Clothing
A quarterly collection of designs, patterns, events, classes and ideas from Antiquity Press,
Volume 2, Issue 4, October 2007
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Style & Design
Fall 2007, Where's it going?
The following corners have been turned and now we're looking at a different game:
Design itself is more important -- cookie cutter is history -- so the pressure is on to think about  why something looks great or works well. Brush up on your art principles. In case you need a model, two companies that do it consistently are Chado Ralph Rucci, the best American couturier working now. Check out his work at New York Magazine's review of his fall line. Look at the  emphasis on proportion, balance and fine workmanship. The other company that simply states that they base their work on the Golden Mean, the standard for Greek proportions during the Classical Age, is Sans. They are a little edgier, younger but great looking and wearable while looking 'here and now', practical and they're GREEN, see Greenchic below. Take a peek!
For more corners on new fashion trends, leap to What to Wear
Ralph Rucci Sans
More Wearable News
Gloves Live! Thanks to Daniel Sorto, the great guy who went to Gloversville, NY few years ago, home of the American glove industry, and started it up again. Now gloves are hot everywhere. Support the effort to restore a great American craft and wear your gloves! Take this 17th C. poem to heart: "If that from Glove you take the letter G, Then Glove is Love and that I send to thee". At right is the Aug/Sept cover of Craft Magazine, featuring Sorto's work.
Three Great Video Interviews. To see and listen to 3 revealing interviews with the people who infuence what we all wear, see this link to Charlie Rose. He interviews Zac Posen (NY designer), Kate Betts (Time Mag), Andre Talley (Vogue), Ron Frasch (Saks 5th), Diane von Furstenberg and Alice Roy (new designer). |
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Max & Renata Report
Fashion Week -- San Francisco!
 San Francisco Fashion Week delivered what was promised in their second year at the SF Design Center: an exciting and personal look at the up-and-coming designers that influence our distinct fashion culture. The Galleria at the Design Center was the perfect venue in proportion and scope. It was very well attended and you could feel the high energy level, from the models and designers to the diverse audience members. The bad news is that San Francisco Bay Area designers seems to be half a year behind what is happening in NY and Paris, as far as cutting edge fashion is concerned, but the good news is that SF is making huge strides in the fashion world as seen last week at SF Fashion Week. The amount of work put into the show paid off as a truly inspired event, not only in behind the scenes work, but up front too: in seeing mostly well proportioned models about half of whom were women of color. Where else can you find this kind of political sensibility but in SF? Pink Elf opened up FW with a blast of sophistication. Kaushie Adiseshan, the brilliance behind the name came out with flowing, feminine, tailored pieces that . . . Read on!
Renata Martin's Open Studio SaleIOctober 20th and 21th, from 11am to 6pmAt Art Explosion, 744 Alabama street at 20th, San Francisco.She will have her Ipanema line, organic fabric line and Aunt Harriet line for sale!
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Etiencelles de Paris by Alan LeBlanc
(sparks)
A Visit With the Bride in the Vionnet Photo
Traditions, a War, and a Vionnet Couture Wedding in Paris
I recently attended the student fashion show of my former school here in Paris, La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Luckily I mentioned my renewed interest in the work of Madeleine Vionnet to one of my former teachers, because she suggested that we visit her great aunt who worked for the house of Vionnet as a 'Vendeuse' and house model.
So it was with a rapidly beating heart that I was recieved in the chic home of Madeleine Huot, near Place Dauphine. I will not try to describe the class one feels in the presence of a French woman of her generation who moved in the circles of Haute Couture Fashion. She answered my questions with gracious enthousiasm. With great physical difficulty she searched her drawers to find photo albums and objects that remained from the time, while I was served an aperitif and tasty petits-fours.
She worked there from 1935 to May 1939, leaving for a new life as a wife shortly before the house closed. Mme. Huot was married in a Vionnet gown made in the house workrooms
as a gift. Her mother wore Vionnet for the wedding as well. Continue the story & more photos . . .
