Found Treasure!

There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life

when he has a raging desire to go somewhere

and dig for hidden treasures.

~ Mark Twain

I zipped down to Mexico over the weekend and spent 2.5 days visiting with Ana.  During that time, we browsed at a flea market that included a huge stall full of old magazines.  Imagine my joy at finding a handful of sewing pattern magazines!  It was like uncovering an unexpected, hidden treasure!

I purchased 8 of them, at $2.50 each!  

Here are some images from 4 of them, for your enjoyment.  :)

This first one may be a Spanish translation of the German sewing pattern magazine - it appears to have been published in March, 1987.

How awesome is that beret!  Not to mention the creative application of suspenders...  ;)

Next up, Moldes. This issue appears to be from 1997.  (I was surprised by how difficult it was to find publication dates on many of the magazines.  The cover of this one, for example, only says "Year 1, No. 6.")

I thought it was kind of odd that the word WEDDINGS ("BODAS") appeared over a woman wearing a black dress.  But the actual wedding dresses shown in the magazine were in the more traditional white.  

While the magazines I found are like today's Burda World of Fashion sewing pattern magazines in many ways, there are some interesting differences.  For example, in many of these magazines, there is not a sketch of the garment on the same page as the photograph of the model in the garment.  

And check out these poses!  Seriously!?!?   

They do have the standard, abbreviated "instructions"

...and the insane, overlapping sewing pattern sheets to be traced:  

However, some of them threw in some extras for their readers - like the horoscope!  :)

Here is another brand - Moda & Confeccion.  I swear, I searched inside and out, but could not find a publication date anywhere.  The cover only says "Year 1, No. 01."  

This magazine included a few outfits for children; check out this adorable little girl:    

How about this ruffled skirt?  The description includes the phrases "rural ambiance," "aristocratic" and "always in fashion."  Yup, that pretty much sums up my feelings about this outfit too...  ;)

Here's a sample instruction page, including one of the little girl's dresses:  

While all the other magazines I picked up were in Spanish, there was one in German (despite the Spanish on the cover), and it appears to have been published in 1992.

Look at the jacket on the front cover model - yikes, it seems so unflattering on a female form to me...

It is obvious that this magazine was not published in the U.S. - check out this advertisement!

In addition to sewing patterns, this German publication includes hair styles,

recipes,

and even a crossword puzzle!

It has been so delightful to browse through these magazines!  I'll share some images from the other four magazines (with more focus on the styles themselves) and some photos I took during my visit on another day...  :)