Do you wear glasses?
Six out of ten people wear glasses or contact lenses. Us bespectacled types wear them more or less everyday, so getting a nice pair is important. They are such a central part of your appearance, and may be the thing that gets noticed first. It is easy to look dated, frumpy, geeky or overpowered, or to choose a pair in a colour that will constantly fight with your features. A bit of nightmare.
I remember age about 11 going to an optician in Rochdale, where a funny man in a white jacket picked a airforce blue plastic ones for me. I didn’t have the confidence to ask to try on a range of styles.
I felt awful in them. I sat at the front rather than put them on. I went to the pictures with boys and missed the entire point. As a student I bought the “NHS specs” (a low-cost vintage range, when vintage meant old stock) – first some transparent blue ones, then colourless ones, then metal with a tortoiseshell plastic coating. In my late 20s I went for contact lenses which I wore until I reached my 50s. By then I was fed up with the fluids, the itching and the occasional disaster of hunting for lost ones in the sub-furniture fluff layer. By then I realised there were some nice spectacle styles and colours available. These days I quite like wearing glasses which can give character, colour and interest to the face.
Here is someone who looks gorgeous in her glasses. Kate Dodsworth, a senior Housing Association Director, currently leads a commission on diversity for the Chartered Institute of Housing. Kate has a rectangular face and her glasses are rectangular too. They provide a horizontal line across the middle her face and balance its length beautifully. Kate has coloured her dark brown hair in a harmonious deep purpley red, which emphasises her lovely bright green eyes. By choosing spectacles that echo her hair shade the whole look works, and Kate looks healthy, youthful and approachable.
If you are thinking of buying glasses you will want to take two main questions into account – the shape and colour of the frames.
Determining face shape and characteristics
The actual shape of your face can be determined by looking at a photograph or by drawing around the outline of your face on the mirror. While a number of websites distinguish between oval, rectangular, heart etc, the main thing is to determine if your face is mainly curved, or rather angular. Kate has an angular look with a straight nose, eyes and brows, and suits her angular hair style.
A curved face, on the other hand, is one with rounder eyes, soft cheeks, a rounder nose and fuller mouth. Of course many of us have a combination of characteristics. My face shape is oval, and my mouth, nose and eyes are fairly straight. I have chosen glasses that are fairly square but have a little bit of roundness too. Purple (a cool colour) suits my natural blue-toned colouring.
So here are the guidelines
- wear glasses that your face shape and facial characteristics (rather than square face/round glasses as traditionally recommended)
- a combination of curves and angles means you can combine the shapes of your glasses
Meddie Wang - your eye should sit in the middle of the lens
Andrew Nankievel - your eyebrows should be revealed not covered up by the upper line of the frame
Mohan Yogendran - the lower part of the frame should not touch your face
- scale is important – don’t wear a heavy frame unless you are larger
Aniekan Umoren
Choosing the right frame colour
I have covered colour before. Basically you could choose frames in the metal colour that best suits you (gold or silver), or plastic frames in any of your colours. Andrew, above, has warm colouring with a light secondary direction. He would look nice in yellowy-brown or light tortoiseshell frames, or gold. Meddie, with deep colouring, looks great in her purple frames. Equally she could wear silver, or if she wanted a slightly more modern look she could choose black or dark brown.
Shopping for Specs
However choosing great glasses can be really hard work. You might try
- going to a supplier with a large range, or a specific approach you like (eg vintage frames)
- going with a clear idea of what you are looking for based on your face shape and colour direction
- taking a competent and stylish friend with you
- putting on your shortlisted selection, taking photographs from the front and side and studying carefully before purchase
- using an online company that provides four pairs to try on at home such as Glasses Direct. Then take your time in seeing how you look in them
- wearing your contacts when looking at yourself in glasses with clear plastic lenses
- the photography machine that some shops still have
- asking the opinion of well-trained sensible assistants who give unbiased advice, but it is hard to know who to trust
- the cheapest in-house range as they are not essentially different to the expensive “designer” glasses
My “Inspired by Preen” shell top is finally finished
My Vintage Inspiration recently posted about unfinished things – disembodied knitted sleeves for example. I too have unfinished projects. One item that has been getting on my nerves was conceived back in May, when I first started this blog; my “Inspired by Preen” silk shell top.
