I'm up against a hard deadline so I'm
revisiting an old subject but very timely in lieu of the Summer Soltice yesterday, white pants seem like a great subject right now.
Hemming
But for a tease - here's a good question, how do you hem a dress like this...
This doesn't look like much of a contest, but notice that really cute detailed hem at the bottom. Here's a better shot from Neiman Marcus
From $3,900 at Neiman Marcus, however it's no longer in stock!
Maybe this is a hint:
Here you can see the border on the lady is even all the way around - even though the dress has a train.
White Pants - Revisited
Nothing strikes terror in the heart of a sewists more than white pants. I mean really, do they look all that great?...aren't they supposed to project and therefore make an already sensitive area look even larger? Why in the world would a sane sewists even entertain any idea like this?
We all have visions of socialites dressed in white pants. And that looks all fine and dandy, but this woman probably hasn't eaten anything in days and if she did, it was probably a rice cake or something else as unedible! Bleack! And remember this was from the 1950's when women smoked like
chimneys.
Or for someone like this: And that's fine if you don't eat at all.
The the other vision of white pants belongs to the nurses on parade... Nurse Ratchett is on call!
None of these are in the least bit attractive or something we would want to emulate. But the truth is there's a lot of style in white pants and even for we "hippy" people there's hope. There's a way to do this that works.
First, you Rectangles and Apples have it made with white pants
and you can wear them anytime you want. As a matter of fact, your shape is perfect for white pants. So you all can breeze through this and just enjoy it.
This isn't pants, but it makes my point with a familiar Apple shaped movie star.
This is a beautifully familiar outfit from the movie Titanic. Now Ms. Winslet carries her weight around her shoulders and chest, however, because of the dark contrasting lapel, the designer has made her look smaller, in addition to the direction of the
stripes in the bottom portion of the garment.
For Apples, wearing dark on top and white on bottom should be a staple in your wardrobe.
The problem comes with Pears and Hourglasses who look positively awful in white bottoms. They accentuate the very area we are trying to hide. That's why you most often see this sort of warning for pears in white anything below the waist. It projects and makes this part of our body look even larger.
But there is a way to do this and not look larger.
Case in point If I have a
smart aleck look on my face, there's a reason for this! 😁 This is one of my most comfy outfits and it's foiling all the information you get on Pears. I'm using a lot of subterfuge and slight-of-hand here. I carry my weight on my very upper thighs, so I can get away with something "dark" around that area, then immediately below that, I can allow the white to come through. I also keep my pants fairly straight and although I allow a "break" in the pant, I don't like
much of one at all.
This really turns into a fairly slim look. But one more technique here that's key - and that's the shape of the leg. This is key (more on that later)
This is a nuts and bolts, straight forward fitting pose. I don't stand like this all the time, but this is the pose that gives me the info I need for hanging correctly. Although there is a slight wrinkle in the lower leg, this is a break. This is called a break in the crease of the front of the pant because the pant is long enough to make a crease in the front of the pant buckle or "break". I like this with flats cause this means I can wear this with a heel
and the hem won't be at my ankle (which looks terrible in a heeled shoe).
So for a further sassy look on my face, here's a white jacket (with my doggie stuff all over it). And again, the pants are remarkably fashionable, flattering and unbeknownst to the rest of the world comfy!
I love this white pant and there's nothing that makes me feel dressy and summery than this white pant.
Something else to notice here. There is no lining. That's right ponte doesn't need any lining. Another
plus to this fabric and this look.
Here's the straight on view, and
again you can see the break in the pant crease in the front. This is typical of what a "break" should look like. The pant should hang nice and straight with the crease in front, while the style and shape look fabulous. It's flattering, well-fitted and comfy so it meets all my points.
These pants are some white linen (woven) pants and see how much larger they look. If you check out this black linen jacket to the one above, you'll notice the one on the left hangs on me (yes I was about 10 lbs lighter then). But the pants make me look
bigger.
This is for 2 reasons. The legs aren't shaped correctly, and the pants must have ease in them to hang right and so I can sit down and not squeal or break a seam.
What I mean by "shaped correctly" is that our pants, in today's fashion, need to be trimmed up in the lower thigh and knee area, to look right. Without that, it looks frumpy and like granny pants. See the white linen pants above, and it makes my point. They are straight, tapered from top to bottom, and they look baggy and oversized. While the other white pants look trim and
fitted, because they have that trimmed-out space in the leg.
The difference here is dramatic. This is what the ponte pant can do.
Finally this is a more formal look for my white
pants. All these photos are the same white ponte pants.
A cute story about this outfit. When my cousin the Hollywood designer, came to a family wedding, she was a bit on the run from one movie to another so was a little off guard about what to wear. This was in the country in Oklahoma and I promised her she would see everything from a dark formal suit, to hard pressed, jeans with a dark jacket, starched white shirt and bolo tie, so anything would be
great. She asked me what I was wearing and I told her my knit pants and a sheer top. She said, "Oh no, Claire, not knit pants." Well, when she saw me before the wedding she said, "Those aren't knit pants," I had her feel them, and I could see her eyes get all glowy and "I want something like that!"
White Pants for the Pear Shape
OK so you can see that the jacket hem placement line is key in all these outfits which is important in making this as attractive as possible. If you carry your weight a little lower, think about lowering your jacket or top length so that "dark" zone
(of your top or jacket) will cover that thicker part of your silhouette.
Mostly, don't be afraid of the white pant, particularly for summer. It's a clean, fresh look that goes with anything during the summer, and of course a black linen top is about as elegant as you can get!
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)
That's why you most often see this sort of warning for pears in white anything below the waist. It projects and makes this part of our body look even larger.
If I have a
smart aleck look on my face, there's a reason for this! 😁 This is one of my most comfy outfits and it's foiling all the information you get on Pears. I'm using a lot of subterfuge and slight-of-hand here. I carry my weight on my very upper thighs, so I can get away with something "dark" around that area, then immediately below that, I can allow the white to come through. I also keep my pants fairly straight and although I allow a "break" in the pant, I don't like
much of one at all. 
