Claire Kennedy Design

To fashion or not to fashion

Steph over at 3 Hours Past the End of the World, has had a interesting blog on fashion and in particular how a youthful rebel comes to terms with working (and dressing) in the real world.  This may not make it easier, but as we grow older, the need to rebel seems less important as much as it does to be respected and taken seriously in our world - whether that's business, motherhood, volunteer or any other field.

I found this interview on Wall Street Journal very interesting talking about how mothers addressing certain fashion trends and decisions of their daughters.

  

And while this may not solve the eternal dilemma - to rebel or not to rebel - it at least tries to address it even if it's just to talk about the subject a little.

For me and my clients, albeit it's always on the formal side of life, it's all about looking pretty, and although I'm sensitive to each girl's desire to be different if not rebel, I'm as sensitive to the mom's desire to remain appropriate for a formal and usually conservative event.  This always seems to be on the side of gaining the maximum amount of attention by being pretty rather than rebeling.

As an unspoken rule from me, I will always veer from the Emperor and his new clothes - fashion for the sake of fashion has never been my style and the wonderful classic style that brought Vera Wang all her attention and fame.  That style is still grand today - Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Vera Wang, all had that classic style.

Today, when I dress for my day it usually has to do with what is on my calendar. 

• If I have to talk to professionals and conduct business, I'm in a suit with my high heels and totally knocked out.  I don't want to have to repeat myself or get nasty in the meeting and walking in dressed like Alexis Carrington does all of that for me. 
• If I'm haunting country flea markets look for vintage this or that, I'm dressed just this side of the vagabond  - well kept, but very low key. 
• If I'm dressing for jury duty downtown, I'm dressed to the nines and ready for business - I treat our local law enforcement and judicial system with the respect they deserve. 
• If I'm on my way to Home Depot to look for this thingamajig that I could have sworn I got enough but didn't and not sure where it is, I'll dress up a little - I get better service. 
• If I want to browse Home Depot, I'll be low-key so I'll be left alone!

It works every time.  If I'm dressed up - I get all the service I want, if not, I'm left alone.  When I got to a large metro area store to scoop out clothing, I'm nicely dressed, but not knocked-out and I'm left alone. 

We can sit around and rail against it, complain about it, rebel against, it, but the truth is: dress up and get attention one way, and dress down, and get it another.  We may not like it, but it is the way of the world.

So clothes do make the man(woman), naked people have little or no influence on society.

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.

 

Movie costumes

One of the things I love about the movies is how well clothes fit.  My favorite example is Gentlemen Prefer Blonds:

I know I've blathered about this before...but Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell had completely different figures, yet Edit Head did a remarkable job of costuming them so that one didn't take away from the other or that one looked different from the other.

But there's another aspect to this, although most movies are filled with thin, emaciated women who are well fitted (which isn't much - to fit bones and skin is a whole lot less complicated than fitting a regular body ruled by genetics rather than starvation!).  Although if a star "makes it" she can be relinquished from the starvation mode and begin to have a normal figure - like Meryl Strep or Glenn Close.

 

 

But back to my main subject.  One of the films, I really have liked is The Fifth Element.  It's very creative, plot, acting, humor...

and....

costumes!

 

 

They were done by Jean-Paul Gaultier and if you look closely you can see the remarkable fitting and tailoring techniques used in making up the designs.

What's so special about this picture...look at the fit:

Remarkable...let's take it apart:

First of all, the designer is wanting to accentuate the heftiness of this actress...that's the whole idea of the scene...she's supposed to accompany Bruce Willis as his wife and we are not (as the audience) suppose to want or like this. 

But look at how well this fits her...the pink lines (the princess seam) and the green lines all act as darts.  And look at how well this looks through the shoulders and lapel area.  I guarantee you this jacket took a lot of fittings to get to this point.

There is a tiny wrinkle through the underarm (yellow arrow) which has to be there for ease, so this is a necessary wrinkle. 

One caveat here is that the jacket fits very tightly and in movies remember the designer knows how much or little the person has to move. In this scene all this actress had to do was bow her head a couple of times - no other movement, so the designer was able to really fit up close, knowing that the actress really didn't need any more ease.

That said, this is still a great fit job, and the reason I'm pulling this out and making such a big deal about it is cause it shows that a robust figure can be fit and fit well.  Granted, you may not want something that tight or firmly fit and want something with some more ease, but you can still have a fit. 

This is the picture that comes to my mind when my students or clients tell me that they can't be fit - it's like they've dared me....

oh yeah....

lemme at it!

I'll fit ya!

A lot of fun

This was just a lot of fun!

Don't Stop Believing

One of the big things I love about Glee is the song: Don't Stop Believing!

I'm in the middle of a pants class right now, and my students are remarkable.  But periodically, I do meet discouragement and disappointment in my students.

The first thing I want to convey is that Don't Stop Believing!  And I know it's hard when either the student is completely lost or she's not understanding where I'm going.  And the lost part is what I'm most concerned about.