Months ago I cut out a 1960s sleeveless top (Vogue 7379), in a piece of natural silk. I joined the five pieces together at the side and front seams to create a flat (tish) piece. I then used washable gutta to mark out 2″ squares, and painted them to look like a pixelated peony. I had some technical problems with the paint and some of the colours bled. I strenthened some of the colours and in applying the second layer I had a few blips. As you can see in the photographs the painterly effect is very different from the sharp edges of the Preen digital print. I was disappointed, torn between finishing it and chucking it. At the beginning of November, in an attempt to “get organised” I finished it.
Thank goodness for our warm early Autumn weather that means I could wear it for Sunday lunch with the family. Here I am with my fast growing grandson Kit (age 3 months), and I am thinking “Will he fit into that ‘up to nine months’ Christening robe that I made?” All will be revealed on 23 November!
It will also work well with a more formal skirt. I like the 1960s styling of this top – its squarish shape works well with the square pattern.
The pattern calls for the garment to be underlined, to which the facings are attached. I am not fond of this couture finish, so I did something different. The fashion fabric is very light and it needed something, so I chose another piece of natural silk to line it. This layer was more slippery whereas the outside was very slightly crisper. I understitched it at the neckline and armholes, and hemmed by hand. It is really light, but slightly warm, and very nice to wear against the skin. The back zip is hand stitched too.
Of course it is flawed but I rather like it. I love the fabric, the colours, the soft lightness of it. My colour direction is Cool-Bright-Light, and this top is all those things. And although it was an idea that was really about spring, autumn is surprising us. I am wearing it with a yellow (!) leather (!!) skirt that I bought at the Shelter charity shop last week. The skirt is spring-like too – but actually warm enough, with a sleeveless top, in Autumn. Shelter, the UK’s campaign against homelessness was set up by the same man who established my organisation, Notting Hill Housing, Bruce Kenrick.
Spray paint as a textile technique – the “Gwen” bag*
Having seen the Gwen Stefani wedding dress last weekend I was intrigued by the idea of spray paint. The hem of her dress, which appears to be dip dyed silk, is actually coated in pink spray paint. So this idea has been nagging me all week, and I was excited when I got the chance to give it a try.
At Mary Ward Centre they had some spray paint in green, pink, blue and deep yellow. This is not car colour spray that I believe is used by graffiti “artists”, but is specifically made for textiles. It is fast, but apparently not good enough for frequently washed items.
I decided to try it out on a cheap (£1.50) canvas bag. I use a lot of these bags, which I end up buying rather than a plastic “bag for life”. I also seem to accumulate free, branded ones at exhibitions. I put my dressmaking projects in bags like this and hang them on our shaker peg rail. It keeps the project out of the way and holds the pattern pieces and left over fabric together until the project is finished.
I wrapped the canvas bag in strips of masking tape without measuring the gaps, to create an all over stripe. Other students used freezer paper to create wonderful designs. We had to use the extraction cabinet and face masks as apparently the fumes are dangerous. It certainly smelt quite strong. Here is one of the students ready to spray!
I put folded newsprint inside the bag to protect it during spraying, and taped the canvas to a wooden board to hold it upright inside the extraction cabinet. I sprayed each stripe and the handles, one side at a time, leaving it to dry in between. I had to redo certain bits to ensure effective coverage.
In reference to Gwen I added one pink stripe. I exposed one white stripe by removing the masking tape, then taped the blue stripes above and below it, then covered the rest of the bag with newspaper to protect it from the pink spray. Then it was sprayed on the front and back so the pink stripe runs round the bag, as do the blue stripes.
I left the bag to dry, and was able to remove the masking tape when I got home. It was pretty exciting pulling off those strips, let me tell you!
The finished bag looks quite sweet with its flash of pink and striped handles, made by sticking masking tape squares at regular intervals.
* Calling a spray painted £1.50 bag after a muse is a joke. I just thought I had better say that in case you thought I was incredibly sad or pretentious.
