Tailoring for Women

What a superb opportunity.  The chance to be interviewed by Jenni Murray alongside Lou Taylor, Professor of Dress and Textile History (University of Brighton).

Although I have spoken on both MidWeek and Start the Week in the past, Woman’s Hour is such an iconic programme it was my dream that one day I would be given this opportunity.  Thanks must go to Jaeger too who first put the proposal forward to the BBC.

It really is a fascinating, almost ‘other world-y’ type of experience.  All very efficiently executed by the production staff who had to co-ordinate our own contribution with that of the other speakers, and all within their strict time allocation.

In preparation for the interview we discussed a wide range of possibilities.  In reality, however, it was something of a task to condense the history of tailoring, and at the same time include the crucial intricacies of the ‘shoulder to hip’ profile of a woman’s figure, into the confines of a 10 minute slot.  Jenni Murray was extremely deft in co-ordinating our input.

Unfortunately it may be the case that some of you outside of the UK can’t listen to the extract because of licensing restrictions.  I hope not.

P.S.  it was quite nice to see one of my jackets on the BBC Website too!

After all the time spent planning, the day arrived  to give my presentation at the Victoria & Albert Museum.  Regular readers of the TfW blog will know that this was something originally put forward as a proposal almost eight months ago, so it was a super feeling to be standing in front of a packed and appreciative audience.  Fortunately I had the presence of mind to have it filmed.

My task was to open the seminar, which was beautifully hosted by the V&A’s Head of Adult Education, Jo Banham.  Following this was an intriguing presentation by Jaeger.  This year is their 125^th anniversary and it was wonderful to see some of the pieces and pictures from their archive.  I have a couple of vintage Jaeger pieces myself dating from the time Jean Muir was their designer and I treasure them.

Following this, Alan Cannon Jones, Senior Lecturer at the London College of Fashion talked about some of the new trends in tailored fashion, and some of the techniques that are used to support them.

The video attached to this post gives an edited version of my own contribution.  There were also a number of Q&A points throughout the seminar and I plan to include some of the issues that were raised in future posts.

The topics I covered ranged from a whistle-stop tour of the history of women’s tailoring to an exploration of the practical skills that support it.  This included the consideration of the physiological aspects, hand-crafting techniques, and the complex psychology that underlies the relationship with one’s client.   I concluded with some thoughts around the future of women’s tailoring with reference to a statement I had compiled from the opinions of my clients.

“Women should have same the opportunities for investing in their wardrobes in the same way that they invest in their careers”

I hope that you don’t have too many problems with the download.

The winding down of another year always produces such mixed emotions.  They seem to be ignited by the curious late December conflict between the abundance of free days and the sudden overflow of dizzying preparations.

The thing I look forward to most during these times, however, is a few quiet days alone in the studio.  It gives me the chance to reflect on past garments created and the changes throughout the year…and to give the place a proper sweep.

I like to take time reviewing the materials and sketches from the past year’s projects.  Some have special memories.  Some, future possibilities which have value and are worth holding on to.  A bit of trim, a drawing, a length of cloth or a beaded motif…all will be stored safe for the moment when just the thing is needed. The pressing boards will all be freshly covered, and the tools given a sip of oil and a brisk polish.  Everything clean, in its proper place, resting for a new start.

Brighter hopes and new ideas can be a product of these slower, and sometimes darker times.  In the midst of some pretty gloomy business forecasts these days, I find some benefit in this down-time to create and plan some ways around the challenges of running a business.  This process often sparks more exciting projects in which to become involved.

There is much to look forward to in this next year.  The recent exposure I received, courtesy of the V&A and the BBC, has born fruit and I will be making presentations for a number of executive MBA programmes.  Most of all I will look forward to breaking new ground with a series of film ‘shorts’, the result of some memorable collaborations with colleagues in the fields of design, textile history and the craft of tailoring.  Also, I am ready to launch  a limited edition garment - an outdoor piece inspired by the countryside that will be practical and elegant for the working woman.  There will be more to come in January.

So, here’s to a new year full of challenges and rich in the variety of work.  But for now I am grateful for a few more days of rest to take in the blessings of the season.

A very Happy New year to you all.

I was thrilled recently to speak alongside a representative from the global brand Jaeger about women’s tailoring.  We were both making a contribution to the Victoria & Albert Museum’s continuing series of lectures on fashion which has involved iconic figures such as Zandra Rhodes and Twiggy.