I started teaching because I realized how easy it was for me to get dressed or get excited about getting dressed and going through my closet.  If I want a new white blouse/top, I just plop down in my studio and make it. If I want a hot red dress - that shows off the best part of me, I just pull out something from my stash, and make it up.

That's real freedom!  I wanted to pass that freedom on to my students.

So for the bewitched, bothered and bewildered:

• don't be discouraged.
•  remember if you knew how to do all this, you'd be teaching the class and not me.
•  a project should be tackled in parts, particularly if it is overwhelming.  If the idea of doing a jacket is something you really want to do, but you either haven't done one in a while, or you're just plain scared to death - take it on it parts

Along this vein, I was asked something interesting by my students:  How long would I have to take lessons to sew like you?

I wasn't ready for that.  I've been sewing (good sewing, not play or "sewing for my Barbie" sewing) for almost 40 years.  When I was studying under my mentor, in one semester I would sew up 16 shirts, another 6 jackets, another 4 coats, 2 ball gowns - on and on.  Each garment was graded and critiqued - the critiqued part was really helpful.  Not only did I learn how to sew up these garments, but I also learned not to be afraid of it.  The pattern-drafting, fitting, designing all naturally developed from those semesters of just practice, practice, practice.

I "practiced" sewing for almost 10 years, before I started my business.

This sounds like a monotonous drill, but it was anything but.  I do love sewing.  It was just solving one puzzle after another - the kind of puzzles that I adore and can't wait to tackle.....part of that "follow your bliss" stuff that I also love!

For a lot of sewists, this isn't either possible or desirable.  But I also know that a lot of sewists do want to learn key techniques and methods from which a whole lot can be accomplished.

You don't have to know how to do hand pad-stitching to be able to sew in a sleeve.

You don't have to know about a button stance or notched lapel to be able to sew in a zipper.

So here are some things to think about when you're overwhelmed with a project.

1. You don't have to accomplish the project all at once (or even in one day - thank heavens!)
2. If it's a big project, take it in steps - if you have to little baby steps.
3. If you want to be able to do a method or technique well, practice - it's not a secret formula - just practice.  By the way, this also makes you comfy with the process.
4. Don't expect to know everything about sewing, fitting and designing all at once.  You didn't pop out of your mama's womb knowing how to do this stuff automatically - don't have those unrealistic expectations.
5. And DON'T STOP BELIEVING!!!!

Oriental vs Occidental

This is not meant to be a complete reference on the difference between the two cultures, just as it refers to sewing and more particularly fit.

I will often refer my clients to the plethora of Oriental tailors in my city, but with one caveat - be careful of the fit.  This isn't so much a fault or problem, once you understand the Oriental way of fitting.  It is much closer to the body and with out the ease that the Occidental world is used to.

Enter this lovely lady:

While traveling to the East on Singapore Air, imagine my delight in seeing these lovely ladies in their beautiful uniforms - yes these are their work uniforms. 

The first thing I noticed was the fit - very close to the body with hardly any ease.  This is the standard Oriental way of fitting and although you may think this is very limiting, actually it's not - because it fits the girl, and fits her well.  It's not skin tight, nor is it two sizes too small;  it simply fits.

Understanding that in Asia as well as Europe, ladies first thought upon being invited to a special event is to seek out a tailor or dressmaker.  This is the source for all fine garments - not RTW!  Ready-to-wear is an American phenomenon, and even today, ladies throughout the world, except the US, prefer having their special garments made for them.  With this in mind, the fitting on the lovely ladies of Singapore Air, seems totally logical.

But this dress is not only about fit.  It's about the myriad of details in this lovely ensemble.

Not only is there the mitered corner of the applied border, but look at the darted curve of the neckline.  This shows a ton of work in that the collar must be darted just exactly or the curve radius is too small or too large.  But this is not surprising as these uniforms were designed by Pierre Cardin, so the detail is subtle, only noticeable to the experienced eye.

Having done this exact procedure, I know how tenuous that darting can be.

It's not as evident in this photo, however the applied border here ran around the back of the neckline and the only way for this to work was to curve or dart the straight border piece.  It worked beautifully and my client loved it.

But that's not all - the skirt has its own design goodies

The uniform has to be functional and these gals have to reach up and down and stoop and so must have room to work as well as be beautiful.  Toward that end the front has a slit that is pleated into the slit trim, and gathered which adds not only a great shape to the skirt but allows for her to walk and work easily in the ensemble.

What was just as much fun was all the while crossing the Pacific Ocean (well, not the entire crossing), every time they would pass in the beautifully made garments, I would relish in knowing that I had done something almost similar and know the hard work that goes into each one of these garments.

And then there was green...

Just when I think I've got everything going for my "going" trip, my imagination rears its ugly head!!!

I'm at the local JoAnn's (quite a lot as it's close by and very dangerous cause it's one of the better JoAnn's), and I find this fabulous sort of Nile Green.

I just slapped this on the back of a chair in my studio and looked at it and went WOW!  It's meant to be.  This is just the sort of matching and blending I love to do, and sometimes the best creations are those "happy accidents" of just piling the fabric next to each other and then something magical happens.

