Tailoring for Women

When Jerome Kern and Buddy De Sylva first set out to write their 1920′s classic melody I doubt that they had the lining of their jackets in mind, snappy dressers though they were.  A well cut lining however, made from an appropriate fabric, can really put a new slant on any garment.

Here are a few reasons why we have a lining in a garment in the first place:

• It makes it easier to slip the garment on and off
• The lining hides the inner workings of a garment
• It can protect the skin from a harsher outer fabric
• It allows a jacket to freely interact with the garment underneath
• It helps to protect the main garment from the body’s heat and moisture
• It helps to maintain a garment’s structure and shape
• It allows a body to move freely
• It preserves the life of a garment, bearing the brunt of the wear and tear, and can be replaced.
• If the main fabric is translucent or opaque a lining can change its hue
• It can add a touch of fun

Maybe you can add to this list?

With tailored jackets in particular, the lining is made slightly bigger than the garment and it is installled with extra pleats and ‘ease’.  This helps with both comfort and the outward appearance of the garment.  Next time you are out and about see if you can spot the person with the lining that is too small or has shrunk.  You will notice from the way the hem at the centre back curls up inside the jacket and how it takes away the crisp fold of the hem.

More recently with the development of new fabrics, the introduction of lycra into the weave has extended the capabilities of linings enabling them to stretch and give a greater feeling of comfort.

Linings can also be a way of bringing a subtle flair to the business suit, and a flash of crimson against an otherwise sombre pinstripe can give added frissons.  One of my clients, the violinist Gil Shaham always took a secret to the platform whenever he performed.  With a passion for Warner Brothers cartoons, his tail-suit was lined with ‘Loony Tunes’ characters…where Tweety Pie ended up is perhaps best left to the imagination!

Gil, Claudio Abaddo, and the Vienna Philharmonic

Pbotos:  Thanks to www.free-scores.com and The Strad

With Autumn comes the opportunity to bring out some of the traditional tweeds, particularly for those people involved in country pursuits.   But what makes a tweed so special and reliable as opposed to other materials.

Essentially tweed is an fabric closer to its natural state with something of a rougher texture, and woven into either a plain or twill finish.  The particular combination of threads can produce an eye catching result often as a check or herringbone pattern.  It is quite warm and tends to retain the water repellent properties of the sheep from which it came!  Which is why it is so suitable for country sports.

Working with tweeds is particularly interesting because the cloth is quite robust – it moulds and shapes well and can handle the pressure and heat of the steam process.  The challenge is balancing out the inherent bulkiness of the fabric with the delicacy of the design you want to create.

This four panel skirt I made recently is a good example of the sort of bias-cut garment one can produce.  Cutting tweed in this manner emphasises the stretchiness of the cloth which makes it technically more difficult to deal with, however it enables one to create a much more interesting ‘flow’ in the sculpturing of the garment.

These garments were made from a collection of particularly special tweeds I sourced some years ago.

“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”

To the East side of one of Tokyo’s business shopping districts, Ginza, is one of its oldest theatres; the Kabuki-za.  One of the few remaining venues for this traditional form of drama, people flock to see this elaborate and colourful mixture of theatre, music, dance and costume that originated in the early 17^th century.  On my recent visit to Tokyo I had the good fortune to see it for the first time and it was fabulous.

In some ways it has much in common with Shakespearean theatre with a smattering of pantomime thrown in.  For complex historical reasons the parts are all played by men, even the women’s roles (onnagata), and the actors who take these parts, some of whom can be in their 70′s, are highly admired.  In Kabuki’s early history the costumes worn by the onnagata in performance were quite influential on the fashionable trends of the day

The costumes can be extremely extravagant and in the play I attended, Onna Shibaraku, they extremely exaggerated in order to emphasise the ‘super-hero’ status of some of the characters.

As one might imagine in a theatrical context, there is a certain degree of sleight of hand with regard to the making of the garments.  From the audience’s perspective they look extremely opulent and as was the tradition of the day, they were many-layered.  In fact from a cost point of view it would have been impossible for a theatre company to afford garments made entirely from these expensive materials, so instead, apart from the outer kimono, only the edges of the undergarments that showed were made from these fabrics, a more economical solution being found for the rest.

There are lots of subtleties in design such as the cords built into some of the costumes which enable the technique known as ‘hikinuku’, where outer layers can be removed speedily by the black-clad stage attendants (deshi) by removing the cords which allow the outer sections to fall away.

One particular subtlety is the way in which the kimono fits around the back of the onnagata’s neck, the only place where the white ‘oshiroi’ make-up is not used.  It was considered by the Japanese that this was a highly erotic feature of a woman’s body therefore the collar stands away from the neck in order to emphasise this feature.

Don’t pass up an opportunity to see one of these performances, but make sure to purchase the earphone guide which gives simultaneous commentary.

Earlier this year I displayed a range of kimonos I had been sent from Japan.  They attracted a lot of attention, and no wonder, they have a sense of beauty, style and proportion that is unique.  On my recent visit to Tokyo I met with the person who had sent them to me.  Togashi-san, seen with me here in front of the Kabuki-za with her daughter Taki, is one of the administrators of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and she inherited many of her kimonos from her mother.  This is very much a standard practice and one of my friends who was the UK correspondent for the Nihon Keizai Shinbun (also known as the Nikkei – the Financial Times equivalent of Japan) had an equally extensive collection which had been handed down to her and which was shown at Goldsmiths College last year.

The design of the kimono is comparatively simple, however the fabrics from which they are made can be extremely exotic and along with the patterns they contain often relate to the season in which they should be worn.  The kimono shown here is made from linen woven in a style unique to Okinawa.

Dressing in a kimono is not a simple matter and often the wearer will visit a specialist ‘dresser’ in order for the complex layers of the ‘obi‘ to be wound around the waist, something like a corset.  The process can take 40 minutes and when finished contributes to the characteristic way in which a Japanese woman walks. Here is a silk kimono…

…with two decorative obi.

The kimono has a certain element of formality and is not the only traditional garment to be worn.  During the summer season one often sees people wearing a yukata; a lighter and looser version of the kimono.  At some of the festivals I attended (omatsuri) I saw both young and old alike taking advantage of this unisex garment in the humid conditions of Tokyo in August.  In fact I have a number of them myself and I have made several for my clients.  They say that they appreciate the experience of slipping into this elegant garment as they settle down in the evening, or even for more formal occasions.

We have quite an exclusive list of suppliers for our specialist suitings, however whenever we receive a commision for something out of the ordinary we turn to Joel & Son Fabrics.   Situated just north of Marble Arch in Central London, they have the most extensive range of printed silks and beaded lace that you can find almost anywhere.

Alongside, they have a wide selection of materials with which you can co-ordinate your garment. They also have a wealth of advice as to how to match the properties of a particular cloth with a garment’s design or purpose.   There reputation is such that they are frequently required to source and supply fabrics for many a State occasion.

We have worked together for the past 20 years and I frequently send my clients direct to their premises where Joel’s staff are extremely helpful, and will take time to make this first exploration part of the whole bespoke experience.