Sew Iconic

As a lover of all things Hollywood as well as a bit of a home dressmaker I was very excited when the lovely book Sew Iconic  by Liz Gregory was sent for me to review.

It features ten patterns for ten classic Hollywood dresses which is such a fabulous idea and a wonderful way to incorporate some silver screen glamour into your frock collection. 
The book is beautifully put together almost like a ring binder and as well as having a pocket in the front with all the patterns in, it also have some great chapters at the beginning which very clearly guide the reader into what equipment you will need, the basics of laying out and pattern cutting, lining, adding darts, everything you need to know to help you tackle some of the very lovely outfits featured.

Marilyn Monroe's white halter neck dress from The seven year itch

This book has obviously been created with a lot of love and thought. The photographs are great (and plentiful, what it is with books nowadays having hardly any pictures?) and the instructions are very easy to understand.
Each dress has its own chapter showing shots of the original dress, notes about the film it was featured in as well as the original designer before showing you how to create your own homage.

I carried a watermelon-baby's dress from Dirty Dancing

What I particularly liked was that as well as some truly classic outfits ( Rita Hayworths black sheath gown from Gilda and Marilyn Monroe's white halter neck dress from The seven year itch) there are also lots of dresses which as well as being great movie memories can still translate in beautiful wearable clothes for today.

Faye Dunaways dress from The Thomas Crown affair

Julie Roberts brown polka dot tea dress from Pretty Woman, Audrey Hepburns Breakfast at Tiffany's LBD and the classic Jennifer (no one leaves baby in the corner) Grey ensemble from Dirty dancing would make great additions to any vintage loving gals wardrobe.

Holly Golightlys famous LBD

Its this well thought out approach which lifts this from being merely a fancy dress reference book to something quite inspiring. Don't worry there are a few dresses featured which are truly "out there" notably Kate Winslets evening gown from Titanic and Grace Kelly's Blue Chiffon gown from To catch a Thief are maybe too full on even for me to consider them so plenty of scope to make  a few things to wear for watching Coronation street in, but overall the dresses have been cleverly picked so they would look just as great today as when they were lighting up movie screens.
Sew Iconic is published by Bloomsbury and available to buy here
Photos by Quintet Publishing 2012
I have one copy of this beautiful book to giveaway.

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