Since I purchase the BS magazine every month, I'm questioning why I need to continue my subscription to Burda Plus? For someone who doesn't sew from the BS magazine every month, I have to admit that I love this pattern magazine. It is so fashionable with such great details included in the clothing...even the plus size garments are fashion forward and trendy.
So why do I need the recycled patterns twice a year? It would help if they made them up in different fabrics and photographed them in different settings (like the Big 4 do) but noooooo....they use the exact same photos from the monthly BS. (Okay, I'm getting quite a thrill out of calling it BS...childish I know! *chuckle, chuckle*) I've also got serious issues with the fact that they did away with the English version of the Burda site for that new anomoly! And please don't tell me that the present site has anything to do with the Burda site of old...that, however, is a "discussion" for another time.
Right now, I'm trying to figure out what to do. Do you want to know what my real quandry is? I'm afraid I will miss something. Yeap that's it in a nutshell. What if they go back to their old ways and print an amazing fall issue with some awesome fat girl clothes...and I miss it! 'Cause it's dayum near impossible to find a Burda Plus on the newsstands and GLP always seems to run out of the good issues with a quickness!
I have to decide soon...the issue pictured above is the last one of my subscription. I just don't know whether to Burda Plus or not...*sigh*
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On another note, have you noticed that there is no sewing going on around here! Nuthin' at all in the last few posts about actual sewing...hopefully I will fix that this weekend...hopefully...
....more later!
Hmmm, seems like the value is lessening. I bet if you decide not to subscribe, someone out here in blogland will let you know if you're missing out on something fabulous.
ReplyDeleteHow much is it worth to you? My subscription cost $10 for the two issues. Seems like it's worth it not to miss anything. On the other hand, you can always resubscribe if they do change.
ReplyDeleteI just subscribed to Burda Plus because I'm not ready to take the financial plunge and subscribe to Burda proper. They probably make the separate subscription available to rope in people like me.
ReplyDeletemmm I wonder if they are trying to kill it off all together and if that is so YOU will have been complicit in the killing!!!!!!OMG( if you dont renew your sub)
ReplyDeleteSeriously I agree with Kimberly . Just go without a coffee at work or something and that should cover it Not only that if they Do kill it off you will have collectors items which will become worth a fortune and you will be able to retire on the proceeds of the and sale and sew your way into your twilight years . Go on renew your sub , you know you want to !!!
Ha, funny! I was raving about Burda's strange ways of squeezing out even more money without actually doing something for it on my Blog only yesterday, regarding the patterns they sell for download:
ReplyDeletehttp://couturetteinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/burdastyle-i-just-dont-get-it/
They have been using the same pattern 3 or 4 times within the same magazine for years, pretending that different fabric also means a different model, but I have the feeling that they are going more and more overboard with this. The subscription to the PLUS magazine will make sense if you haven't already subscribed to the regular mag, but then again, you have to wait for quite some time for the plus patterns after the regular magazine comes out.
I know exactly what you mean about fear of missing out. I can buy BS here easily - in French - and sometimes I pick it up and put it down without buying it because nothing "speaks" to me. I should know better,because the few issues I have rejected have all turned out to have patterns that reviewers on PR rave about. When I realise my "mistake",can I obtain that issue? Of course not!And the reviews continue to taunt me!!!
ReplyDeleteSheila in Brussels
I think you should subscribe to Burda Plus and watch the new Burda Style website, where you can download individual patterns when you want them (whether regular or plus size). I think that would be most cost effective.
ReplyDeleteI have about 18 months worth of BWOF/BS magazines and I want to stop buying them for a while. I have a backlog of patterns in my queue.
You might miss something, but by the time you see that you have missed it, there will be something else on the horizon - fashion moves so quickly. Really, at this point all you have to think about is how much joy is it giving you? If the joy has become Mehh, then maybe its time for a break.
ReplyDeleteI don't miss my bs subscription at all. Sent from my new iphone on the train.
