My mom used to tell the story of how a store assistant was helping my grandma try on a dress (1940s or 1950s) and saying "This dress requires a taller woman."
Because I'm old, I know how to sew. But what I really need to learn is how to tailor. I'd vastly prefer to buy off-the-rack clothes and alter them to fit. There are a couple of tricks to hemming jeans so that the original hem is displayed rather than some odd-looking flat hem. I've never learned to take the waistband off the jeans, take the waist in, and replace the waistband, but that's absolutely the best way to get jeans to fit if your waist-to-hip ratio is large.
Partly this is because my current sewing machine is kind of cheap and crummy. You need a decent machine and needles made for denim, and then I stare at the prices for good sewing machines, wonder if I'd really use it enough to justify the cost, and go into analysis paralysis.
It's also very easy to get overwhelmed by the social media groups for seamstresses/sewists/sewers (each term has its proponents) and their focus on how you need at *least* 20 different presser feet, and fifty million other little thingies, and then I just go to Ross and buy something.
Does anyone shop at e-Shakti? I've bought several things from them. They ask for dozens and dozens of your measurements and then sew to order. Unfortunately they don't have every item of clothing that I might possibly want, so I'm still stuck either tailoring or taking the item to the alterations place.
you make such a good point, and one i've thought about, about the investment required to get started on sewing. it does feel overwhelming. I need to order some things from eshakti myself to see how i like them!
Hi! I have been singing the praises of eshakti recently after trying to find a dress as a wedding guest. I am a 4x so the options are very limited. I order 8-9 dresses from eshakti with my custom measurements and some alterations (shortening length or raising neckline) and although I only kept one they all fit! So nice to have your choice come down to preference of style rather than fit.
The one thing I will say is they used to allow you to return the customized clothing less the customization fee but now you can only return for store credit. So after not realizing that change, I have $$$ of store credit there so I will be trying them a lot in the future ha! May try for more everyday clothes - I have only ever used them for dresses cause I love their fancier styles.
I see they have jeans again. They've gone back and forth on jeans. They tried them a few years ago and then pulled them, but now they're back. I've only used e-Shakti for dresses, but I might take a flyer on a pair of jeans.
This is so so helpful, thank you for sharing. I used eshakti for a client years ago, but didn't know if it was just a fluke. Also wasn't sure about how returns worked for custom items. Thank you!
This is a class taught by a really creative and fun teacher of many crafty things. Soft Work. How to sew garments for your own body. I think enrollment ends very soon and so I wanted to share with all of you. I don’t think I can join this round but am keeping it on my radar. https://www.mixedcolor.net/soft-work-details
I have a sewing machine. I have a lot of supplies. It is hard to get started!
Yes! And to go further sewing patterns, fabrics, and fashion - our expectations of what clothes are for and what they can do - are mass produced. So that means they don’t necessarily fit everyone either!
So true, I kindof forgot about that. The writer in the NY Times article talks more about this I think. And you're right, they're still made for the proportions of the "ideal" body, though at least it's able to be changed in the process.
This is both fascinating and aggravating!! The fact that men’s clothes are made with a built in assumption that there will be changes in their body and that the garment should be customizable to their own body. It’s proof that men control fashion! It seems simple enough to fix for women’s clothing but then there’s the pressure, often internalized about the women’s body ideal! Ugh it’s terrible.
I started sewing my own clothes about 1.5 years ago and it has been such a mental game changer for me to look at how to edit my clothes to fit my body and achieve the looks I really want not just what I settle for. I also just have more tenderness towards the clothes I make. If it doesn’t fit perfectly I still feel proud to wear it.
The one resource I highly recommend is the book Ahead of the Curve by Cashmerette. It is focused on fitting to a plus size body. And it has allowed me to adapt patterns to better fit me (busy adjustments, raising necklines in the back, etc) and it has really good pictures of the before and after to go from. The clothing are not my style (very traditional feminine, dressy) but the content is applicable to anyone. And I find the language to be considerate to changing bodies.
My mom used to tell the story of how a store assistant was helping my grandma try on a dress (1940s or 1950s) and saying "This dress requires a taller woman."
