June 26, 2020

So I was perusing on the internet as I am wont to do.  There really is so much wonderful stuff on the internet, like the top acoustic guitar intros of all time.  I mean seriously, how can you not want to know this valuable information - and it has so much to do with sewing.  Alas, I get sucked down these holes all the time!

But finally getting back to one of my fav topics - sewing and style and fashion - OK that's three, I really can count.  But I've been thinking a lot about how the really wealthy dress.  Not the temporary wealthy or new wealth, but the really wealthy who are wealthy generation after generation after generation. 

They are never showy because if you are truly wealthy, then you don't dress showy cause you do not want to draw attention to yourself.  These people are the ones who strive to be in the newspaper 3 times, birth, marriage and death.  They actually shun publicity.  I know this may seem completely counter to our culture full of families who populate the reality TV series, but the truth is that they don't even want you to know their names. 




 


 



You look at these people, and the first thing you think of is - well, gee, they look like regular people - you can't even tell from their clothes that they have all that much money.

And let's look at the clothes of the women - the first thing we notice is that none of them are svelte.  The next thing we notice is that the clothes all fit. Notice the lady in the lower left in the royal blue suit - the shoulders fit, and she can close the jacket without any pulling.  It's not very trendy - you know that too-tight look a lot of people who seem to have a lot of money wear.  Even the lady next to her - her shoulders fit and there's not a lot of bulk in her top under her arm.    Where did they buy these clothes to get such a good fit?  And the fabric they use seems to be extra-ordinarily fine. 

So I found several articles on how the well-heeled really dress.  And here is the run down from those articles.

1. Buy clothes that fit - this is the most obvious sign of great wealth - not bling, but fit, and you do not get this great fit in stores, that's why if you sit a look at these folks above, you can't place that it's a Valentino, or a Chanel or a Jason Wu - it's simply a good fit. 
2. Buy a few really high-quality items.  These are those accessories, but there's a caveat with this.....
3. Don't show obvious labels....the MK of Micheal Kors or the CC of Chanel or the H of Hermes are all a big no-no.  When you are truly wealthy you are not an advertising billboard for any designer. 
4. Dress up a little more.  Not one of these folks participated in the Grunge look of frayed edges, ill-fitting clothes (too tight or too lose), ripped out jeans or jeans at all.  They all wore a more dressed-up, well-groomed look.  Fortunately this is coming back into style so you'll be seeing lots more of this, which will make the really wealthy fall even more into the background (which is what they really strive for).
5. Buy/Make clothes with natural fabrics.  Yeah, linen and cotton wrinkles as does silk, but these are known as rich wrinkles in the intelligentsia of the truly wealthy. 
6. Make sure your clothes are well-pressed and clean.  This is a duh moment for we sewists, but not all people abide by this.  Here's what happens with this.  A regular gal goes out to find a tee-shirt and it's perfect; it fits perfectly; it hits at just the right height; it's easy to wear; it makes her look fabulous; and it's comfy.  But she's eating blackberries and suddenly there's a stain on the left side hem - it's not the most noticeable place and after washing it looks OK, but it's still noticeable. She goes out to find another one just like it and she can't - it's not available anymore, no matter how many searches on the internet or by phone -  nada.  The sewist has the same event - a blackberry stain, on her fav tee-shirt and can't get it clean, so poof, gets some more of that fabric or something similar and makes the same fabulous looking, right length, easy to wear, fits perfectly and is comfy just like the last one she made, and goes on down the road vowing NOT to have blackberries without a bib!   Can you see where this is going? 
7. Be ready for weather, IOW have your coat, jacket, or whatever you need at hand so that you can be prepared for that sudden cold snap or shower that occurs.  For we sewists, as we develop our wardrobe, when we make things like coats, jackets, and outerwear, they are made with much more substantial assembly techniques that they last often 10 times longer than the ready-to-wear stuff, so we have that coat in the closet ready for the cold weather or the rain jacket for that sudden summer storm. 
8. Spend money on shoes.  When I traveled to the NY Fabric district in the 70's, it was not one of the best neighborhoods to be walking in - but they had fabric, and that's where I needed/wanted to go.  One of the key things I learned, was that the pickpockets and ne'r-do-wells would always look at the leather goods a person was wearing to tell if they had money - so I learned not to wear my most favorite shoes and to carry my purse inside my coat or jacket to warn off the villains on the street.
9. Wear discreet bling.  And the keyword here is discreet.  That means a string of pearls, a broach, a nice time-piece and that's it.  Less is more in this case.  Take a look at Queen Elizabeth who has a whole tower full of jewelry to choose from but when she's out doing her job during the day, a broach and pearls and that's it.  You can't even tell what make her purse is. 

Then when she's at a state dinner.....

