The Secret World of Haute Couture

Last week it struck me that I have a great fashion documentary in my possession that I forgot to review. And even better it's available on You Tube!

 

Perhaps many of you have already seen The Secret World of Haute Couture, but it is such a good movie that it deserves a little extra plugging. The movie is produced by BBC and as the name suggests it tries to get inside this rather closed society. We get to follow the movie maker in her attempts to understand why some women fork out ten thousands for garments they only might only wear once or twice.

We get to know the patrons, ranging from English heiresses to trophy wifes to Park avenue matrons who shopped at Dior when Christian Dior still was alive, and peak inside their wardrobes. All the women talks about how there is no turning back once you have started wearing couture - it almost becomes an addiction and several of the customers, perhaps in defense of the high prices and the lack of wear, likens collecting couture to collecting art.

I really like Margy Kinmonth, the filmmaker who has made this documentary. Throughout the movie she gives personal and very insightful reflections on this rather odd world. Like that many customers are on a constant diet in order to fit into the model samples, since they can get them at a 30% discount. And how the pecking order works when you want to to get into the inner circle.

Also one of my favorite fashion personalties is in this movie - Daphne Guinness. She often gets slammed for her eccentric fashion choices, but like the late Isabella Blow, I admire her boldness and that she keeps experimenting with styles in a way that usually only young people do.

So if you are curious about haute couture, and have not yet seen this gem, I can strongly recommend this movie!

Quick vintage dress makeover

• Shorten the hem 21 cm (8 inches) (check)
  
• Add back darts (check)
• Resew the side seams so that the waist hits my actual waist and not my upper hips. (check)

I bought this polyester knit 70's shirt dress a couple of weeks ago in a vintage store. It was too big and too long but I could see it had potential. I seldom buy vintage clothes anymore since I prefer to make the clothes myself, it just works better for me - no fit compromises, weird smells and I can make styles exactly like I want them. But sometimes it's fun to wear the real deal so I decided to purchase this dress and give it a little makeover. And I am very happy with the result, I am always on the lookout for comfortable dresses in fun prints, and this one fits the bill. Now I just need to get rid of that old lady perfume smell (oh, the charm of vintage clothes) and I'm all set.

New Patrones and La Mia boutique

Why, oh why, must the European pattern magazines suddenly serve up styles like this when I have absolutely no time to sew for myself?

Drool. Does anyone know where I can find tissue jersey like this for the sleeves? From La Mia boutique's November issue.

Double drool, this is my dream coat. From Patrones Joven.

If you like stylish short coats you have to check out the fall Patrones Joven issue. There are about 8 styles and pretty much all of them looks fantastic. See Melissa's review for more images from this awesome issue.

New skirts in my store

Last night I updated my Etsy shop with the Edith and Maud skirt. The Maud skirt is already pretty much sold out. I sold one straight away and the other two are reserved for buyers. Also I am currently sold out of the Mariner sweater. So I need to check with the factory to see if I can get more fabric. I don't want to quit that style since it's clearly Floremark's bestseller. So the next two weeks are going to be super busy in terms of filling orders. Hopefully I will able to squeeze in a new fashion documentary review and even do a little rework project that I have planned for a 60's dress that I bought last week. We'll see how it goes!

Today's outfit

Me and my new skirt (which will be called Edith). The top is from my local fashion favorite Jumperfabriken and the shoes are from Ecco.

Thank you so much for the encouraging comments and suggestions! Doing business, regardless of scale, can definitely be tricky and challenging. I used to be a freelance writer, so I know some stuff about running a business, but there are still so much to learn. BTW I got an email from one of my US customer today telling me that the parcel had arrived safely and that she loved the Mariner sweater, so I feel a huge sense of relief today.

Above is the outfit that I am wearing today. The new skirt feels awesome, it's incredibly comfortable, and several co-workers complemented me this morning. Judging from today's test run, this design will most likely make it into Etsy. The sizes available will be S-M-L, and I'll post more info later.

P.S: Thank you Mary Nanna for expressing an interest in the Maud skirt. I will put more info up on that design as well later.

Skirt in progress

I am working on a new skirt design that might make it into my Etsy store. It's not finished yet and I want to test drive the skirt before I make up my mind. But I do like how it looks. The grey marled fabric is a thick rayon/lycra crepe knit and the lining is made of soft stretch mesh. 

Also I am considering selling the Maud skirt after all. A friend tried on the skirt yesterday and loved it so much that she wanted to buy it. It was also a great confirmation to see that the knit skirt pattern that I have developed works well on a different body type too. The new skirt is made from the same base pattern.

As for how things are going on Etsy I have sold four garments in total (one to a friend though). I am happy with that number, but now the sales have stalled so it is time to put more effort into marketing and product development again. Just need to find the time! 

As for doing business I am still in that fragile state where I tend to feel overwhelmed and worry about a lot of stuff, the last few days for instance I have been fretting over long shipping times, dreading parcels getting held up in customs and wondering if I will be completely crushed if a customer is unhappy with my garment. But it was good therapy focusing on a new skirt design yesterday and having my friend rave about the Maud skirt was definitely another mood booster.

