We interrupt our coverage of the Spring/Summer ‘08 fashion weeks for cultural news of infinitely greater consequence. (At least according to this correspondent.) PJ Harvey’s new album, “White Chalk,” comes out next week, and good god, if you’re not on the Peej’s bandwagon by now, you’d better get on it ASAP. The woman has literally never released an album that wasn’t surprising, scary and scarily beautiful. “White Chalk” sees PJ trading in her usually guitar-based sound for piano-drenched balladry, muted in volume but not in spirit. She is a genius; all hail the amazing Polly Jean.

Returning to fashion: Let’s talk about Miuccia Prada, likewise a talent who chooses to dare herself in new directions. She’s followed last season’s weirdly apocalyptic collection (astro-turf hats! rubberized leather!) with one even more evocatively strange. Basically, she showed pajamas. This was very much in keeping with Spring/Summer’s emerging lingerie theme, but still. To Miuccia’s credit, the oddball show managed to induce plenty of mouthwatering; there was something ultimately winning about her Poiret-meets-Aladdin aesthetic. But Ms. Prada is nothing if not an intellectual, and I was forced to wonder if this collection signaled some conceptual resignation on her part. Fall’s controversial Prada show was nothing if not fiercely engaged, seemingly taking on issues such as global warming and unimpeded biotech. This season, well, apparently Miuccia wants to take a nap. Either that, or she’s decided that everyone watching is half-asleep anyway.

As for the rest of Milan: Meh. Raf Simons show for Jil Sander was typically cool, and offered a more youthful vision for Sander. The puffball dresses were a little loopy, if brilliantly constructed, and good luck to anyone but the anorexiest models who wish to pull off the rest of the show’s severely skinny silhouette. Karl Lagerfeld was feeling Op-Art for Fendi; individually, the long, featherweight dresses were hypnotic; taken together, the show was migraine food. Gucci: Boring but wearable in the yellow/black, ‘80s-influenced section, to-die-for accessories, please no more bubblegum pink or rockabilly skirts. Frida, methinks, has been watching Grease. Dolce and Gabbana: Boudoir Versailles, and consequently nuts. Versace: Donatella doesn’t think women should look like sluts, after all. I think that about covers it. Think prints.

In other news, Radiohead’s new album is out on the 10th, and only available online.

"Are people really wearing that?" is one of the most common questions when it comes to the 'Dirndl' and the 'Lederhosn', traditional costumes in Bavaria that are still worn by all generations on festive occasions. "Yes we are!" And 'we' includes Bavarians (Benedikta) as well as 'Zugezogene' (people who moved to Bavaria, like me). And the best time to prove this is the 'fifth season' of the year: The Oktoberfest.

And although most dresses and pants look the same, the expert's eye will quickly detect the authenticity and quality of dress and pants. The latter ones are most respected if made out of real deer leather – and best-case scenario, inherited from the great grandfather. New ones can cost up to several thousand Euros. No wonder that the cheaper goat or cow version is happily bought for a few hundred or second hand.

The Dirndl is an even more difficult subject matter, and opinions about what's authentic and what modern elements go beyond the scope are crucial to some, and practically invisible to others. Some believe short Dirndls are sacrilegious and that black ones can only be worn by elderlies or in mourning. Another issue of dispute: The corset. To tie or not to tie is the question here, and zippers are often frowned upon.

We went last week to the Wiesn (how Oktoberfest is called by the locals) and took some pictures for you, so you can study what Dirndl you like yourself!

And of course there are also some BurdaStyle members who just make their traditional clothes themselves! Check out the beautiful Dirndl of Kihli.

This week, there are two, that's right, TWO "two"-torials! I just couldn't resist when I realized how handy pleats can be. I've been noticing so many pin-tucked yokes and insets and even sleeves in the latest runway shows, and many of the talented BurdaStyle members have been using them as well, and have really inspired me, so here is an easy to follow Pin Tuck How To. I also recently re-discovered the box pleat, and now I just can't get enough. It's quite simple, but takes a special eye for detail when sewing, since the pleats can easily shift around. At any rate, the result is worth it. It's elegant and at the same time sporty, perfect for skirts and blouses, and you can learn how to sew box pleats here. Hope you enjoy these how to's, and don't forget to share your creations, pretty please . . .