Frida Khalo’s personal style
Today, 1 November is Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead in Mexico. So today I dedicate my blog to Frido Khalo who is both dead and Mexican, and an inspiration to fashionistas the world over.
Frida Khalo, dramatic-romantic dresser, always made an impact with her personal style as well as her largely autobiographical paintings. I have always been attracted to her carefully constructed image which has been widely copied by boys and girls who want to capture something of her unique beauty.
Fully aware of her natural beauty Frida passed quite convincingly as a man initially. Later as she formed an attachment to Mexican revolutionary painter Diego Rivera she self consciously adopted nationalist Mexican dress, choosing long frilled dresses with heavy jewellery. She had an ambiguous attitude to her sexuality – her inability to have children, and her physical disabilities and imperfections, intensified her introspection. Her personal tragedies, fraught relationship with her husband, and commitment to left wing politics, spurred on her creativity.
Khalo put enormous effort into dressing and presenting herself almost as if she was a picture. Most of her detailed, painstaking paintings are of herself. Her fascination with her appearance, body and relationships produced an image which remains vibrant and inspiring 60 years after her death. In this striking photograph, for the cover of Vogue magazine, Frida stares at us as we stare at her. Her look would be outlandish if she was not such an artist. She is dressed predominantly in black, a colour which emphasises her glossy plaited hair, strong eyebrows and slight moustache (both of these were mascared for emphasis), matt red lips and rouge. The combinations of patterns, both in her dress and in the background, are a feature of her style. The symmetric hair style with Iberian centre parting is emphasised by her habit of wearing fresh flowers and coloured ribbons in her hair, giving height to her 5′ 2″ frame.
She wears the same heavy silver necklace in the photograph below. This necklace, and many other interesting artefacts, are on display at her home in Mexico, featured in the Daily Mail. Here a lovely blue and pink silk dress is complemented by strong pink ribbon plaited into her hair with red lipstick.
In this photograph the earings, lace and centrally placed brooch creates a pleasing composition with more subtle colours. The leaves in her hair and purpley lipstick create a harmonious effect with the necklace and shawl, and with the lavender wall behind.
If you are excited by this look here are some ways you can incorporate elements of it, without looking too out of place when shopping at Asda.
- Wear your hair up, and include colourful slides, ribbons, or on occasion fresh flowers
- wrap a beautiful scarf around your hair, choosing colours which enhance your natural colouring
- wear significantly more jewellery than usual – obvious earings, necklace, brooch and rings but keep a consistent element eg metal type, a single colour, similar scale
- use complementary colours eg red and green, purple and yellow, blue and orange. Mix patterns. Again keep one element consistent eg a colour, and keep the scale similar
- wear a shawl instead of a jacket or cardigan
- a full length skirt and neat torso will elongate the body – a good look for petite women
- if you have a feature that is unusual, such as bushy eyebrows, a large nose, thick curly hair – play it up rather than fighting it
- incorporate ethnic and vintage clothes and jewellery, perhaps ones that reflect your own origins, into more conventional outfits
- always wear perfume, lipstick and earrings
- don’t depilate
- if all else fails get a hawk. Or a monkey.
Pet monkey
An interview with designer Linde Carr
What does Designer fashion mean to you? Does it mean your “designer jeans” have a well-known brand name, or that Valentino himself actually designed them? Is a “designer handbag” simply an expensive one, or one that has its own muse? One of our Board members Linde Carr started off as a fashion designer in the 1970s, and we met at her lovely Notting Hill Housing flat to talk about it.
Linde went to Hornsey School of Art and was lucky to be taught by Brian Harris who was part of the David Hockney circle, and at the end of the first year she focused on fashion design. Her final show, at Chelsea Town Hall, on the Kings Road, included an all-black collection with brightly coloured linings, and tailoring. “My favourite? This dress and cape with an emerald-green lining.”
