Old Photo Pick - 4

If you google something like 'girls on bikes vintage photo' you will find plenty of erotic and pin-up pictures. Not because bikes seemed to be particular erotic a hundred years ago, but because it was something from men's world that was taken by women. Women cycled publicly for the first time through the streets of Indianapolis, USA, on April 23, 1895. Press wrote that four women riding bikes through the city aroused in men deep disgust for the ladies.

Basic Pants. What is it?

Basic Pants

On my website I offer three main options of custom-made trousers: basic pants, premium pants and deluxe ones. All of them are custom-sewn, made-to-measure, all of them involve measuring and fitting sessions before they are ready to collect. With any option you get all the benefits of garment made especially for you. What is the difference?
You've probably guessed already that smaller price means less work to do, and bigger price - vice versa. If measurements and pattern part is the same, what I can play with is actual sewing, more options in details,  or - technology.
Basic option has minimum sewing technology involved. Elastic waistband, imitation of zip, only two pockets or no pockets at all. 

Dressmaking: a work that matters for people who care.

Dressmakers and their job

Recently I was asked the question I love and hate: ‘So, what are you doing?’  It’s always easier to answer this question if your job title is your job, even if the title doesn’t cover your contribution to your community and the world. As sewists, many of us have the added problem of almost feeling ashamed of the answer. When I tell people I do dressmaking, usual reaction is: ‘Oh, it’s the dying art…’ ; ‘Really, is anyone still doing this?’ or even worse. 

I was at one of the networking events couple of years ago, and when I uncovered what my job was, I was told: ‘You are really brave to come here’ by other girls who were book-keepers and managers.  On another event, seminar about small business running, I met a lady who had a crafty business. She was really scared to sit among all these IMPORTANT people, such as…  marketing specialists. 

By the way… there was another event, networking one about fashion business. There were few dozens of people, and they all introduced themselves in a similar manner: ‘I lo-ove fa-ashion so-o-o much! I want to do a fa-ashion business… No, I haven’t done anything yet, but I have great plans…’ I realised I was the ONLY ONE there who was really doing  fashion and making contribution to real people. One who is not dreaming, not planning, not self-reflectioning, but helping people. I realised that if I hear about ‘fa-a-ashion’ one more time, I will bite somebody. It was so annoying, most of them were just layabouts.

Lots of people can sew. They can place a missing button or shorten curtains. But dressmaking as profession, as a job, is not about it. It is about helping people. It is about having courage to show up  with vulnerability. It is about making garments, ideas, style, to change people. It is about helping people to become who they always wanted to be. It’s work that matters for people who care. This is probably not the approach most people experience (or practice) all the time. This is up to us, to do dressmaking we are proud of. Because we can. 

Trousers Decor - part 2

Some more options for this original decoration. Now it doesn't sit on trousers but occupies top, and of course brings new style opportunities. 

Trousers decor, option four. It really depends on what top you are wearing, but decoration can occupy it too, in plenty of designs. Here top is probably not perfect, white button-down would be better, but I don't talk about style on mannequin. There are people who would look best of all in this particular look. People who can wear high level of eclecticism. People who like to combine inconsistent items. Contradictory souls. Or just cheerful happy people who have real fun getting dressed every day. 

Fashion Tricks - 3

This is a sad joke of fashion, but anyway, it teaches us how important it is to appreciate everything we have nowadays. Even smallest things, even... underwear and stockings. Because there was time when they were a real problem to get.

Photo represents a fight and triumph of victory: women in London in 1941 have found a flash sale of artificial stockings. 'Coupon FREE!' note had precious meaning. British civilian women were allocated sixty-six coupons per year for buying clothes, for complete wardrobe. Sixty-six was not much, if one pair of stockings took two of them. Every garment - dress, coat, shoes - has its value not only in money, but also took a number of precious coupons, depending on the value of the garment.
A sale of coupon-free stockings was a very exciting event.

Steal Her Style by Sarah Kennedy

Steal Her Style! 
Doesn't it sound exciting?
I've got a book with this title. The author Sarah Kennedy gives analysis of style features of popular actresses and top models, such as Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot. Talking about their iconic looks, make up, fashion of the period, Sarah advices how to copy their style and hopefully produce the same impression as Audrey Hepburn. 
What is the trap in this approach? 
Let's have a look on these two photos. Lesley Hornby, known as Twiggy, the most popular model of the 1960th, had her peculiar make, hair style, and she popularised bright yellow short dresses. But the first thing we see is actually her strong personality. It dominates on make up and yellow colour, and it associates with her style features. If another girl wears similar dress and hair style, she has to possess the same bold look, feel like she is a trendsetter, be the actual face of the epoch.  Otherwise it looks like poor imitation. It does, because Twiggy's style is very recognisable. Her face is recognisable first, her spirit, her energy, her personality; only then her dresses and hair cut. Taking everything but personality doesn't steals her style. I don't think it can be stolen from her. Every attempt to copy Twiggy memorises her, enriches her, but not the copyist. 