Jaeger is currently celebrating its 125th anniversary.  It is an iconic brand which has always specialized in the use of natural fibres, including the so-called noble fibres such as angora, vicuna and alpaca; it was also the first company to use camel hair.  Clients have included Vivienne Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, and even George Bernard Shaw who was particularly fond of a one piece structured ‘jump suit’ which allowed complete freedom of movement. Nowadays Jaeger is at the forefront of high quality manufacturing using state-of-the-art machines that simulate the sewing actions of a live craftsman.

My part in the event was to fulfil a contrasting role. I expounded upon the art of bespoke for women, its history and its processes.  From the initial measurements, drafting of the paper pattern, preparation of the fittings and internal structures through to the final finishing and pressing.

Working on this presentation reminded me about how the relationship with one’s client is both intimate and integral to the process.  Mark Twain talked of “Clothes making the man” (or woman!), and we know that this is very much evident on the high streets today. Hand crafted garments however give the opportunity for a client to give full and uninterrupted rein to their desires, and the opportunities for personal expression are much more subtle.  The quality of the rapport between client and tailor therefore cannot be underestimated.

At the reception after the presentations we had the opportunity to talk one-to-one with audience members and show in greater detail some of the intricacies of our practice.

Photo: thanks to Simon at http://photo-montage.blogspot.com

It’s been a busy week so far.  I was thrilled to be featured alongside Sir Martin Sorrell and ‘Dragon’s Den’ Duncan Bannatyne in Business Sense Magazine, the National Westminster Bank’s national periodical.  The rest of my time has been spent focussing on my presentation at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) with Jaeger.  The process of tailoring is something which tends to take place away from public scrutiny, so being given such a prominent platform demands careful thought about why the art of bespoke is so unique.

It seems to me that the distinctive experience my clients seek is comprised of the knowledge and integration of three important and fundamental elements. Physiology, technique and …psychology.

Physiology is all about understanding the shape and proportions of the body, not as an object frozen in time, but as a dynamic entity that changes and flows as it moves.  Most textbooks illustrate body types in 4 or 5 basic postures, but the devil is in the difference.  I have yet to find a client whose shape fits these proportions precisely.  I often give group seminars and set the participants the task of finding someone in the room that matches their own body shape.  It hasn’t happened so far!

Technique is something which takes time to develop.  It’s said that it takes 10,000 hours to reach a competent level of skill in any chosen activity.  This may be so, but I find that I still look to expand my own skills base, and that is after over 20 years in the trade.  The art of tailoring is still grounded in techniques that were developed in the 19^th century, although the records show evidence as far back as the 13^th century.  Modern materials, the change in life styles and modern body proportions all influence the ways in which these techniques have to be applied so they have to be constantly revisited and refreshed.

Tailoring is a relationship business.  We have to dress the body and the mind.  So, the psychology of the relationship with ones client is paramount.  This is all the more so as the current changes in society affects the role of women and how they wish to be perceived.

I was speaking with a former CEO of a global PR firm the other day who mentioned how he always emphasised the need for his staff to think of the image they portrayed when they visited clients.  “They have to realise that if they are charging a four figure sum per day, the first impression they give their client as they walk in the room is vital, and this is dependent largely upon how they look”.

A potent statement when you consider how this simple matter can undermine the huge investment that has gone into training the company representative.

I have a number of autumn/winter trousers in production at the moment.  As I was putting the final hand stitches into a blue birdseye wool pair it struck me how, in a small but symbolic way, this garment had contributed to the emancipation of women in the workplace.  Courrèges ‘in mid-sixties Europe was a major influence in transforming the combination of matching jacket and trousers into “acceptable formal wear for daytime professionals” (’A History of Fashion’   J. Anderson Black & Madge Garland).  His lead was followed  in the US  in the form of the ‘pantsuit‘;  an combination of  matching tunic and trousers.

I remember at the time how its rapid proliferation was both shocking and liberating.  Not only was its visual manifestation a force for change, but it introduced a new sense of practicality to the business wardrobe.  When I started my business in the 70’s it was, in part, a response to this sea change in the office dress code. Prior to this nothing but a skirt or dress was considered acceptable.

Trousers can be transformational; if they look great, so do you.  I would even go so far as to say that this basic garment’s influence can enhance the sense of well being for the wearer.  The technique of achieving this miracle is all in the ‘cut’; a dilemma that was addressed in the tailor’s bible,  J.P. Thornton’s ‘The sectional system of gentlemen’s garment cutting’, of which I have an ancient copy.

‘The difficulties of trouser cutting can be summed up as follows…..If a trouser is cut to fit a figure when the legs and body are in a straight, standing position how can it fit when the legs and body are in a crooked position, walking? How can the 2 cloth cylinders suitable for the straight legs fit when the wearer is seated?”