After graduating Linde and five other graduates, encouraged by Shelagh Brown, set up a Designer’s collective known as the Queen Street Studios, named after their location in Covent Garden. They had a huge studio, let for £15 a week, over a club called Blitz. This meant they were at the centre of things. The club clientel included the Kemps and Spandau Ballet, Adrian George, Bill Cotton from the BBC, “lots of the “In” people came there and they would see us and our clothes and beg us to sell them an item, or make them something specific”, she says. She draws out one of her cuttings from 19 or one of the youthful fashion magazines of the day. “This one, unbelievably, was made out of inter lining, the stuff you use to make a coat warmer.” I express surprise because this is non-woven fabric that will not stand up to wear unless it is attached to something else. “That was punk. They didn’t care if the clothes got holes in them. That was sort of the idea”. She shows me a feature from The Sun where she made an outfit from two string vests, some marabou, a length of ribbon and a vat of red dye. In two hours flat, to meet the deadline.
“Ralph Halpin, from Topshop, contacted us, and asked us if we could design for Topshop. I made a black fitted, button fronted dress with a pleated sleeve that just flew out of the store. I once went down there on a Saturday and saw lots of girls changing into my dress that they had just bought and walking out in it. It was amazing.” I ask her to explain how a designer would work with big shops like Topshop. “We designed and made up samples of the dresses and they chose the styles, then they were manufactured, usually in the Midlands in Asian-owned firms, very quickly. We would normally get 10p for each dress sold, as the designer. Sometimes a bit more – up to 30p – but it was usually just 10p. If they sold a lot you could make quite a lot of money.”
Linde has stacks of cuttings from Newspapers, youth magazines, fanzines, Vogue, Nova, 19 and lots of other major titles.
“We were all about the textiles, being quite inventive as we were buying in the UK and we needed to find low-cost options. This track suit in yellow terry towelling was so radical at the time. It got into Vogue. We also bought fabrics that were meant for packing grain and other industrial materials, and fabric meant for furnishing, and worked with them because they were cheaper.”
“Fashion Week had just started in London and one of my designs really took off and got featured in the daily papers. I used a linen sacking for the jacket, a furnishing chintz for the blouse, an unbleached cotton for the skirt and lace, bound with bias binding for the waist coat and underskirt. The layers, the cream colouring for outwear, this was all novel at the time.” I ask Linde “Who is Johny?”. “Oh, the photographer” Linde replies. “We used our friends and flat mates as models and we could always find a photographer who would take pictures for free. They could put our clothes in their portfolios, and if the picture was published they would get paid”
“Our success was sweet, but short-lived. Manufacturing was gradually exported to India and although I carried on working with various companies for a while I didn’t like what was happening. Everything was cut throat, the men who controlled the industry just sucked the life and ideas out of talented young designers. It was pretty exploitative really. Many of the designers, including several much more famous than me – Ossie Clark, Bill Gibb and many others – never made much money. That went to the backers. I would say if you ended up with owning your own home at the end of all this you were bloody lucky.”
Linde shows me a photograph of herself at the time. She looks intelligent, determined and is dressed in an interesting tied together dress. “I was drunk! But I don’t drink anymore. I wish, if I had my time again, that I had done a proper degree, like law or surveying, and just done fashion for fun.”
Basic body shapes – the shaped body-line examined
In my previous post I considered the straight body line, and discussed Princess Diana as an archetypal straight body. This post complements it by describing the curved, or shaped, body-line. There is a half way house too – the semi shaped body, but it is easier to start with if we think about it as a dichotomy. Remember at this point we are not discussing how tall or short, heavy or slim a body is. We are trying to get to its essential shape – if it is made up more of obvious curves rather than straight lines. You need to identify the basic silhouette rather than look at how much you weigh (hopefully a relief in itself!)
The shaped body-line has the following characteristics; narrow or sloping shoulders, narrow, tapered ribcage, obvious waist, high round hips, and shaped calves.
Here is a great, shaped body. Standing at ease we can see her relatively short legs and “long-waist” ie the length between bust and hips. This is not a traditional “model girl” figure, but it is nevertheless a beautiful body. Marilyn looks her best in structured formal evening wear (generally not very comfortable clothes), clothes that flow round and flatter her curves. Ruching, pleating, gathering and draping work well with the shaped body-line.
When dressing this shape we need to emphasis the waist as straighter styles, especially if they end at the hips or thighs can make the wearer appear wider.
