I have a confession. I am obsessed with pattern-making. It’s like working a puzzle except the pieces can be formed into one thing and then cut, rearranged and turned into something else entirely. The problem-solving fun never ends. There are a couple of books that have fueled my interest in pattern drafting and provide endless inspiration for creating dynamic three-dimensional garment designs. I have detailed these books below along with one design puzzle I put together with the help and inspiration from these books.

Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi is one of my favorite books. Actually, all of the Pattern Magic books (I, II, III and Stretch) are mesmerizing. Nakamichi’s unique, geometric and scupltural designs make industry fashion patterns seem boring. All of Nakamichi’s books provide a half-scale basic sloper which can be scanned and enlarged 200% and printed to full-scale. She demonstrates how to manipulate this sloper to create uncommon garment designs.

One of her designs that I have had on my list to make is the deppari accent shirt. Deppari means “protruding” in Japanese.

This leads me to another favorite book of mine, Christian Dior: History and Modernity, 1947-1957 written by Alexandra Palmer. The book is thoroughly researched and very insightful. It is a detailed analysis of several of Dior’s famous designs that are in the Royal Ontario Museum’s haute couture collection. Palmer eloquently describes the patterning, fabrication and construction details of Dior’s designs and why he played such a critical role in haute couture and fashion history.

I particularly love the avant garde Vol au Vent suit Dior designed for his 1949 Spring/Summer Collection and is detailed in Palmer’s book. It reminds me a lot of Nakamichi’s deppari accent shirt. Vol au Vent means “flying in the wind” in French.

Palmer explained the suit was also famously worn by Marlene Dietrich in a press interview for the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Stage Fright, for which Dior designed all her costumes.

I have always been a fan of Hitchcock and his twisted plots and mysteries. How appropriate, a version of Dior’s fascinating suit would also appear in the movie as well. In Stage Fright, Dietrich plays a recently widowed actress where a cloud of suspicion surrounds her following her husband’s murder. A dressmaker is helping her with the alterations for the dress before the funeral. Dietrich delivers a few zingers commenting on her attire.

“This is very nice, if you call mourning nice.” But, uh isn’t there some way we can let it plunge a little in front…Now get me out of these weeds. I am beginning to feel sad, and I shouldn’t feel sad. It’s so depressing.”

Ha! One would hardly consider a Dior dress “weeds”, and I doubt Dietrich did either. She kept her entire couture wardrobe after the movie.

The Vol au Vent was described as a “kangaroo pocket, pointed high above the breast; the calla-lily rising above the shoulder.” Palmer notes that the suit was similarly patterned after the Zigomar suit (spring/summer 1949), which she provides a pattern rendering of in her book.

The patterning above is similar to the deppari shirt, in that the front bodice is composed of two layers and the non-functioning pocket (piece 1) is formed by sewing the facing of the pocket (piece 2) or self/facing in case of Nakamichi’s pattern, that to the bottom layer of the bodice (piece 3). However, the Dior pattern is significantly more complex. Note, the back bodice, sleeve and front bodice layer are all cut as one. Hmm…I foresee a plot twist here. Well, for the rest of us beginner detectives, Nakamichi’s pattern is a little more solvable with it’s fewer pieces and actual directions for drafting it.

As a side note, I really found Palmer’s explanation of the significance of Dior’s use of pockets post WWII interesting. She explains that pockets as fashion details had generally been eliminated from women’s wear during the war and there were actually government regulations specified against manufacturing garments with “cloth on cloth” construction, as it was considered “too extravagant”. Dior’s experimentation and lavish use of pockets (including non-functioning ones) as a design feature postwar was particularly dramatic. Indeed!

Inspired by Dior’s flying pocket design, I made my own protruding/flying accented top with with the help of Nakamichi’s book. Here is the completed puzzle.

You would think I would be content at solving this little mystery, but the more I study Dior’s pattern, and the blouse in the movie, I can’t help but want to try this again in another arrangement. I will keep you posted as I continue to pursue this problem-solving adventure.

If you also like solving mysteries and puzzles, I highly recommend purchasing the books I mentioned. I also suggest getting a copy (new or used) of what I consider the bible for pattern drafting and is used by most major fashion design schools, Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph Armstrong.

Happy reading and drafting! Be careful, it’s addictive!

Sources:
Nakamichi, Tomoko. Pattern Magic. Laurence King, 2010.
Palmer, Alexandra. Christian Dior: History & Modernity, 1947-1957. Royal Ontario Museum, 2018.
Armstrong, Helen Joseph. Patternmaking for Fashion Design. HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995.
Stage Fright. Director Alfred Hitchcock. Warner Brothers, 1950. Film.