Claire Kennedy Design

Aaaaah - the Oscars

The last decade or so, I've not been really interested in this, but with fashion this spring taking a noticeable turn for the better (prettier things are coming out), I really was excited about seeing what was on the red carpet and there was a lot of good stuff - always some bad stuff, but no Bjorn's Swan Dress or other oddities...really mostly nice stuff....

 

So here goes...my favs

This has been so much fun to watch this lady and her dresses during the award season...she's just had on one beautiful dress after another.  Dressing some of my preggie ladies for formal wear, one of the things I like to do is exaggerate is their bustline...they usually have ample busts and it's a fun time to flaunt them.  I love to see this style on a pregnant lady.

NOTE:  See how the dress comes in under her bust?  This does two things.  It accentuates her bust (makes it even look more voluptuous), and it gives the illusion of a waist, albeit only on the side, but it's a nice visual trick that works well with this dress. 

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This lady never fails to wear something really elegant and that shows off her great figure.  She's not afraid of her voluptuous figure and likes to show it off.  She likes those 3/4 sleeves and they look great on her.

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Haley is a favorite of the red carpet and this sort of dress shows why.  Great figure, great lines on the dress and lots of high drama with the skirts and ruffles and tulle - so girlie girl.  Great color for Halley and wonderful over all silhouette for her - shows off her great figure and yet has lots of fullness and drama around the hem and train.

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I wasn't so much of a fan of black dresses this year, but loved this dress of Reese's.  It's beyond classic - it just reeks of sleekness dripping with wealth lines.

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Another gal who does a great job with her wardrobe is Annette Benning in this beautiful overlay with striped rhinestones.  Additionally the lines on this dress were very interesting.  Annette has a great figure so she doesn't need any help, but the lines on this dress were exceptionally artistic in that it accentuated her waist and made her look like she had a small waist.  She doesn't need this sort of artistic maneuvering, but it sure doesn't look bad on her either. 

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This lovely lady has lived up to her rep ever since she won her first Oscar, and she is becoming one of the gals to watch on the red carpet.  Halley Berry better watch out!

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Isn't Jennifer Hudson great in her new shape...and this is the reward - getting to wear a bright red dress that shows off her new figure.  Notice how the warm tone of her skin goes beautifully with the warm tone of this dress.  It really shows off her beauty.

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OK - this one is interesting.  In case you haven't done your colors and you have that ruddy complexion and red hair you should never...I repeat NEVER wear blue!  This is a hard and fast rule...unless you want to break the rules.  Like I've often said - once you know the rules, then you can break them.  The reason why this works is that there's a "twaing" or a rub with the combo of blue and that red hair, and it makes her look more striking than if she wore something that was closer to her color.  Only a true professional stylist could pull this off and make it work.  I'm not nuts about the turquoise jewelry, but the dress works.

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OK - now for some usual entries.....

Miss Blanchett knows better, but I think she probably wanted to wear something artsy, and for that, this fulfills the bill.  It shows off her waist which I like, but the bust is sort of lost in that circle, and the over flap over the shoulders is pretty arty, but it doesn't work for me.  I like to give the people who dress these starlets an extra edge, but somehow this one misses.  And I guess we've seen Kate Blanchett wear much more beautiful things.

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I thought this was interesting too - Joan Crawford would be green over those shoulder pads...are they coming back?  I adore the collar and the front slit - top and bottom.  I adore the silhouette hugging profile of the dress.  And the lace overlay on this dress is really elegant.

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Oh dear!  This doesn't work at all.  I think that Scarlett is just too light-colored for this sort of dress.  If she had really dark hair like Anne Hathaway, it would be one thing, but Scarlett's face and hair are all lost - where's Waldo Scarlett?

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I don't normally pick out wives of screenwriters...but this was too delicious to pass up.  Remember how I'm always talking about draping in an x where the x marks the waist...this is the classic example.  Mrs. Sorkin (or whoever this is), doesn't look like she has much of a figure problem, but she's wearing a classic "thinning" look.  Take note...if you do this it will make you look positively svelte!!!

 

Don't ask why - I just loved this dress...it's my favorite...maybe it's the layers of ruffly lacey thingies on the side with the chiffon hanging down in front and the discrete lace medallions on the inside of the lace around the bustline.  It's all so flaming couture.  And I loved the idea of a waist, a bust, a nice line around the decolletage, and she probably wears a nude slip under the skirt which makes it completely secure but looks like it's see-thru.

 

All it all, it was a hugely beautiful show - nothing really crazy, a few mistakes but really very minor and honest ones.  Everyone wanted to look pretty and they did.  What a change, and welcomed one at that, and The King's Speech won - loved that!

