A Comparision...

Earlier this week I received an email from Simplicity Patterns that they were putting all of their plus size patterns on sale for $5.99 (the sale ends today btw) so I surfed right over to take a look.  Can I honestly tell you that I was struck by how dowdy everything looks...seriously!  And I'm a huge fan of Simplicity's collection of plus size patterns, to me they have been at the forefront of translating fashionable looks into the plus size range for years...

But I don't know what happened?  Is it that Butterick came out strong with their latest additions?  Or is it the fact that even Vogue upped the number of designer styles they translated into the larger sizes...granted they go no higher than a 24 but at least they are making an effort.

Then there are all of the RTW sites that are providing some amazing inspiration for us plus size sewists...I'm personally enamoured of these sites:

Lord & Taylor's

Macy's

Talbots

Dress Barn

I think these retail outlets, as well as Butterick & Vogue pattern collections have truly attempted to bring the hottest trends of summer to the plus size woman. 

Bright colors...Florals...Neutrals...the safari look...a great feminine and sexy dress...so what happened to Simplicity?  It's not that there aren't some great looks here but we've seen them now for quite a few pattern cycles.

I want some of this:

Vogue 8726

...and this:

Butterick 5618

but there's nuthin' that I want from the Simplicity site...so is it just me?  Or does Simplicity need to step up their game...

...more later!

Plus Size Wars

That's the title of an article written by Gina Bellafante in The New York Times Magazine section this week.  No more than four people sent me a note about the article and there is a folder about it on the Plus Size board on Patternreview.

My first thought when I was reading the article was "Thank God I sew!"  My second thought was that designers and retail outlets that refuse to take the time to make this product are full of crap!  Seriously!  It is fat prejudice plain and simple.  It doesn't fit with their "ideal" of the perfect woman so they treat this customer like a stepchild.

However, this is the portion of the article that set my teeth to chattering:

"The most formidable obstacle lies in creating a prototype. If you already have a line of clothing and a set system of sizing, you cannot simply make bigger sizes. You need whole new systems of pattern-making. “The proportions of the body change as you gain weight, but for women within a certain range of size, there is a predictability to how much, born out by research dating to the 1560s,” explained Kathleen Fasanella, who has made patterns for women’s coats and jackets for three decades. “We know pretty well what a size 6 woman will look like if she edges up to a 10; her bustline might increase an inch,” Fasanella said. “But if a woman goes from a size 16 to a 20, you just can’t say with any certainty how her dimensions will change.”

Thin people are more like one another; heavier people are less like one another. With more weight comes more variation."

Seriously...THIN women are alike!  You have got to be effing kidding me!  If that was the case then ALL thin women would go into a store and put on a dress, pay for it and walk out with it.  But how many THIN women have to go from store to store...designer to designer...RTW label to RTW label to find an outfit that fits!  This is oversimplification in the worse way and another example of fat prejudice!

No...the most formidable obstacle lays in the fact that manufacturers and designers don't want to take the time to create the prototypes.  They don't want to take the time to work out the challenges.  They want to throw some scraps into the store...complain about the space that these larger garments take up...use a so-so presentation and then when it doesn't sell say, "Look it doesn't work.  Plus size women don't want to buy our garments so let's move on!"  Only one manufacturer of plus size garments was mentioned in the article for taking the time to overcome the challenges associated with clothing plus size women, Marina Rinaldi.

And don't get me started on the pattern companies...because they are not far behind their compatriots in the retail world.  Though I will give Simplicity Patterns a job well done because they at least have a fashionable line for plus size women...but Vogue, Butterick and especially McCalls...not so making the grade.

If I, who has limited patternmaking skills, can figure out how to reproduce a designer dress to fit my plus size body then it seems to me that with the resources a RTW company or designer has at their disposal they can do the same.  And if it was so horrible to make clothing for plus size women and be successful at it, then stores like Lane Bryant, The Avenue and Torrid wouldn't be doing such a booming business.

To me "Plus Size Wars" offers nothing new and insightful to this discussion.  It is just a rehash of why this market is underserved.  It was written to ride on the coattails of some of the recent European magazine articles and pictorals glorifying the plus size woman.

If you are plus size and sew like me...be grateful!  Continue to work on learning to fit your body, figuring out what colors and styles work for you and be glad that you can make your own clothing because your plus size sisters that can't sew are settling...and you don't have too!

...more later!


p.s.  I am not upset/mad/angry with Kathleen Fasanella...my point is that I was not impressed with the article and with manufacturers reasons for not servicing the plus size market.  I understand that she was just a contributor to the article.

A Closet Tale

A couple of weeks ago I said that I was going to clean out the closet by boxing up the winter stuff and moving it to another location.  At the time it seemed like a good idea...but I do live in an apartment with limited closet space.  Even though it really does have good closet space, I'm maxing it out by using the largest one as my fabric closet.  So my overstuffed closet sat.