So now the loud colors are on hold.  The pants are 98% cotton & 2% lycra so they have a decent stretch to them.  The print isn't quite as while as the fish, and the gorgeous fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics (the iridescent linen) all will be really perfect and light weight to wear in the tropics

I've already got the top cut out and the pants pattern is set (an old standard pattern I drew up - TNT), and the jacket would be that Burda Re-deux.  This was Burda 2/2009-127 that with a little help, works out nicely.

These are perfect....oh well, high color may have to wait on this trip.  What most people do on these long flights is take along some "comfies" which I will do so this will be stowed away and hopefully I will look like a human when I disembark.  After 36 hrs flying, I may not be human, but will at least look human!

Gotta go think about buttons now!

Have I told you about my favorite designer?

Oh, I have!  Well, here's some more on him....

This is just the start of this guy's creativity

Look at those clothes...and hiding in all those magical lines are darts and fitting mechanisms that even the most full-figured gal would love.

Actually the great criticism of Beene was that he designed for women who were toothpick thin...Nan Kempner, Pat Buckley, and the like, but I find them full of possibility.  I remember being in NYC once at Le Cirque (the old one not Cirque 2000), and in walk Pat & Nan to have lunch.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven as this was the one of high society's doyennes' fav haunts for lunch.  Of course they were meticulously dressed.  I miss that about today's fashion - being dressed up in a killer suit, or jacket and pants, all neat and collected, and of course fitted to the nines!

All those inserts and seams are just ripe for fitting and easy as pie to do.  And although the criticisms are right, that the designs were made up for painfully and unhealthily thin persons, they could easily be adapted for more normal shapes.

I don't like sewing for the skin and bones set, as they not only do not represent the more-normal figure, but they also don't represent a healthy figure - let's not talk about promoting a lifestyle and body shape that is completely impractical.  But that's another subject...back to Beene's designs - here is a lovely jacket with some unusual trim and a gorgeous ball gown that is still good today.  I think these are some late 90's or early 2000's fashions.

This jacket line was one of Beene's favorites, but his variations seem to really be more than variations - more like complete works of art that stand on their own.  His bolero idea was one of the most elegant features of his designs -  particularly in his later collections.

And as if his designs were fun enough, then he got into this color and pattern thing that was absolutely fabulous.

I will be found eyes glued to computer screen viewing this CD for a while....

Something a little different

After the Thai Fisherman pants escapade, I began talking with a friend about some other versions of this type of pant.  Of course we came up with the harem pants....she got a cute pattern that I couldn't get, but I found a great Burda (of course) pattern that I love.
Burda 7677

I varied from this version just a little. Burda is so creative and to make this work and not so bulky they put stretch knit panels.  It's a great idea, but it just wouldn't work for me and I knew it.

I took the pattern piece and added 4" to it then put in 8 elastic seams to shirr the fabric so that it would act like a stretch knit, but not be a stretch knit.  Actually I just wanted the whole pant to be fabric, without having to search for a coordinating knit.

OK - first, I'm a waist person...I've never liked hip-huggers (a la 70's) or low-rise pants (a la 2000's), so I'm always going to be on the waist.  That said, I felt the proportions were even better with the pant just a little higher.

(I look my mother is telling me to stand up straight!!!)  The side view with these magnificent pockets. 

I probably won't do this pattern again, not because of any mistake, only because the whole pattern has some proportion problems for me that would take some major design changes, that I'm just not really excited about doing....and if something doesn't excite me, I'm not really hot on doing it.  Most sewing does, and I think I've solved all the problems on this pattern that I want to.

I've seen another pattern that really appeals to me way more and deserves more of my time:
McCalls 5858

The longer pants version really excites me....I can make this proportionally correct for me, and make these pants look great - and let's not even talk about comfort!!!!

Long Sundress

I love underwater photography, and so my dive buddy and I travel to wonderful tropical locals to dive and do wonderful underwater photography....of course I try and be stylishly dressed while out of the water, since the fishies could care less what I'm wearing in the water, so I don't worry about below the water!

Usually after a full day of diving, we all get cleaned up (no funny comments please!) and then gather for dinner to catch up on the days adventures and share diving/photography ideas and tales.  This June we're trekking to Little Cayman for the first time, which is supposed to be excellent diving.  We're very excited.  But of course I need something to wear!

I've been seeing nothing but long sundresses, this spring and early summer - reminds me of the 60's, but they are fun, and I have some gorgeous cotton batik that I'm looking to make up.

 

Most of these are light weight....the middle (green fish) is heaviest, and it's not that heavy.  The red has a beautiful jacquard dot woven in and it's not really a batik, it just looked so island-ish that I couldn't resist.  I don't have to make up all of these, but I'm really hankerin' to chop into at least one if not two!

So I'm torn between three styles:
Burda 4/09 #103

This is just so much fun and looks perfect for what I want in the evenings.

Then Lindsay T did something similar to this:
Burda 7659

This really got me thinking about this style and how practical and yet fun it would be to have something loose and cool like this for the summer.

Then on Couture et Tricot is her maxi-dress which is just perfect for what I'm looking for...a Burda which is always wonderful.

So - what do you all say?