Sew Expensive... Vogue Couturier 535

To continue the train of thought a bit from our last post, we have another expensive luxury pattern selling for a good deal of money.
Not long ago, Vogue 535 sold at auction for $168.49.

Though high, this is really the going average for late 40's early 50's Couturier patterns with any character. By character, I'm referring to patterns with interesting or unusual details. Note the high collar, asymmetrical button closures and dramatic sweeping lines of the tunic in the illustration above. The more details like these, the more complicated it is to sew, the higher the interest and value to collectors.

In our last post, we saw a 1930's Vogue Couturier pattern sell for $360.
Over the last few years of tracking the selling prices of these, it seems that they follow a price trend by decade.

Vogue 862 available here.

On average, 1930's Vogue Couturier patterns sell for between $200-$380.
1940's-1950's Vogue Couturier patterns sell for between $100-$200.
1960's/ 1970's Vogue Couturier patterns sell for between $40-$200. This is also interestingly the decade that Vogue chose to start advertising the couture designer responsible for the patterns, with patterns by Dior, Chanel, and Givenchy fetching the highest prices.
These averages are dependent on a few things. These are auction selling prices. Buy it now prices found from pattern sellers on Etsy and other websites might vary on the mood/ experience/ clientele of the pattern seller.
Also keep in mind the evening gown patterns will be quite a bit higher than these averages.

Vogue 2971 available here.

If you've got one of these in your collection, be sure to check and see if it has all of its instructions. These patterns often had two separate instruction sheets with the cutting layout often on another sheet entirely. If you only have one sheet, make sure that it has both cutting and sewing instructions on it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that while some of these patterns can be found with "Vogue Couturier" cloth labels inside - a pattern is considered complete without it. The cloth label was not automatically included in each pattern - one had to request them at the pattern counter when purchasing and many buyers simply didn't bother with them.

How about you? Do you have any Couturier patterns in your collection? Did you get a great deal on them? Find them at a thrift shop? Pay dearly for them from another collector?

Happy sewing,

Sew Expensive... Vogue Couturier 232

My dears, this lovely pattern was expensive, naturally.

Just a few days ago, Vogue 232 sold for a shocking $360.

As we've discussed before, there are a lot of reasons that a pattern can go this high or higher, and the value of this one was a combination of two things.
Vogue Couturier patterns are always going to be more valuable than plain old Vogue, owing to their association with actual couture designers (though the designer isn't mentioned in couturier patterns from the 30's like they are in those from the 60's.)
This pattern is from the 1930's and I can count on one hand the number of Vogue Couturier from this decade I've seen for sale in the last year. The highest that I can remember went for just under $400.

Now, unusually for our Sew Expensive posts, I just happen to know the lucky winner of this auction. No, its not me. This particular collector who will remain anonymous is my Pattern Friend. My Pattern Friend and I met a long time back over a Facebook discussion of another rare pattern. We got to talking and realized that we had very similar collecting tastes. We talk patterns quite often and this one came up in conversation.
When I asked her if she cared to comment on why this pattern had such a draw to her, she simply replied "Even a sundress is stylish."

This made me giggle a little because, really, each collector's pattern taste is so unique. Sure there are the sought after, universally acknowledged "high value" patterns, and then there are others that quite honestly have a "Je ne sais quoi" to each individual. Something in it speaks to us, makes us fall a little in love, and perhaps do foolish things to acquire the object of our desire.

Here are a few other Vogue Couturier from the 1930's for your enjoyment....

Vogue 204

Vogue 225 Circa 1933.

Vogue 100. Blurry I know but had to be included anyways.

Vogue 205

Vogue 211 Circa 1933.

How about you, my dears? Do you have any Vogue Couturier patterns in your collection? Have you learned anything interesting about them that you'd like to share with the class? I have just one of these. One... and one will have to be enough. They go too high at auction for me to allow myself to fall in love. Anything more than a brief affair for me and it will all end in tears...

Sew Expensive... A McCall 1987 hat pattern and what makes a buyer tick!

Many of you might come to expect by now that vintage hat patterns are worth a pretty penny. We've watched Millinery for Every Woman and McCall 1974 sell for quite a bit in past editions of Sew Expensive. We know that sometimes the artwork and sometimes the short window that the design was in style can increase a pattern's value.
And today's pattern is no exception to the rule. The artwork is beautiful, the pattern is flattering, and the hat in question was only in style for a short while in the early 1930's.

A few nights ago, I watched the lovely McCall 1987 sell for a predictable, and yet still shocking $223.37.

We've often discussed why patterns sell for more, but why hat patterns, specifically?

In general, accessory patterns don't survive as often as dress patterns. Maybe it's the small pieces, maybe fewer were originally printed, maybe both. But the fact remains that if you find one of these, it might be the only one you find in 20 or 30 years! Version B in this pattern is an especially rare design to see a pattern for. I know it's not in style right now, but don't you just want to wear that hat?

Not too long ago, our last Sew Expensive post got a very exciting comment left on it. A lady named Jan most graciously took the time to comment on the post to explain why she was willing to pay so much for (and she did in fact win!) this, and other patterns. Jan was sweet enough to allow me to share with you her comments, and so I present to you, my dear readers, the mind set behind some of our most Sew Expensive patterns!
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Pictorial Review 9072 sold at auction or just over $200.

 Jan:
"I had the winning bid on this pattern, and just snagged it by a few dollars margin, and although I really wanted it (see below), assumed it would go for more than my max.

I am also guilty of paying a huge sum for a 30s Vogue Couturier on Feb 24, 2014, for which I paid $643.33:

The original Ebay auction for Vogue 120.