Fitting for a shape other than a post-apocalyptic waif (I need to abbreviate that, my spelling head is esplodin' - PAW!!!), takes on some challenges, but they are not insurmountable, no matter what society and media tell us. We are all shaped differently and that's just the way of the world. For heavens sakes, the sun doesn't even rise or set in the same place every day - you think our bodies might change a little - ya think?!
OK, enuf of that, back to our shapes and what we can do with them. I loved Juliet's link from the last blog and that Judi Dench bought a lot of her clothes from the store she linked to. Below is an example of one of their things.
And although I don't like to dis period, I like to emphasize the positive, this is not positive. This is the sort of thing that I try work against. And I know a lot of people out there feel this is all that's available to them.
But it's not.
For one thing, what the garment is trying to do is cover a large area one place while drooping over a smaller area. With fitting techniques, and some very basic ones, a garment can be fitted for this shape.
It has always been confusing to me why men could find clothes in their sizes, like these, but somehow women can't or they just aren't available.
If a suit can be designed to fit Michael Oher......and....
if one can be design to fit Gianfranco Ferre?.....then why not women?
Well, it can. It does take some learning of techniques, but it can be done.
Most of all that "cover it all" or "cover up" look really doesn't do anything other than just accentuate an already large area.
There were some things that Dame Judi was wearing that did have draping to it and did have some style and line to it. Those were the things I just adored. They were close to her body. They were either tapered or slightly gathered or were not waving about. For a figure like Dame Judi's you have to be careful of the side.
See now we can see her sides?...well, maybe we can't see all of them but see how her side comes in under her elbow there? That's enough to give the hint of a figure...a shape...that's what we're looking for. The contrasting scarf also adds length.
OK - I worked with this a little and see the difference. I took that scarf thing on her left side that was hanging straight down off, and believe me, I gave her a generous waist and even at that, she looks so much better. See how just at the midriff (above the waist) area, it's contained. It's non-cluttered; it's clean - no gathers, no draping, no extra fabric. That's what does it. On the right is the original and even though there's not a lot of gathers, it's that scarf thing hanging down that makes her look way bigger than she is.
That's why I'm not a fan of those big, cover-it-all, coverups that are gather-y around an area that we need to keep clean and contained. Basically I'm talking about a full-chested/busted area, with smaller shoulders.
And I'm certainly not talking about when you're at home and want to be comfy - be comfy or if you're out running a quick errand. But if you want to look nice, professional, together, official, and all that, keep that midriff contained - it does wonders.
And what's my favorite method of doing that - the side bust dart! It's magical.
How dated! Really good posts. I hope that you will keep them coming with other body types. It is so hard in this youth oriented culture to find great clothing as we age. Of course those of us who sew have a major advantage, but we still have to understand how to dress for the bodies we have. I actually liked today's Burda Style post on how to get dressed up. Some reminded me of what you picked for me and others are very definitely the kind of simple elegance with an edge that I like.
Posted by: Nancy K | February 15, 2011 at 08:11 PM
Excellent point, Claire. I love how you changed her. I know personally that if I fit close in that midriff/ waist area it makes a huge difference. Took me a long long time to figure that out. It also took a while to give myself permission to change the look of the pattern. There was a time when I thought changing the look of a pattern, not for just fit, was something you just weren't supposed to do. If a change was needed, a different pattern was needed. Not anymore. I cut and snip to my heart's content now.
Posted by: Bunny | February 16, 2011 at 06:06 AM
These posts have been very interesting, Claire. However, I think if you were to ask the celebrity professional athletes and certainly someone with the resources of a Gianfranco Ferre, you will find that those gentlemen have their suits custom made.
Probably a lot of non-celebrity professional athletes must have their suits custom made as well. IOW, there's no off-the-rack fit suited to their developed body types.
Posted by: BetsyV | February 16, 2011 at 06:54 AM
@Bunny - it's so freeing and empowering to know you can design and make changes that you really want. Not only can you make it fit, but you can make the pattern look good with just a few tweaks here and there. It's very freeing.
Posted by: ClaireOKC | February 16, 2011 at 08:05 AM
@BetsyV - It does sound like I'm a little heavy on Dame Judi Dench, and I sure don't mean that. She has a great figure and actually I find it a normal figure, but that doesn't mean that it can't be tweaked. In working 30 years with my clients, I've never run across a one who didn't want to look great if not better than how she looked. Granted that's why they came to my studio, and maybe that's a little one-sided because of that. And it's my job to make them look great, and I do it well.
Usuing Dame Dench is not by any means meant to dis her, it's meant to show a person of notoriety who is regularly shaped who has problems fitting and how those problems can be solved. It is merely that.
Personally I admire how the Brits seem to adore and have a plethora of regularly shaped actresses that the love to feature in their TV and moves and theater. I find it really refreshing...like 007's M, I wouldn't want to mess with M!
Posted by: ClaireOKC | February 16, 2011 at 08:34 AM
Very interesting posts Claire, keep them coming.
And you new website looks just beautiful. I like the gallery. It is easy to view the photos, which made me linger there a little longer than I had time for this morning :)
Posted by: Robin | February 22, 2011 at 06:42 AM