Well hello there! It has been while since I last posted here on Burdastyle, I needed to take an unexpected break to recharge my batteries. You wouldn’t think I was last pregnant only 2 years ago, I seemed to forget how tiring pregnancy can be but I think that’s the idea, you forget so you’ll do it all again! Anyway, I have been keeping watch here on the site even though I haven’t posted. The Janina Sew-Along is going well although we seem to have a technical difficulty with the third page of the thread, so I ask that those of you taking part please take the time to post in the new thread. Let us know how you went making these pants, were they easy/difficult? Did you make any alterations? What fabric did you use? If you were to make them again, would you make any changes? Also, please upload photos of your finished Janina pants either in the thread (check the how-to if you have trouble) or in the creations section of the site by this weekend. Next week I will post an update and announce the next project, which you can help decide by leaving a comment in the forum.

Personally I’ve not done any garment sewing this past month, visiting family, sickness and a very untidy sewing room contributed to this. I will have help with my sewing from now on, Betty came to stay with me a few weeks back and am looking forward to working with her. Unfortunately Betty’s waistline doesn’t expand as much as I need it to so before I start on any garment sewing I’m going to make a bump for her. A fellow blogger Rowena has made one of these and has given me a few tips on how to make my own. I’m considering filling it with rocks and making my husband wear it for a day so he can find out what it’s really like to be pregnant! It will have a slit in the back so that I can stuff it as needed.

I’m starting afresh with a new project, I will be sewing the new Shari pattern. I will spend the next three or four weeks working on this pattern, making alterations and giving you weekly updates of my progress. I love this pattern as it is so shouldn’t need to make many alterations but the obvious change I will make is an allowance for my bump. I’ll be digging out my sketchbook and pencils to jot down some possible changes and if you promise to not laugh at my terrible drawing I shall show you next week along with a few fabric choices and you can help me make a decision.

So much news from Paris! Looks from the City of Light will keep us busy unto eternity, or at the very least well until November. For the moment, though, let us now train our eyes on the single most galvanizing collection by any designer, anywhere, at any time in the recent past: Balenciaga.

Several key seasonal trends were distilled in designer Nicolas Ghesquiere’s Spring/Summer show for the label, notably vivid prints, the nipped waist and sculptured shoulders and hips. But what was remarkable about Balenciaga was the way Ghesquiere’s synthesis of those trends came off looking less like a dispatch from the near advance (next season) than a dispatch from the distant future.

Exit after exit saw models swathed in hoary floral prints, many of them taken from the Balenciaga archives, some blown out into a lushness almost blinding. Everything was short, extremely so, concentrating the prints’ power and highlighting Ghesquiere’s masterful use of couture techniques of tailoring and construction. Color and pattern were classicist, yet silhouettes were space-age; indeed, the collection had a whiff of sci-fi costume design about it, with its emphasis on uniform dressing. More contrast derived from the toughness of the shapes on which those unabashedly pretty-pretty prints were blazed, a toughness underscored by Ghesquiere’s dominatrix-worthy gladiator boots. The smallish collection played so many notes at once, in each of its looks, that it effectively negated the usual terms of critique; trying to make out whether the collection was “elegant,” or “sexy,” or “young,” for example, was as much a dead-end as it must have been for critics raised on Beethoven trying to make sense of the first twelve-tone symphony.

Likewise, for Balenciaga a new language must be invented. The collection won’t nullify the styled, mix and match ethos of fashion as its been, but it argues in favor of a totally new idea of dress - one, it must be noted, that hearkens back to very old ideas of dress, ones that stretch back as far as Marie Antoinette and that are epitomized in the “total look” of ‘50s couture. In light of Spring/Summer ‘08, Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter ’07 show, so hyper-styled, so eccentrically-mixed and matched, seems ever more like a comment on fashion now, Ghesquiere taking a snapshot of a fashion moment he was about to render obsolete.

Where are you from and/or where do you live?

I'm originally from New York, but have moved around quite a bit and currently live in Aachen, Germany. I can walk to Belgium and the Netherlands in half an hour from my apartment!

What was the 1st thing you made? How did you start sewing?

I started sewing dresses for my Licca doll at the age of about 6 (sound familiar?). My mother dressed me in the ugly hand-me-downs of a very frumpy family friend and the other kids made fun of my clothes :) I lived vicariously through my dolls by constantly making ball gowns for them. Since then I've mostly sewn craft projects and occasionally clothing that almost always looked homemade and didn't fit well because I'm so short and skinny. I only started sewing clothing "for real" a few months ago, when I met my friend Johanna who makes beautiful, stylish clothing for herself. She showed me her clothes and introduced me to Burda Modemagazin (aka. Burda WoF), and I decided it was time to learn to sew using proper techniques and methods.

