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September 9, 2022
Underwear makes a difference. I've mentioned this before, but to make this statement and use this graphic.....
Makes my point emphatically. Although the dress on the left looks okay, there's a lot wrong. First and foremost is that you can not have a good fit without a good foundation garment. There is not way. If you start with a lousy foundation garment, no garment will look good on you, and this show in the photo on the left. This is a lot of what's causing the gaping above the bust, so even at the most she shouldn't have worn something with this low a
cut.
The garment on the right has lots going for it, and it starts with the foundation garment. After that, there's a lot this guys who designed this gown did to make this an exceptionally lovely gown for her to wear. My bet is that the gown on the right is even more comfy!
Let's look closer at this. The photo on the left is the mannequin markings and the right is the gown.
 The first thing I notice is that there are three places to dart this gown that are key to the great fit. The seams/darts to the right and left of the bust point all fit the dart. And what's really cook here is that this turned into a really nice geometric design that looks more like a
design mechanism rather than a fitting mechanism, but turns out to fit as well as be artistic. These are the kinds of thing that you can do with a core pattern. But that all starts with a great foundation garment.
So now Claire is going to try something new and embed a video here. I've been warned that most email clients will block something with a video in it - viruses and bugs and that sort seem to thrive in graphics and videos, so probably best to view this whole newsletter in your browser (click here) to see everything. And even that might not work, so here's the link - I promise this is worth it to see the fit of this gown up close - and she turns around at the end.
Here's another gown done by the same designers and again, they have made use of decorative seams and hid fitting mechanisms in there.
She was at a fitting so her hair may not be the best, but this insert just below her bust looks like a beautiful rainbow type design. It may be hard to see here, but there are many darts in that "rainbow." Additionally the top of the rainbow design is right across her bust points so it's purposely there to fit the bust
Here's I've drawn in the darts that I can see, but the video below (which hopefully shows) is worth watching cause she turns all the way around so you can see how beautiful the fit is in front and back.
Well, I can't get the video to play here, so watch it here - notice how she looks from all angles at the end.
There was never more fitting challenges than in the movie The Women by Warner Brothers in 1939 - before World War II. It may see extraordinarily dated, but looking at all the body types in the movie and Adrian had his work cut out for him. Although Edith Head was around this time, her heyday was really during the 50s, 60s and 70s
when she garnered so much attention.
Here's what I mean by the variety of figure shapes.
Rosalind Russel (2nd left) was known for her extra long waist. Paulette Goddard (far right) was known for her lack of feminine shape - her "Rectangle" shape. And Mary Boland, portraying a multi-married, wealthy divorcee, has on a costume that looks straight out of Roy Rogers, theoretically signifying her return to "Las Vegas" (the divorce capital of the time) multiple times.
 Paulette Goddard (2nd left) finally gets a shape while showing her entire breast outline, which I have to wonder is good design, but then they didn't ask me. The actress on the far left doesn't have much of a "Hollywood" figure,
but that doesn't prevent her from being in the movies, and she gets as beautifully dressed as the rest. Joan Crawford (2nd right) has the showing midriff labeling her as the trollop of the bunch, while Rosalind Russel, the long-waisted nightmare, is in the background in a costume that doesn't really fit or flatter her.
The whole idea here is to show that two important things affect your fit
1. Great under garments(and don't scrimp here) - I'm not
talking about Spanx, although if you like wearing them, more power to you. I'm talking more about foundation garments. If you feel that you "jiggle" a little too much then more power to you to wear Spanx. But I don't find that as much a necessity as I do good bras. Without a good bra, your garment doesn't hang well (look at the opera singer at the top). And with a good garment, your bra can do wonders.
2. Making the effort for a great fit on a core pattern, means that you can use it again and again, because it has the hang, drape, the fit at the shoulders, across the bust, across the upper chest, the comfort of the back. With this information you can look excellent.
Part of the problem with an excellent fit on someone, is that it's hard to notice because there's nothing wrong. With an expert eye you can pull out what's right, but most people simply look at the garment and think, "Oh well, she's lucky because she fits into a perfect size _____ and she doesn't have to worry about a fit!" The truth is that about 3% of the public fits into the RTW sizes that are offered.
So know that this is a flattering shape and style and size for every figure.....like opera stars...
...movie stars...
...dignitaries and leaders...
And on this note - we can't forget Queen Elizabeth II who was so beautifully dress for all occasions.
She was the epitome of design and style for professionalism, modern, trustworthiness, fashionable (always dressing her age) and respectability. These are the traits that we should all aim for. She was only a little frumpy in her 90s, but then after that many decades it shouldn't be surprising that we are all about comfort. I always thought it was amazing she was still out and doing functions at that grand age. She was truly a grand lady.
This is a beginning guide on what to do with your core pattern after you have fitted and worked on it.
All the work that you have done in your core pattern contains all the information to make a garment that you will totally love. This means you really don't have to buy another pattern for making skirts, pants or leggings. Variations on your core pattern makes it possible for you to have the styles you see in a photo or on Pinterest without having to look for the pattern that looks like it might work. You can now simply trace it onto your core pattern and
you're done.
This resource also contains some other important resources at huge discount because they are so important to this creative process of varying your core pattern. It also contains some downloads that aren't available in the Resource Library at all, but are vital toward making good design.
In this world of crazy, illogical fashion, we sewists are having to turn into designers. That sounds really hard and foreboding, but it's not. Unlike designers, we simply haven't had all the experience they have, most of that experience they got when they went to design school. More than anything I wanted to make this process encouraging, empowering and enlightening without having to worry about whether or not you could vary your core pattern.
You can! It isn't that hard. It is knowing some guidelines and charging out into the unknown. That's what we sewists do and we do it very well most of the time.
This is the beginning of the series into variations on core patterns. I wanted to start with something basic, so that you wouldn't feel so intimidated. It takes a while to write these up, cause I'm an idea factory, and coordinating and organizing these ideas can be monumental with the sewing muse yacking in my ear 24/7.
The resource is available now at a discount so that you can enjoy it before spring starts in full force. Right now, I'm thinking happy, colorful and pretty. Those are all fresh looks for future clothes. When things seem upside down, it's great to have something to make us happy and often bright, springtime and summertime fabrics are just as much as drab, dark and somber fabrics. I'm ready to be beautiful, comfortable and look flattering in my clothes and
I'm dying to share that with you.
Skirts, Core Pattern Variations, Part 1 (but there's more than skirts in here)
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