They are a deceptively tricky garment to cut well, particularly for the female figure with its more complex curves.  The final garment must be comfortable, look good from all angles, and have no visible sign of the internal architecture.  The wearer needs to be able to step into an car or board a plane without pinch, stress, or ‘ride up’.  Following long days seated in the boardroom the garment should fall naturally into place with the creases intact.

Nowadays the new wools and blends can cope with all seasons and changes in climate.  Long gone are the times when all that was available were heavy weight tweeds and pinstripes.  And to be just a little more seasonal, how about some breeks.  I handed over a pair yesterday all ready for the grouse moors, lined in pink!

We have written about the credit crunch in other posts, however this particular project we undertook recently with Malcolm Plews of the tailoring house Welsh and Jefferies was an opportunity for clothes to ‘bite back’. And it involved a fashion student; Katie Robinson.

From time to time we try to make space to work with up and coming students in the clothing industry. Their ideas can be really refreshing and it gives us the opportunity to keeping in touch with current trends.

Katie’s particular specialisation is textile design and this collection, ‘Boom and Bust’, is inspired by the traumas of the City over the last few months.

The print designs were created on a range of different fabrics and used a number of iconic motifs such as the gold chip on a credit card, and embossed coinage.

After the fabric came the construction; I worked on the women’s business suit, Malcolm the men’s, and the one and only Delroy Mitchell produced the shirts.  I wonder if it is the first time a graduation show has had such a back stage representation from Savile Row?

Here is the collection, beautifully captured by the photographer Vicoria Brocklebank.

If all goes well, the collection will be selected for an independent London show at the East Winter Garden in Canary Warf on the 12th of June.

Good luck Katie!

Recently a number of my clients have said that they are beginning to lose track of some of the topics we have covered over the past sixth months, so I thought that the time was right to give you a speedy overview.  And if any of you have comments as to how we might better arrange the categories for the blog posts I am open to suggestions.

In the current categories, over to the right of the screen, you will find Briefing for Bespoke. This is intended as a resource to which you can turn whenever you want to know more about going the bespoke route, and how to make the best of the many choices available. There are posts about Colour Analysis, the Psychology of Appearance, Proportion, and some practical tips about fabrics and the different ways in which they perform. We also touch on care and maintainance and even suggest a novel way to fold a jacket.

One of my clients mentioned that it would be helpful to know more about the bespoke process from initial consultation to final delivery, so we will be adding this in shortly.

Elsewhere we have included some novelty pieces about the rule of thumb and how it applies to simple systems of proportional measurement, and quite a number of posts tied into my trip to Japan last year; Happi coats, Kimonos and Kabuki costumes. And just a few items about my clients who range from the world of finance, both commercial and governmental, to performers such as Ute Lemper and Gil Shaham.  It was wonderful too, to be able to talk about the British Olympic Shooting Team for whom I made all their shooting jackets (picture above).  A high performance garment for a high performance team.

If any of you have suggestions for posts for the next six months, let us know.

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.

The Sunday Times (UK) Style section devoted a number of column inches to the do’s and don’ts for women who find themselves at the front of the political stage either as leader or consort.  It seems that once again the dilemma for high-profile women has surfaced; about giving the right sense of gravitas without appearing domineering, or warm and genuine as against frivolous and ‘fashiony’.  From some of the books I have collected about the psychology of clothing its background is long and complex.   This rarely seems to be a problem that confronts men.  What I question however is the term power dressing.  Is it not a dated term in itself?  Also, let’s not confuse the fact that the needs of the political band wagon are rather different from those of a shareholder meeting.

For me power dressing immediately conjures up a dated picture of big shoulders, tight waists and sculptured hair-dos that look not dissimilar from the City Hall building here in London, and with as much immobility!

It smacks of theatre with only a veneer of seriousness, and as I visit my clients in the City you can see that these financially challenging times require a degree of authenticity that suggests a ‘safe pair of hands’..

One of my clients articulated her dilemma well when she talked about walking into a room of 100 venture capitalists, all male apart from a handful of women, and all with the same, almost regular-issue pinstripe uniform.  Custom and practice has not given us the opportunity to develop a similar sort of iconic look, and in this the fashion industry has been no help.

“Real power dressing is about being smart and true to yourself, and the balance between the two is what makes it new. Work out what suits you, and don’t deviate” says the Times.  But what does this mean in practical terms, and where are the places a busy executive can go to build an appropriated wardrobe without spending vast amounts of time doing it.

So I would suggest that the journalist in the Times should perhaps look a little closer at the trading floors and boardrooms and consider the realities of the executive life-style, and whether or not the concept of power dressing may in reality be rather disempowering