I’ve been stalking the German and Russian Burda websites for days in hopes of seeing the full preview for the August 2010 issue of BurdaMag, with no luck. Usually it’s up by the middle of the month, though sometimes not yet with the technical drawings. Finally, I decided to check with the experts on everything Burda, the forums at Hobbyschneiderin, the mega-geil online German sewing community. And wouldn’t you know it, one of the users unearthed the (sorta) full preview yesterday, though I have no idea how as it doesn’t appear to be linked off of the Burda pages anywhere that I can see. Clever and resourceful German seamstresses!

For now they don’t have the “fashion” photos up or the technical drawings, but the photos of the individual garments seem to be available for the whole issue. My verdict: lots of reasonable basics, especially compared to the July issue, and no real crazy, despite the titillating clown photos. On the whole, the general silhouette they seem to be pushing is somewhat boxier or baggier on top and skinny on the bottom, which is kind of the opposite of my general preferences. The issue has a lot of tapered pants and roomy tops, which is not a bad look, but not the best for my figure. Oddly enough though, the garment I’m most drawn to in this issue is this:

I know, right? Doesn’t seem like my kind of thing, right? I think the houndstooth wool is getting me though. You know how I love my menswear wool. I’m imagining this with a chunky teal or maroon knit scarf and matching slouchy hat, with skinny jeans and tall boots. And more interesting and detailed pockets. See, kind of cute when you think about it, no?

The other highlights are some elegant but practical coats that remind me of the sort that Tippi Hedren or Grace Kelly would have worn in a Hitchcock film. They’re less shaped than what I usually go for, but so pretty  and wearable I might have to consider them:

Ha. I just realized now that they’re the same pattern.  One is just fastened at the neck.

There are a couple of more fitted jackets in the issue, though they’re not my style exactly. I can see a lot of people getting excited over this one. But assuming that the hem hits at the hip, the sleeve length looks very “Go, go, Gadget Arms!” This is a fun optical illusion- the longer you look at this picture, the longer the sleeves seem to become. Try it!

Another item that I think people will get excited about is this camisole. I think it’s cute, but the fact that it looks like a frivolous summertime H&M purchase makes me less inclined to want to sew it:

Of course, there is the “Jackie O.” cocktail dress, which I know I will be tempted to make because I am a sucker for a back drape, but would probably see very little wear. If  I do this, I’ll probably opt out of the balloon skirt because it’s not the best look for short legs:

The draped dress that I adored from the early preview but which I suspected would not be included in the issue sadly is not included in the issue.  Boo hoo!

The tulip skirt has some interesting potential (it’s quite similar to others from previous Burda issues- I’d have to dig back to find what I’m thinking of) but I think the elastic waist detracts from the graceful elegance.  (Also, what are those things on the sides?  Tabs?) There’s a plus size skirt pattern with a standard waistband which is similar but so much more covetable. (Most of the plus size stuff is pretty slick, as usual.)

As I mentioned, much of the rest of the issue seems to be basics, such as plain skinny pants, long pencil skirts, and long sleeved t-shirts- not bad overall.  There are also a lot of peasant-y type shirts if you’re keen on that.

But then as I was flipping through the photos, I came upon some really cute stuff that I hadn’t notice doubles of in any of the previous features:

I know the band jacket fad might be a little bit played at this point, and that the skirt and top are themselves sort of simple and basic, but I really liked the clean but still feminine lines of these garments, and the sophisticated fabric choices. In fact, I thought these were so great that I was surprised I hadn’t seen other incarnations of them elsewhere in the issue. And then I noticed the caption. Yep, these are the kids’ clothes.

The size ranges for the patterns aren’t stated in the preview yet, but now I’m pretty curious. Juebejue and Kerry, are you wondering the same thing that I’m wondering?