Book #2: Gertie Sews Vintage Casual

Fun news today, readers! Since publishing my first book last year, I'm not wasting any time to do a couple more. My fabulous publisher has signed me up for TWO more books, yay! The next one is coming out in fall 2014 (which sounds far away, but is scarily close) and will focus on the theme of "vintage casual." I'm in the thick of writing and designing the patterns for it now, so I thought I'd share a bit of my research and process with you.

When I was planning the first book, many of you asked for a pattern for pants (better known as trousers, for those of you of the British persuasion). I wanted to comply, but came to the realization that a pant pattern would pull me too far from the couture theme of the first book, and require a lot of extra content (fitting, for instance) that I hadn't planned on. Caroline, my genius agent, suggested saving that trouser pattern for another book, and perhaps even focusing on casual clothing exclusively. I loved the idea. So here I am, writing it.

It's the perfect timing too, since my life has gotten decidedly more casual since writing my first book. But I still want to wear cute vintage stuff! So I'm designing a bunch of patterns that are easy and comfy to wear, while still maintaing a retro vibe. Not necessarily just pants, either! I'm talking skirts and dresses that are more at home at a picnic than a cocktail party.

Without giving too much away, I wanted to share a few of my main inspirations.

Rosie the Riveter is essential to the spirit of the book. Never has vintage casual looked so badass.

If I were to choose one inspirational designer, it would be Claire McCardell. Her cotton dresses and easy separates were revolutionary in their time.

And, of course, my thoughts keep gravitating toward Katherine Hepburn.

Did you know she had 30 pairs of beige garbardine trousers in her wardrobe at the time of her death? I've never been a huge fan of beige pants, but perhaps I need to reconsider.

Another huge inspiration is coordinate wardrobes. Don't you love this type of vintage pattern?

That's pretty much all I can give away at the moment. I hope you are as excited as I am about this! More to come, of course.