This afternoon when I went to hang up the clothing I wore to work this week, as well as put away the laundry, I decided enough was enough.  I mercilessly went through the closet and removed anything that hadn't been worn in a year, was too tight, too faded or just out of style.  This is the result:

These bags of clothing will be donated to the Salvation Army this week, along with some baby stuff from The Little Prince.  After that exercise, there is more space in the closet...not alot...but enough so that I can add a few new garments, as well as, a few more hangers to hold those new pieces.  I'm also thinking that I need to hang some things a little differently, i.e. those hangers that hold multiple skirts and pants.  I see a trip to Wal-Mart is in my future...

I also found a skirt that was way too long and cut it off so it appears more on trend.  This will make an appearance in my work wardrobe this week:

And I found a dress that I made years ago, never hemmed and never wore.  I will put it on with a cute little white sweater and although bright it will be perfect for a Friday outfit!

I also realized that I have a few holes in my closet...how can that be with all the clothes I make, right?  But my black linen pants, alongwith my natural linen pants are worn and need to be replaced.  I also think that I need a pair of navy blue linen pants to match that awesome navy cotton cardigan that I made for my SWAP. I believe that I can find all of these fabrics in my collection.  Although I need some basic colored sheath dresses, too.  I have loads of pretty floral and print dresses but very few solid colored or tweedy colored work dresses.  These will also need to go on my sewing list.

Finally, the black/white Vogue 9666 dress has been haunting me.  I won't fix that one, I just believe it is beyond repairing, however, I have to make it again.  I've pulled some fabric candidates and will work on altering the pattern yet again to make another dress this weekend. *sigh*  I just can't let this pattern get the best of me!

...as always, more later!

Simplicity and Khaliah Ali Patterns

When I was first learning to sew, Simplicity Patterns were the ish to me! They were stylish, inexpensive and what my first sewing teacher taught me to work with. They fulfilled the needs of a young sewist who had no pattern alterations to make besides length changes.

Several years into sewing, about my 20s, Simplicity and I fell out of harmony. The patterns seemed dowdy, the styling on the pattern envelopes was corny and I now could afford Vogue Patterns so a new love affair was born. It was almost two decades before I looked at a Simplicity pattern again.

And even then it was waayyyy after others had jumped on the "NEW" Simplicity bandwagon because by then I was using a plus size pattern....and those offerings were still dowdy. Then miraculously Simplicity hired Khaliah Ali, drafted some current and stylish patterns in plus sizes and styled the hell out of the pattern covers. I bought a lot of those patterns for myself and for my daughter.

I have to admit that I loved the new direction that Simplicity went in and was a little upset when Khaliah Ali had weight reduction surgery. Now before you start throwing tomatoes, I know that she did it for health reasons but I was worried about the plus size pattern line at Simplicity...and in the last couple of years that concern has been borne out. The attention paid to plus size patterns has decreased. I have purchased fewer and fewer patterns from Simplicity because I don't need a Project Runway pattern to tell me how to change designs on a pattern...no matter that some of them are graded up to a size 24!

Also, since I don't frequent the craft store masquerading as a fabric store (the yellow embroidered linen came from them), I rarely purchase patterns at brick and mortar stores...so in this regard Butterick/Vogues/McCalls is kicking Simplicity's butt because I can buy any pattern from them online at very reduced prices. Simplicity really needs to get on the bandwagon and offer some online sales at their pattern site. Seriously, how many patterns can they be selling online with only a 40% discount...but I digress!

Back to Khaliah Ali...I've been very disappointed in the offerings. Yes, Simplicity is now grading more of their regular size patterns up to a size 24, but they are still missing the size 24W - 38W woman that the Khaliah Ali patterns served. Or how about the fact that not every woman who sews is confident enough to grade up or fit a smaller pattern...so once again "The Fat Girls" market is being underserved.

*sigh* As the self-appointed "Ambassador of Fat Girls Who Sew", I've been trying not to put Simplicity on blast because even though Simplicity hasn't been updating the Khaliah Ali line, you could still find the patterns online at various vintage spots and eBay.

However, lately I have noticed that the Khaliah Ali patterns are making a resurgence...and for this I am happy and hopeful! Seriously, Simplicity if you knew how many plus size women who sew write me about what I make and how it inspires them, you would invest a little more time and effort into your plus size line - with or without Khaliah Ali as your spokesperson.

Now I've said all of that...are you all still with me?! *LOL*...I need to tell you that I absolutely adore this new Khaliah Ali pattern.

I would pay the $10.15 for the pattern from the website, if I didn't want 5 other patterns! *LOL* Seriously, this pattern works for plus size women in a lot of different lifestyles...and it has a vest in it! A plus size vest! Ohmygoodness, be still my little fashionista heart!

I'm also really loving the blouse/top/jacket in this pattern...so Simplicity is NOT going on blast...but they are definitely on probation with me. Please invest a little more time on the plus size line. Go back to where you were...we fat girls who sew would truly appreciate it! And by the way, if you added some sewing instructions online for altering and fitting your plus size patterns, we would love you forever....okay maybe not forever...but darn near close! *LOL*

I will have updates on the yellow wardrobe soon and as always, more later!