Reply #237: you beat me to it

[Retrograde]

Actually, I kinda like the concept of Laura's dress. It's got a retroish Joan Crawford power trip look to it, and could look good on a mature woman with a mature woman's figure, such as her mother-in-law. Or me (although I don't particularly care for that color, though).

"Typically they look like a badly sewn Butterick pattern."
I'd say Simplicity - Butterick's only a step down from Vogue. Laura's clothes all have that "loving hands at home" aspect. And they fit badly - look at the wrinkles in the close-up. As someone who's done a lot of sewing and even some tailoring, I know it's possible to make a simple pattern look absolutely stunning, IF one cares to. The right fabric (or maybe they're all made out of kevlar??, the right underpinnings and multiple fittings and adjustments are what it takes. BTW, well over a hundred years ago the great Parisian houses started making body forms for each of their clients so they could check the fit as they went - or maybe that notion is just too French.

Or maybe her designers just hate her. I've long suspected that photographers all hate her husband - how else do you explain all those unflattering shots?