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The Zeitgeist
 Two interesting new influences!
And, it appears that the Head Coach of the 49ers, Mike Nolan, has won
his battle to wear a suit on the job, something his father did as a
statement of adult professionalismwhen he was in the same position for
the 49ers.
It seems the time is right for a return to elegant dressing for both
sexes and the prediction is that many designers will pick up on their
innate sense of style -- a welcome change!
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Events
Stylized Sculpture: Oct. 12 - Jan. 6 An incredible show of contemporary Japanese fashion -- their work, derived from the origami tradition, is to behold! At the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, 200 Larkin St. Then, make a dash to Flax's for origami supplies and begin designing!
Western Interiors Design & Home Show
AND The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, together at Fort Mason on Oct. 26-28.
This year these two great events run simultaneously side by side at the Fort Mason piers -- and West Coast Green will be hosting an event there too called the The Green Home with lots of eco-friendly products and info. Buying a beautiful antique is the best of recycling plus the products are often safer, having used natural materials back in the day. You get a discounted combo ticket for both shows!
Green Festival: November 9-11, San Francisco, Concourse Exhibition Center, 8th and Brannen, SF: GreenFestivals.orgEco-Fashion, Green careers, Home & Garden, Organic food & wine/beer, Renewable energy -- everything you can imagine, done the most wonderful ways! In fact, since I'll be at an out-of-town conference, if you find a fabulous thing or idea send it in and I'll put it in the next newsletter.
 Tasha Tudor Auction: WhitakerAuction.comThis is an extremely important event in the historic costume world. 500 items to be exhibited on November 10th and auctioned on November 11th. Tasha Tudor is now in her 91st year. Surrounded by her beloved Corgis, gardens, antiques, & dolls, she has illustrated nearly 100 books since publishing Pumpkin Moonshine in 1938. She continues to live her life dedicated to a rural 1830s sensibility. To learn more about this American treasure, see the website run by her family, TashaTudorAndFamily.com
Barney's Opens in San Francisco: On the corner of Stockton and O'Farrell -- while they are big in NY, they are unique in that they financed the return of the House of Vionnet and you can go there to see the label -- one dress costs $14,000!
The Design Piracy Act: A
bill currently before the US Senate, sponsored by Dianne Feinstein,
which would protect "unique and original" designs for 3 years -- max
penalty is $250K. Is there really anything new under the sun that
could be copyrighted, as opposed to patented? Curious problem.
 Grafitti Art in Fashion: And we can formally thank the Phoenix Art Museum for making Graffiti legit in the fashion world -- looks great too! If you're there, it goes until February
The Golden Age of Couture 1947 - 1957: At the Victoria  & Albert Museum in London. It runs from Sept. to January and has fabulous photos on their website -- plus a catalog for inspiration and treasuring. $45 -- a deal in the fashion catalog world. www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1486_couture/ |
 Clotheslines Are Back! The new solar drier! Believing that laundry is an important part of life, Linda Shafer, sells everything you need to have that great fresh clothes feeling, which only comes from line-dried clothes. She has different clotheslines, clothespins, the works -- all quite wonderful. This photo is my idea of making it all work together. LineDry.com!
Our Secret Consignment
OurSecretConsignment.com
1115 Minnesota Ave., 1393 Lincoln Ave, Willow Glen, CA -- basically in San Jose -- easy to get to and a truly great place -- in late Aug. they have a sale and everything is 50% off! Marvelous sense of humor too!
The Ribbonerie has moved!
Paulette Knight's amazing place has moved to the 3600 block of Sacramento, on the corner at the end of the block. She has more dazzling things than you dare see for fear of overwhelming want-itis.
Noy Designs
18 Friar Tuck Lane, San Rafael, Ca; 94901 -- Telephone 415-686-4872
Less than 10 years ago, there was a bright young Laotian girl in my classes who was very creative and a stickler for detail. Well, she paid her dues and she had her Grand Opening a few weeks ago, showing the most couture level work I've seen in a long time. Each piece is exquisite with the best fabrication, designed and created to fit each woman personally. Like James Galanos, she specializes in working with chiffon -- few have the skills for that challenge!
