Since Anonymous didn't sign the post or leave any contact information, I couldn't inquire as to the intent so I'm not sure whether it's a positive or a negative comment. At first, I thought the comment referred to a posting from February in which I mention a visit to a shop in Nanaimo and later I wondered if it referred to the posting How Original Can We Really Be? Either way, positive or negative, it doesn't really matter because it did get me thinking.
The shop in Nanaimo was wall to wall clothes with details and designer sewing techniques. It's a shop that I've been in numerous times and on that particular day, I was invited to tea and then to try on anything that appealed to me and to just have fun. It was a wonderful experience that led to an in depth visit to my favourite shop in Salmon Arm where I spent about three hours trying on fashions. Although I already knew it, both experiences reinforced the importance of trying on ready-to-wear fashions and especially of trying on styles and shapes that you're not really sure about. Not only did I learn a lot, the feedback from the sales clerks was invaluable.
If you're a fashion lover, and particularly a boutique owner, there's something extra special about a client who truly appreciates the details that you yourself love. That's most likely why my friend Lorraine often gets a call from the shop around the corner ( South of Pine ) inviting her to come and look at the latest shipment. The owner knows that Lorraine sews her clothes and that she won't be buying and even so, she wants to share those details with her.
When visiting a boutique where I'm going to spend a lot of time looking, I'm very careful to mention early on in the visit that I sew my own clothes and that I'm here to admire the details. I think it's important to be up front. If I get a negative reaction, I leave. The stores that I visit time and again find the fact that I sew fascinating. In one shop, one of the sales clerks also sews, incredibly well, with gorgeous gourmet details. She'll pull out garments that I might have otherwise overlooked just to show me this or that feature.
What I like about these visits is the energy and inspiration that I come home with. That's why I'm there. To absorb. In the originality posting, I talked about a pattern that Ron and Sandra produced for Vogue that appears to be an exact duplicate of a blouse designed by a Canadian company. What the real story is, I have no idea but I do know that many people want to recreate designer fashions and that's great for them and not what I want for myself. I'm there for the inspiration and to take away ideas like half a zipper, lace and knit inserts, random tucks, a mix of buttons, small ruffles, asymmetrical lines, snapped up pleats, and unmatched plaids at all angles.
These phrases are ideas that can be transferred to my own garments. Occasionally, I wish I'd taken a picture of a particular detail or had at least drawn a diagram so I could remember what it was that caught my attention. But I'm talking about a detail, one small portion, and not the whole garment. And then again, the ideas that really tickle stay with me. Perhaps the phrases are enough.
Visiting a boutique is a deliberate search for inspiration but not completely necessary. Inspiration is everywhere. While having coffee with a friend yesterday, a woman walked by wearing a tweed suit with princess seams. The skirt had pleats at the back hem and a one inch, frayed, looked like organza, trim around the bottom. The contrast of fabrics caught my eye and made me think about a purple and black tweed-ish fabric in my stash and a similar McCall's pattern.
On the drive home, a student walking toward the university was wearing a plaid shirt with a seam across the back at waist level and gathers below. Although I'm not interested in a plaid shirt, that design element (which could be gathers or pleats with exposed raw edges, exposed finished edges, or an enclosed seam) would work perfectly for my high back hip. I drew the not so great illustration above when I got home.
One of the things that Lorraine and I talked about at lunch on Tuesday is a wearable art group that she is a part of and about how to combine wearable and art so that the resulting garment is both. One suggestion was for the group to tour the shop we'd been to and then create a piece inspired by a garment they saw there. Lorraine has since approached the shop owner with the idea and she was thrilled. Fifteen women, touring her shop, enjoying the clothes, and creating a buzz around it will lead to more sales even if none of them buy a thing although I imagine someone will. That's just the way it usually goes. Stores benefit from our inspirational tours. Not all of my friends sew.
Another thing we talked about was designing and how to incorporate the ideas we see into garments we can wear. For those of us who sew, it starts with a pattern. I have a lot of patterns, many of which were bought for the details or the design lines or to see how that particular garment was sewn with no intention of actually sewing the specific design. These patterns are my collection and - in a way - are similar to visiting boutiques. I bought them because I wanted to use some small part - if only the inspiration - in a design that works for me which may or may not be the context in which I'm viewing the detail.
