The Body: Fashion and Physique (FIT exhibit)

The Museum at FIT

Seventh Avenue at 27th Street (corner)

Closed Sunday, Monday and legal holidays

otherwise, 10AM-8PM (5PM on Saturday)

This exhibit was absolute MAGIC, assuming you have the time and patience to really think it through.  Brilliantly curated by Emma McClendon, this exhibit is about so much more than clothing.  My words won't drive the points home nearly as well as a visit to the exhibit will.

If you can get here while the exhibit is still open (which is quite a while), don't miss it.  It is free, quiet, near some great fabric and notions shopping, and delicious restaurants.  You NEED to see it, but particularly for its academic and social messages and impact, more than it's visual one.

Seriously, can we talk about corsets and 18" waists? This false information has been repeated and repeated... while only simple measurements of old corsets will tell you the truth.  why do we subscribe to notions of how we should be shaped, or what we should like, based on what the clothing available to us looks like?

I was really amazed by the custom dress made for the comedienne Leslie Jones.  The beauty of it was just breath-taking.  Why did it take Christian Siriano to make the "brave" step of offering to make her a gown?

The industry has opened up to a growing cross section of people, and certain designers have embraced a diverse view...

-from the exhibition pamphlet

Just go see it.   Feel free to ask questions, to yourself, to each other... but open up, and think about what should be, and what CAN be.  Get inspired!

New posts on the way soon...

Been very busy and very involved in many things - and you will get a full blast of it in the coming days...

On pleating...

*12/11/17

Latest update: A podcast from the man who "wrote the book" on pleating! https://materialisyourbusiness.com/2017/12/035-george-kalajian-of-toms-sons-pleating-writing-the-book-on-pleating/

Re-posting (from 4/23/14... for the love of pleating...)  Note: I still wear the skirt.

I admit to having a healthy dose of chiffonophobia.  You know, large expanses of chiffon move freely when you try to cut them, bias can be an amorphous nightmare, so needle and thread choice, correct cutting, and careful sewing are paramount to success...

I also find it irresistible.

On this project, with some trepidation, I headed into unfamiliar territory.  I knew I wanted to make a sunburst pleated skirt, and I knew who would do the pleating for me, but I had NO IDEA how to plan and cut it.  Because the skirt pattern is a sophisticated circle,  I did not know how to get it to work for the skirt I wanted to make.

I had already scored some fabulous James-Bond-esque golden/black chiffon from Kashi at Metro Textiles, and embarked on the dream.  This is a project you cannot engineer on your own; you need a permanent pleating process to make this work, and I knew just who to call. 

So, I sat down with George of International Pleating.  To do what I did here, you do not need an appointment.  Nope.  All you need is this link, and you can cut it yourself, send or physically take the fabric to International Pleating, and have it pleated.

The wonderful team at International Pleating gave such perfect instructions (with a printable pattern), that this was just as easy as pie to do.  I know, because I've done it.

Oh... and the pattern is FREE.  Yes, I said FREE.

Pleated version, laying beneath the original (unpleated) chiffon.

And the end result is why I couldn't resist the step-by-step instructions for a sunburst pleated bias skirt, provided by International Pleating.

What did I do?

Step 1: I read the instructions.  Note the fabric recommendations, length of skirt, and waist sizes given. You can request help from International Pleating if you need to make something outside of the size/length range provided. The instructions I used can be found here.

Step 2: I printed and assembled the pattern.  Using an ordinary printer. No special equipment or paper required.  The pattern can be found here.

Step 3: I followed the cutting instructions.  Pay attention here - follow the instructions exactly as they are written, for the best possible results.

Pleated chiffon before sewing

Step 4:  I gave it to International Pleating to pleat the fabric.  This is an EXTREMELY affordable service, by the way. $14 per panel for pleating.

I cut my waist out after getting the fabric pleated (I thought I could hang the bias more easily this way) , but if you are at all uncomfortable with properly cutting your waist after the pleating is done, doing it first gives you better accuracy.

Step 5: I followed the rest of the written instructions to complete the skirt.

Step 6: I let the bias hang...


While letting the bias hang, I worried about a "twist" I was worried I couldn't fix at the side seam.

But then I let it hang... and hang...

and hang...

And, because of my busy schedule, it hung longer than I planned, and the side seam "twist" self-resolved!

Awaiting full bias "drooping"!

Step 7: I hemmed the skirt.

A bit of experimentation led me to a rolled hem done with a fine zigzag stitch.  Done here on a test piece on the straight grain,  it gives the hem a bit of a wiry feel, that I wanted to use on this bias hem to give the skirt some energy!  

