Tailoring for Women

I opened the Financial Times this weekend to a splash of advertisements for engagement and wedding rings, although for me none as elegant as this stunning example from Lucie Campbell in Bond Street.

Despite the Arctic conditions here in London, minds are turning to warmer thoughts and spring nuptials. I have  completed two weddings so far this year, with a third underway and still more around the corner.  As we were laying out each garment it occurred to me that there are some common issues that might be worth bearing in mind as you start the planning process.

So, here are ten thoughts, in no particular order,  that will help to reduce your stress levels and preserve the bank balance as the day draws near:

1. It is not necessary to purchase large quantities of expensive fabric.  Simply designed dresses can be transformed with hints of more exquisite fabrics such as beaded silks, embroidery, or devoré.
2. Choose cloth as early in the proceedings as possible, and also plan the fitting schedule well in advance.  Time flies, and if fabric stocks are limited your selected cloth could be snapped up.  Fortunately,  suppliers will often reserve lengths of fabric against a deposit whilst you decide on the design, and the pattern is cut.
3. Remember to include your intended jewellery in the discussion.  Bodices can be shaped to show a necklace off to better effect, brooches can be secured to protect the dress fabric, and a headress can be fashioned around an existing tiara.
4. Plan the undergarments with your designer.  They will be integral to the final design, so remember to bring them to your fittings.  I am pleased to be able to send my clients to Rigby & Peller.
5. Don’t leave your choice of shoes to the last minute.  You will need them at the final fittings for a perfect hemline.  Also, it can take weeks if they need to be dyed.  Make sure to wear them a few times before the day arrives, you may be grateful when it comes to the last waltz!
6. I have attended many a wedding where there have been accidents as a hem was caught on a heel or a garment gets unexpectedly snagged.  Make sure you have a small sewing kit to hand, including safety pins.
7. Don’t leave the men out of the planning.  Often ideas for co-ordinating their garments or accessories come too late in the day to be able to take effective action.  Waistcoats, bow ties, pocket squares, cravats, braces and buttonholes; all can lend a unifying feel to the bridal party.
8. Clients sometimes ask me to remodel or recondition vintage pieces, or perhaps refurbish a wedding dress worn by their mother.  This is achievable and often gives an added poignancy to an event, but be prepared for specialist alteration work which can be extensive.  Depending upon how the garment has been cared for this can prove a costly exercise particularly if special fabrics, beads, fastenings or trimmings need to be sourced and applied.
9. Think ahead and consider how any garments might be merged into your regular wardrobe after the wedding.  Shawls and jackets can be used as staple garments after the event, shoes can be re-coloured, and dresses can be re-cut or re-dyed.
10. Finally, don’t forget the last minute extras – garter, head dress, gloves, shawl or jacket, or a second outfit for the reception.

Good Luck!

Photo: thanks to Lucie Campbell, New Bond Street, London

With due acknowledgement paid to Rogers and Hammerstein, I thought this week’s post should be devoted to a garment I am personally becoming quite attached to; the happi coat.

This loose fitting Japanese jacket originated as a lightweight over-garment that became a traditional part of a shop keeper’s uniform. The family crest, shop name or emblem was printed on the back of the coat.   In Japanese restaurants the chefs often wear something similar to a happi coat called a hippari.  However, rather than having the traditional obi tied around the waist it has a small belt that ties inside the foreparts.  Today, happi coats are still used by some shop keepers, however you see them more usually at Japanese festivals.

It is an extremely practical garment that folds, packs and travels well, and no doubt this is in part what lends it such popularity.  The traditional garments can be made in cottons or linens but there is no reason why they couldn’t be made from most any fabric.

I made this one recently for a client.The fabric I used is a hand woven ‘shot silk and its irridescence is captivating.

Flattering, as it drapes on all figures with its soft shoulder line and proportion that skims the hipline, its belt can also be decorated with beads or perhaps something similar to the traditional netsuke.

I received this picture recently from Japan.  This particular happi was a small token of thanks I made for a friend who had treated me to a day of kabuki drama at the Kabuki-za followed by an evening of sushi and sake with her family.  Here she models the finished garment with her arms tucked in to show the shape of the sleeves!