ReplyDeleteI renewed my subscription, with much hesitation. One reason I hesitated - the issues you mentioned. Another reason is I'm working on getting my size down to the "normal" sizes, and really hope to be not needing the plus sizes soon. I finally did renew because there is nowhere here that carries it. Even finding the regular issue is difficult. Another (tiny) reason was to show support for such a magazine, and also I figure if I subscribe, I can complain more. I'm hoping another complaint from a subscriber carries more weight than a complaint from a non-subscriber. As for the cost, on a cost/pattern it sounds a lot more reasonable. I have boxes of patterns I've bought on sale and never made, so I don't see how much different this magazine is.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that most of BS Plus was from the regular BS! I subscribe to BS Plus, and love the styling etc, but like many, hate the tracing.
ReplyDeleteDo they put all the plus size patterns from the regular BS monthlies in the bi-annual Plus one? Maybe I should switch to the regular magazine next time my subscription ends!
Thank you I want to thank you for all the work you put into this blog. I enjoy it everytime I come here. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us and thank you for recommending other blogs. Thank you for being an inspiration!!!
ReplyDeleteDottie
You know, I got to agree with you. The Fall BPlus, I thought that was strange, I felt I'd seen those photos before. And then realized I had. But I was hoping it was an anomaly.
ReplyDeleteThen got the spring/summer and the same thing again. Very disappointed. As you said, they don't even redo the photos.
I have half decided to give it up, but I still have the fall issue in my subscription. If it is the same for the third time (which trends would indicate) I may not leap to the renewal.
I'm also thinking about mailing Burda and expressing my displeasure. Maybe we all need to do so.
I just stopped buying MS Living for more or less the same reason. I was only buying it because I was afraid I'd miss something if I didn't. I get a pang of that every now and then but after several months I hardly miss it anymore. I hardly have time to read it anyway.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it would boil down to this: Can you afford to continue to buy this magazine in the hope that Maybe, Just Maybe, they will give you something wonderful? Or would your money be better spent on something else? I might just let the subscription lapse, and see if you find yourself jittery in 6 months when the next issue doesn't come in. If you don't notice that it's missing, then you didn't really need it. And if they notice that you're missing, maybe they'll send you a renewal at a discounted rate.
ReplyDeleteThey did a few in different fabrics and that gathered front top without sleeves. BFD. I didn't renew.
ReplyDeleteI understand your quandary. I'm thinking about whether I renew my sub to "normal" BS. 2010 was a dud year - not one "must have" issue, yet I worry that if I cancel they might actually get their act together and publish an issue with patterns I want to make. Sigh. I reckon the plus size patterns have maintained a good standard though.
ReplyDeleteI only buy the plus size Burda's so it isn't a problem...I'm still on the fence about subscribing to the "regular" BWOF because of the shrinking of the pattern pages and increased cost. For me, as slow as I am, there are enough items to sew from the most recent plus size issues to keep me busy for awhile..
ReplyDeleteI had exactly the same discussion with myself. I decided to give up my regular BS subscription and keep the Plus one. I can buy individual issues of BS more easily that the Plus, so it made sense to me. I'll probably drop this too when my renewal comes. I totally unimpressed with BS (how appropriate) and can't really be bothered with them.
ReplyDeleteI now subscripe to Knipmode instead.
I say keep it for two reasons. One, it's nice to support the sewing community as a whole when possible. Second, you really might miss something.
ReplyDeleteI see people make things up from Burda patterns that I never noticed before. This week I found out I had to go to a 60s them party. Where did I turn? A three year old issue of Burda with a re-issued 1958 pattern.
Yes, they are not like they used to be. And, I have avoided tracing from the latest editions with the smaller sheets. But, I'll get used to it. Just like I got used to tracing patterns period!
I feel exactly the same way. At $10 an issue, we're getting four or five "non-repeats". It's still a bargain, albeit not as big a bargain.
ReplyDeleteI subscribe to both BS and BS Plus. I will not be renewing my subscription to the plus mag, for those reasons exactly. The Fall magazine actually had an advertisement for their "next" magazine in fall 2011. I think that there was such an outcry over that that they decided to "recycle" all those patterns. I did have to check, and they only did one or two "new" patterns, which were mostly variations on, or simply grading up the BS patterns from the last year. So not worth the money in my opinion. Even if it is "only" $10.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed when Burda Plus when to bi-annual instead of quarterly. But for a $20 subscription, I'm fine with continuing it.
ReplyDelete