On ProportionsFebruary 27, 2026 So what are proportions anyway? That sounds like a fancy line that some Midway barker might use to sell something that really isn't worth the money you paid for it. What's
worse it sounds like some heady remark from a designer or fashion editor to make them sound erudite when they haven't got a clue what specifically it means.
This is a nice little graphic that shows how each element (on the left column) should be used (on the right column). In here Proportion is simplified as size. But proportion is more than that - it's the comparative size to what's around it. In
fashion that means how one part of the whole relates to the whole. OK I know that sounds cryptic, but let's put it this way. If you have a long jacket with a long skirt - worse a large, long jacket with a large long skirt.
Ugh! First of all where's the contrast, let's not even talk about proportions? There isn't any. Remember what Yves St. Laurent said: a woman has seven points of interest. If you expose 4 or more, you have a streetwalker. If you
expose 2 or less, you have a frumpy look - and this is about as frumpy as you can get. Those parts, are: 1.) shoulder and decolletagé, 2.) bust, 3.) waist, 4.) hips, 5.) legs, 6.) back and 7.) silhouette. In the look above, I can pick out maybe parts of her neck, her face (thank heavens they didn't cover that up), her ankles, but really nothing else. This isn't good proportions. So how does that play for us? As the body matures, many things happen. When we are young and just sprouting, we can eat ANYTHING and still be like a thin drip of water because we're using all those calories to grow.
Actually, about all we have is bone and skin - like most of the models on the runway. Then we reach our height, and suddenly we fill out. That's another change. Then we have life, which means kids, work, and mostly a very sedentary lifestyle (unless you work at keeping active), and that brings another change. Then we come to full maturity and reach an age where we stop menstruating, and again our body changes. Through all of those phases, there are some common
things we can do. Posture is key. If we don't give in to gravity and work to keep our posture up and down, that helps tremendously, but even then, age does take its toll. I'm now a full 1" shorter than I used to be, and I am not tall to begin with. That means my body is squatting down a little. The length of my torso is shorter, my bodice is shorter, my arms are shorter, and my legs are shorter. What's worse, as we age, we have become accustomed to carrying
the weight on one hip and shoulder more than the other - our luggage, our work, our laptop, our kids, and many other things fall to one side more than the other, and that side eventually ends up lower.
This isn't something wrong. It's just age, but with the knowledge of proportion and some fashion designer tools, we can work some pretty awesome magic.
As you all know, I'm working with a new silhouette these days. A fuller, softer pant with no crease and a blouse
or coat-jacket on top. As the weather gets warmer, the coat jacket will go by the wayside, and I'm looking to make a shorter tunic-type jacket that is lightweight to go over my blouse and pants. I like this look cause it's scream professionalism, and that's where my life is right now.
Down here in the Southern Plains, it's turning warmer - it does this time of year, but winter isn't finished with us yet, but for a few days I can get away with a blouse and pants.
But there's something haywire about my blouses - just a little off, that isn't there when I wear my jacket.
Here we go. Whether the sleeves are long or short - it always seems things look better with sleeves at 3/4 length, but I'm cold, so I always make them long. But even the shorter sleeves on the right look wrong. I look like I'm drooping and I'm
standing as tall as I can without looking like I have a broomstick up my back side!!! Yeah, I think that would hurt too!!!! Ugh! Anyway, after putting my coat on over and over during the winter I finally figured out what's wrong.
Even though this is a gentleman's profile, it shows off that wonderful crisp shoulder. Granted, this shoulder is extended and large, but it's crisp, and the suit hangs like a dream on those pads.
So I've been watching the Lincoln Lawyer 4th
season, filled with women in court, and there's a lot of information here too.
Here's the feared Maggie McPherson in a suit with shoulder pads.
Here's another one of Mickey Haller's nemesis from the Lincoln Lawyer. She's in a professional setting with shoulder pads.
And here's the baddie in this season of Lincoln Lawyer, and she's wearing shoulder pads. The thing that's the catcher in all of these is that for a more professional and crisper look, shoulder pads are key to that profile. Now, I'm not saying that this is something you have to wear, but as I begin thinking through my new profile, sloppy shoulders....