It is made from a length of kimono fabric woven by one of her forebears.  The width of the roll of fabric fits within the traditional standard, around 15 inches, whereby one length would make one of the foreparts, two lengths joined together would form the back, and another length would wrap around the arm to form the sleeve.  This foreward thinking in the manufacturing process eleminates much of the cutting.

I think that there is something almost uncanny about these garments that has also been remarked upon by my clients.  It may well be that the feeling of freedom these garments give somehow encourages a different sense of poise when you wear them.  Maybe it is the way in which this garment highlights the character of the person who wears it rather than it becoming the centre of focus.

Whatever it may be, I now wear them all the time as my signature garment when I am working in the studio.

Photo: thanks to Japanese gifts

At the moment we are working on a January wedding to be celebrated in St Mary’s, just off London’s Cadogan Square.  I really enjoy these commissions because it brings a true sense of theatre to our work place. The bride, a daughter of one of the curators at the Victoria & Albert Museum, has chosen to ammend the dress worn by her mother at her own wedding. We are now at the consultancy stage with a set of designs for the bride and her 6 attendents. A large part of this is to develop an understanding of the psychology of the client, going deep down into their initial thoughts in order to help their ideas spring to life.

In part this means organizing a collection of images and items from magazines, art galleries, fashion books, the internet, and even family memorabilia. Listening to the client’s input is so very fascinating when finding a direction for the brief - I remember one client who presented me with one of their favourite poems along with a set of colour swatches! We also arrange trips to visit some of my favourite fabric suppliers such as Joel & Son, Broadwick Silks or MacCulloch & Wallis. All of this helps to create a story around what is one of the most important moments in a person’s life.

This project has prompted me to reflect on some of the practical matters and mystique that lies behind the creation of these iconic pieces.

The first thing to emphasise is that each bridal piece is a ‘one-off’; not only in the fundamental design, but in how it is realised. It can’t ever be part of a conventional manufacturing process. It demands a high degree of originality (and invention !) which is is in no small part driven by the fact that it is also a showcase for the bride to demonstrate her own sense of style. And as the stitches add up the garment starts almost to take on a life of its own, and it can become increasingly temperamental and demanding as the process unfolds.

You need a different level of confidence when working with these types of garments and one develops a focus which has to block out other distractions. This is one reason why I plan to use off-peak hours for the more intricate design elements. These are high risk undertakings particularly as one reaches the final stages.  Why is it that that a garment always seem to become vulnerable to a ‘crimson ambush’ from a pricked finger particularly when you are doing the final hand ‘felling’, and always when the fabric is white! Between final finish and delivery the creation may even demand it own private space, and indeed it should, to protect everyone’s precious investment.

We are finding increasingly too that having committed to the investment, clients don’t just want to create a piece that will end up in an attic box.  They now are ask us for something that will merge into their wardrobes in a practical way.  This may mean building in the possibility for re-purposing it into a piece of day or cocktail wear, which in turn adds another layer of complexity to the pre-planning stages.  I can see the trend in bridal wear continuing towards the use of simpler, more tailored dresses or suits which are then supplemented with bespoke jewellery or accessories.  This does steer more towards our particular forte, the business suit, although working on these special occasion garments makes me appreciate just how complex and extensive the arena is for dressing women.  One that requires a correspondingly high level of diverse and creative skills.

Photo: thanks to Ronsho from Flickr.com (With CCL)

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.

Pinky has had an illustrious career as one of the leading sportswomen in trap and skeet winning 5 European Championships, a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, and joins the ranks of top women athletes as one of the few to be voted Sportswoman of the Year.  She was the first Briton to take part in the Olympics in both trap and skeet and was the inspiration behind the first of the shooting waistcoats I was commissioned to make for the British Shooting Team.

Unknown to many of her followers is the fact that she also designs and hand makes exquisite jewelery from semi-precious and precious stones.  Some of her work is currently on view at Holland & Holland, Mayfair.

“Carol has a great eye for detail and it is wonderful to find someone with such an understanding of the value of hand-crafted items.  I applaud her new venture and wish Tailoring for Women every success” Pinky Le Grelle

I was thrilled to see that Richard Faulds took a gold In the double trap competition in last month’s World Cup in Suhl, Germany.  Another Gold medal to add to his collection.