Nora sent me this, under the subject line "one more midriff for you." I love the email I get from A Dress A Day readers; the subject line never reads "URGENT PROBLEM!!!" or "REPORT DUE TODAY." In fact, there's a remarkable lack of shout-case all around, for which I thank you.
Anyway — this dress, by Jane Tise for Butterick. Just as Nora suspected, I *adore* this midriff band. The shaping! Although I bet that point is hard to have come out exactly right. Better make it in a busy print so any bobbles aren't so obvious. I also like the pockets, and the collar. The sleeves … eh, not so much. But I have come to learn, with y'all's help, that my disdain for puffed sleeves (or, in fact, of anything but a smooth and unobtrusive shoulder line) is a personal and idiosyncratic quirk and not a general guideline for humankind, sort of like my extreme dislike of bananas. (The instantaneous and uncontrollable murderous rage I feel upon hearing someone pop their chewing gum, though? A universal constant.)
Had any of you heard of Jane Tise before? I hadn't. But a couple quick Googles turned up that she was one of the founders of Esprit, back in the day! And that Esprit was called The Plain Jane Dress Company first, which, while cute and having that fakey-homespun feel of the late sixties/early seventies, probably didn't have the marketing ooomph that "Esprit de Corp" had. Or the little inherent pun.
And speaking of marketing, how did I never notice the Butterick tagline "The Fashion One" on their patterns before? I am afraid it doesn't speak to me (of course, thirty years after the fact, what marketing catchphrase would?). It seems slightly off. "Which pattern company do you prefer?" "Oh, you know, Butterick — the fashion one." Because all the other pattern companies are strictly utilitarian, of course. Only coveralls and aprons to be found there, my friend!
(Did anyone notice that the shoes on the red-dress version are a lot like the black ones I posted yesterday? Oh, and for the person who wanted the style name, they're "Cloudey" by Steve Madden.)
Back to the pattern — this is up on eBay right now, but work fast, because the auction expires in less than 14 hours. Tick-tock!
A Dress A Day 
Oooooooooohhhhh, I like this the best of all!! Wish I still had a wast:-) And BTW, bananas are nothing compared to asparagus!!
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I remember Jane Tise — but then, I’m ooooooold. *self-pitying sniffle!*(I like bananas, asparagas and a slightly puffy sleeve on a shirt-dress; the later is so 40s).
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http://search.stores.ebay.com/Jane-tise_W0QQfromZR40QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQsbrexpZWD1SQQsifZ1QQsofpZ4QQssPageNameZWD1SCheck out this eBay link to 12 other Jane Tice patterns.I too love bananas & asparagas; puffy sleeves may be a bit too young for me.
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Hmmm, almost Western. I must be wary of such things, coming from cowtown myself.
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Not too bad! I like the shape of the midriff – notice how it’s echoed on the trim on the short sleeve. Cute.
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I am so with you on the puffy sleeves and the bananas! (And I like asparagus.) But nothing–nothing, I’m pretty sure–could induce me to wear those shoes. I just can’t abide a wedge heel.
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My favorite and well sewn dress pattern has that same kind of midriff, but the point faces north. I bet this pattern would work well with linens.I am in the “sleeveless whenever possible” category, and all fruit and veggies are my friends. I passed up a huge chocolate cupcake for a roasted beet salad last week…
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I lament that I do not have the long waist to show off that midriff stuff. This is the stuff of lanky and thin people….
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It’s so great that an entry titled “Best Midriff Ever” is about a dress, and not yet another picture of a celebrity baring too much ;)If one has the waistline for it, this dress is lovely.
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Hi…this is more of a response to your other post, but I didn’t want to get buried under 23 comments 🙂 I just have a question: You talk about Liberty prints a lot…how do you tell what is a Liberty print? Where can I find out more? Sorry if this is a stupid question!Ps- I love your sense of cute vintage-y style.
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I have heard of Jane Tise before. I just thought she was some 70’s designer. I did not know that she was one of the Esprit founders. I just thought from everything I read, it was just susie and her husband, who founded Esprit. I will now have to look up Jane Tise.
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I KNEW we were soul sisters (except that Duro dresses are not so much my thing). But your ‘extreme dislike of bananas’ points to the probablility that we were, in fact, Separated At Birth.As icing on the cake, I too have the sleeve issue.
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Whoa. A true blast from the past. I know I had a couple of dresses made from this pattern back in the 70s, when I was a mere child in high school. Couldn’t tell you now whether I made them or whether my mom did. If I did, then that midriff was a b**** to put together. And, given that I never throw anything away, I may still have that pattern socked away in my basement, either among my old patterns or among my mother’s.
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Wow. I made that dress for my college graduation, out of a red fabric with a tiny yellow floral print. And Lee Anne is right — I remember that midriff being an incredible PITA to sew!
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Oh I DO remember Jane Tise! I made at least one of her designs; along with 2 Stephen Burrowses, another [was it] “Individualist”s? “Great American Designer”s or something? I remember tracing this very illutration though form a pattern book! I want to know if there’s a site focussing on this and other illustrators of that genre/era.I’m thinking that I like this midriff but might not be as flattering as one with the point that follows the line of where ones boobs theoretically would go, if one had said boobage. Of course this one, running against the breast circles, looks like it may actually give a visual lift to them? I dunno.
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