What role does sewing play in your life?

To be perfectly honest, in addition to being a fun and addictive hobby, sewing pads my ego and my vanity. Regardless of whether I'm sewing for myself or others, when something turns out well, it makes me feel like I am AWESOME (I hope everyone feels that way when they make something nice.) And it allows me to treat myself to luxurious, well-fitting clothing while feeling productive rather than guilty- you don't get that from shopping for velvet coats at the mall :)

What is your favorite and what is your least favorite thing about sewing?

I like most aspects of sewing, but I especially appreciate the stage in sewing a garment when it starts to bear a real resemblance to the thing I designed in my imagination. That first glimpse of the object I'd previously seen only in my head is very satisfying. My least favorite thing is laying out the pattern pieces and cutting the fabric. I don't know why it annoys me so much. Maybe I'd like it better if I had a rotary cutter. Or someone to do the cutting for me :)

If you could make something for anyone who would it be and what would you make?

I love seeing my family and friends wearing things that I've made for them, but if we're talking about fantasy, I'd want to make ornate tutus for the New York City Ballet in the luxurious and uncompromising style of the legendary costume designer Karinska.

What are you looking for on our site? What do you think should be improved and what do you really like?

I troll the creations for inspiration - I get so many ideas for things I want to make by seeing the fantastical designs from ParaNoire, the elegant, wearable pieces from Jj and Lilo, the playful and trendy designs from Myk, and so many other talented and creative hobbyists. I always see a detail or a line or a color in people's creations that I want to steal to use in my own sewing, and that I would never have thought of myself. I know you can't judge people by the way they dress, but I also feel like I get to know and appreciate the other community members in a way by seeing the products of their imagination and what they have to say about them, so that is a nice unexpected bonus. And although I have not yet had the chance to make a BurdaStyle pattern, I also love the philosophy of BurdaStyle; what a resource to have such stylish and wearable patterns available to anyone- I download all the instruction PDFs and imagine how I'd make them if only I had more time! What should be improved? I don't know... you could all drop by my profile page and post a hello—I think I'd like that :)

What is your motto?

My sewing philosophy is that if I'm going to expend the time, effort and resources to make something, it should either be something spectacular and uncompromising, or a huge blazing failure (preferably the former, as the latter is expensive and wasteful). I know I should make practical, pretty things, but I never have an urge to sew a cute cotton tank top as a quick afternoon project even though I'm sure I'd use it a lot!

If you want to learn more about Elainemay, check out her beautiful member profile

The beloved heroine Alice tumbles out of the Rabbit-Hole and into the magical and engrossing world of “Nine-to-Five” work. “Curiouser and curiouser,” she thinks to herself, her attention drawn to the rabbits rushing past her, exclaiming “Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting” as they pile through the turnstiles and jump aboard the trains towards the big city! Alice prepares for her first day working, perhaps for a publishing company that prints books with only pictures, or as a personal assistant to a queen who has more irrational dislikes than the devil that wears Prada. Either way, before Alice can start working, she’s in need of a new wardrobe, and BurdaStyle members are the designers she’s been looking for!

We are looking for a total of 14 garments inspired by the theme of Alice in Workingland. What do you think she would wear- and better yet, what do think everyone else in Workingland would wear? We are accepting contributions to our Women’s Trend collection, a new Menswear collection, and a much-demanded Women’s Plus Size collection! There are two collection periods, each with 2 deadlines. The first is quickly approaching, and the second is towards the end of the year. You can submit your idea either as an illustration only, or an illustration with a pattern and muslin, and we will feature you and your design on the site as part of our collection! (Here’s a hint- designs submitted with patterns are especially smiled upon!) Think about how great it will feel to know that a pattern designed by you is being downloaded and sewn by thousands of people around the world! You’ll be grinning bigger than the Cheshire Cat. . .

