This email popped up in my inbox earlier this week.
It made me very happy, but it also reminded me of a source of great frustration. This is not a rant about the lack of plus size patterns. Since Carolyn put the industry on blast so eloquently, I feel no need to elaborate. (Insert plug here for Barbara Deckert's Plus Size Pattern Fitting & Design on Craftsy.)
This is a rant about website design and functionality. Simplicity.com makes it so easy to find patterns for me. The links for plus-size and patterns with multiple cup sizes are wonderful. I remember when McCall's started adding the bra icon to its patterns to denote multiple cup sizes. How about a clickable link to all such patterns across Vogue, Butterick and McCall's?!
This is not rocket science, but marketing common sense. The powers that be figured out there was a market for patterns with multiple cup sizes, but make them hard to find. Vogue's patterns with multiple cup sizes (Custom Fit) are always in the Very Easy Vogue line. There isn't even a link to Very Easy Vogue when you first see site's main left-hand navigation, but it is a separate section in the printed catalog. On the site, you have to first select a category like dresses to get to to them. Then you have to look at each one of the patterns to figure out which are Custom Fit. Geez. Make it easier for me. What if I wanted to see all of the Custom Fit tops and dresses at once?
I'll end my rant by pleading for more patterns with multiple cup sizes. I heart Silhouette because the work is done for me. Palmer/Pletsch has great merit in teaching fit, but I honestly prefer being able to choose the correct cup size. Shout-out to In-House Patterns because they start with a D-cup and give you instructions to add or subtract as you see fit.
Get the Perfect Fit - Fashion For Every Size at Simplicity
It made me very happy, but it also reminded me of a source of great frustration. This is not a rant about the lack of plus size patterns. Since Carolyn put the industry on blast so eloquently, I feel no need to elaborate. (Insert plug here for Barbara Deckert's Plus Size Pattern Fitting & Design on Craftsy.)
This is a rant about website design and functionality. Simplicity.com makes it so easy to find patterns for me. The links for plus-size and patterns with multiple cup sizes are wonderful. I remember when McCall's started adding the bra icon to its patterns to denote multiple cup sizes. How about a clickable link to all such patterns across Vogue, Butterick and McCall's?!
This is not rocket science, but marketing common sense. The powers that be figured out there was a market for patterns with multiple cup sizes, but make them hard to find. Vogue's patterns with multiple cup sizes (Custom Fit) are always in the Very Easy Vogue line. There isn't even a link to Very Easy Vogue when you first see site's main left-hand navigation, but it is a separate section in the printed catalog. On the site, you have to first select a category like dresses to get to to them. Then you have to look at each one of the patterns to figure out which are Custom Fit. Geez. Make it easier for me. What if I wanted to see all of the Custom Fit tops and dresses at once?
I'll end my rant by pleading for more patterns with multiple cup sizes. I heart Silhouette because the work is done for me. Palmer/Pletsch has great merit in teaching fit, but I honestly prefer being able to choose the correct cup size. Shout-out to In-House Patterns because they start with a D-cup and give you instructions to add or subtract as you see fit.
