Tailoring for Women

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

It was a complete delight to go to the Cadogan Hall last week to attend a concert by Mary Carewe once again.  I know I have written about her before, but this was something of a special occasion. The concert consisted of a mixture of cabaret songs drawn from the age when Berlin was the focus of all that was risqué and decadent.  Cutting satirical songs from Kurt Weill to the more exotic and challenging Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg made for a heady mix.

Not only was Mary on stage but the concert was conducted by her father John Carewe,  Sir Simon Rattle’s original mentor, and in the Berlin Kabarett Ensemble was her sister on the cello.  Simon’s son Sasha was playing the clarinet, and throughout the evening three of my own family appeared.  Three concert gowns made over a period of 15 years; a silver beaded gown for Pierrot Lunaire, a black beaded tailcoat for the Berlin songs, and a multi-coloured beaded\netting combination to add a little more spice.  It was certainly the night for beads!

Mary makes her Carnegie Hall debut with Carl Davis next year so with a bit of luck I will be able to synchronise  my next US sales trip with the performance.

Photo: thanks to www.sanctuaryclassics.com

The Duchess of Windsor said “when it is right there is nothing to replace it”, American Vogue dubbed it the “Ford” because it was as ubiquitous as the automotive, and Coco Chanel confessed, ” a little black dress is difficult”.  It is hard to believe that this perennial which became such a feature for Audrey Hepburn is over 80 years old. In the Daily Express today it made an appearance again, prompted by the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

In this instance it appears to be invested with a durability not normally associated with haute couture as it appears to be the garment of choice for the actress Olga Kurylenko as she plummets to earth on a parachute in the company of Daniel Craig.  Aren’t modern fabrics wonderful!

In the same spirit that Pascal said “I am sorry for writing a long letter I didn’t have time to make it shorter”, in its brevity the LBD requires an equal degree of finesse in creating its subtlety of curves and figure-hugging simplicity.  Much of its personality is created in the cutting process which has to be exact. Silhouette, neckline,  and hemline all interact and have to be in balance. It really is garment design in its purest form with no fuss or frills and  little room for error and carries the same degree of risk as the ‘shodo’ calligraphers who get only one chance to make their mark on the paper.

I made the dress above for Ute Lemper when she starred in the opening of Chicago in 1998, and it still looks as fresh and alluring as it did when it first went on stage.  It also had a sense of theatre as you can see from the shoulder strap.

So when thinking of reviving your wardrobe remember the words of Christian Dior.  “You can wear black at any hour of day or night, at any age and for any occasion.  A little black dress is the most essentail thing in any woman’s wardrobe”

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It was sad to read in the press over the weekend of the demise of the great fashion house Hardy Amies.   Reports in the Guardian and the Times painted a very gloomy picture, but somewhat different from the experiences I remember from when I had the good fortune to spend some time with them a few years back.

The talent throughout the business was outstanding and none more so than in the making rooms.  To quote from one of my past clients, the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, “their performance just blew my mind!”

I remember working alongside “Pino” in the tailoring department who had a great rapport with the clients and the workers.  He had many years in the trade working on long runs of fashion lines and also in the more intimate setting of the bespoke cutting rooms.  This brought an authoritative mix of skills and solutions to the design briefs and his exhortations to “…work to a system!”  still ring in my ears along with sound of the old treadle machines.

The company also has many different facets therefore I find Jeff Banks comments in the Guardian a little puzzling when he talked about the brand becoming ‘mumsy’.  Bespoke, made to measure and accessories for men and women were all part of the mix.  And as far as the 2008 collection is concerned,  from its imagery, I am sure that there would be many a consort who would like a ‘mum’ like that on his arm.

If the company is finally broken up, I hope that the next incumbent to fill 14 Savile Row will bring as much to the trade as Sir Hardy.

Photo: thanks to www.elegant-lifestyle.com

“Annie Hall” hit the mark perfectly some 30 years ago in the eponymous film by Woody Allen.   From top down, her combination of trilby, shirt and tie, waistcoat and chinos hooked a generation of women into the masculine look.  Although she was by no means the first person to do so.  Think of Marlene Dietrich and the allure of her androgynous cross-dressing.

It seems that every autumn the fashion press re-visits this theme of masculine dressing and it appeared again in the London Telegraph last week.

I find however that many of the images with which the world of fashion presents us rarely features the full potential of the tailoring tradition when it responds to the needs of the female form.

Historically the bespoke suit evolved to fit the male proportions with a cut and underlying structure that emphasised a strong shoulder line with sculptured upper body, and a defined waist which flattered and elongated the masculine silhouette.  This is still very much the case; however women require something that is altogether different.

When tailoring for women the shoulder line needs something much neater and more delicate, and as one moves down the torso from bust to hip the complexity of the female form and its natural asymmetries requires a much greater awareness of the subtle gradations of the all-round profile which then have to be transferred to a balanced pattern unique to the client.

Although there are obvious differences in requirements from client to client, in the short journey from shoulder to hip I have to take many more measures for a woman’s suit, different ones too, than I would for that of a man’s.  And on top of this tolerances have to built in to take into account the cyclical changes in a woman’s figure.

A frequent comment from my clients is that they feel “trussed up as if in a suit of armour”.  I would suggest that this need not be the case and that with greater attention to the point outlined above, and some modifications to the traditional internal structuring, a woman’s bespoke suit can be just as crisp as a man’s, giving a much more flattering and enjoyable “wearing experience” that responds even to the different way in which a woman moves.

Fashion may be one thing…the board room is another.

The gunrooms of Holland & Holland are known the world over.  The weapons they make for the shooting field are highly prized and they have a reputation for making some of the finest hand crafted products available.  They have a tradition dating back to 1835 and  have their own dedicated factory and shooting school close to London.   Their main store is in Bruton Street, Mayfair, although they also have showrooms in Paris, New York and Moscow.

During the period when I ran their bespoke tailoring department I was commissioned to create a special garment for the Millenium.  This maribou-lined chintz jacket and hand printed silk kilt ensemble was featured in their showrooms in Manhattan and Beverley Hills