For more information, rules, and registration form, Click here

Has this ever happened to you? You're invited to a party at the last minute. Of course, the inviter intended to call you ahead of time, but they simply forgot. Or perhaps you entirely forgot about the party- you're a very busy person. . . Maybe you and your friends just decided to celebrate the arrival of fall or the end of the work week. Either way, you have found yourself in the same situation many of us find ourselves in every now and then, and sometimes more often than we'd like to admit. You have nothing to wear. Well, instead of making a rushed shopping trip on your way home from work, which, you will inevitably regret, find some of that fabric you've been stashing and make this Quick, easy, and perfect Party Skirt! It takes less than 2 yards or 1.5 meters, and about the same amount of hours. You will not only feel better about not making a splurge purchase, but you will find yourself immediately grinning and full of the desire to twirl and perhaps even frolic! I made it out of a vintage fabric my friends mother had been holding on to from the 70's, which she so kindly donated to me, along with 2 trash bags full of other delights. It actually looks a bit like Alice in Wonderland's skirt, but, what can I say- we've all had the new Alice in Workingland Design Call on our minds the past few days. Anyway, to get yourself warmed up for your design contribution, follow the easy instructions found here and let the twirling begin!

Thanks for the welcome back, it’s wonderful what a mini break can do for you. I’ve spent this week working out how to alter the Shari dress pattern to fit my rapidly growing bump, my idea (as you can see in the image above) is to join the waistband pieces to the skirt pieces then split the front skirt piece in two and move apart at the hem. I would also extend the front hem downwards to allow for my bump lifting it. What do you think? Would this work or do you have any other suggestions?

I’ve also been playing around with colours and fabrics trying to decide which to use for my Shari dress. I was going to do some drawings but decided to spare you (and myself the humiliation) and instead I copied the drawing from the instruction. I simply used colour pencils to fill them in finding inspiration in my fabric stash. Since I won’t be having the waistband this means I can’t have a contrasting fabric there. Instead I plan to use Benedikta’s wonderful ‘make your own piping’ how to and will have the piping covered in a contrasting fabric, the results will be more subtle but just enough to give the dress that little something extra. I have narrowed it down to four fabric choices from my stash with contrasting fabric for the piping. This is where I need your help, you can see my choices above, the main dress fabric is to the right and the contrasting fabric to the left. Let me know your favourite in the comments, 1, 2, 3 or 4.

We had a two favourites to be the next sew-along pattern, DDesira and Shari and since I’m making Shari already I decided it would be a good choice. We’ll spend the next 3 weeks making this dress. Head on over to the new thread I’ve started and let us know what your plans are, your fabric choices, any alterations you may make and ask any questions you may have. I will be doing a post later this week about our last sew-along, the Janina pants. I may contact a few of you to ask some questions and will post photos of your finished work here on the blog. If you haven’t yet uploaded your photos in the forum, creations section or on your home page please do so in the next day or two, thanks.

I’m still working on the bump for Betty and hope to have it made by the end of the week so I can start sewing.

There are really only two responses to the edict pink is back. One goes something like, “Back? When was it ever out?” Girls in kindergarten, Southern debs, Legally Blonde heroine Elle Woods and women obsessed with making themselves into facsimiles of Barbie, via aggressive plastic surgery - that’s one faction. The alternative reply, usually accompanied by a grimace and a mental referencing of much believed-to-be-forgotten feminist theory, tends to come out a long, guttural sound much like: Uggghhh.

Well girls, pink is back. John Galliano’s 60th anniversary collection for Dior last season threw up the first major flares of a Pepto revival, as the designer did a victory lap around the storied house’s ultra-femme, ultra-soigne past. Then Gucci’s rockabilly-themed resort show added fire to the flame, and Frida Giannini’s Spring/Summer show for the line made it official - again, and again, and again. (Methinks Ms. Giannini has been watching a bit much Grease. Also: Grease II.) Truly, her retro-themed paeans to pink proved some of the season’s more ill-conceived looks, and there’d be nothing to reinforce the trend if not for Alexander McQueen.

McQueen’s Spring/Summer show was one of the season’s standouts, an education for less disciplined and original designers in how to use a personal design idiom to make vintage ideas new. Dedicated to the memory of his mentor and muse, Isabella Blow, McQueen’s show took numerous key trends and pushed them through the keyhole of his own dark, Hitchcockian imagination. One of those key trends was the color pink. If you never thought that cotillion staple, the strapless pink dress, could ever look edgy, look again at McQueen’s floor-length version, with its subtle ombre and gothic blackbird print. It’s a lesson for all of us in the lost art of deviance: In order to be subversive, there must first be something to subvert. Enter pink.