If you have a shaped or curvy body-line the best dresses would be
- 1940s styles in general, but a good example of a skirted evening dress
1940s evening dress - 1970s style – any fit and flare dress that fits neatly above the waist with an A line or flare from below the bust or waist. This length looks good and can make your legs look longer.
1970s dress - wrap dress – a great look on a shaped body. the top is fitted and the skirt is loose and comfortable. Best worn about knee-length or full length.
DVF wrap dress - fitted waist – any dress with a seam at the waist that allows strong waist definition and close-fitting. A little detail at the shoulders balances out the hips.
fitted waist dress - fitted sheath dress This dress will emphasise curves but needs careful fitting. The tabs with buttons at the shoulder and neat sleeves add balancing width at the shoulder.This length, very popular in the early 1950s can be flattering especially if your legs are long and slim, but generally I would advise finishing at the knee to allow ease of walking.
fitted sheath dress
Here is a picture of Marilyn in jeans and shirt. She looks lovely because she is so pretty, but truthfully this is not the best look on her, compared to her waisted dresses.
Big, strong and stylish – help me find a bag!
I yearn to be more organised. I cart around an inordinate amount of stuff around each day, as I travel to the gym, on to work, out to a meeting, to the shops to pick up some provisions, to my evening class, and then home. Mobile working is the name of the game these days. Currently I use a medium-sized rucksack, bought in a camping shop on the basis that it has good capacity, strong zips and can be carried, hands free, on my back . It is not stylish although it is red.
I prefer the look of a traditional ladies hand bag, but find them uncomfortable when they are full and heavy. It takes up a hand, and it makes me lop sided. So although I have a few nice handbags I rarely use them.
I dislike the brief case, for the same reason – that you need to sacrifice a hand. And they are intrinsically heavy. And ugly.
After years of never going anywhere without a child or two to hold on to I do value being able to have both hands free. If the brief case is ugly the trolley bag is preposterous. Even if you are cabin crew. Style is renounced as well as the hand.
I would like a back pack bag big enough to contain everything I need, but also one that is strong, and elegant. In an ideal world I would like it made of leather, but that would be too heavy. I would like it not to be black. The Independent featured a range of Man Bags that are quite attractive, but I am not sure any of them have the required combination of comfort/size/strength/style.
I would prefer to buy a bag rather than make one but I might have to. It is often necessity that drives me to making things. I am looking for suggestions and advice, so please let me know if you have found the holy grail of bags.
What is inside the bag?
Basics
- Purse including cash, cards, receipts
- iPhone
- charger
- paper diary
- travel notes, meeting agendas and directions
- house keys
Gym kit
- trainers
- gym socks
- sports bra
- shorts
- shampoo
- conditioner
- moisturiser
- make up bag
- pain killers
- dental floss/toothpicks
- hair product
- deo
- perfume
- padlock
- earplugs
- earphones
- spec cleaner and cloth
Stationary
- Newspaper
- Kindle
- Notebook
- pencil-case with pen, pencil, rubber, pencil sharpener, highlighter
- sewing kit including tape measure, small scissors, needles and thread
- work reports
- plastic carrier bag for shopping overflow
Anything else?
Sometimes I have papers for a meeting which can be bulky. We can have our papers electronically instead, but this means carting the iPad around instead. Plus the charging issue. And the internet can let you down and being stranded without papers in a vital meeting is not an option. Also I prefer writing things down on paper partly as this can be done on the tube, even when standing (there is no internet connection on the tube).
In addition I sometimes need
- swimsuit, goggles and hat
- extra jumper or scarf
- umbrella
- smaller handbag so I can take a pared down set of items to a meeting or lunch event, leaving the rucksack in my office.
It seems a lot when you write it down. It seems even more when you have been to M&S on your way home and bought a butternut squash, some cereal and a bottle of wine. I feel like a donkey.
Bag requirements
- Big enough to take all the above
- strong fabric inside and out
- strong zips
- nice colour
- as light as possible
- elegant for work (not too outdoor/weekend/hiking style)
- sufficiently waterproof to cope with down pour
- adjustable for good balance
- the right number and size of compartments
Do you carry your life on your back or do you just have a iPhone, credit card and toothbrush in your pocket?
