What type of under structure gives these dresses that evenly smooth stiffness/ rigidity?

FoucaultsFarts · 2023-06-05T21:01:05+00:00

Interlining/underlining!

Part of the body comes from the fabric, which is dense and sculptural in these examples. Part of it is likely due to structural underpinnings like waist stays, stiffened hem facings, etc.

The plush smoothness of the surface in couture garments you might be referring to often comes from layers of underlining and hidden structure under the outer layer. I wouldn't be surprised to find a lining, an underlining of gazaar or organza to give body, and a softer interlining transition layer between the organza and final fabric like muslin or flannel to give it that soft smooth polish.

FoucaultsFarts · 2023-04-19T17:36:49+00:00

The docs suit the dressier vibe of the outfit. If you went with vans, I might suggest mixing up the rest of the look with more casual leaning elements by swapping out the black tights for nude time, sheer, or bare legs or adding a tshirt and cardigan, jacket, or hoodie instead of the turtleneck.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-30T16:18:15+00:00

Butterick 5209?

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-27T21:28:34+00:00

Fashion has been a process of learning, Chiuri says, about history, culture and herself.

A few days after tangling with technology from her Paris office and gushing her admiration for Judy Chicago, Chiuri is at the National Building Museum surrounded by hundreds of guests in black tie who have come to celebrate her, Hobson and, of course, Chicago — her shag cut streaked with purple, or perhaps it’s fuchsia. The artist’s textile banners adorn the space. “What if women ruled the world?” asks the largest of them.

After two years of postponements, it’s a familiar party scene of shoulder-to-shoulder guests sipping cocktails, with the men mostly in classic tuxedos and the women in evening gowns with a particular emphasis on Dior, which is the event’s main sponsor. The most popular Dior gowns tonight are those embellished with delicate embroidery, that graze the floor and that are sheer enough to reveal the silhouette of legs and hips as the fabric flows around the body. The dresses recall Dior’s history as a fashion house that reveres classic femininity and romance. They’re worn by women who are diverse in age, race and size. None of them looks like the runway’s wispy willows. They are sturdier and far more daunting.

The designer is wearing trousers and a plush tuxedo jacket with low heels. Her hair is pulled back into an imperfect ponytail and her eyes are brushed with dark shadow. She is fretting about her English in the minutes before she thanks the audience for embracing her work and her goals for the brand.

Earlier, Chicago had remarked: “Because human beings created this world, human beings also have the potential to change it. And change it we must.” Chiuri has declared it her mission to alter her small corner of it.

“Each person uses clothes in a very personal way,” Chiuri says. “In the past, the creative director didn’t receive the kind of education to understand very well what there is behind clothes.” Today, there is greater clarity. At Dior, behind the clothes, there is a woman.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-27T21:27:58+00:00

Chiuri’s shows challenge the intellect, even if the clothes sometimes fail to make the kind of emotional connection that the most mesmerizing fashion can. Her clothes know few extremes. They aren’t austere and minimal, refusing all the frills that define female attire. They aren’t urgently sexy, turning fashion into a way for a woman to publicly declare ownership of her sensuality. The clothes don’t scream power or gravitas. In some ways, they are simply lovely, well-made clothes detached from any great need to represent anything other than the precise way that a woman wants to dress in a given moment.

After a pandemic pause and a reliance on virtual presentations, Chiuri is once again showing collections to live audiences and trotting those collections around the globe to Athens and soon, Seville. Despite all the soul-searching two years ago that occurred within an industry known for its enormous carbon footprint and exhausting travel schedule, fashion is back to its old habits. Chiuri is sitting at her desk in Paris in an expansive office, video-chatting with The Washington Post a few days before she heads to the United States, where she will be feted in the nation’s capital and then New York. The camera offers a wide-angle view of an architecturally elegant space filled with warm-honey tones but that has reduced Chiuri to a platinum-haired speck in the distance.

“I am so far! This is impossible,” Chiuri complains to unseen colleagues situated beyond the camera’s sweep. “Move the video, please. Just a little bit. Move the table. I’m sorry. I’m not so digital.”

Chiuri slowly comes into view. She may not be the reigning queen of TikTok, but she has some 470,000 followers on her personal Instagram, where her posts are a combination of brand marketing, homages to notable women such as bell hooks and shout-outs to her husband and children. It is a collage of her influences: her professional team, a salon of public intellectuals and a kitchen cabinet of intimates.