And Cari Borja Has Opened Her Own Retail Store!
 She has her own retail store now at 2117 4th St. Studio B, Berkeley, CA. 4th St. is the shopping day of your dreams and now it is complete!
Textile Repair Studio, 510-548-2267.
After the moths have had lunch in your Woolworth's, you call Karen Stern and she makes the holes disappear! She also repairs Grandma's quilt and those jeans you wore out but are still dynamite and the vintage piece you found at the flea market and the doll you had as a kid -- you know, all the stuff you can't part with, ever.
New Book!
Winning the Toughest Customer: The Essential Guide to Selling to Women by Delia Passi with A.B. Aronson. Women make 94% of all the purchasing decisions -- good thing. Check it out: Medelia.com
And a good book for the beginner entrepreneur.
Fashion for Profit by Frances Harder. See: FashionForProfit.com. Her company, Fashion Business Inc., offers monthly classes at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center in San Francisco, 415-541-8580. Many of my students have reported that the business instruction at the Center is great and they particularly help women get started.
Mannequin Madness!
MannequinMadness.com
 Who doesn't want a mannequin around to try something on or lots of them for a show? This place has a serious population, whole body or parts! All genders, ages, whatever -- they have them.
So where does it all go?
Clothes that pass through the thrift shops get bundled off to other countries -- $1.2 billion of them. But now 32 countries have passed laws banning such imports to protect their clothing industries. So -- please buy fewer, better clothes so they last longer -- remember the true price of the clothing is the price-per-wearing -- serious bargains are to be had if you keep and wear a quality garment for a long time. Worsted wools can be expected to wear well for 25 years -- been there, done that!
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Classes
PACC Master Class for the PACC Conference in Denver in October -- see you there!
Topic: Art in Fashion Design
This season, it is time to pick up some loose ends -- like what you need to know about fabrics and also the other half of apparel design, developing the paper pattern. In addition, we will start a new draping cycle -- always a different menu, in case anyone is thinking about taking it again!
Starting This Month -- Oct. 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17. The last of the draping series, Design with Scissors and Cloth 3 -- the professional level.  This is the last course in the draping series; this time draping for profit is the focus. We concentrate on complex designs, exact analysis and duplication of the customer's sketch, draping on the body instead of the form and typical design and figure adjustments for individuals. Included also is the market approach in which draping is done for commerical production and the business aspects of free-lance draping. At Napa Valley College in St. Helena. Course # 54403 -- Call to Register: 707-253-3070 X 1303.
Register in December for: Enrollments limited to 20.
Understanding Fabrics, March 1,8,15:  An in-depth look at why fabrics look and behave the way they do -- naturals or synthetics, woven or knitted, printed or dyed and everything in between. Designing With Scissors and Cloth 1, April 5, 12, 19: This class starts the draping series again with draping a garment for perfect fit! Designing Patterns, May 3, 10, 17: This course goes through all the basics of paper pattern development
and also includes copying ready to wear and personal fitting adjustments -- and, of course, lots of vintage designs.
For those without pattern making knowledge, this course is a
prerequisite to Computer Pattern Making, coming soon.
Also Coming Soon, This Summer
Sari Possibilites! You thought that sari you've had for ages had no future if you didn't live in Bombay! Silly you! . . . those saris can work many ways and there are several stores in Berkeley that sell fabulous ones. We'll go through all the options! More later. Fashion Film Class! And this summer, if it can happen -- working on it -- a weekend of scenes to make your knees weak! For more detailed information on all the classes see Classes at Antiquity Press. A reminder email will go out about 2 weeks before each start date. More Classes
Apparel Arts in San Francisco has an increased offering of courses this time around, including Bra Design and Construction and Apparel Production for the entrepreneuers amongst us. Check it out at Apparel Arts!