This just doesn't cut it. And to make matters worse, my shoulders have shrunk a little in their girth, so my core pattern that used to hit right on my shoulder is now dragging off the shoulder point, and looks horrible. It actually exacerbates the already horrible shoulder situation.
And let's talk about the hang. It's drooping so much that you can't see the silhouette and
all the hard-fitting work in the bodice.
And there's another problem here too, but I'm going to save that for the last, cause it's a real switcheroo!
After doing a little detective work, and because I have history of sewing during the 80s, I knew just what I needed, and ordered some very moderate shoulder pads from Wawak. They have an excellent selection, and these were the ones (in white and black) I liked the best.
And here we are. What a difference, and what a nice posture. These aren't the shoulder pads worn by the Oklahoma Sooner Football team. They are very moderate and do nothing except give a nice, crisp shoulder. That crisp shoulder
makes the whole look professional and exactly what I wanted with these pants and top.
And I bet you think I'm finished. Actually not. Age has taken something else from me besides my height, subtracted from the girth of my shoulders. It's also taken one side and shortened it. So much so that my right side here looks like I didn't put in a pad on that shoulder. It has the crispness that I want
It's still a little lower than the other shoulder, but I'm headed in the right direction. I still carry all the heavy stuff on that right shoulder, and if I would do it on my other shoulder for 70 years, I might be even - dead, but even!!!!
Sometimes we don't sweat the small stuff, and I'm getting to that point now. My shoulder is crisp and has a defining position AND the sleeve head is in the right place
Before (left) and after (right). The most important thing here now is that I have balance. The balance occurs between the shoulder and the hips, with the waist not being out of proportion to the shoulder/hip girth.
A good friend once told
me that you can lose 10lbs. with a set of shoulder pads. The reason is that it throws the proportion correctly, balancing the shoulders and hips. What I'm probably going to do is order a stack of 1/2" pads from Wawak, as these are 3/8" pads. That way, I can use one 3/8" for the left side and the other 1/2" for the right side. Notice how the blouse hangs so much better on the right? Notice the shape definition under the arm? Notice how the blouse hangs better from the waist onto the hips without riding up or needing more space at the hips? And most importantly, notice how everything looks
right?
This morning when I put this top on, I noticed something else that I forgot about. Shoulder pads also make your garment hang much better from the shoulder. This was the original reason for them in mens' suits. It was the hang that tailors were
waiting to make excellent.
Here's some final incidentals in inserting pads into a garment.
Here are some links that will help
3/8" shoulder
pads
1/2" shoulder pads
Both of these come in black and white
Also, in the video, I discussed the direction you want to sew the pads. This is because you want a roll on the shoulder. Don't ever sew these in flat on a flat
surface. You want these to "roll" over your shoulder, so the pad and the fabric on top needs to curve. To help with that, here's a little chart:
I kinda like that because it's more stealth wealth. When you get the fit, line, and drape right, it looks okay. When you get it wrong, it sends up flaring red signals.
I kinda like the whole business of inserting just a little crispness in the shoulders, because it's more stealth wealth. When you get the fit, line, and drape right, it looks okay. When you get it wrong, it sends up flaring red signals. But when
it's right, it looks right but hardly anyone can tell you why it looks right, unless they are professional sewists!!!! The idea of line, drape,
and fit are so foreign to the normal consumer, that it would be impossible to describe concepts like proportions, line, drape with fit and comfort in the same ballpark. And I don't say this to disparage the normal consumer. I actually feel sorry for them. But I say this to remind us what the alternative is to sewing for ourselves. That is: worse than not very good. Getting stuck with oversized or too-tight garments may seem like an impossibility to us, but
it's really all the consumer has to choose from. It is so foreign to the normal consumer that it would be impossible to describe concepts like proportions, line, fit, and comfort, and for them, or to expect any of that kind of performance from their wardrobe. So yes, I feel very sorry for them, and I consider myself very lucky that I not only sew for myself, but studied enough to know how to look for what's wrong so I can fix it.
And best of all, when I look in the
mirror and can't see anything wrong, it may not scream "RIGHT!" But it does scream "WOW" in a very subtle, distinct way. And that's a real treat!
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.
I'm taking a break from teaching right now, but I am able to do Zoom demos or talks for your sewing group. Contact me for details.
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Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the [email protected] email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
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