Weekend Review: Stylish Party Dresses

Stylish Party Dresses / Yoshiko Tsukiori
trans. from the Japanese by Leeyong Soo
North Clarendon VT: Tuttle, c2015.
96 p.

This is the last of my collection of Japanese pattern books. It's a combination of my favourite things -- dresses, and Yoshiko Tsukiori! I do have a number of her books and find that her aesthetic is really close to mine. So I really enjoyed this book of 26 dress patterns (even if some of them are pretty much variations rather than totally different styles).

 This is a nicely translated book -- it sounds natural, and the sizes have been expanded to more of a Western range than some of the others. Sizes range from 4 - 14, or from a 30 3/4" bust to 40.5" bust, and 34 - 43 hip. It's nearly all dresses, though there is a bolero, blouse, top and collar thrown in for extras too.

These are all very sedate styles in a way. No hugely oversized waifish looks, rather there are some more traditional fitted designs like the one on the cover. There are still loose fitting cocoon-ish styles too, but it feels a little sleeker than some of the other titles. 

I really like Dresses F, L, P, and V, though I mostly like them all -- those are just the ones I'd most likely make soonish. There is even a very cute jumpsuit in there, with a elasticized waist and a bow neckline.

Of all my books this does seem to be the one with the highest concentration of realistic (for me) patterns. There are pull out patterns in the back and more sizes to work with. But you do have to trace a pattern from a mess of overlapping lines and add your own seam allowances -- just like Burda.

Like any other Japanese sewing book, there is a lovely styled spread of all the dresses in the first half of the book and the instructions follow. The model for all the patterns is the same woman, Meri. And the stylish is not outlandish or odd here. All of the photos look like she is wearing something suitable for a nice occasion, as referenced by the subtitle of the book: "26 Easy & Inexpensive Sew-It-Yourself Dresses for that Special Occasion". And the photos are really lovely, featuring some William Morris-ish wallpapers as backdrops.

If I could only keep one of my Japanese sewing books, this would be a top contender. Recommended.