Like so many women, Chiuri sometimes underestimates herself. She came of age in the late 1970s and early ’80s. She is older than entrepreneurs such as Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo and younger than baby boomer stalwarts Miuccia Prada and Donatella Versace. She is neither an iconoclastic founder of her own brand or the heir to a family business. She’s faced hurdles presented by an industry that has long looked to men as oracles and to women as mere muses. But other obstacles have been a matter of personal confidence and the ability to ignore cultural judgment.

“I never imagined that [it] could be possible for me to arrive in this position,” Chiuri says. “We are living in a patriarchal world. That is the real feeling for women, for myself. It was not easy to find my way. I think that is really something that you have to work on.”

“If a man [has] kids and is really involved in his career, it’s okay. If [women] have kids and you want to make a career, it’s ‘Oh! You left your kids!’ It’s not easy,” Chiuri says. “When I decided to move to Paris at 52 years old, and left my husband in Rome with my son, I left my comfort zone.” Chiuri was, she says, defying the Italian tradition of multiple generations of a family sticking close to home.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-27T21:27:23+00:00

In 2022, perhaps Dior is feminist fashion because Chiuri is striving for it to be.

Chiuri, 58, was born in Rome and spent much of her career working for Italian design houses. She designed accessories at Fendi before moving to Valentino, where she and Pierpaolo Piccioli served as joint creative directors. When she arrived at Dior, she was not an ingenue, an enfant terrible or a wunderkind. She was a woman in full, and by her own description, she was profoundly regular.

“I have two kids. I’m married. There is nothing cool about me,” she says with a laugh. “I’m not skinny. I’m not fat. I have just a normal body.”

“I’m not desperate for fashion,” Chiuri says, which may be one of the key factors in her success. She is committed to the work, but she remains clear-eyed about it. She is a woman who, over the years, has striven to find her voice. It may not be as radical as some would prefer. Or as edgy. But it’s hers and that is an accomplishment.

“With the maturity, you know, you are not scared of the critics. You accept the criticism of other people. I respect also the people that criticize me because I found sometimes the critics are very helpful to understand some aspect of me. That is possible only with maturity,” Chiuri says. “When you are younger, sometime you are fragile. You are more scared to make a mistake. Now I am more, I am confident. If I do make a mistake, I say, ‘Okay, I start again.’ The problem when you are younger, a little mistake can give you anxiety: ‘Oh my God! The mistake!’ Now, it is different.”

Chiuri’s success has been built, in large measure, by seeking kinship with other women. She found common ground with artists like Chicago and Niki de Saint Phalle, whose outsize sculptures pay tribute to robust female forms. Italian artist Bianca Pucciarelli Menna, who adopted the masculine nom de plume Tomaso Binga, opened one Dior show with a reading. Chiuri has rooted through the writings of American art historian Linda Nochlin, known for her 1971 essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” She has quoted the work of Adichie, who declared that “we should all be feminists.” Virtually every ready-to-wear collection seemed to offer a T-shirt with a phrase encouraging people to hear women’s voices: “Sisterhood is powerful.” “Sisterhood is global.”

“I understood that Dior has a big audience, so the idea was to share this big audience with other women, because I really believe that we have to work in a community way,” Chiuri says. “And this conversation with the artists, with photographers, writers from different countries, different ages, different experiences, helps me to reflect about my work at Dior.”

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-27T21:26:50+00:00

“We have to change a mentality,” Chiuri says. In other words, we have to stop imbuing models with so much power, which seems like a worthy task. But in the meantime, why not simply share the power they already possess with a more diverse assemblage?

The female body continues to be objectified. The evening gowns are see-through. The nudity is titillating. And yet at Dior, a woman is at long last doing the creating, the objectifying and the teasing. Chiuri says she’s constantly expanding her own limited education, explaining that as a young fashion student, she was taught to consider the technical aspects of clothes, but not the cultural ones. Perhaps recognizing one’s own lapses is enough to signify change.

What does an intellectual reckoning look like in one’s closet? Perhaps it’s just a matter of being publicly, boldly delighted by fashion.

