Tailoring for Women

I need your comments!  My request is prompted by a client who approached me to carry out some ‘alterations’ to a much beloved wardrobe which, because of the passage of time, required some adjustments.

Alterations, the dreaded ‘A-word’, for me has more to do with taking up trouser hems or moving buttons.  This is a million miles away from the extensive re-cutting and restyling that is needed when refashioning a garment.  In many ways it is more related to the conservation skills required for preserving great works of art and other articles of value.  I remember talking with a luthier about the intricacy of the work that goes into repairing violins, preserving the original materials, and in more intense cases, searching for slivers of wood to match the age, grain and texture of the original. So, which of the ‘R-words’ is most appropriate?

For one part of my career I worked alongside the costumiers at the Royal Opera House.  The ability to reshape and reform garments at the drop of a hat because of last minute production changes was an essential part of their skill.

Rather than a chore, I see this work as an opportunity to learn, and I am very much of the opinion that training in these skills should be integral to any tailoring programme. It takes in all of the elements crucial to the art of bespoke; cutting, balance, sculpture, proportion and finish. Recently I have been fortunate to welcome on board a new apprentice and so this restyling project has proved to be a real bonus.

I should add one caveat however, modern garment construction does not always allow the provision for such extensive reshaping as I have mentioned in earlier posts.

But over to you…

Instead of the ‘A-word’, what would be your preference?

I attended a concert at London’s Wigmore Hall the other night.  It’s considered to be one of the world’s foremost venues for high quality performances of chamber music and this night was no different.  The Academy of Ancient Music’s director, Richard Eggar, was giving a harpsichord recital; “the ultimate instrument that goes ‘ping’” we were told.  This year heralds the anniversaries of Purcell, Handel and Haydn, and the programme was devoted to these three composers.  One of the pieces that Richard performed got me thinking.  It was the Chaconne and 62 variations by Handel (for those in the know, HWV 228!).  How many different variations are there on a jacket? … So I started counting.

Barrister * Blazer * Boating * Bolero * Brigandine * Cagoule * Carmagnole * Cassock * Chef’s * Chesterfield * Clerical * Cloak * Coatee * Collarless * Crombie * Dinner * Donkey * Doublet * Dress * Duffle * Duster * Eisenhower * Eton * Flak * Fly front * Frock * Greatcoat * Guards * Hacking * Highland * House * Hunt * Inverness * Jerkin * Justacorp * Lab * Lounge * Macintosh * Mess * Monkey * Morning * Nehru * Newmarket * Norfolk * Opera * Overcoat * Pea coat * Pilot * Polo * Prince Albert * Pyjama * Raglan * Redingote * Reefer * Riding * Safari * Shooting * Smoking * Spencer * Sport * Straitjacket * Suffolk * Top * Trench * Tunic * Ulster * Zouave

I stopped counting after 62.

There are a number of reasons for having so many different styles, and not all to do with fashion.  The Norfolk jacket for example, was designed with a high collar to keep the weather out, and with deep accessible pockets in which to keep shooting cartridges.  Shorter jackets such as the hacking jacket were intended for horse riding, and traditionally had pockets cut at an angle with thick external flaps to prevent anything from dropping out.

Can any of you add to the list?

Last week saw more coverage about ‘Austerity Britain’.  In particular,  how people were looking to revitalise long forgotten skills.  BBC TV’s Newsnight had people talking about reinvigorating the clothes in their wardrobes,  the Independent issued a supplement in their New Good Life series (Making and Mending – Sewing, knitting and darning), and the Financial Times ran a page about the rise in the sales of sewing machines and haberdashery.

I visited a number of my favourite suppliers here in London and they all confirmed how there had been an upsurge in interest,  although as Martyn Frith of the Button Queen commented,  “this was their third recession over 50 years, so it was not entirely unexpected”.

• The Button Queen: Established for over 50 years with a collection of some 2 million buttons, including rare antiques.  They will source special requirements.
• MacCulloch & Wallis: Great selection of millinery items in addition to an extensive selection of fabrics and trimmings,  all within a listed building in Mayfair.
• Kenton Trimmers:  Family business that caters specifically for the bespoke tailor.
• V V  Rouleaux: Out of the ordinary, theatrical trimmings and decorations.