 

More girlie-girl stuff

OK - I'm not the ruffles and bows type - have never been; will never be...that's just me.  Although I realize some of my clients drink this stuff up and that's fine.

But I do love a sashay factor that goes off the meter.  Maybe cause I've done so much formal wear, one of the things I like to do the most is watch the girls move in their dresses...the swish and movement of the dress, even if it's in the stiffest zibeline needs to have a swish to it.

That's why I'm so excited to see so much sashay in the newer clothes.  And I have to wonder if all the spring London designers are gearing up for try-outs for Kate Middleton! 

Who cares...they look lovely - here's another London Designer, Julien Macdonald - I thought his descriptions were a little off, cause the fashions were really "ooo-la-la"!

My favorite one is the very first one (although they are all pretty dresses)

Yeah - I know it's not a very good picture...but keep you're eyes out at the first of the video - I thought it was fabulous (but then it's in my color too!)

I have to say that when I see things like this, it's not exactly what I'm looking for, but there's enough that it's worth a good study.  Why?  Cause it's got movement, creativity and the designer has worked out all the problems of locating the embellishments where they should be.  I'm not going to wear this nude (I know - no rare comments out there about visual barragement - even if they are true!), and I wouldn't wear it this tight to my body...but imagine doing something like this for a wonderful top over a fabulous camisole or teddy...it really makes the mind spin...or a skirt with all these streams of ruffles added to make it swish so beautifully.

Here's what I'm talking about.... (click this photo for a larger view)

I know the first thing you want to say is:

1. I would NEVER wear my dress that high
2. I would NEVER be seen in anything that lo cut.
3. I would never wear chiffon without underwear (and in my case - a lot of it to hide all the wrinkles!)

But there's a lot more to this dress than that.  And you sort of do have to look for it, but it's there. 

1. Look at the layers of chiffon...the over layer and the under layer
2. Look at the beautiful lace detail on the under layer piece
3. Look at the way the over layer piece splits in front
4. Look at the ruffled edge on the over layer center front split.
5. Look at how close he is to the body on the waist, midriff area
6. Look at how it flares out from the waist in a feminine flouncy, sashay type way.
7. Notice the print - not too big, not too tiny, and how it's space on the background.  It's soft, not intimidating and yet very feminine.

Those are some of the features that make this dress, and the designer has solved a lot of problems here...look how he's made that dress close at the waist and yet full below the waist, giving us the illusion of being thin - doing something featuring this over layer over another layer of chiffon (with the lace type trim at the top and a more modest bust line), under a darling classic teddy, would be really fun for spring/summer in a really wonderful updated way.

If you wanted to do a skirt...take the same line...I'd keep it contained at the waist (notice how the designer has featured the upper bodice, bust/waist area as contained?...that's his focus area - the skirt would need to have a "contained" area so it's not flying all about).  And then do two layers of chiffon over a rayon or silk under slip, with the over layer of chiffon split at the waist, ruffles down the split and sashaying all the way to heaven!!!!

I will be honest, for the first time in decades everything I'm seeing and maybe it's just me, is turning up more feminine and more beautiful and just plain pretty.  I love, love, love fashion like this and would adore doing something like this up for myself...it really inspires the heck out of me.

That's why good design and good designers are so worth our time and attention. For more of Julien Macdonald's collection click here.

Anyway, I enjoyed it and find it very refreshing.

 

 

Another post on Style and Shape

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.

 

Designing for the no waist figure

Continuing on a theme - how to dress for different figure types....and my rant crusade for acceptance of sane body shapes, here's the latest - about the waist.

 

For my star du jour this blog, I've chosen Dame Judith Dench. An English lady who we all probably first saw on "As Time Goes By" on PBS late at night - or at least that's where I saw here, and after that she seemed to pop up everywhere - "M" on 007 series (she's so fabulous there),  Most of these are from the red carpet, so they are clothes that either she picked out or were for her - not costumes from movies.

This is just OK - nothing special.  When a star walks out on the red carpet she should look great, and there are people to help her.  She's not going to the local market to pick up a liter of milk and caught off-guard by the paparazzi, she's dressed to the nines....just to show you that even people in the public make mistakes.

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This expression looks like she was caught by the papparizi, and she looks a lot better...Dame Judi looks fabulous in pants as we'll see.  They lengthen her. She must have legs to her bust or something because it works time and time again.