Basic body shapes – the straight body-line examined
This post covers the basic outline shape of a woman’s body; her silhouette. There is a lot of debate about hour-glass, figure of eight, pears, apples, inverted V etc, much of which can be confusing and rather restrictive. The best analysis I have seen fits all female bodies fit into one of two types – a shaped body line or a basically straight body line, (although some would say there is an in-between semi-shaped too). Either of these two body types may be fatter or slimmer. It’s the underlying shape that you will have had since you were a teenager that it is important to identify.
A straight outline includes straight and/or broad shoulders, a wide and/or straight ribcage, no obvious indentation at the waist, low and flatter hips and thighs, and flattish calves.
Here is a great straight body. Although Diana walks with her slim arm across her body to provide the semblance of a waist it is clear that her shoulders are wider than her hips. This is the key feature of the straight body. Many models have this look, which is slightly masculine. Tall, thin or athletic women, carry their clothes well especially if they keep to straight, elegant lines.
The sheath dress is a very good look for women with a straight bodyline (outline shape). The long blue dress below has a similar, body skimming shape, and this allows us to see how narrow Princess Diana’s hips are compared to her wide shoulders, substantial rib cage and ill-defined waist. The one shoulder dress that Diana often chose breaks up the strong horizontal line of the shoulders very effectively.
In the early days Diana was a little heavier, but the transformation to super model occurred when she started to wear clothes that suited her shape. In this pink and white dress Princess Diana looks amazing as she is making the most of her angular look with a structured, boxy, cropped top, attached to a sinewy washed silk skirt that skims her flattish rear and slender hips.
On another occasion she gets it right with a very different look. This lovely light blue dress she exposes her large, squarish shoulders but breaks up the line with a high scarf. The waist is created by the crossed chiffon at the front of the dress, and fullness occurs at the hip level.
If you have a similar outline shape (even if you are shorter or fatter than Princess Diana) you can follow the same rules, perhaps with some adjustments for proportion which I will deal with on another occasion. Here are some dress shapes that work well for the Straight bodyline.
- 1960s style shift dress, where there is no obvious waist shaping and the dress appears rectangular. A lovely, easy to wear style that flatters the slim legs and ankles that usually go with this shape.
1960s Shift - 1920s style dropped waist. Although this particular pattern borders on the Am Dram, the shape is nice and would work well without the under skirt. Cap sleeves and lots of strong emphasis at thehemline adds interest
Dropped waist - 1980s pullover dress. A nice comfortable jumper dress, best made up in a firm jersey fabric. The stretch fabric flatters slim hips, and can be worn with a low slung belt, or a firm wide belt with an angular buckle.
1980s pullover dress - The shirtwaister is a great shape on the straight body – a smart neat look that works well for work, looking smart and sophisticated. Pockets, cuffs and belts provide subtle detailing.
Shirt waister - dress with over blouse gives a bit of shape to the straight body line, creating a waist line where it is less well-defined.
Dress with overblouse - column dress – a lovely dress on a long, straight body with slim hips. This is the sort of dress that Victoria Beckham often features in her collections.
If you have a straight body shape one of the good blogs to follow is Thornberry. She is a prolific seamstress and knows how to dress her figure well. And if you want an idea of what not to wear with a straight body, wear a full-skirted, shiny, mauve evening dress.
Wedding Dress exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum
I went to see this exhibition alone. I really took my time to study the exhibits, to savour them and read all the information supplied. Photographs and even sketching are banned.
Most fashion exhibitions show garments designed for the generic woman.Very few of the dresses here were bought ready-made from shops. Most wedding dresses, until very recently, were made for the bride. In this exhibition we mainly experience designers working directly with the customer – to please her and make her look her best – as well as showcasing their skills. Because wedding dress design is a symbiotic and highly individualised process I wanted to see the dresses on the women, on their happy day. Some (before clothes were disposable) were worn frequently afterwards, until wedding wear became divorced from everyday wear, from around 1950 onwards. You really had to have an image of the woman in the dress to appreciate it properly and fortunately some of the exhibits included photographs or film images.