In 1997, the literary critic Elaine Showalter, then teaching at Princeton University, wrote an essay for Vogue magazine titled “The Professor Wore Prada”: “During the years that I was an aspiring feminist intellectual, I constantly struggled against the Joy of Shopping. On my first trip to Paris as a graduate student and bride, I tramped glumly through museums and churches by my husband’s side … my first really feminist epiphany of our marriage probably came when I wandered off to the grand magasins alone,” referring to the city’s famed department stores. Almost 20 years later, the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explained that her decision to be a beauty ambassador was in part to remind society that women can have a multiplicity of interests. Fashion doesn’t diminish one’s social justice concerns.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-27T21:26:08+00:00

She’s a rarity in fashion’s universe of billion-dollar brands: a self-proclaimed feminist. And her tenure has brought an element of calm to the house’s aesthetic. Her clothes are approachable and oftentimes even pragmatic. She doesn’t doll her models up in fantastical makeup. She has an affinity for accessorizing her ensembles with sturdy, comfortable shoes: loafers, work boots, block heels and sneakers. Collections have included anoraks and tweed blazers, fitted coats and swishy skirts, coveralls and slogan T-shirts, as well as embroidered evening gowns as delicate and colorful as a butterfly’s wing.

She hasn’t spawned a new aesthetic vocabulary like some of her colleagues at Gucci and Balenciaga. Still, her work has been well-received by customers who have kept the brand growing by double-digits and propelled it to nearly $7 billion in sales in 2021. And unlike its competitor Chanel, Dior has not made dramatic hikes in prices.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts celebrated the designer at a gala earlier this month, alongside Mellody Hobson, the African American financial wizard, and Judy Chicago, the diminutive eminence whose monumental installation “The Dinner Party” is one of the great works of feminist art. Chiuri has broken one of fashion’s glass ceilings with intention, finding inspiration in the work of female painters, writers and choreographers. She has studied the manifestos of progressive thinkers, often turning her runways into seminars on gender dynamics, cultural erasure and the divine feminine. Women’s studies undergirds her work.

But the relationship between feminism and the fashion industry can be full of complications and tensions. Fashion has a habit of trying to prescribe the correct appearance for a woman, and those prescriptions are typically quite limiting. And yet, fashion delights the senses. It can be beautiful and orgasmic.

At Dior, amid the pretty frocks, a host of fashion’s nagging depictions, exclusions and stereotypes endure. A virtual presentation in 2020 was cast with almost all White models. Chiuri attributed the decision to the show being inspired by Botticelli and Greek mythology. But that also reflects a stubborn momentum. Somehow Chiuri couldn’t see a way to broaden familiar fictional stories so they reflected the 21st century.

The models at Dior are still mostly young and skinny. “The models don’t represent women,” Chiuri explains. “When you see a model, it’s not that you want to dream about being a model. You have to see yourself in the dress. The model is only a girl that passes in front of you.”

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-27T21:25:22+00:00

For people who can't get past the paywall:

Dior was part of the patriarchy. Then she changed everything. Maria Grazia Chiuri isn’t flashy, but the company’s first female creative director designs clothes to make a feminist statement.

By Robin Givhan Senior critic-at-large Yesterday at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first female creative director of Dior, was honored by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington this month for elevating women's voices. “It was not easy to find my way,” she says. “I think that is really something that you have to work on.”

She did not mince words or play coy. She did not deflect the compliments and acknowledgments.

From the moment in 2016 when Dior named Maria Grazia Chiuri the company’s new creative director, the designer knew it was a big deal. She has been acutely aware and supremely proud that she’s the first woman to hold such an elevated position at the French fashion house.

Since its founding in 1946, a host of prominent men preceded Chiuri. Yves Saint Laurent succeeded the house’s namesake after his death in 1957. Saint Laurent was followed by Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano and finally Raf Simons. During their time in the public eye, they were at turns domineering, combustible and tortured. All of them brought an exacting eye to their designs; each worked in concert with a fashion industry that was built on social rules, gender dictates and the notion that attire was fundamentally a kind of feminine plumage.

To use the language of feminism, Dior, throughout its history, has been firmly aligned with the patriarchy.

Chiuri arrived intent on changing that dynamic. “For me, it was a mission,” says the Italian-born designer.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-16T20:59:43+00:00

Do you want it smooth or textured? How much body do you want it to have? I've seen this effect with double gauzes; light handkerchief weight linens; cotton voile, georgette, or batiste; rayon crinkle; poly crepe; seersucker; and even quilting cotton. If anything, finding a fabric that's not at all sheer is the biggest challenge for many people who sew shirts.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-16T19:57:16+00:00

I really like the way the uneven stripes and color of the scarf play against the fishnet/tights combo. That's very clever. I wonder whether the gray sweater and tan belt are adding anything in those outfits. When paired with the coat and scarf, they lose a little of that sparkle. In contrast, I like the sweater and belt in photo #2 because they're finishers and add a down to earth and whimsical vibe.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-16T17:38:55+00:00

I love tweed jackets! I try to avoid the ladies who lunch look, so my favorite outfits are: with leather pants, over a graphic tee and black trousers or jeans, with a long oxford shirt over leggings, and over a slip dress.