A little while ago we ran a post about the fashion industry and how it had spawned a rash of cheap clothing much of which ended up in our land fill sites after only a couple of outings.  It is a welcome move forward that people are now looking to remodel and recycle.  Unfortunately,  because of the structuring of mass-produced garments this is not always as straightforward as it seems.  With some new designs, compromises are made in the make, and in the use of cloth and trimmings – and seams have a tendency to autodestruct at the slightest hint of a repair kit!

Nonetheless, I am all for ‘making do and mending’.  In fact it has given me great pleasure recently to work with one of my clients, a medical consultant, who wanted to have a hand in sharpening up her tailored wardrobe, and adapting it more to her own changing tastes and body shape. Ultimately she would like to learn more about basic tailoring, extending her creative skills set as well as the life of her garments, and at the same time adding some personal touches to her wardrobe.

I wonder how many of you were able to view the moving testament by Jenni Murray on the Newsnight programme recently on BBC Television.  This highly regarded presenter of the long running Woman’s Hour Programme (BBC Radio) spoke with great openness and pragmatism about the moment she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It made me think about some of my past clients who had contracted the same disease and how they came to terms with the physical changes that they were faced with.  The medical profession tells us that surgical techniques and recovery processes have changed radically over the years and the procedures are not perhaps quite as brutalising as they were once considered.  The lingerie industry has given us products that are sufficiently advanced to help disguise any changes in body shape,  however there remains still the psychological trauma linked to a perceived loss of one’s femininity.

It made me realise that as a tailor one is privy to some extremely personal moments in a client’s life,  and the role one can play professionally  in supporting the journey back to full confidence is certainly a privileged position to be invited to fulfil.

I was advised by one of my clients, a medical specialist, that should you need any information about this subject this is by far the most helpful website for research,  run by Macmillan; CancerBackup

You may have caught the compelling TV series “Madmen“.  The story of the how the advertising industry took fire on Madisson Avenue in the 60′s.  (30 years earlier the father of PR, Edward Bernays had started the ball rolling by helping the tobacco industry sell cigarettes to women with the somewhat questionable byline ‘A Torch for Liberty’!).  In one episode an eager young secretary was given this down to earth advice from one of her more seasoned colleagues with regards to dressing in the work place.”Go home, cut 2 holes in a paper bag, put it over your head, stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at your at yourself”.  A novel way indeed to assess your body line, but also one that is not too far off the mark.  The first step in deciding how to dress is to get an accurate understanding of your own unique body shape and how to accommodate its proportions.

I can sense that for some this may be something that requires a little courage, but to help you, here is a method that you might find more effective than the ‘paper bag’ solution.
You will need:

• a digital camera
• a printer
• a marker pen
• some tracing paper or similar

Over your usual foundation garments put on a leotord or some similar  body-hugging garment.  Using the self portrait setting on your camera,  take full length pictures of yourself from two aspects; the front and the side.   Print these out in full on A4 paper.  With the pen and  tracing paper copy the outline of your body, then mark in the top of your head, shoulder line, bustline, waistline, hip line, knees, elbows and wrists.

An alternative methoed for perhaps the more creatively inclined I learned from the artist Kristin Newton who has her students stand in front of a mirror looking at their reflected image through a sheet of perspex held a short distance from their face; it is important to view it with just one eye open in order not to distort the perspective.  Then trace around the outline of your body’s image in the mirror directly on to the perspex with a marker.

Before we go to the next stage however, let’s take a step back into antiquity and look at how  proportion was perceived by  the old Masters using the system known as the Golden Section, or the Golden Ratio.  This is a special mathematical relationship whereby a line, divided into two parts (a, b) has a relationship between the whole and its parts so that the ratio between the small section (b) to the larger section (a) is equal to the ratio between the larger section and the whole i.e. a:b = (a+b):a.

This image showing how the Golden Section was applied is from a study carried out at the Virginia Wesleyian College into Bottecelli’s Birth of Venus.

You can see how ‘perfection’ was perceived as a matter or proportion.  The reality is that few of us conform to this sylph-like ideal, however what we aspire to when selecting the style of a garment is to give the illusion of a well balanced proportion.

Now, using both tracings and photographs, take note of  the areas where the body mass is most emphasised.  Compare how the shape of the silhoutte changes between the bust, waist and hip.  Notice the degree of definition of the waist, small of the back, hips and bottom. The reason for using both tracings is that you may find, for example, from the front aspect you appear full and round, whereas from the side you may have a flatter silhouette.