As I wandered around, looking at a mannequins in long white dress after long white dress, I began to feel a little strange. It was nothing like dropping into the Manchester branch of Pronuptia to have a gawp at the frocks, but the whole point of a wedding is that there is only one bride. Even with the designer fashion shows there is normally one, stunning wedding dress, which comes on at the end. Seeing so many was dazzling, but not in an entirely good way.
It was a relief to see Indian, Chinese and Nigerian wedding outfits worn at British weddings, and a kilt.
The high point of this exhibition was probably the Gwen Stefani wedding dress by John Galliano for Dior. It has an amazing, complex construction with the pink colour applied by spray paint. It is edgy and makes a post modern point about virginal white dresses, being both already “ripped” open at the back while slipping off the shoulder at the front. Is the colour seeping out of the woman or rising up her body from the earth? It is not pretty pink, like the roses.
Katie Shillingford’s dress by Gareth Pugh was there too. This dress is very long and slim, like Katie herself. It is intricately made and the loops start to unravel as they go down the dress. On its owner you can see that it looks a bit like it is just falling away at the hem and train, almost forming a puddle of slashed chiffon piling up on the grey pavement. So another take on tradition with a twist, literally. I like the modesty of this dress – a high neck and long sleeves – personally I am tired of strapless gowns and too much flesh. And I like the colour and interesting head wear she wore (basically a full face gauze scarf), although I feel she would have looked more beautiful with her natural dark brown hair. Getting the accessories right can be one of the most difficult things about the wedding outfit. I was pleased to see shoes, head-dresses, artificial flowers, hats etc on show in the exhibition.
The Pugh dress was widely admired on the fashion blogs, which is not surprising as it was unique and really flattered its wearer.
Kate Moss, one of our British super models, was seen in the same year to disappoint with her choice. It is a pretty dress close up and is completely encrusted with gold paillette beads and embroidery of peacock feathers. It is lined with a very short pixie hem dress and its transparent overdress which flows around Kate’s slim, straight frame. The workmanship had the wow factor but this finish is not as rare as it once was, as a result of beading being done in China or India. In fact dresses similar to this one were available in Kate’s collection at Topshop for around £150. I was disappointed too, to some extent, although I loved the sweetness of the flower girls and bridesmaids. Overall the look is unmistakably Kate – it is true to who she is, and is a style she would wear everyday. But I am not sure that John Galliano was on top form with this dress.
It was nice to see Camilla’s Anna Valentine coat up close. Next to the two Kate’s above, it does look relatively large, but she is probably only a UK size 14. Like Kate Moss she wore a look that she is already completely comfortable with for an evening at the opera – a full length dress and tailored coat. I thought it was very successful. The sharp, square shoulders give structure to her figure and a crisp outline. The Phillip Treacey hat is amazing and works especially well, giving height, softness and drama to the look. It is not too matchy-matchy. The gold feathers are reflected in the fabric of the coat – a light turquoise with gold thread. On top of the fabric gold paint has been carefully applied to create additional richness and depth in the front to give a little emphasis to the midriff area. The coat is a redingote – it fastens with clips on the centre front, giving a very clean line, but allowing the dress to show through. Again the bouquet was well-chosen. It doesn’t “match” exactly with its yellow, blue and green flowers, but it gives freshness and delicacy to the outfit. Prince Charles wears traditional wedding wear, but the shade of the waistcoat, shirt, tie and handkerchief are perfectly chosen without being an obvious match. Really a great look.
One of the nicest outfits in the exhibition was the dress and jacket chosen by Marit Allen in 1966, designed for her by John Bates. I like how the during the 1960s the rules were broken so comprehensively although this dress and coat remain completely appropriate for a church wedding. The coat is made of cotton gaberdine and trimmed with silver. I didn’t see the dress but it could be entirely silver with its standing collar and short length.
This is a great exhibition which took five years to put together. It includes many of the antecedents of today’s wedding attire from the 18th and 19th century. But for me the 20th century dresses are the point of the exhibition. It is fascinating to see the connection of wedding wear to contemporary fashion. I remember as a small child looking a pictures of my mother’s wedding, and her mother’s, and feeling that they looked very peculiar. It was a shock to encounter the changes in fashion, and I could not appreciate the beauty of them. Now, of course, I tend to appraise the clothes and fashions other periods with more interest and understanding.