Because I'm old, I know how to sew. But what I really need to learn is how to tailor. I'd vastly prefer to buy off-the-rack clothes and alter them to fit. There are a couple of tricks to hemming jeans so that the original hem is displayed rather than some odd-looking flat hem. I've never learned to take the waistband off the jeans, take the waist in, and replace the waistband, but that's absolutely the best way to get jeans to fit if your waist-to-hip ratio is large.
Partly this is because my current sewing machine is kind of cheap and crummy. You need a decent machine and needles made for denim, and then I stare at the prices for good sewing machines, wonder if I'd really use it enough to justify the cost, and go into analysis paralysis.
It's also very easy to get overwhelmed by the social media groups for seamstresses/sewists/sewers (each term has its proponents) and their focus on how you need at *least* 20 different presser feet, and fifty million other little thingies, and then I just go to Ross and buy something.
Does anyone shop at e-Shakti? I've bought several things from them. They ask for dozens and dozens of your measurements and then sew to order. Unfortunately they don't have every item of clothing that I might possibly want, so I'm still stuck either tailoring or taking the item to the alterations place.
you make such a good point, and one i've thought about, about the investment required to get started on sewing. it does feel overwhelming. I need to order some things from eshakti myself to see how i like them!
Hi! I have been singing the praises of eshakti recently after trying to find a dress as a wedding guest. I am a 4x so the options are very limited. I order 8-9 dresses from eshakti with my custom measurements and some alterations (shortening length or raising neckline) and although I only kept one they all fit! So nice to have your choice come down to preference of style rather than fit.
The one thing I will say is they used to allow you to return the customized clothing less the customization fee but now you can only return for store credit. So after not realizing that change, I have $$$ of store credit there so I will be trying them a lot in the future ha! May try for more everyday clothes - I have only ever used them for dresses cause I love their fancier styles.
I see they have jeans again. They've gone back and forth on jeans. They tried them a few years ago and then pulled them, but now they're back. I've only used e-Shakti for dresses, but I might take a flyer on a pair of jeans.
This is so so helpful, thank you for sharing. I used eshakti for a client years ago, but didn't know if it was just a fluke. Also wasn't sure about how returns worked for custom items. Thank you!
This is a class taught by a really creative and fun teacher of many crafty things. Soft Work. How to sew garments for your own body. I think enrollment ends very soon and so I wanted to share with all of you. I don’t think I can join this round but am keeping it on my radar. https://www.mixedcolor.net/soft-work-details
I have a sewing machine. I have a lot of supplies. It is hard to get started!
OH MY gosh, I love this. The class looks amazing and I love the idea behind it!
I know! And the teacher is delightful!
Yes! And to go further sewing patterns, fabrics, and fashion - our expectations of what clothes are for and what they can do - are mass produced. So that means they don’t necessarily fit everyone either!
So true, I kindof forgot about that. The writer in the NY Times article talks more about this I think. And you're right, they're still made for the proportions of the "ideal" body, though at least it's able to be changed in the process.
This is both fascinating and aggravating!! The fact that men’s clothes are made with a built in assumption that there will be changes in their body and that the garment should be customizable to their own body. It’s proof that men control fashion! It seems simple enough to fix for women’s clothing but then there’s the pressure, often internalized about the women’s body ideal! Ugh it’s terrible.
yeah, it's a lot 😩
I started sewing my own clothes about 1.5 years ago and it has been such a mental game changer for me to look at how to edit my clothes to fit my body and achieve the looks I really want not just what I settle for. I also just have more tenderness towards the clothes I make. If it doesn’t fit perfectly I still feel proud to wear it.
The one resource I highly recommend is the book Ahead of the Curve by Cashmerette. It is focused on fitting to a plus size body. And it has allowed me to adapt patterns to better fit me (busy adjustments, raising necklines in the back, etc) and it has really good pictures of the before and after to go from. The clothing are not my style (very traditional feminine, dressy) but the content is applicable to anyone. And I find the language to be considerate to changing bodies.