The way in which we can start to balance out our proportions is by using two separate systems of analysis.  A Body Type template (you will need a pdf viewer to access this file) which associates one’s proportions with suggestions for silhouette, fabrics, details and patterns, and a set of supplementary modifications I have called Qualifiers which help with the vertical and horizontal rebalancing.

With statistics showing that most women wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time,  perhaps with a little more knowledge in how to select for proportion, these statistics can be encouraged to change.  Fashion is one thing, the bodies we were graced with is another!

Initial Image: thanks to Guardian/BBC/AMC

There are a number of significant differences between the techniques needed to tailor a garment for a women and those for a man. That is not to say however that they are completely different entities.  There are indeed many areas of crossover and this is one such example.

John Reed, who demonstrates this ingenious and original method of folding a jacket, entered the trade some 65 years ago and was a City & Guilds medallion winner.  He is also one of the many personalities that helps define the character of the Savile Row community.

Original footage: Thanks to Naoki Kawamoto Design

Earlier this year you may have seen the retail guru Mary Portas visiting the boutique of the designer who specialises in larger-sized garments, Anna Scholtz.  Amongst all the furore over the last year or so about ‘Size 0′ models it was refreshing to hear someone in the fashion industry comment that “the curvy customer is, in fact, the average British woman”.  I realise that this can be a sensitive subject, but if you are a bespoke tailor it is an issue that you have to address face on.

When assessing a client with, to use the accepted euphemism, a fuller figure, it does present a different set of challenges for both maker and wearer, and I feel that the continuing trend for covering up rather than emphasizing assets takes away the opportunity for rejoicing in one’s own body shape.

Often I find it to be the case that insufficient time has been spent by a client in assessing their true anatomical structure, for example whether they are ‘big-boned’, or have a larger body mass.  As each of these has a different reaction to the act of standing or sitting it can have considerable implications for the way in which a garment is cut.

Three of my clients come to mind who are completely at home with their proportions, and all have, in their different ways, to lay themselves open to public scrutiny.

The world famous dramatic soprano Jane Eaglen first came to me when she had just broken on the operatic scene and I made a concert dress for her American debut at the Hollywood Bowl.  She not only had to have something with all the glamour of a first night,  but also it had to be something  against which she could push when her diaphragm was in full extension.  In some ways it had to become a part of her performance equipment.  An interesting combination of robustness and elegance for a woman who is  tall with a substantial figure and a personality to match.  We worked on emphasising this with an emerald raw silk gown which had beaded accents, and combined it with a long iridescent silk chiffon coat.

Clarissa  Dickson Wright wanted a garment for an occasion too; The Conservancy Ball.  But it also had to be one that would merge into her wardrobe in a practical way.  Her links to the countryside and the National Trust led the way to a  2-piece rifle-green, wool-crepe top  with a long 8-panelled skirt which broke into soft flutes at the hemline. Over this we made a sweeping shooting cape  from lightweight tweed with a fine leather trimming.  So…practicality with style.

One of the most interesting commisions recently was from Gieves and Hawkes who asked me to create a piece for the Lord Chamberlain of Tonga on the occasion of the coronation of the new monarch.  This garment had to make less of a statement because of the contrast  with the ceremonial garments.  In this instance it was midnight blue silk-satin with an Empire waistline and a long exagerated A-line skirt.  We were however given full permission to add any accents we thought appropriate, so to soften it we included a scalloped neckline and a hint of beading to match the sparkle of the occasion.

If I were to sum up the common elements from each of these projects I feel that there are three points to be made.

1. Don’t sentence yourself to wearing dark colours all the time, and have a sense of your own unique colour palate; more of this in future posts
2. Don’t squeeze into a smaller size, wear something that fits your build
3. Think vertically with detail, and accents that draw the eye forward and up e.g. longer lapels, a longer jacket opening with fewer buttons, detail around the shoulder areas

The exceptional soprano Jessye Norman is once reputed to have said, when being encouraged to enter a crowded elevator by turning sideways, “Honey, with me there ain’t no sideways”.  Frivolous comments aside,  let’s hear it for the women with fuller figures!

Photo: Public Domain