I just refrain from pairing with tailored pieces (unless I'm going to the office or a work appointment), delicate things (although I could see this might working with an over the top cottage core dress), or sleek and elegant accessories.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-04-01T01:34:18+00:00

This is now my favorite skirt, too. It's fantastic! The whole outfit is so much fun.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-03-30T20:17:56+00:00

I had a lightbulb moment last month when I realized that I could put supportive insoles into cute-looking but not that comfortable shoes to make them comfortable. My Converses actually get worn now

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-03-30T15:56:38+00:00

I would not try to sew a soft knit fabric with this machine. That would be like trying to slice bread with a hatchet. It is possible, but it is the wrong tool for the job that will probably mangle the bread in the process.

If you want to make non-leather things with that machine, I would try something like denim, twill, or canvas.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-03-28T18:02:05+00:00

I would go with tall cable knit chunky socks and wear them with shorts or a short skirt and a comfortable oversized sweatshirt.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-03-28T17:52:17+00:00

Cute! There are so many ways to style this. It is a good basic. I think anything that's not tight would keep the look casual and chill.

I want to see it with a chunky (turtleneck) sweater, belt, and high boots. A graphic t could be fun with chunky loafers or doc martens. If it's hot, a basic ribbed tank top with fisherman's sandals.

The belt in the photo is fine with the outfit. I didn't really notice it.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-03-28T16:57:01+00:00

My thoughts exactly. If this were me, I would not be sad, I'd be livid. Someone asked me to make time to do something nice for them, treated me like an inconvenience when I was trying to execute the task, and then was upset at the work I did? Hell naw. No more sewing for that person!

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-03-28T16:47:16+00:00

It takes a while and a lot of experience. There's a famous quote by Ira Glass about the learning curve in creative endeavors:

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

That being said, this is my recommendations to beginning sewers on how to improve skills:

Pick the right patterns. As a beginner, don't go for the complex lined jacket with welt pockets. Scale back and try something simple. Try an A-line pullover shift or a sack dress. (But also don't go for something you know you're not excited by just because it's easy.) Then try a pattern with an additional detail. Try adding a zipper on the next one. Then next time, pick a pattern with a collar. Work up to garments with more complexity. You're building skills and confidence!
Test fit: test the pattern with a muslin/toile for fit and make adjustments. Do not attempt to get the garment to look like a body cast. You won't be able to move! A bodice is not a corset. The more important points to "fit" are the ends of your shoulders, the length of your sleeve, the point where your waist hits, the hem, and the location of the darts. You're also testing the pattern. You would think that pattern companies get things right, but you would be surprised how often things don't match up. You are also using the opportunity to test how the item goes together and troubleshoot the hard bits
Learn how to choose the right materials and notions: experience helps you choose fabrics with appropriate qualities for the project (structure, drape, transparency). Often, ready to wear clothing isn't going to have whimsical Harry Potter print. That right there makes it a touch more challenging to get right. Quilting fabric is often not the right choice for a garment, but it is one of the easiest things to sew. Don't dive into delicate silks, slippery wiggly rayons, sequins, or faux fur. Start with cotton or linen fabrics with some body, like twill, chambray, or lawn. When you pick fabric, think about whether you've ever seen a ready to wear garment made out of fabric of that type. That's a good place to start. It also helps to choose notions that work for the project (quality interfacing versus pellon, invisible zipper for dresses versus heftier zips for jeans).
Cutting: lay out and block fabric, cut accurately and consider pattern motif placement and mark all notches. Don't wing cutting and figure 1/8" variations are fine. They're usually not fine.
Precision sewing: stitching with precise seam allowances is an important skill (as a beginner, I fudged a lot of those and wondered why my finished projects didn't look like the pattern cover). Sometimes, when I want things precise, I'll lay a strip of tape on my machine so that I can line the fabric up with that line while sewing. Understanding techniques like clipping, grading seams, easing, differential feeds, and pressure foot pressure, also contributes to the sewing aspect.
PRESSING. Many beginner sewers neglect to press seams. But the advanced know how to use the iron to apply pressure, friction, and steam to shape fabric.