If you are getting married here are a few personal thoughts
- be yourself
- avoid cliches
- wear a style and shape that suits your body type
- don’t show too much flesh
- you don’t have to wear a long white dress
- follow general fashion trends but avoid wedding dress trends
- wear the right white to enhance your colouring
- coloured wedding dresses can make an interesting and exciting change but again choose a colour that looks great on you
- vintage dresses can be lovely but will probably need altering unless you are undernourished
- alternatively use a vintage pattern – you can get a unique look and a great fit
- dual heritage couples and individuals could create a fusion look
- weddings are about love, sentiment and tradition – include family heirlooms (something borrowed)
- what you wear with the dress can make all the difference eg multi coloured flowers with a white dress, or white flowers with a red dress
- white shoes are normally a bit ikky
- please don’t dress the men up in gold waistcoats, or pink bowties/cravats to match your outfit. It is demeaning
- don’t spend too much on your wedding – there are more important things in life!
Developing the curvy pencil skirt with a grown on waist band
I have been experimenting this weekend, with mixed results
- creating a new skirt shape
- using a unique fabric
- breaking the fashion rules (to make areas recede, wear darker colours)
- taking photographs indoors with an iPhone. At night.
Curvy Pencil with grown on waistband
The style
It shouldn’t really work on me – a light skirt with a dark top. But I think it is OK. I made the skirt longer than I usually wear, hemming it just below the knee. I have accessorised it with a dark belt to emphasis the slimmest part of the skirt.
The fabric
I used unique fabric – home-printed beige viscose-linen by Fleur de Carotte. You can read the story of how she made it, and see the skirt she made for herself in the same fabric. I like the idea of the two of us walking around in the same piece of cloth (that is her skirt, top left) . I love the cheery, subtle design and the scale is perfect for me. The fabric is lovely – easy to sew, with a nice drape. It was not the ideal, first choice fabric for a fairly structured skirt. But it is heavy enough to just about hold its shape although it does crease badly.
The pattern
The pattern is home-made too. I used my self drafted curvy-pencil skirt pattern again.
This time I adapted it to include a grown-on waist band. This means that the waist band is omitted and the skirt front is elongated and shaped to finish slightly above the natural waist. It is quite an easy adaptation. Just draw in a new waistline say two inches above the waist line of your trouser or skirt block and extend the darts with parallel legs to the new waist line. Create matching facings.
I like this look on a pencil skirt as it helps create a long slim line, which is why I made this skirt a little longer. If you are blessed with a long, slim torso this look will celebrate it. Also anything with an apparently high waist will elongate the legs.
I like a grown-on waist on trousers too, creating the high-waisted look that was so popular in the 1940s, for men as well as women. It allows plenty of fullness around the hips but draws the eye to the slimmer waist. Now tell me something – is this detail called something else in the States? Is it a Hollywood waist, by any chance? This, from the Threads website, confuses me slightly:
Hollywood waist means a fitted waistline with a facings rather than a waistband. It was very popular on the A-line skirts of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the hourglass shape was in vogue. It can be used on a high waist, a natural waist, or a low waist/hip hugging waist. Most high-waisted pants are faced rather than banded, so they’re also Hollywood waists.
If you are pear-shaped, the grown-on waist works a treat. I made another skirt up, this time a short version. I also took a risk on using a check fabric, a nice piece of wool from the remnants box at Misan fabrics (£3) which shouldn’t work for this skirt. But I think it does. However I would love to hear other views! Do you wear light coloured skirts or trousers even if you have bigger hips? Or vice versa? If so, what makes it work?
Probably when using a check fabric (and again it is lighter shade than the dark brown T-shirt) it is better to use a pattern with a straight side seam. I chose this fabric because I liked the colours and the slightly heavy but flexible fabric. I found that the skirt goes really well with my Chanel-style jacket, creating a nice little suit. I have been trying to think what might go well with that jacket for ages, and now I seem to have fixed that dilemma almost by accident. It is funny how the visual/colour part of the brain works.
The Photographs
The check skirt is taken in daylight. You need light to take a photograph. Elementary error with the top two pictures.
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