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Book Review – I Love Tops

July 1, 2013

So we started the trip with 1 suitcase but came back with – 2 boxes, 2 duffels, and the original suitcase of course. The exchange rate was just too tempting! Before I left, I told myself not to buy too many books as I’m already running out of space at home. I really controlled myself but it was really hard to choose as there are so many new releases perfect for the summer season. This is one of them that made the cut – I Love Tops by Yuko Takada.

Guess what the book is about?

Yes! All tops 🙂 Lol… 15 Styles in all. And from the cover you can tell that the publishers had a hard time choosing which “top” to place on the cover so they decided to go with 6 tops instead. Which in my opinion, is a great idea, because the cover instantly caught my eye.

At the bottom of the contents page there is a quick visual summary of all the tops included.

Here are some of my favourites…

Half sleeve peplum (knit)

Circle Sleeve Tank

Square drape cardigan (knit)

Drop shoulder blouse dress – this is a variation of the Drop shoulder blouse top which I didn’t show here because I thought the dress was more interesting!

Bell sleeve blouse

Drop shoulder long tunic (knit) – can also be called a dress I guess.

Back gather jacket. Very interesting curved design detail on the front bottom edge.

and gathers around the back waist for a nice fitted look.

Circle sleeve short blouse. I’m personally not too fond of the matching pants, but the top is pretty cute!

And oooh… my favourite. The yoke is made of satin and the see through panels are made of silk chiffon with pleats. The fabric looks like it has glitter or some kind of sparkle/dots on it. So pretty!

Here’s the size chart (units in cm). The sizes included are S, M, ML and L. On the left column of the chart, the terms are
サイズ = Size
身長  = Height
ウェスト = Waist
ヒップ = Hip

Point to note : These are bare body measurements and not garment measurements.

As for the how-to-make section, unfortunately, there are no step by step photographs. The instructions are pretty standard with most Japanese Sewing Books, like the following example.

Closeup look at the instructions. The steps are given in point form but do note that not all the steps have corresponding diagrams. Especially for simple steps like sewing shoulder seams/side seams/hemming etc. There are briefly mentioned in the steps but not actually shown in a diagram. So some translating might be necessary here.

There is also a main garment diagram with front and back views, showing the steps as listed in the procedure.

A close up of the cutting diagram

Another close up example of a detailed diagram.

A little bit about the author/designer – Yuko Takada who is a fashion designer who graduated from Bunka Fashion College. She has her own line of clothing TAGE. You can check out her latest fashion collection here. Now you know why all the designs and photographs look like they came off a fashion shoot! 🙂

The book includes 2 actual size pattern sheets.

Title : I Love Tops
Author : Yuko Takada
ISBN No. : 978-4-579-11446-7
Publisher : http://books.bunka.ac.jp/

More book reviews of recent releases coming next week! Stay tuned!

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8 Comments

  • Reply janet lee July 2, 2013 at 12:24 am

    thank you for your review! I definitely want to buy this book. The different silhouettes and fabrics are so interesting! Unfortunately it is on back order at my seller so I have to be patient! :p

  • Reply Tara July 2, 2013 at 12:47 am

    Thanks for the wonderful review! This book is so cute and the patterns are very different from the ones I currently own. I may have to add this to my wishlist…

  • Reply Betty Jordan Wester July 2, 2013 at 12:47 am

    These are gorgeous. I’m going to try to get over to my local Kinokuniya and see if they have it!

  • Reply Beverly Greve July 2, 2013 at 11:43 am

    This is an amazing book. Thanks for sharing. I love the top that had the pants that weren’t so wonderful!

  • Reply Tasha July 3, 2013 at 12:34 am

    I SO want this book! Unfortunately I don’t fit into the size chart. For shame! I suppose I could grade up, but it would be so much easier if I didn’t have to!

  • Reply Natalie July 3, 2013 at 8:19 pm

    Thanks for the terrific review. Lots of cute tops…this book is now on my wish list!

  • Reply Poll – Sew Along for April 2014 » Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics March 31, 2014 at 9:13 am

    […] O : Sleeveless Flare Blouse from I Love Tops (in Japanese) pg […]

  • Reply Book Review – She Wears the Pants (Now in English) » Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics March 11, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    […] Takada is also the author for I love Tops  (click to see my review on the Japanese book) and I love Pants. She is an award winning designer […]

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