Famous Frocks: The Little Black Dress: Patterns for 20 Garments Inspired by Fashion Icons

I am so happy I bought this book!!! This was exactly what I was looking for and exceeded my expectations. This is a book for recreating classic dresses by sewing them yourself and includes the patterns and detailed sewing instructions. (It is not a historical overview book about the LBD.) I have purchased other pattern books and while I learned basic techniques, the patterns were not interesting at all.This book, however, had both modern recreations of iconic dresses (which means they are practical for wearing now) and variations on those dresses. You can also combine the tops and bottoms of many of the dresses to create even more looks. I have initially bookmarked 7 items to make, three orig. dresses, two simpler updated dresses, and two staple pieces, a pencil skirt and a cowl neck blouse. These will use a variety of fabrics as well, from crepe de chine and stretch lace to wool or cotton twill.I didn't expect that all the sewing techniques used in each dress (like types of hems, sewing a zipper) would be also detailed with instructions (separate from the individual dress instructions), so that was a bonus for me as a newer sewer. I was concerned the patterns themselves would not fit back into the envelope attached to the book, but they are easy to fold heavy-weight newsprint paper, not tissue paper, so no problem.Thank you to the author!!

I am so pleased with this book! There are many projects here that I can't wait to make. The first part of the book is a primer on solid sewing fundamentals. This is a great resource for beginners as many of these skills will be used as they progress in their sewing journey. Also a good review for those who have been sewing for a while.The patterns included are well drafted and in a format that is easy to trace. The directions do not cut corners. They set the sewer up for a beautifully constructed garment. I made the Mary dress and am so pleased with my final results!if black is not your thing, there are variations for each dress in another color way and a twist on the original black dress.Overall, this book is a great addition to your sewing library. The projects are presented beautifully, and who would have thought so many ideas and variations could come from a book on black dresses! On last thing I love about this book, the large card board binding allows the book to lay flat on your sewing table as you are working on your dress.I highly recommend!

Way too difficult for my level (total beginner), so I had to return it, but I did peruse the books (cant open the patterns because they are in a sealed envelope, which is a smart move) and there are TONS of pages of great advice and basic explanations. I'll get the book again just as soon as I get better!Don't let the cover photo fool you, the rest of the dresses are....pretty dated. The dress on the cover is really the only one that's even semi-on-trend. The rest of the dresses look very high-school prom.

I’m disappointed that the patterns aren’t really just like the dresses. I guess it says “inspired” by the dresses. But, I don’t really understand. The Betty Davis skirt is swirled, pattern is not. Rita Hayworth pattern has ruching that the dress does not. The Farrah Fawcett collar is different. That is as far as I’ve gotten. I’ll definitely try a dress or two. But, again, I’m a little disappointed.

A Pattern book I can relate to! Keep in mind that this is a pattern book with stories. I have yet to create a dress from the book. However, the book is laid out with general instructions so that a beginner sewer can follow along. The author also describes techniques to use that would help the home sewer. Each dress is preceded by a photograph of the famous person wearing the dress and then the made copy, and then finally the instructions. The sizing of the patterns are different from standard pattern sizing - the patterns in the book are sized XS through XL, with larger than normal jumps between sizes - which is awesome!

I made the Anjelica blouse and dress. I am 5'6", 125-130lbs, and I decided to go with the medium pattern and it was too big, for size refernece. The small pattern fit much better. Great detailed instructions, so this book is a real skill-builder. The dress and blouse turned out super cute.

I am so glad I bought this book! The dresses are amazing, I can't even decide which one I want to sew first. So lovely. I'm a beginner though and might have wanted some pictures to go with the sewing instructions, but I see that this would have extended the book excessively. Anyway, those dresses are a great motivation to improve my skills, I can't wait to get started!

I sew for other people, so getting this many patterns with many sizes is a real steal. I hope to be able to use the pieces interchangeably. I like the fashion history and am a nostalgia buff of the movies. The pattern pieces look pretty basic, but patterns have become very expensive to buy, so I would recommend this to anyone who likes to improvise and create new looks.

When I first got the book, I was really happy with it, great inspiring designs and could understand the instructions. I'd say I'm a confident beginner, it's doable and it's been great to learn new techniques.Though I had huge issues with the Diana variation when sewing it together. A quick Google search for help found this information from the book publisher:"Additional notes for Joan Crawford Dress:On the Joan Crawford pattern sheet, Back Facing (G) says to "cut 1 interfacing" but should actually be "cut 2 interfacing." Download the corrected pattern sheet here. Additional notes for Grace Kelly Dress:On the Grace Kelly pattern sheet, Front Yoke (G) has an incorrect grain line. Download the corrected pattern sheet here. Additional notes for Mary Quant Dress:Layout diagrams on pages 112 and 113 are missing a second Cuff (G) piece in the diagrams. See the corrected diagram below.On the Mary Quant pattern sheet, Cuff (G) says to "cut 4 contrast fabric" but should actually be "cut 4 main fabric."Additional notes for Anjelica Huston Dress:On the Anjelica Huston pattern sheet, Front (A1 and A2) was incorrectly scaled. Download the corrected pattern sheet here. Additional notes for Princess Diana Dress:On the Princess Diana pattern sheet, Front (A1 and A2), Back (B1 and B2), and Side Back (D1 and D2) were incorrectly scaled. Download the corrected pattern sheet here. Additional notes for Kate Moss Dress:On the Kate Moss pattern sheet, Front (A1 and A2) was incorrectly scaled. Download the corrected pattern sheet here."This book is riddled with mistakes and although the publisher has made available the corrected pattern pieces - it's not been scaled for a home computer, so bear in mind the extra cost and effort. I'm really disappointed as not a single piece of the Diana top has been scaled correctly, which means new fabric.I would not recommend this book unless you are happy to get the replacement sheets printed off. Also the sizing is weird and only goes up to 45" (about a UK size 18).

Really happy with this, my sister is taking fashion course so thought this would be nice for her to study the history of famous dresses as well. Not much info there but easy to follow instructions

There was nothing to dislike about the little black book, it has everything needed to follow the patterns . It also has details of what you will need.

A very interesting book and contemporary designs based on iconic images.

A reallly lovely book. The photos are gorgeous and the instructions are clear. There isn't one dress I wouldn't make. Fantastic.