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