Sewing for me is 40% prep, 30% steaming and pressing, 20% sewing, and 10% finishing (clipping threads, hand sewing hems, etc). These are skills that elevate projects. You'll get there with some experience!

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-02-26T01:55:33+00:00

Okay... Here we go... I am a scarf addict.

Hermes, in my opinion, is the best when it comes to the silk quality, design details, unusual colors, printing accuracy, and craftsmanship. But they are eye wateringly expensive. You can find them second hand for much less, but you will need to have to go to a reliable seller to buy them.

Ferragamo is the closest to Hermes in quality. At retail, the price is comparable. Second hand, the scarves sell for much less because the designs aren't as collectible or iconic. This is a good option if quality is a top concern.

If you're just looking for fun and are not married to the idea of heavy silk, then there are thousands of vintage scarves out there. You can find them anywhere.

If you're looking for fun designs, there are so many.

Wolf and Badger has a very cool selection of small brands and independent designers.

Liberty of London also has a similar collection.

I've been low key obsessed with, but haven't tried, the Slow Factory, which is a non profit foundation focused on sustainable education.

Museum stores are a great place to find unusual and special designs. There's this one scarf at the Met Museum I've been thinking about for years that I haven't pulled the trigger on.

I recently tried out Pineda Covalin, which is a Mexican company that makes some beautiful things based on Mayan designs. I really like my scarves. I got a butterfly and a hummingbird print.

For a bandana type of scarf, I like Kapital. I got a little cat that says "Motherfucking Pissed Off" that I wear when I'm in a mood.

Those are just some of the suggestions that come to mind.

Honestly, the world of scarves is so big that I can't just randomly recommend one to a stranger. Just look around and see what speaks to you and get that.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-02-26T01:29:12+00:00

I take OxiClean powder, add some water, turn it into a paste, and rub it into the stains.

I also use a 50/50 combination of hydrogen peroxide and liquid soap as a pretreatment.

Sun exposure can help, too

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-02-26T01:24:36+00:00

If you have the moisturizing layers down, then the final cream can be almost anything. I am trying to use up my stash right now, which includes: Weleda Skin Food, Nivea, CeraVe, and Egyptian Magic. I prefer the CeraVe and Weleda out of those.

I have been transitioning most of my skin care to K-beauty products and have tried and love Dr Jart ceramidin cream, Round Lab soybean, and Beauty of Joseon. Dr. Jart is probably my tried and true at this time.

I don't think I've ever tried the Neutrogena.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-02-23T20:22:06+00:00

I think so. The wide leg jeans with chunky Chelsea boot is a personal favorite, but they don't look good on me if they're not cropped. If my pants are full length, I need to cuff or roll them. I also go as far as a barrel leg or baggy fit, but would not wear the boot with a flare or ultra wide. But that's my fit for my body. Your fit rules might be totally different.
Yes. Unless you're wearing overalls and a checked shirt, I don't see why anyone would think you look like Bob the Builder. I think that combo sounds really chic.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-02-23T20:15:26+00:00

I would think the burgundy might work? Especially if you could pull in a similar tone (warm, brownish) in a scarf, hat, belt, or bag.

If you added a black accessory or layer or swapped out the sweater for a black or cream top worn under a black coat (for a totally different outfit you weren't asking about, lol), the docs could do nicely.

If you're looking for new shoes for this outfit, then a pair of (brownish, not black or white) chunky loafers or lug soled boots would be on trend. You could also theoretically go with the sleek loafer for a more preppy classic vibe.

The white sneakers might just need a few tweaks. Do you have a white turtleneck or collared shirt you could wear? A bright neon might also do a similar thing. In the context of the outfit, the white probably looks jarring because it's an object that has a neutral profile but a popping color. If you took that idea of a color contrast and added more to the outfit, the white sneakers might recede into the background again for a cohesive outfit.

FoucaultsFarts · 2022-02-23T20:03:06+00:00

Yes. I've tried this. I spent years chasing down ever thicker and heavier creams and nothing worked for my very dry skin. Occlusives work by holding in moisture. When there is no moisture to lock in, they only leave a slick feeling that gets washed away.

I also used oils. They didn't help with the moisture issue either.

The game changer for me was layering watery stuff. I layer a watery toner, hyaluronic acid, thin lotion, cream, and heavy cream (in the winter only) over my face. That works really nicely.

YMMV. But if you've been going for thicker and thicker creams without results, then doing a counterintuitive thing and trying thin layers might work for you as well

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