Review: Altered Couture showcases altered clothing. Verdict: buy a book of techniques instead

Altered Couture seems like just my kind of magazine. It is devoted to altering clothing and accessories. There are only two issues so far and I’ve bought both of them.

Unfortunately, in all 160 pages of either issue, there is only one thing (maybe two) that I would actually wear. And so I flip pages and flip pages and wonder if this kind of thing is why altered clothing doesn’t get any respect.

Because Altered Couture is more of a showcase of reader efforts, there is not a lot of page space devoted to technique. Now, I know this is a magazine and not a how-to book, but if you are going to tell people how to do things the instructions need to be clear. The instructions in each project presented seem to have suffered from over-enthusiastic editing for space. It’s often more difficult to figure out the instructions than it is to figure out the project on your own.

I hate to be so harsh – especially because I really like Stampington & Co’s other publications. And to be totally fair, the few items that are great are really GREAT. But, given the magazine’s US$15 price tag, I think I will invest my money in a how-to book instead.

Marianne Kirby

Darcy, I appreciate your comment. My issue with the magazine, more even than the projects being unappealing, is that the instructions are not clear. As I said, they seem to have suffered in the interest of creating more space for visuals. I think there needs to be a better balance if this magazine is going to be a truly useful resource. I've reviewed a FAR more helpful book here: http://www.craftycrafty.tv/2007/06/wednesday_wearables_new_from_o_1.html

Darcy Fowkes

Altered Couture, by nature, is far from mainstream couture as it represents niche design styles of individual artists. I too was surprised by how few pieces in the magazine appealed to me. But I do not believe that is the point of the magazine; the magazine presents a diversity of techniques to illustrate what is possible. Altered Couture starts in your own closet, so if you liked it enough to buy it in the first place, there is a high probability you will like it again after it has been altered. The 'how to' next steps of this design movement are still in their infant stages.

Nichola

I saw this mag here in Australia and after flicking through it in the store i put it back. Not good enough for me to part with my hard eared cash unfortunately and it's more expensive here.