Step 8: I fell in love with the "dancey" quality of the hem method I chose!

I will wear it over a fitted black stretchy mini-tank dress, that will create my "slip" beneath the skirt. 

Now... Shall we dance?

Currently at FIT Museum - EXPEDITION: Fashion from the Extreme

Expedition

Let's be honest. I wasn't really jazzed to see this exhibit, because I really couldn't see a direct application of this topic in my life.  But... last weekend, since I was near FIT anyway, I stepped inside, casually walked downstairs (for this one), prepared to be unimpressed.

And yet again, I was WRONG!

Think of it this way: "Travel to extreme environments is a relatively modern phenomenon." This is the opening line of the exhibition pamphlet I held in my hand as I wandered into the space.

Think on that for a second.  Fine. Give it more than a second. Yeah... Safari, camouflage, ski parkas, scuba gear, space travel... actually... I do get it. Didn't think I did, but I do!

To really appreciate the variety and beauty of the pieces presented, you'll have to go in person. No spoilers here.  It really is a thinking person's exhibit, and you won't regret it.

On view until January 6, 2018

Can't go in person? Visit virtually here.

And then I looked up! New Fabric Store... Well, a year old...

Walking along 37th Street in the Garment District, I did something I have always done/always do... but not right there, apparently.  At least not recently.

A window sign beckoned to me from the second floor of 222 West 37th.  Inviting everyone to shop for French Couture Fabrics.

Yes, you heard me right.

Retail.

Wholesale.

Everybody.

Anybody.

So, up I went.

One of my very favorite songs was playing when I entered.  A huge plus!  While singing along, (the song is in French) I was greeted very warmly by a French speaking man (who, by the way, has an English speaking employee who is more than enthusiastic about helping you find what you are looking for!) and was invited to look around.  Lots of gorgeousness in this place.  The most spare and no-frills basic display of fabric you will ever see, but truly magical merchandise.

The prices are not low, but not particularly high, either. Don't look for bargains or haggling here. Just buy what you love.

This beautiful double faced fabric, folded back on itself... is just... heavenly.

French Couture Fabrics (click through for website)
222 West 37th Street
2nd Floor
NYC

Instagram: frenchcouturefabrics

My advice?  Go.

Just go.

Ch-ch-ch-anges!

In B&J last week, I heard a woman in the next aisle lament to her friend, "Man, things are really changing around here.  I mean... I was in a store, asked for a business card, the man handed it to me, shrugged and said... 'We're moving soon.  Don't know where to, but you can use the info on this card in the meantime.' Pivot.  End of conversation!"

Her light humor and gestures illustrating her point made it a funny moment, until... I felt it for myself first-hand a few hours later...

At Steinlauf and Stoler.

So yeah, they don't owe me details or an explanation, but wow, they have a somber email list you can sign to get info when they move.  Call me crazy, but their tone feels more like "if" than "when".

No longer in its heyday, but fantastic for a variety of needed items for the serious professional or hobbyist, this place, in exactly this location will be missed.  Or, maybe it will move, refresh itself, and bet better than ever...?  Let's see!

And... remember Chic Fabric?  After they closed, their inventory went down the street to another store, and we breathed a sigh of relief... but now, there's a sign that the Chic alliance is ending (maybe sold all inventory?) and so, that is also a "wrap".

So, okay, we can deal...  There are still plenty of great places to go, and the bigger ones are still great... and I strolled past what was once... ummmm.... Leather Impact.

It was gone.  Empty.  No forwarding details. But wait!  Look their website!  They simply moved!  Look at their Instagram.  Whew. We're good.

Life goes on...

Rectangles...

I never noticed how I keep returning to rectangles until recently.  I love making things so simple that only 1-3 rectangles are required, and are so simple to sew, that it even becomes hard to explain how it was done.  I think these things are specific to my taste, but I love how duplicable they are, because of their simplicity.  How well it turns out is only a measure of how "right" a fabric choice was made...

Examples of same garments that were nothing buy rectangles are below:

The grommet laced shoulder...

The ever-changing cradle bag

A panel print just the right size to become a shirt

Rectangular scarf that became a vest by folding to the middle (back neck), and tying a knot

Beautiful pleats by International pleating, suspended from two rectangles of lace

A rectangle cotton knit t-shirt dress, with a vertical "scarf"

So, there were quite a few other photos I was about to share, and then stopped short, thinking, "Oh yeah, it STARTED out as a/some rectangle(s), but then I decided to..."

So... yes...  I often start with rectangles, and end up... well... wherever that sends me.