Special! Custom-made pants at half price!

Dear ladies!

You all know that I do custom dressmaking. Trousers have always been my strongest side: classic for the office,  fashionable-creative models, and simple casual, and always with a beautiful fit.

Using my knowledge and experience, I developed a new system for taking measurements and cutting pants, giving an even more accurate and fast pattern. And now I want to test this system on various beautiful shapes and sizes. Therefore, I announce the start of the special offer “Pants at half price!”

How my pants fit, what their refined inner side is, how elegant they look, - you can see on my website http://www.pantsandtrousersmagic.com.au, and you can only appreciate the convenience, wearing comfort and shape correction options  yourself. The usual total cost of sewing trousers is $ 150-200, half - $ 75-100 respectively.

Decor for trousers, part 1

Decor for trousers. 
We like sophisticated decor on tops and dresses, don't we? But what can be made on dress, can be made on trousers too. This is a part of Pants Magic philosophy. I've shown this fabric flower garland recently. Now I am going to show how to use it. I took this idea from the Threads magazine, as decoration for evening dress. Unlike dress there are much more variations when applied to pants. And you don't have to wait for evening, because on trousers in basic grey colour decorations look quite casual to wear during the day. 
Pants decor. Option one. From the pocket down. 

Fashion Tricks - 2

Lovely swimsuit invented in 1960th - monokini.

Ladies having fun and men trying their best NOT TO LOOK.

The first thing I see on the photos is FUN ladies had with this extravagant garment.

Sales assistant showing monokini to a customer, both laughing happily.
It is a staged photo though.

Monokini was created by fashion designer Rudi Gernreich in 1960th. It was proclaimed immoral and tasteless, banned in the USA, and became a symbol of Western decay in Soviet Union. It found its way to Europe though, and despite everybody thought that monokini was nothing more than a fashion stunt, it was sold in surprisingly big quantities. About 3000 monokinis were sold in the summer they were introduced to public. Monokini cost 24 American dollars, which made a good profit to designer,  for the insignificant amount of fabric. 
The trick is... monokini was sold but was not put on. Very few monokinis have ever been worn in public. It was a fashion trick and it brought ladies much fun.

Fashion Tricks - 1

One of the greatest fashion inventions of 1960th was a miniskirt. And not only skirt. For the first time so mush of the body was presented uncovered. Probably some ladies didn't feel comfortable in unusually naked outfit. And there came a solution: body paint! Painted body doesn't look undressed at all.
Advertisement says:
no body who loves mini, kicky, bare-as-you-dare fashions looks dressed without it. So roll on a body paint. Go green, blue, mauve. Or try a flesh tone (pick from four). Delicious pearlized colours leave skin gleaming. Smooth. Even covers flaws. Non-smeary. Stays on 'til you soap-and-water off. Can of Body Paint, complete  with roller and pan. 6.00. Comes with all three colours. Or one flesh tone. Coty Originals.

Have you noticed that arms and legs covered with tattoos provide the same  'dressed' effect?

Old Photo Pick - 3

Dreams and Science

I've always wondered why there are magically stunning photos and... usual ones. Learning style helped me to understand and explain the magic, at least sometimes :-)
Magic beauty of the look comes from harmony in between all elements, clear message or idea that look delivers, and ... face and clothes. We can learn a lot from couture photos, because magnificent artists are working there.
This is a Dior picture from 1967. It is not high-contrast dramatic image we got used to associate with the word 'beautiful' nowadays. It brings the idea of calmness and thoughtfulness. It is in the static pose of the girl, softly rounded geometric forms, clear horizontal lines of skirt and jacket hemlines. There is another horizontal line - of the girl's chin. Her face is based on geometric straight lines too (as fas as we can see on the old photo, they are not very clear). 
And of course colours. Dull dusty blue and white. Colours of the sky and clouds. Rounded shapes of the hat and jacket, and even gloves remind us about clouds too, though hat texture is more shape-stable. The only sharp pointed things are shoes, and they go with the stiff line of the chin and red lipstick. 
In the 1960th space costumes were one of the main fashion trends (it's understandable). No direct link here, but hat shape keeps a hint of a helmet.
I can find and describe nuances of this look for hours, but main point that makes it stunning is a delicate play of soft and sharp, of rounded and straight, dreams and science. Magnificent.