I view patterns from two perspectives. Some are perfect for highlighting a fabric such as the Burda pants combined with the Guatemala fabric from a few weeks ago or the Marcy Tilton skirt and the graphic black and white print that I don't think you've ever seen a completed picture of. With these, the fabric is speaking the loudest although in an interesting design. Other patterns, such as the New Look 6735 t-shirt that my T and T evolved from, are perfect as the starting point for design. They're basic. I can do a lot with them knowing that the structure fits me well.
Lorraine and I also talked about the number of people who seem to think it's the pattern that will make them creative. They're always looking for a new pattern. That's not how it works in my opinion. I think it's about what you do with a pattern and that's why basics that fit and flatter are so valuable. When it comes right down to it, I don't need another pattern. I need to use the patterns I already have more effectively by combining them with the inspiration all around me. Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic is amazing at this especially with her T and T dresses. I'm enjoying the designer inspired pieces she's been sewing recently. Carolyn of Handmade by Carolyn features the same pattern time and time again and each version is vastly different. She's a master at incorporating what inspires her into patterns she has already fitted and perfected. THAT's what I'm aiming toward. Well developed patterns that fit and flatter, that can then be used as a blank canvas.
I want to take the details from the clothes found in these shops and combine them with my T and T patterns to create unique to me, inspired by what I see, creations. It could be that THAT is what Anonymous was referring to. Time and again, I visit these shops, extol at length about the garments and how they inspired me, and yet I don't seem to produce a whole lot beyond basics. There are various reasons for this - which are completely valid - after all, we need supporting garments to go with those designer ones - BUT... that's not the total reality. My more limited than I'd like it to be - really creative sewing is something that I have been increasingly aware of and it's a frustration that will - eventually - I hope - resolve itself - at least that's what I'm aiming for.
In yesterday's talk with my friend, I wondered if the answers I received on Tuesday - knowing for sure that I want a job outside the home - knowing for sure that I don't want a business especially a creative one - knowing for sure that I want to sew for myself - knowing for sure that I want fashion sewing to be my stress release and my creative outlet - will allow me to now settle in to doing exactly that. Time will tell but one thing I know for sure is that I feel a whole lot more settled today than I did Tuesday morning. And that's good.
Or maybe Anonymous just wanted to let me know that I'm repeating myself. Yes. It happens.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - inspiration
So what if you are repeating yourself? If what you are repeating is good and fine and lovely, repeat away. Part of what maturity brings us is the ability to know our true selves better, to recognize our strengths and weaknesses. We should emphasize our strengths. That should take most of our time -- leaving only a little time to disguise or to cope with our weaknesses. We'll never turn our weaknesses into our strengths. God didn't put us together the way God did if that were possible. We should rejoice that people are different: different shapes and colors, different interests and talents. I so relish checking your postings every day, rejoicing in your joys, commiserating in your sorrows.
ReplyDeleteI love it when something gets you to thinking. The post that follows is always thought provoking for me. I still need more work on T and T patterns. I do look forward to the fun of snope shopping and designing copies. I don't think I'll wait until all those T and T patterns are finished. I wonder if there is such a thing as designer inspired T and T. That's something for me to discover!
ReplyDeleteI really admire those sewists who can take a pattern and turn it into something creative that expresses who they are - these people really know their style but that is probably the first thing to know - what your style is . I would love to be able to do this. I` ll be looking forward to see what you create because you seem to have this natural creative streak and the clothes you have previously sewn are already lovely.This is a very exciting direction to be taking.
ReplyDeleteToday's post is very timely--I too have been re-evaluating where I am going. I retired a couple of years ago and knew that I would want to work at least part-time. My sewing has changed, I still sew fashion clothing just different than before and my level of perfectionism has greatly increased.
ReplyDeleteSo your post is more food for thought and has helped gel somethings. It may all be jelly.
Annette