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I know light colors are fun to wear, but with no shape and the way light projects, it's just real dangerous and here's the reason why.  No shape, she looks like she's wearing a sequined gunny sack, and there are so many more things she can wear (and does) that really look smart.

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She must be smiling cause she looks so good. See what pants do for her.  But there's something else working here.  It's the tunic.  She has it open and a low-cut camisole under it.  The long lines of the tunic open and particularly how it hits her decolletage is very lengthening which helps her look much slimmer.  Also black recedes, white projects...she's not anything but a wall flower here - she looks stunning.

One of the many things I like about what she wears, is the detail.  All of her clothes seem to have great attention to details and detail ornamentation or effects.  Shows great care in her selection of clothes.

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Again with the long scarf, long tunic and pants...there's no Ms. Frumpy here...very smart looking, even though I wouldn't have picked green for her, she looks very smart and well put together.  Another feature of what makes this work is her rolled up sleeves.  She will frequently wear 3/4 length or rolled up sleeves.  This keeps the tunic (which is large to start with) from looking frumpy or over-bearing.

Try this sometime...you have a large jacket, tunic, top or whatever, and it's long-sleeved.  Now pull up the sleeves to just below the elbow or a little lower and you will be amazed at how much more sophisticated you'll look.  OK - so it's 12" of snow outside, obviously this won't work.  But when weather permitting, try it.  I will often get a couple of rubber bands to put at the cuff area and push my sleeves where I want them and the rubber bands are lost in the folds of the sleeve and keep the sleeve right where I want it.

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She does so well, and then boom - back to frumpy dress.  The shawl is just too much, where's her waist?...where's her beautiful, long legs?  Gone.

 

Oh yikes....no more light colored dresses.  Love the detail...it's beautiful...imagine how much better this would look 3/4 sleeve length, and if the tunic was shorter, and a little more shaped to her body.  She really doesn't have to look this shapeless.

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See - with her right color - trademark scarf, long tunic, and great pants and killer shoes...she's off.  Very well done.  Good color - lavender and it makes her look glowing.

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I just love her as "M" who you do NOT say noo to her - EVER - even with double 0's!

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Wow!  This has everything...starting from the top - the great feature around her neck and face to take away from the no-waist bod.  She's got sort of a lace trimmed tunic with a collar on it, and the whole effect around her neckline is terrific.

Then she's got on either large balloon type pants or a to-the-body skirt and this works on her.  It's probably chiffon and just falls straight which works.  Anything too full, and she's toast.

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But my favorite no-waist person is my far Princess Diana.  She was totally beautiful and she was NOT fat.  She worked out compulsively, but genetically she had no waist.  That's why this dress, even though it flows like a dream and I'm sure that's what she loved about it, looks really thick through the waist.  This would work great on Marilyn Monroe, but Diana just doesn't have the waist to do this.

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I think that Diana went through a "princess" phase soon after her marriage, and she wanted to try all those full and exotic gowns and thank heavens she got them out of her hair, but in the meantime, it was really hard to watch.

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And then she got it right.  She has no accentuation of the waist...accentuation is on her thin hips and tall, tall legs and she looks wow!!

 

For people who are dressing for a large bust or shoulders and no waist, the biggest thing to stay away from is that under arm droop.  Do not think that you have to get a size 142 to fit your bust or chest....it's your shoulder you want to fit, and then add that front bust dart...that front bust dart is the space you need not through the shoulder. 

Then keep your jacket, top, blouse uncluttered in the midriff area - that's around the waist and just above...don't let that get too full or too tight...shape it to your body and give yourself a little nip of a waist, but remember fit is NOT skin tight or the buttons popping off.

Consider too, doing a 3/4 length on the sleeve or push your sleeves up holding them with rubber bands or elastic in the cuff.  This is very effective and can go a long way toward adding to your length...it keeps the jacket  or top from looking too frumpy and just too much fabric on top.

A longer tunic with pants is a classic way to look long in length.  A floor length skirt works too, but it has to be close to the body, like chiffon or something with a very loose drape.

Dame Dench is queen of the scarves and things around her neck, and hopefully you can see how a contrasting color long scarf can really add length...and this can be something as simple as a piece of nice fabric that has been edged nicely and then wrapped around your neck...it isn't hard to make one of these things.

 

OK - hopefully that gives you lots of ideas for lengthening and stretching out a "no-waist" body style.

 

Snowing and snowing

And since I seem to have so many things to keep me from sewing...(Boo), this afternoon Gentlemen Prefer Blonds was on and I taped it.  I watched it and I taped it.  So much fun....

But it reminded me all over again how much I love those designs from those old '50's movies.

