Bergère de France Magazine 172: A Review

Bergère de France has released Magazine 172, a spring/summer collection.... and no, they aren't either behind or ahead of schedule. It seems I was using an "old link" to check for new issues of Bergère de France, and by the time I clued in to the fact that the link saved to my favourites folder needed refreshing, I was three issues behind. Which means there are two more Bergère de France reviews coming up in the next week or two. Although I was initially bothered by the fact that I wasn't bringing you a timely review of current seasonal styles, I stopped worrying about that mid-way through writing this review. As you will see, Bergère de France wasn't too concerned with being up to the minute in their designs themselves.

Pattern 01, 3/4 Sleeve Sweater. The shaping is good, and the mesh pattern is something a bit different and not too see through. Nice design.

Pattern 02, Open Sweater. This is one of those looks that only sort of work on a professional model who is striking an elaborate pose.

Pattern 03, Crochet Tank Top. This crocheted top is very "pattern from a seventies-era homemaking magazine". That is not a compliment.

Pattern 04, Long Sleeved Sweater. This colour-blocked sweater is kind of cute. The proportions work well and it has a sporty look to it.

Pattern 05, Openwork Cable Sweater. This one is the Bride of Frankenstein of cabled sweaters. And you know what always happens in movies and novels when the dead aren't left in peace.

Pattern 06, Openwork Zip-Up Jacket. Nice looking jacket, though I have my suspicions about its shaping. However, if it's too big or boxy anyone who is knitting it can always reshape it.

Pattern 07, Short Sleeve Dress. This is a really cute and even original dress, though I would tweak it by making it longer and making the top of the solid part of the bodice extend several inches higher.

Pattern 08, Shorts. And here we have the seventies-era homemaking magazine pattern shorts to go with Pattern 03. Are we going to see a fringed boho-style tote bag next, or a recipe for a casserole with potato chips crumbled on top?

Pattern 09, Openwork Stole. Putting a sleek modern shawl clip on an afghan does not turn an afghan into a stole.

Pattern 10, 3/4 Sleeve Openwork Sweater. This is a basic mesh sweater that's nice enough, but if I wanted to make myself a mesh sweater I'd go with Pattern 01, as it's much more interesting and will provide better coverage.

Pattern 11, V-Neck Cardigan. This one's about as basic as a design can get. The ribbing at the top of the sleeve is the only extra touch that I can see, but it works, and this piece does have good lines, so if you want a classic cardigan pattern you could do much worse than this one.

Pattern 12, Crochet Top. I think we're looking at the aforementioned seventies homemaking magazine fringed boho-style tote bag, except for some perverse reason it's been upcycled into a tank top.

Pattern 13, Crochet Lace Dress. Bergère de France, could you please do me a favour? Could you please not randomly tack merde to a basic top and call the result a dress? Thanks.

Pattern 14, V-Neck Sweater. If someone had described this piece to me, I would probably have thought it wouldn't work, but this idea has been remarkably well-executed. The criss-cross effect of the v-neck and the shaping ribbing at the waist is pleasing and flattering, and the overall lines are good. This would make a useful topper to wear over tank tops and camisoles in summer weather, and it would look good on most women.

Pattern 15, Sleeveless Cardigan. This would be a lovely piece if it fit. I'd make this a standard fit rather than oversized as it is here.

Pattern 16, Crochet Handbag. Now we have the seventies homemaker magazine's version of a handbag.

Pattern 17, Short Sleeve Sweater. The muslin flowers that decorate this top look like random gobs of fabric rather than a design.

Pattern 18, Openwork Sweater. Another mesh sweater. As with the last example, I'd recommend Pattern 01 over this one, which doesn't have much going for it in terms of either visual interest or coverage. I'm cringing because I'm imagining getting sunburnt through all those holes.

Pattern 19, Fringed Skirt; Pattern 20, Necklace; Pattern 21; Fringed Necklace. Bergère de France definitely went to town on the whole seventies homemaker magazine as design inspiration for this issue. But we all know where those bad seventies crafts wound up: in thrift stores and the garage sales of the coming decades. And we learned from that, didn't we? I will say that the skirt might not be too bad if one could fix whatever's going on at the waist and ditch the fringe for some sort of subtle lace or ruffled edging, but there are other knitted lace skirt patterns out there that would turn out a much better design without all that tweaking, so why bother.

Pattern 22, 3/4 Sleeve Sweater. This isn't a bad design. It's eyecatching and the overall shape is good.

Pattern 23, Hat; Pattern 24, Bracelet Cuffs. Keep this up, Bergère de France, and you may single-handedly degrade the French reputation for style.

Pattern 25, Fair-Isle Cardigan. This is a fair isle cardigan translated into French style. It has a modern, chic feel to it.

Pattern 26, Strappy Top. Let's see, top that will make even the flattest-stomached women look pregnant with two plastic rings sewn randomly onto the front. Pass. Or at least reshape the top and nix the rings.

Pattern 27, Crochet Tunic. This one would perfect for wearing to dance around your living room to the sound of James Blunt's song "1973", if being back in 1973 with James Blunt is your kind of thing.

Pattern 28, Openwork Poncho. You know, if you're going to design what is essentially the lace knitted version of a burlap sack, adding some random loose stitches to the top and tying a rope around the model's middle won't dispel the burlap look much. Neither will going overboard on the styling. It all rests on the basic design concept.