Fashion Assistance Series…
in Design, Pattern & Production Ideas & Stitching Ideas
by Shirley Willett, November 1, 2023
Helping young fashion designers, dressmakers and home sewers, with free
My history of 3 corporations, 3 books, and 3 engineering design grants, are all related to fashion. However, physically I can no longer go out in the world, so it will be online. I want to help others with ideas and solutions in creating, designing, pattern engineering, and manufacturing. And having fun in these areas. I want questions and problems in these areas to help solve them. But not in marketing, funding, or finding resources. There are many others to answer these for you. If there is not a direct answer I will reply with how we might answer together. shirley@shirleywillett.com
SECTIONS:
1. Designers whose work can teach you something
2. The Future is Fixing Things — Sustainability
3. Looks that inspire me to create it my way
4. Fun fashion stories from the past
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1. Designers whose work can teach you something
Cristobal Balenciaga, (the original, not the house of) is my most admired of all time because he not only created sculptures, but also made the patterns and sewed the first styles. “A master of cut and construction, Cristobal Balenciaga made countless contributions to fashion — the cocoon coat, the balloon jacket, the sack dress and so on” (from a recent article) (Note: What they called “sack”, I call “chemise”)
Peter Do, “who has come to be known as one of fashion’s least attention-seeking designers of the moment, wearing masks in public and posing for photos with his back turned to the camera”, says Vogue. “I didn’t have anything new to say,” Do explained … and, not be confused with any of the proliferating fast-fashion.” “The focus will be experience and garment artistry, and [will be] less about the surrounding spectacle of fashion week,” he predicts “I’d like people to take a close look at the clothes, and what goes into making the clothes” Again, Peter Do is less about fame and more about the great art and skill of the clothes themselves, as I feel too.
Shirley Willett: The importance of creativity in pattern making and engineering as well as style.
2. The Future is Fixing Things — Sustainability
Let’s fix the old instead of over-producing the new.
Emily Farra, Vogue, says, “True sustainability — products that “give more back to the planet than they take from it.” I add what’s next is customers learning how to fix their own wardrobes, and future young designers should be taught how to redesign and fix clothes, and then teach consumers how to fix their clothes, re-design and re-wear — a future of sustainability. Clothing is the worst of all products in landfills. Vogue: “Vintage or pre-loved items may become even more valuable than a brand-spanking-new one. Women love clothes that they had a hand in designing and making.”
3. Looks that inspire me to create simpler, and you can do.
I believe that many of us think and create very similar ideas, which is not copying — but rather serendipity. For months I have thought about creative things to my nice silk shirts, to make them more fun to wear. These bloused shirts (1st photo) sparked me to create my way, yet controlled and free. Here, the photographer or stylist tucks it just right for the photo. Can you imagine having to tuck the blouse just right every time you wear it 😫
The second photo is one of my nice silk shirts. The third set of photos shows Pinning elastic (measured for the waist) inside the waist of the blouse. Next, stitching elastic. Then, showing the right side with a nice gathering.
The fourth photo shows a tie belt with a nice even blousing of the shirt. The fifth photo is with the elastic pulled up in front, yet making a smooth blousing of shirt — without fuss.
4. Fun fashion stories from the past: Chemise to Shift: Late 1950s and 60s
Before 1957, the only mass-market styles that sold for a couple of decades were based on the shirt-maker dress, with a tightly belted waist. Christobel Balenciaga, in Paris, designed the chemise, a term from the 1920s, signalling a return of straight hanging dresses. I fell in love with it and designed a unique version for myself. My boss was intrigued and suggested I redesign one for our line of inexpensive dresses. I did, as you see it here in the sketch. It was priced at $11.75 wholesale, selling for $22 in the Stores.
We sent it to the New York showroom, where buyers laughed at it, so it was put on a rack to come back to Boston. A buyer from J. L. Hudson’s in Detroit saw it, and exclaimed: *Is this a chemise? I’ll buy it for an ad — if you cut it.” We put it back on the line and sold a few. We decided to cut it — just to order — that is, not cutting the many extras as usual. When it hit the stores — it astounded us all — it sold out so fast and reordered so much that we were completely producing only chemise dresses, for two years. Seconds in timing and I wouldn’t have had this great success — The 2nd hottest chemise dress in the world market.
After two years, the chemise died — it was a FAD. It took research and time to discover why. Every buyer said don’t even mention the name Chemise. “We’re stuck with a whole bunch of them in inventory. Fortunately for us, our chemise dress sold out, but the “bad ones” were like bad apples and poisoned us as well. Why were they bad? Most dress manufacturers saw the chemise as a “golden apple”, and took their shirtmaker dress patterns, let out the darts and let them “hang”. They were horrible on the body. Ours was beautiful because I had “shaped” the chemise as a beautiful form, emulating Balenciaga’s great sculpture in my unique styling. Fads die because everyone gets in on them and floods the market with poor versions.
It was years later that I began noticing the chemise in stores again, but never called the chemise. It was now called the SHIFT. (See the 1967 article) It sells to this day as the shift dress and has become a commodity item for women’s house dresses. Interestingly, as I monitor technology as well as fashion, I saw a similar event replicated in robots, and more recently in the “dot coms”. It all comes down to “quality”. When everyone gets into a big selling item and makes it, and does it poorly, the item dies, and it’s called a fad. Those who do it well will see it reincarnated, and it comes back quietly, without any market hype.
Next:
There are so many more ideas I want to share with you. If I get some responses, questions, and problems to solve, I will write the next in a series on December 1, 2023. It will include my responses to your questions and problems, as well as some more ideas from me, such as:
The use of Templates, as a foundation to make creativity easier and repeatable, as in draping styles.
Ideas from manufacturing for better, faster and easier ways to make some things, such as permanent pleating
Easier ways to do appliques, and to have fun creatively adorning a simple garment.
Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you.