Little Black... Trousers

What I really love is uncommon and intriguing detail or two in common garment. Such as classic black pants. Of course they fit, of course fabric is nice, but that's not enough. I want them to make a style for me or my customer. Such as these free-form flowery inserts and leaf-shape beaded detail on the waistband. Flowery fabric goes well with the plain black, because they have the same slight shimmer, so they blend into one another a little. With dull black fabric it won't work. Cuffs are flowery too. They might be not very visible all the time there at the ground, but they when they come into sight, in brighter sunlight for instance, they finish my design beautifully.

Old Photo Pick -2

This week I picked several photos for you.
I like these two old photos. They both represent outfits for going out, for going for a walk. And there are 70 years in between them.

Tulip Pants and Looks with them

New model - tulip pants. If there is tulip skirt, why not trying tulip pants? They look like trousers with the fly-off front panel, and this panel is gathered in pleats, like tulip skirt is. Idea of such trousers came to me when I've seen this fabric with wide stripes of tiny flowers, like garlands. I just couldn't stand the temptation to arrange these stripes or garlands in different directions so they can meet each other and part, and create diagonal lines, like lianas or other rainforest plants.
Another feature (unfortunately not seen very well on the photos) is that there is no left side seam there. Fly-off panel is one detail with the back part, so pattern of the fabric is not broken, and no extra bulkiness added. Last is really good for hot weather, bulky seams are really annoying in summer. 

Old Photo Pick - 1

One dress a month... One ritual a lifetime. Some people just don't like custom sewing. No, they wouldn't mind a new dress, but the process is killing them as they say. It is soooo much time!.. Fittings! To tell you the truth, average fitting session takes about 15 minutes. Well, there is measuring one, one fitting session, and voila! - on the third time you get your dress. Or trousers, or jacket. Sometimes there is the second fitting session required, but trust me - in this case you'll spend years more to find dress for you in-store. 

Upside-Down Wardrobe

What does your wardrobe consist of? How many ‘tops’ (blouses, shirts, t-shirts etc.) and ‘bottoms’ (skirts/pants) have you got?

Some ladies prefer to wear dresses - you don’t have to think about combinations. Put a dress on - and your look is ready.

Style theory teaches us, that we need 3-4 ‘tops’ for each ‘bottom’ to make an easy-to-combine wardrobe. That is, for example, for one skirt you need button-down blouse for office, sequinned top for party, t-shirt to go out quickly and a jacket for cool days. You can mix and combine these garments, add scarves or printed stockings, and get a new image twice a day.  Sounds really cool!

But at the same time we can make vice-versa wardrobe and turn out closet upside down. Imagine… 30 skirts. All different. All suit your shape and personality. All deliver a message you want. All made of fabrics you’ve chosen yourself. 

What kind of top do you need for this skirt? The basic one. The simple one. The one that is not demanding. Easy to care about.  The skirt has made a statement already. 

Style in brief: prints, colours and textures

Here are some good and bad examples for you. I did my best to make experiments as pure as possible, keeping the same pose, the same background, the same hair do and make up. This is to get clear view how appearance can change in different colours, prints or even textures.

Shoes painting, colour styling and… personal philosophy

Have you ever painted your shoes? Made them another colour with any medium?

I did it twice! And quite successfully, so there is nothing impossible if you want to change the colour of your footwear. 

First time was a few years ago. I needed my black shoes to be brown. Back there I had a period of my personal style when I avoided black at all. I created mostly harmonious looks in warm hues, from top to toes. 

Burda Magazine Facing Fashion of the 1960th... How did it look like?

Burda Moden 02' 1969

Burda Moden 02' 1969

This is my new source of constant joy. What do you feel looking at these fashion models, especially on the faces?  I am overjoyed. Burda magazines for me mean not only patterns - as patterns I can do myself. It is life mode, mood, world view, philosophy, - all about how ladies of the time saw their ideals and expressed themselves. 

Burda Moden 02' 1969

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I love these happy faces of excited schoolgirls! Fashion of the late 1960th is wonderful - hilariously bright, everything is short and cute. 

Looking at these faces… I bet they really had a youthquake happened to them.

Personality vs. Famous Model

My brother Valentine in St.-Petersburg is a teacher of Lindy Hop dance style. He said once that trousers like Fred Astaire's was his dream. Well, dreams need to come true, and I decided to make him a Christmas present. 

I searched for Fred Astair’es  photos, and came to the following:

-he had different trousers, I couldn’t pick one particular style

-his trousers don’t always fit well… More likely quite opposite

-any trousers would be Fred Astaire's if there was Fred Astaire inside them!