Well, Katie bar the door...a ruby & diamond crown with huge ruby and diamond necklace with three huge broaches and bracelet to match the necklace, and the dress - where have you seen this dress in the store?  Notice how it fits, the shoulders are on the dress at just the right place, yet it fits and has ease so she can sit and stand comfortably and elegantly.  It's apparently a beaded lace over a white ground with long sleeves and a V neck to show off the necklace.

This is a state affair, but the amazing thing is that when she's out and about, she's very quiet about her jewelry, but when it's private or at least not on the street, she's wearing all the jewelry that's appropriate for a royal head of state. 

Go for something a bit bland or classic, but made with real components for accessories.  Wearing a label isn't always preferred, unless it's something like the classic quilted Chanel purse, but more likely is something that is a classic leather bag that can be a go-to item for the entire wardrobe - or at least the professional to casual side of the wardrobe.  For the formal or super-formal, you might need another option, but still without the logo is best. 

I'm not shocked at all by this list, because the truth is that what I really prefer in my daily dressing is classic - something that makes me feel good, feels comfortable to wear, flatters me, and it's fussy where I have to adjust a lot of parts to make it work.  This is absolutely what first drew me to sewing....looking for that classic red dress - not dotted, not full, not frilly, not with a sweetheart neckline, not tricky, but timelessly classic.

And I couldn't find it.  Later I learned that RTW very rarely has any classic clothes.  RTW has trends and has to have trends, because it's moving from one trend to another that sells, and the trendy look has to be something that easily recognizable like the shorter skirt, the billowy harem pants, the hipster pant, the sloppy look, the frayed/ripped look -- all of those have a distinctive look.  But looking at something like this.....


These are styles that you can wear today and not have to worry about being in and out of fashion. 

So when you're planning your wardrobe or looking for something new, do what the really wealthy do - go classic.  And how do you determine what's classic for you - yeah, here it comes - this is the clincher - you're going to have to know what's in your closet, which means you're going to have to clean it out to see what you have and see where the holes are. 

But in the end this is so worth it.  Not only do you end up with clothes that last far longer than you can imagine, but your closet becomes a useful friend again, instead of a every-morning battle zone.   



 

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June's Feature Resource

 

Each month, I'd like to feature a Resource from the SewingArtistry Resource Center.  Sometimes it will be something new.  And this week I wanted to start out with something that you might not necessarily associate with sewing. And while it's a feature Resource for that month, it will be 15% off.

You all know that I think of all of us sewists as artists.  Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before - I'm not an artist.  I take a pattern that's already made and I cut it out according to the directions and then make it up and that's not an artist. 

Oh boy, let me tell you what.  There are so many artistic activities in that "not an artist" process that it's amazing.  Let's count them real quick:
1.) The Pattern:  What do you think happens when you start with a pattern?  The first thing is to customize it for your shape, size and style.  This is a basic design and artistic technique.   
2.)  The Fabric:  Yes the pattern envelope gives you ideas  on fabric but doesn't say exactly what to purchase.  You choose the fabric.  This is a major - let me say that again a MAJOR design decision.
3.)  The Buttons:  You choose the buttons for the pattern - another MAJOR design decision (read #2 over again).
4.)  The Notions:  You choose the notions for the design.  The interfacing, thread color, zipper color, length, type (invisible, exposed, lapped, etc.) and these are all again major design decisions in the garment.

But here's the thing;  what's the difference between these two dresses?

Why does one of them look right and the other just misses it?  You can tell that one is right and the other isn't, but you may not know why?  If you don't know why, then how are you going to know how to fix it. 

Here's another one:


Yes, we all know that this makes Kate Winslet look very thin and curvy, but why?  Exactly what did the designer use to make Ms. Winslet look busty when she's really not that busty?


This one might be a little harder but you certainly know that one looks better than the other.

They are both neat outfits, and there's nothing wrong with either of them, but one looks a little better.  It snaps out while the other one looks plain and rather blah.  What happen here that made that snap happen?  How can you apply that to your garments?

That's what this resource is all about with specific examples for all the aspects of design.  These are known as the Elements (parts) and Principles (Techniques) of Design.  They aren't that hard to know and you really don't have to memorize these.  But what's empowering here is to know that they exist, so that if something is off with your garment, you can refer to this and take it apart and see what's going on.  The more you use these techniques, the more you will feel comfy using it.  At first, it's going to seem very foreign, but having this resource on your computer always available for reference can be a very valuable tool for your creative designs. 

There are 2 versions: 

The Elements and Principles of Design is located here

This is the basics of the Elements and Principles with a basic Color section.  This will give you the basics of design with a brief color section.  This includes videos and additional downloads within the document. 

The Elements and Principles of Design with Color is located here.

This is the Elements, Principles and Color section on steroids.  It has a complete Color section that goes into detail about not only how to look at color a completely different way, but a great guide for how to purchase color at online fabric stores and feel that you know what color you are getting. 

Both are 15% off for the month of June as the feature Resource for this month. 
 

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