Tailoring for Women

My first tailoring lessons with my mother, who was herself an accomplished ‘stitcher’,  included trips to the local department store to look at the fashions of the day and in particular the way they were put together.  By way of education my Mom used to encourage me to ‘test’ the garments on the hangers, so I would tweak the zips and buttons, and tug at the hems and seams to test their strength (Do this with caution!).

I soon came to realise that properly hand-crafted garments had a durability and finish that was seldom to be found amongst the flimsier fashion items, and could be equally as chic as some of the finest designs.  It also gave me an insight into the fact that fashion has both an inside and an outside story, and it was seldom the case that the quality of the inside finish would match that of the outside.  I even remember reciting the mantra ‘make a garment as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside’.

In the Independent and Mirror newspapers earlier this week reports showed that complaints to the Goverment’s consumer helpline, Consumer Direct, about ‘shoddy fashion’  had surged by 22% from last year; the fastest in any of its top top 10 complaints categories.  Complaints ranged from sequined dresses littering the floor to zips and buttons on bridal dresses falling apart on the wedding day.

The marked fall in prices (as much as 25%) has no doubt had something to do with this. The big problem with reducing prices is that once you have reached the break-even point there is nowhere else to go.  There has to be an accomodation in the production costs somewhere and it would seem to lie in the making process,  and once quality has been sacrificed it is difficult to recapture.  I wonder if anyone out there has carried out a comparative pricing of the sum total of monies spent on high street fashion against the layout for a bespoke item throughout its lifetime?  It would make for interesting study.

Meanwhile, fashion continues to excite and inspire on many fronts, however, the built in obsolescence inherent in many high street purchases has created a throw-away culture which, particularly during these pressing financial times, has to be considered profligate as we watch our land fill sites overflow.

Photo: thanks to juliar at Flickr.com

The Sunday Times (UK) Style section devoted a number of column inches to the do’s and don’ts for women who find themselves at the front of the political stage either as leader or consort.  It seems that once again the dilemma for high-profile women has surfaced; about giving the right sense of gravitas without appearing domineering, or warm and genuine as against frivolous and ‘fashiony’.  From some of the books I have collected about the psychology of clothing its background is long and complex.   This rarely seems to be a problem that confronts men.  What I question however is the term power dressing.  Is it not a dated term in itself?  Also, let’s not confuse the fact that the needs of the political band wagon are rather different from those of a shareholder meeting.

For me power dressing immediately conjures up a dated picture of big shoulders, tight waists and sculptured hair-dos that look not dissimilar from the City Hall building here in London, and with as much immobility!

It smacks of theatre with only a veneer of seriousness, and as I visit my clients in the City you can see that these financially challenging times require a degree of authenticity that suggests a ‘safe pair of hands’..

One of my clients articulated her dilemma well when she talked about walking into a room of 100 venture capitalists, all male apart from a handful of women, and all with the same, almost regular-issue pinstripe uniform.  Custom and practice has not given us the opportunity to develop a similar sort of iconic look, and in this the fashion industry has been no help.

“Real power dressing is about being smart and true to yourself, and the balance between the two is what makes it new. Work out what suits you, and don’t deviate” says the Times.  But what does this mean in practical terms, and where are the places a busy executive can go to build an appropriated wardrobe without spending vast amounts of time doing it.

So I would suggest that the journalist in the Times should perhaps look a little closer at the trading floors and boardrooms and consider the realities of the executive life-style, and whether or not the concept of power dressing may in reality be rather disempowering

“I like to have a hand in the creation of my clothes and as you might expect from my work at Sotheby’s colours and textures play an integral role in my day to day life, and I wanted something a little different from my usual business clothes.”

“Sourcing the fabric is part of the fun, and Carol arranged for me to visit some of her preferred suppliers, some in Soho, and one in particular in Edgware; Joel’s.  The fabric I returned with was a French silk chiffon, vibrant lime shot with bright orange/gold!  Apparently chiffons have different weaving processes and unlike Italian chiffon, which is quite sheer, the French version retains the natural blemishes in the fabric adding to its character…almost like the brush stroke on a canvas if you like.”

“The next step is to sit down and decide how it will all fit into the design on which we have been working.  I really enjoy being a part of this process”

Out of all of the people I know in the trade Tom, at English Cut is the person who has made the most effective use of technology in extending his ‘shop window’, taking his business to clients and dispelling some of the mystique behind the profession.  It makes for an interesting juxtaposition, the intimacy of the bespoke process alongside simple mass communication methods and his blog appears to be something to which many turn.

He has a wealth of ‘back stories’ emanating from his colleagues in the trade, and was gracious enough to mention my own trip to New York earlier this year and the response from a simple post was most encouraging.

I wish Tom all the best and look forward to meeting up with him again after his own trip to the States this Autumn.

I was invited to meet with Emma Willis in Jermyn Street the other day.  She has impressive premises with an extremely helpful staff and a beautiful display of shirts made from top-end Swiss and Italian cottons.  This image is from a feature she received in Vogue.

What I found exceptional is that she has a specific range of shirts for women with the right feminine accents and detail that really do cater to the female form.  Other shirt makers have collections for women, however as an observer and purchaser I find their product no more than a version of a man’s shirt. Take for example cuff size; usually too big for the female wrist.  And button position – never at the bust point where it is needed!

Certainly the experience of meeting Emma and her staff makes it worth a visit, and a welcome pause if you are walking through St. James, just off Piccadilly.