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Patterns
Your-Size Grader
A popular item these days! This is a series of 5 templates, bodice front & back, skirt front & back and sleeve, (see one in a larger demo photo) which enable you to change the size of most garment patterns or just a part of the pattern for a better fit. I'll be working on the pant template and a kimono sleeve template this winter.
The Doughnut Skirt: No pattern needed!
Think
of a rubber band that you double over to encircle something. Now think
of that band being wide and flat, like a doughnut with a hole in the
middle. This skirt pattern is worn around the waist twice with the
twist forming a sarong effect anywhere you want it (can even be a
bustle!). The skirt has no seams, zipper, waistband or hem -- packs
flat and can also be worn as a cape. This is a photo of the skirt on
me in drapey rayon twill.
To see a larger photo, see the Patterns Page. Also note the the Garden Smock pattern and the Vionnet Rose patterns.
For all of the Antiquity Press Products: The Art and Craft of Ribbonwork, Designing With Scissors and Cloth, 1920's and Designing with Scissors and Cloth, 1930's
-- see the Marketplace Page at Antiquity Press.
Commercial Pattern Archive -- CoPA
Once upon a time there was a wonderful lady named Betty Williams, a costuming genius in the
world of NY Broadway theater, who thought it was extremely important that there be an archive of all the American patterns since the very beginning. Betty passed away in 1997 leaving a wealthy legacy of research, and an extensive pattern collection now housed at the University of Rhode Island. The entire collection with thousands of patterns is availble for purchase on 4 CD's for $350 -- each has the envelop photo and the layout, a la the photo below -- perfect for computer pattern makers! To order: See CoPA.
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Greenchic
From Co-op America:
ResponsibleShopper.org
To make sure that your hard-earned dollars are making a difference, check out this site that gives you the research important to knowing which companies are the subject of legal and consumer action and which have influence in their industry so you can help change a culture.
No Energy Wasted!
 Pounding the pavement in your sneakers requires energy, and unfortunately, all that kinetic energy is mostly lost to the ground, until now. Smart art students, Christian Croft and Kate Harman, have devised a scheme to turn regular sneakers into energy generating machines. Take a look!
Organic Bouquet:
These people make it possible for you to send healthy flowers -- direct from the farm -- and 10% goes to Co-op America. OrganicBouquet.com/CoopAmerica
H&M Goes Organic!
H&M has decided to make 95% of their fiber content in all cotton clothes organic. They use 160 tons of organic cotton a year and are working with the Better Cotton Initiative to reduce the environmental impact of growing cotton.
SANS!
Mentioned at the top -- A new highly designed line using green fabrics by Alessandro DeVito and Lika Volkova -- they won the 2007 Ecco Domani award. The clothes are beautifully designed, contemporary and the workmanship is the best.
Ralph Lauren's Lauren Home
His Lauren Home collection is now all organic and available at Bloomingdale's! Plus there is a new book out about him and his career -- a great American story.
And now, the facts you need to know:
The Environmental Working Group's recommendations of products to avoid to minimze contact with toxic chemicals and chemical pollution in the Bay (also advised by the East Bay Municipal Utility District):
1. Perfumes and beauty products labeled "fragrance".
2. PVC/vinyl flexible in food wraps, toys and shower cutains.
3. Antibacterial soaps with triclosan.
4. Dibutyl phalate (DBP) in nail polish.
5. Hard, clear polycarbonate baby and water bottles.
6. Canned food containing solid color linings.
7. Plastic pet products.
8. Foam shoe insoles.
The Electronic Recycling Guide:
Dell, Apple, Hewlett-Packard & Toshiba have recycling programs, including batteries -- see their websites for disposing of used equipment. Buy equipment that can be and is recycled.
Best Buy & IKEA have drop-off kiosks for electonic equipment, CD's, cell phones, lightbulbs and printer cartridges.
Collective Good: recycles electonics for charity, CollectiveGood.com
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