2009, # 118.
If you are able to get your hands on May 1980, there are some really nice dresses in that one. It’s my favorite from the bunch.
April 8, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Miss Celie
Oh. My. Well. Sigh. I do actually like quite a bit this month. I cannot believe how directly it harkens back to the 80s!!!
April 9, 2010 at 7:28 am
Orangina
Funny. funny. But also reassuring after my latest sewing mishap. My attempt at Vogue 8499 ended up looking like linen parachute pants. My husband even broke out into MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” when I was modeling. I took comfort that those too are back in this month’s issue.
April 9, 2010 at 7:37 am
Stacey
Ok, so! I need to sew up those short-shorts, pull on a pair of knee-high socks with stripes at the top and pop a sweatband on my head and I will be ready to hit the soccer fields again!
Dear god.
April 9, 2010 at 8:14 am
Olga
Nice detective work. I guess my Mommy was right in telling me that those 80’s Burdas in her stash that I have rejected would be useful to me! Who needs 05/2010 when I can just go back to the (russian) Burda archives and sew the originals!
April 9, 2010 at 8:46 am
Hoosiermama
I have to decide in a month or 2 whether to renew my subscription…after last month’s multiple polo dresses and now this preview…I’m leaning toward NOT.
April 9, 2010 at 9:12 am
Burda 5.2010 vs. Burda 1981: Part II « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] important opinions | Tags: Burda, vintage After yesterday’s eye-opening realization of the uncanny similarities between some of the items in the forthcoming 5.2010 issue of Burda and those from 3.1981 and 4.1981 […]
April 9, 2010 at 11:31 am
Elaray
Wow. That’s downright spooky.
April 21, 2010 at 4:35 am
Anonymous
Dear selfish seamstress,
I realize you are so very selfish but I am asking your avice anyway.
I found a forgotten 1983 burda magazine in my parents’ attic, completely in german and in a diferent format than today. My main problem are the pattern sheets. For example, I am interested in a camisole (a lovely white one with tucks and a yoke). There are two patterns sheets with two sides each (of course) and the pattern’s number comes up on all four! I’ll trace everything today and see what I get, but if you know something please share…
I love your site by the way.
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