In St.-Petersburg in Russia where I came from we used to say: "summer was hot and dry. It's a pity I was working that day". Here in Brisbane we can say: "winter was really nasty, and it took the whole weekend!"Australian winter allows us to dress our best, to take out suits, jackets, even boots and coats... sometimes. And I think this is really great.
Not bad look, I think. What we have here:
-flowery top from H&M, $20
-pants from Cotton On, $15 (special)
-booties from Ecco, $100 (approx., I don't remember)
-JACKET made by myself
This is not a regular jacket. I made it when I studied Haute Couture sewing techniques It was a Chanel-type jacket course and it was taught by a New York fashion designer Yana Brink (Yana Brink).
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| Soft fall of the fabric is the main idea of hand sewing |
Fabric is an Italian mixed one, wool + silk, and it is absolutely gorgeous to touch.
Pattern has been draped on a mannequin.
A lot of hand sewing, it is Haute Couture!
Buttonholes were made by hand, of course.
The main idea of hand sewing is softness, tenderness, free falling of the fabric.
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| In Haute Couture fusible interfacings are not used at all. That's why Chanel jackets are so soft. But... |
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| ...there are special techniques to stabilise the neckline. |
By the way it is quite natural to ask your master for the unique apparel. If it is vital for you that your dress or jacket will be the only one in the world, dressmaker is usually able to offer you some totally new design, or use fabric she never sewed before, and promise not to repeat for a number of years, or ever. A lot of fashion houses and sewing masters are happy to talk about your unique garment.
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| The sleeves have machine-stitched cuffs - you can compare the fabric behaviour. It was a part of my design. |
What do you see, looking at the beautiful dress or skirt? What do you see first?
Usually people see fabric, if it has print on it, colour and only then - shape and silhouette. This is what we look at when shopping for clothes. An that is good, because hues must suit us, if they don't go with our skin tone - its hard to look wonderful wearing them.
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| The sleeve is sewn into the armhole by hand stitches as well. Looks nice, doesn't it? |
But when you discuss with your sewing master your future garment, it is a different story. Not only colour and silhouette come into play, but lots and lots of details, your personal wishes, dreams and needs.
By the way what is the difference between off-the-rack clothes and sewn for you?
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| Buttonhole, inside view. Not perfect, but not bad. |
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| Falling of the hemline, free and soft, but keeps its shape at the same time. Compare with the cuff photo above - totally different. |
Ready-made garments are not worser than couture ones, they serve another goals of the designer.
Imagine, you are making a collection of fine clothes. What is it for? It has to be sold, so... it has to suit a lot of people, the wider the target group - the better. Off-the-rack garments are not good or bad, they are produced not for your dreams and not for your needs. And not for your shape. They suit the figure that the particular designer considers average. And average dream means... fashion.
Designer off-the-rack clothes has the face and character of that designer. If you are like her/him - you have found your brand. Congratulations, this is really hard to find and a great luck if you did it!
Not every seamstress can make your dreams come true. It is not about her skill and vision, it is about her and yours attitude to clothing. We'll talk about it soon.
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