Remember this “vintage Goddess dress” pattern I bought a few days ago? It arrived yesterday in all of it’s fabulousness!
Hehe, look what I then found when I was tidying up my sewing room:
Well, you know, I guess I like what I like! I vaguely remember buying this a few years ago. It is copyright 1974, the other is 1976. At first glance they appear identical but there are some minor differences:
*Simplicity 7805 has a raglan sleeve in the front vs. McCall’s 4288’s set-in sleeve
*Simplicity 7805’s tie buttons or hooks at the center back vs. being tied in the McCall’s pattern
*The sleeves are different
I can see making them both so they’re both staying! As an aside, notice the price difference. In 1974, the McCall’s cost $1.25. In 1976, the Simplicity cost $1.75. I remember when I first started sewing Vogue designer patterns started around $5.00 – I thought that was a small fortune (I could drive to school for a week on $5 worth of gas!) but I bought them anyway.
Gigi Sews 
Interesting post! I always had the impression that McCall’s was a little quicker to adapt fashion trends than Simplicity (and the dates on these patterns supports that theory). The style differences are interesting too – the Simplicity is more disco (and in my opinion less dated and more wearable today). But the McCall’s is way cute and totally appeals to my inner teenage self.
I remember when they were 75cents!
Remember the rules: the phone doesn’t ring until the sandwich is in your mouth, you don’t need something until the day after you throw it away, and you won’t find that item you bought, that you knew you would eventually need, until after you have replaced it!
Murphy was my great grandmother- really.
The sleeve/strap connection is really quite different on each. The mccalls has the look of a sweetheart neck.
Have fun!
Mary
I’ll have to post my new pattern with the cross over front. It’s quite different from yours–it’s a 1990 version so it’s cross over on steriods!
I also just located a late 90’s version also. Again, different from yours but also an interesting how styles changed in 9 years.
My mom gave me that McCalls pattern when she was cleaning out her pattern collection. I’ve always loved the look of that dress I just haven’t done anything with it yet!
Hey, I posted scans of the crossover patterns I’ve got. These are bookending the 1990s. Interesting how the same elements keep getting reinterpreted.