Eye CandyMarch 22, 2024 So been spending a lot of time getting sucked into researching beautiful clothes for our fashion history newsletters, and thought I would share some of that eye candy with you today - and how
to take it apart, use it, and best of all make it work for we lucky sewists who can use ideas to make more beautiful things for ourselves.
Color Blocking with Maximum Effect
Contrast or block coloring creates a halter look in a sleeveless dress (without being a halter). Of course, I can't run around in sleeveless garments, but I'm not sure I want to anyway because I'm cold-natured (anything below 80°, and I'm chilled!)
But I love the idea of playing with this look with sleeves the same color as the shoulder block to see what sort of exciting summer look I could get. I also adore the fuller skirt and the lovely classic look of the bodice, but I no longer have the figure for this, but it doesn't mean the look isn't classic - it is, but for a younger figure.
Color blocking is a classic and well-utilized tool for designing. Here's Ms. Herrera again in the 1980s in a great look using blocking - with her shoulders and decolletage, she accents around her face (the white projects and draws attention to her face and
head), while the black acts as a dark pallet that can pretty much recede showing off the face, which is where all the attention should be.
The most famous and classic of ways to use color blocking is to put the dark block of color on the sides of a jacket, and the light in front. The dark falls away and makes the light project, and because the light pieces are smaller than your body, make you
look smaller. This is one of those designs that really works.
No one does white blouses better than Carolina Herrera, and she ads these perfectly fabulous frou-frou or tailored features to her blouses that make them even more classic.
Here's the problem with most things we see today with those "extra" gee-gaws. They instantly lose their classic-ness and become trendy, dated, and even old before we even wear them a few times. The white blouse selections below look awful and wouldn't
last past one wearing them - if that.
Herrera's looks are so dang classic that even with the tie at the end of the cuff or the ruffle with a bow at the elbow, or what would normally pass as gee-gaws are anything but. They turn out to be classic as all get out.
What makes them so classic? Would you wear any of these white shirts today? Believe me, they are at least 20 years old, and yet, they are still great today - that's classic.
The lovely elbow tie shirt above can go to another look - very similar, but the ruffle is a little more tailored and toned down, and the bow is just as tailored but looks just as classic. I'm not talking about anything other than the ruffle cuff and bow
treatment here. This would make a stunny white shirt look for any occasion, and then you make the rest of the shirt how you like. Make it a longer tunic style, or make it a very close-to-the-body top with a hem variated length like a vest or shirttail style. Once you get that classic look, it works in a gazillion different variations.
These all work because they are based on that original classic style. BTW, these are mostly circular ruffles, which is there is a tailored ruffle, the circular ruffle is it.
Back to Herrera. Another feater about Ms. Herrera, is that she has a very thick waist as you can clearly see above and below here, but she works to fit it, - not too tight and not too lose. These obviously are made to order for Ms. Herrera and that's
why they look so good on her.
The Circular vs the Gather Ruffle
There is a place for both of these on garments, but they both look completely different and do different things.
This is one of my favorite shirts - I used the photo on the left as inspiration for the shirt on the right. The body of the shirt on the right is best flattering for me, and this ruffle makes it fabulous. This is probably one case where the gathered
ruffle is about as tailored and controlled as you can get. It's not gathered much, and there's a lot of interfacing in that ruffle to make is stand up exactly like I wanted to frame my neck and face. I like high collars, so this is right down my alley.
This is the typical look of gathered ruffles. They are fluid and drapey, and usually, they don't have much body.
This is the look of circular ruffles, which have a more tailored look.
Circular vs Gathered ruffle
So this explains why they look so different. The gathered ruffle has just as much fabric at the base (or where it's sewn in) as it does at the hem. While the circular ruffle has no or practically no gathering at the base, and a lot of ruffling at the
hem. Further you hem the circular ruffle with a light weight fishing line, and it will float out like the ruffles on these sleeves.
And in another variation of a sort of "under" ruffle in this version.
In this version, the circle in the top or outside sleeve ruffle is very full at the hem and very small at the cuff, while the inner sleeve is a lot less full and, therefore, not as full at the hem. This is the fun of a circular ruffle cause you can control
how full or tailored the ruffle is all by the size of the circle.
So this takes a little bit of thinking, but it's basically this simple. The version on the left is less full (like the lace inside of the blouse above), and the version on the right is more full (like the outside ruffle on the blouse above).
What's happening here is that the ratio of the inner circle to the outer circle is greater in the right version and less in the left version. You get a very big ruffle at the hem when the ratio has a huge difference. When the ratio is very much closer, then the ruffle is not as full.
I could take a circle with a little tiny circle in the middle, then measure out the width of my ruffle, draw that circle, cut it out, and cut through at one end. Now, you would
say, "Well, Claire, that tiny circle wouldn't cover much space," and you would be correct. So you would have to cut out several circles to sew into the same distance that the larger circle would cover.
Here's the difference in the finished product. The version on the left has a low ratio between the inside and outside circles. The version on the right has a much higher difference between the inside and outside circles.
The bottom line
is that if you want a lot of control over how ruffly a look you want, the circular ruffle is your ticket. I like circular ruffles for another reason. Because there is very little bulk in the seam when you sew one in, I'm usually designing for more of an older, fuller figure and don't need a lot of extra bulk.
The classics in prints and plaids are really simple. Dots and stripes are the traditionally classic prints while the houndstooth and Glen plaid are the classic plaids.
They can come in all sorts of colors, but the more basic your color theme is, the better. The classic is black and white, except the Breton shirt is classical navy and white.
I did this top as more of a lark than anything else. I wanted that stripe a la Breton shirt, but didn't like white or navy on me, so chose olive and cream. It gave the same look. With a nice bateau neckline, I stabilized the neckline by facing
it with grosgrain ribbon the same color as the olive stripe. Then I got the fun idea to make the cuffs on the sleeves with the grosgrain ribbon to look like the cuffs of the famous Chanel jacket. But that was a mistake, cause I didn't make them in the classic location of the Chanel sleeve cuffs, and those dang buttons drove me nuts, banging on every surface that my arm or sleeve would rest. One of the things that is the most charming about the Chanel jacket is that Mme. Chanel
wore hers every day, and demanded that it be beautiful, elegant and comfortable. This top was not comfy because the buttons were in the wrong location.
I still like the idea of this jacket. With the French naval stripe (the basis of the Breton shirt), the bateau neckline (very French), and the Chanel trim, albeit not quite as Lagerfeld as he would have liked, and the buttons with the lion's head (Chanel was a Leo and she would often use Lion's head themes in her
accessories or other garments).
These are some classic suggestions blocking, white shirt, ruffles and classic prints and plaids to get you started on a clearly classic look. The plus of this look is that it's also that stealth wealth, quiety quality and old money look, and that in itself makes you feel fabulous when you're wearing it.
The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style. Check it out.
Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different
garments),
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
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