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CFPD Here and Now . . .
Annabel and the Patterns, An Auction . . .
Annabel's photos
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Here's the deal:
Annabel, the ewe, was originally made for an artistic store display by the man of my dreams and he wired and sculpted her for genuine conversation if you happened to be passing by. She has had laryngitis for some time but is still adorable and truly worthy of a home in a weaver's studio or gorgeous yarn shop. Her coat is the real thing and she's in great shape. She has a moveable lower mandible -- maybe you have a techie to give her a new voice! So send me your bid over $400 (plus shipping) in the next 2 weeks and she has a new Mom!
The Patterns . . . In the first pattern auction last spring I let go of the vintage patterns that were not challenging enough, if you know what I mean. This time, the batch is loaded with favorites that I have loved madly but are less than 'age appropriate' (hate those words, but alas), which means most are fitted, i.e. too hot for me! Check the list below of 248 and send in your bid above $1,000 (plus shipping)-- which is only $4.07 each! . . . many are Vogue designers or simply irresistibly interesting!
These are patterns that all have special design or construction value. Included in the group are:
44 blouses and tops of all styles, mostly from 1950's - 70's.
16 skirts and pants, mostly from 1950's.
19 coats and jackets, mostly from 1950's - 70's.
82 dresses, 30's - 70's.
20 men's, all types, designs and eras.
15 lingerie & bathing garments and cover-ups, all eras.
12 aprons, 30's - 50's.
14 handbags, stuffed toys & various crafts, all eras.
8 children's and baby, layettes.
18 designer patterns with multi-parts, mostly Vogue, all eras.
SHIPPING NEWS: For US and Canadian customers! The US Postal Service's software for small businesses is limiting it's shipping options. Therefore, if you order and only get a choice of Priority Mail, please go ahead and complete the order but put a note in the comment section if you wish First Class Mail or Parcel Select. We'll do an in-house work-around so you'll get a refund and the lower shipping costs if available for the weight.
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Moving On . . . literally
 First, there was a big switcheroo at Balenciaga, billed as a return to design as opposed to marketing hype -- Wang is out and Gvasalia, who has a small company called Vetements, is in. Looking for proof of design emphasis, I see a reliance in Vetements on oversized clothing without enough function built in or enough comparison to small body parts to give one that fetchingly fragile look. But I can see where late comers to Balenciaga just took in the larger scale and missed the subtleties, the curves, the control, the elegance, the fabrics, the forms. So we wait, but in the meantime, here (right) is his best shot from the last show -- I dunno . . . you can't count the 2 bracelets as a focal point but notice the right hand is dysfunctional due to sleeve length, not OK.
Then at Dior. Raf Simons is out and who knows who's at bat for them. Simons had real potential since he can actually cut but it seems most of the big fashion companies have jumped the shark and are now in the flailing around stage -- the China market is folding.
Down the same path, Donna Karan is leaving her company also and has managed to take its soul, if not its name, with her. The soul is called 'conscious consumerism', hence her new company name, Urban Zen -- it's a living philosophy, actually an update of her original 7-pieces concept to look amazing while working (a tough call).
Further down, we have Mr. & Mrs. Wilson, now out at Lululemon, who started Kit & Ace, a new company aimed at the "young, the fit and the rich" (oxymorons abound) with something they call "technical cashmere", a blend of 10% cashmere but mostly rayon -- so it goes in the wash. It's for a world called 'athleisure' -- whatever, as long as it saves our eyeballs from spandex 3 sizes too small. (We used to call that "shrinking the marker", very cost effective).
Then, the capper and clear evidence of some sort of industry quake, Alber Elbaz is leaving Lanvin -- time for a betting pool on who's next! Keyword in all of this is 'soul', without it as a company, you're fashion toast and if money/marketing is your only inspiration then no soul -- simple.
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Then . . .
 Apple TV has rescued us from grim TV with a new fashion network called Made to Measure, M2M. All fashion, all the time, long and short form content (and hopefully some cultural context). The odd thing, though, is that Apple hired Angela Ahrendts (now the highest paid female exec in the US) from Burberry but she's been invisible -- only Jony Ive, Apple's hotshot guy, shows up on best dressed lists and with Anna Winotur for the Met's Costume Institute show, Manus X Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology, opening in May. Does Apple know that fashion can't fly without women, duh -- (re Urban Zen above). Anyway, the show will focus on construction, old and new -- that part works for me. |
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More Then . . .
Avatars, in the form of forms -- Alvanon Virtual AlvaForms, to be exact. Imagine, you are at the beach and you get an idea -- you whip out your laptop, pull up a form and drape a new design. No dress form, fabric, pins or scissors! You push a button, the pattern flattens and heads off to the printer or manufacturer. Here's how:
And, in yet another celebration of Back to the Future last month, underneath, everything new is not new. Corsets have again come to the rescue, depending on your politics. Check this story out in the NY Times about the traffic at Orchard Corset on good old Orchard St. in NYC -- home of practical fashion traction. Since no one is retiring anymore, the concept is 'Lost your waist? Find it here!'. Voila, in a blink you're viable again. Some Ph.D. proved that, for men, the waist is the single most identifying feature of a female at 50 paces -- probably helps with all the mis-cues out there now.
Feetz, the new brainchild of Lucy Beard will offer its app in the Apple Store in the next few weeks for 3-D printed custom shoes -- shoes that fit, my nirvana! $200. Sign up, maybe they'll offer beta testers a deal -- click on the little icon at the far left of the link. Here you go:
Kirigami: For the forensic pattern people out there, welcome to 3-D Kirigami. Challenge: Figure out a way to wear it! And check out all the possibilities here in the research paper -- yum, yum. You start out with a flat pattern with footed anchors (think seam allowances) and geometric cuts in the center. The 3-D form emerges when you push the edges of the pattern toward the center. Quick, before Miyake or Shingo can beat you to it.
A Glamour Mag Sleeper: There it was, right there on page 74 of the October issue, the end of ridiculously mismatched design elements, having reached their last stage of visual rejection. Lo! matching in IN -- IN, can you believe it? The Dominant Ideal is now one that exhibits taste, seeks out perfect shades and coordinates design rhythms with personal harmony. You know, of course, this means the aesthetic focus switches to the wearer, her colors/figure/message/etc. and not the designer's. |
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Lastly, time for a poem . . . for anyone, anywhere, who has ever worn a shirt, or made one, paid or not. Here is Robert Pinsky reading his poem, The Shirt, at the 2008 Nantucket Poetry Festival. His preamble explains why. Thanks to him, always.
Sandy
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