Here they are in the same dress...well, same design.  First we all know that's a nude-colored inset in the center front...you can't see through it, but doesn't prevent you from looking...take note...great tromp l'oiell to mess with people's heads in formal wear...I love doing this.

Second and the reason I love this movie so much is this shows the entirely different figures of these two stars and how they were dressed according to their size and shape.  They were women who were sought after and adored.  Their figures were emulated.  They were both very full-figured gals and this shows it.  Back in the 1950's it was chic to have a voluptuous figure...it was sexy - very sexy.

Marilyn Monroe was 27 and Jane Russell was 32, no spring chicks, so their figures were pretty much set. 

Marilyn has a pretty well-balanced figure, and although her shape is healthy, she has a tiny waist, with her bust and shoulders in proportion to her hips, but voluptuous and full.

Jane Russell has one big problem...she has an abnormally small waist, and her hips are beautifully round, so in this movie you're going to find some fun techniques that Travilla used to normalize Jane's figure. 

NOTE:  an abnormally small waist will often look out of proportion and make the hips look larger.  Be careful cause your hips may not be large, it's that your waist is proportionally smaller.

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I just love these outfits....look at the fur piece around Marilyn's neck and down her back. It goes all the way to the hem in this dress.  But Jane's jacket, scarf and hat are awesome...This old classic "scarf" neckline under a jacket that has a button stance at the waist or just above, is classic.  Why?...well, this is a 1953 movie and I would wear that outfit today.  That's what makes it classic - it's timeless.

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Here she is again in that jacket...which has a little detail (take-off of a crest look) and the jacket has a nice vent in back, but it doesn't go all the way up to just below the waist or upper hip like most vents do, it's just tiny so it "flips" as she dances.

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I've talked about this one before...but again here is this neckline that Jane wears over and over in the movie.  This accentuates her bust  and makes her look bustier to balance out the thinness in her waist.  The lines coming up from the bustline to go inward at the neck, bring your eye to her neck which takes away from looking or noticing her tiny waist.

The other feature of this is that the men are all wearing nude colored trunks with a black trim on the bottom. This causes the illusion that the men are wearing nothing save a black strap, and causes you to look over and over to keep checking 'em out to make sure it's legitimate....that's why we're staring right?...not at their tight gluts or abs...right?  Well, that's why I'm staring!  !@#$^%#$%!!!!

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Again, Jane in her great cross over or halter line above her bust line.  This makes her look that much bustier to keep from accentuating how small her waist is.  Why is this such a big deal, because the smaller waist makes her hips look extra full, When you criss-cross in front like this, then the attention is taken off the waist, thus making the hips look like they aren't so full.  BTW, her hips aren't that full, it's the tiny waist that makes them look full. 

Marilyn is in a straight up and down, which she wears beautifully.  One thing I'm struck with in this movie is the normal size of Marilyn bust.  The bombshell reputation she had and her voluptuousness belies the size of her bust.  I would have thought she was a 40 D or something - at least a 38, but she was just a 36D.

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Again, Jane with the accentuation around her neck...see that high collar and that trim on the inside.  And Marilyn with a criss-cross at her bust, making her bust look much larger than it really is.  Notice how Marilyn's criss-cross ends up at her shoulders going out, while all of Jane's criss-cross ends up with it coming in at her neck....you can see the dramatic difference this has on how they both look.

Also, Marilyn should never have worn green, and this color doesn't do a thing for her.

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This is the epitome of the perfect figure in the 50's.  Her hips are very full, her waist is abnormally small and her bust and shoulders are small as well.  There's no ginormous shoulder pads on her shoulders.   Part of what makes her hips so full here is the style of this dress - it has two tails off the waist, which make her look a lot fuller in the hips.

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 Here Marilyn is again, and I love this detail on the cuff.  First the jacket sleeve is 3/4 length which was very common and beautiful, but also this gorgeous silk on the trim was just another added umph to the dress.

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 Then there's Jane Russel's dress in this scene...what a gown...this is what I call couture...you can almost see the designer just draping away and made it all work.  There's not criss-cross-in here, but notice how the strapless gown has the sides go up really high?  This is again to accentuate her bust and move out and away with that upward line toward her neck area rather than her waist, but being fitted the whole time.  This is also a great neckline to wear if you are at all subconscious about the shape of your upper arms/chest area.  It doesn't allow any "overflow" to show or you can at least hide it.  This fits snug under the arms cause that armhole is out and away from the bust and almost right on the armscye and shoulder line.

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I just love these outfits...great contrast color on Marilyn, and I swear it has some ribbon embroidery on it...it is 3-D whatever embroidery is on there, and Jane's wonderful fabric-bow neckline.

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This is one of Marilyn's signature dresses, songs and pieces.  It is meant to look very Parisian couture, they were in Paris....and although you would never intentionally put red and pink together, it works in this case cause the look is meant to be so in-your-face-rich that it takes off....otherwise I think the red cravats would be lost. 

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This fabric is probably tafetta and the "tucks" on the side make the dress look like it has a band around the top of the bustline, but my guess is that this is sewn in so that those tucks don't move or release in anyway.  Also look at the wrinkles in the remaining part of the bodice - not the tucks on the side (where a side bust dart would go).  These are caused by her moving around.  The main thing to note here is that  you will have what I like to call normal or natural wrinkles that don't need to set up alarms or need to be fixed.  They shouldn't be.

The other thing to look at here is that bow in back.  There is a clear marking where Marilyn's waist is and it's not lost, but you do have to be careful when you do a bow like this in back cause it often does and will make the waist delineation get lost.  IOW, the same color all together at the waist can make your eyes miss the waist.

Here's another quick view of that bow in back.  It's got a black liner that spills over and this helps a lot in making sure your eye sees this as the bow and not part of Marilyn's dress and back end.

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Here is Jane again in this cross-over look, but going up around her neckline and not out.

I know that we're not even close to wearing formals like this, but there are lots of principles in here that are fun to note...for sundresses, tops, that can help us all look a little better.  These old movies had styles that really fit and really looked great on the stars who all of them had their own figure problems, not because they were fat, but because they all had genetically different bodies.

Now all I have to do is find the original "The Women" - there's a mountain of stuff in that movie!

Scooping fashion and Style

I was supposed to start my Chanel Jacket class this week, then...snow

and more snow.... (and no funny comments from you Northerners...I know this is pittance, but for us in the South, it's a virtual winter blizzard!!!)

And usually I'm the first one behind the machine.....on a wonderful snow day.

But this year's a little different, I've had some book work (bleack!) But before it snowed I took some of my students to Dallas (a very target-rich environment) to scoop out some of the Chanel suits in the boutiques and shops in Dallas.

This is something wonderful to do, when you're getting ready to make something important.  A trek to a nearby metropolis, gets you out and starts you thinking in places and ways you never thought or saw before. 

And no matter how long you've been behind the sewing machine or how short, there are ideas to spark your creativity. which always makes it worth the trip. 

The wonderful thing about the internet (well, for me there are so many wonderful things) is that you can travel anywhere without leaving the comforts of your home.  And I love doing that.  I use a lot of these wonderfully famous stores to peruse through their sites looking at what's being purchased because these are the "practical" clothes that are going to sell.

But there's nothing like a field trip.

There's nothing like seeing things up close.

What made this trip so wonderful, is that not only are up close and personal with the jacket, but you can actually see the garments and understand the whole idea behind a design.  You can feel the weight, thickness and drapy/body of the fabric.

This is important cause it gives you valuable information about how to make up your own garments.  What sort of fabric to choose, how heavy, light, what sort of stiffness/body.  Not only can you glean some of the wonderful techniques used in construction but also the lines and make up of the garment.

It takes some practice and some investigation to match a good pattern with the right fabric.  But a simple field trip to an upscale department store or boutique can really put a gob of ideas in your head, as well as a ton of valuable information on what fabric can go with what design.

I'm always polite to the sales staff that wants to help and sometimes they can help you find what you are looking for - formal?...casual?...conservative?...edgy?  I'm respectful of the establishments, and more often than not, in a large metropolis, you will be left alone.  I don't recommend this for smaller cities with one or two fine shops.  But in larger metro areas, where there are a number of high-end boutiques and large department stores, you will be fine, and it is so worth the information you will glean from these excursions.  In New York and LA, I've even seen students sketching a design in stores! 

One of my most favorite things to do is take my clients to Madison Ave & 5th Ave in NY then run straight down to the fabric district and look at all the fabrics we've just seen made up in the stores - my clients eyes light up and we're off!!!  Course, to be honest, this happens in very few locations, and we are so lucky to have the NY fabric district which I think is pure eye candy!

These scooping trips do more to help you put fabric with patterns than you would think.  They also cause you to think outside the box....putting together fabrics and styles that you had never thought about, but seeing it "whole" you can understand how to match your patterns/styles/designs and fabric.

So next time you're in a large metro area, try this.  Just one visit to a store like this can often open up your imagination and will cause you to think in a completely different way about how to match your fabrics with designs and styles of clothing.