Invisible hemming on knits

Today I want to share my favorite method for hemming knits - using the blind stitch hem. This method is neat and sturdy and works for pretty much all knits except very stretchy lycra jerseys. I have hemmed everything from rib knits to thick sweater knits with good results. To get the best result you do need a serger, but it can work without if the knit is stable (like double knits and sweatshirt knits). Serging the edge keeps the fabric from growing, which is especially important when you are working with thin rib knits and interlock fabrics.

Read more »

My new work studio

It has great lightning and a big work table with just the perfect height. Oh, and it also happens to be the washing room in our rental apartment building. I'm not sure this use is entirely sanctioned, but until I run into a grumpy neighbor I will continue using this handy facility. No more painful "crawling on the floor" cutting sessions! Also this neat setup has cut my cutting time in half, and that in itself makes a nightly trip to the basement worthwhile.

Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel is a tv-drama that tells the story of the young Gabrielle Chanel (roughly the same story as in Coco avant Chanel) and her designer comeback in the 1950's. As for being a made-for-tv production I have to say it's pretty decent. Not too much cheese and with better acting and higher production values than similar tv-dramas that I have seen. It's not a knockout movie by any means and the tempo is at times painstakingly slow (not to mention that it's 3 hours long!). But I kinda like this movie and the effort it makes to tell a really thorough story about a very fascinating designer.


The elderly Chanel is portrayed by Shirley MacLaine. I have mixed feelings about that choice of actress. MacLaine totally commands her part, and sometimes it feels like Shirley is just acting like Shirley. Also she speaks American English throughout the movie. But she does gives Chanel a lot of authority, which I think is true to the real Chanel. Shirley's air time is however pretty small in this movie.
The young Chanel is played by Czechoslovakian actress Barbora Bobulova, and she is much more timid and restrained which sometimes makes it hard to see that the two Chanels are actually the same person.


One thing that I found a little mind boggling was how the story in this biopic differs from Coco avant Chanel. I did some research and it seems like Coco Chanel is more historically correct than Coco avant Chanel. But it's clear that both movie makers has used some creative freedom when writing the scripts.

So can I recommend this movie? Well, if you have a great interest in the life of Coco Chanel, I think you will find it worthwhile. As I said it's not a high class drama by any means, but it's perfectly decent. But I do think that it works better in a three part tv-format, since 180 minutes of this film can be too much to handle in one sitting (it actually took me three sittings to finish it).

Other fashion movies that I have reviewed:
Coco avant Chanel
Valentino - The Last Emperor
The September Issue
Giorgio Armani - A man for all seasons
Seamless
Unzipped
Marc Jacobs/Louis Vuitton and Lagerfeld Confidential
Yves Saint Laurent and Signe Chanel

Fabric shopping with children

Stella examining a black and white distressed fabric while showing some subtle enthusiasm over a black rayon/lycra knit.

Normally my children would rather clean their room than accompany me on a fabric shopping trip. I think I must have damaged them at an early age! But my eldest wants to make a tulle dress and we needed some black stretch lining for that so I was able to lure her with me to a local fabric fair on Sunday. And you know what - she enjoyed it. She was especially intrigued by the high end distressed and "punctured" fabrics that seems to be all the rage right now in the fabric stores around here.

Some of these stripes went home with us.

We ended up shopping knits for her and her stripe loving little sister and if there is one thing that Swedish fabric vendors do well it's catering for children. I saw so many fun and colorful fabrics with great prints. Didn't go all in though since there is just too little time to make all the stuff I want.

Edit: For all you locals, the fair is called Symässan and is now located at Kviberg near Gamlestaden in Göteborg. But the next one is not until spring unfortunatly. The fair has gone through a huge improvement since last year, with much more sellers and a bigger venue.

Three fair sellers with on-line stores that I can personally recommend (ie I am a happy customer).
MG tyger
E-slöjd
Italienska modetyger

And the winner is...

SdBev!

Congratulations! I will email you tomorrow.

Thank you to all the participants and also to Anja and Stella who helped me facilitate the draft.

Taking orders

Yesterday I finished the two orders that I got for the sailor sweater. Making stuff for others can be a little nerve wrecking, that's for sure. It's easy to fret over every little detail, and I went through a lot of that last night. Today I feel much more pleased though, the end result looks good and I really love the style of the sweater. As for the design I think I must have subconsciously channeled the early 20th century - in the other Chanel movie (review coming up, promise!) Coco wore several cardigans with similar sailor collars.

Celebration give away

To celebrate the blog birthday I want to host a little give away. The pearl appliqués above are up for grabs. Just leave the comment "I'm in" and I will randomly draw one name on late Sunday evening (European time) and ship them to wherever you live. The appliqués are from the same vendor as the ones I used on my cardigan.


They have changed the design a bit since then, but the ones I own washes very well. I just put my cardigan in a net bag and throw it in the washing machine using the wool cycle program.

So if you want to spice up a cardie or some other garment, just leave the comment "I'm in" and you can get lucky!

Happy blog birthday

Today is the one year anniversary of The Last Stitch. I'd say it's a cause for celebration, since this has been so much fun and I am really struck by the response that I have gotten from you guys. And I always feel very excited when someone takes the time to comment on something that I have written.

I was originally toying around with two blog names simultaneously and designed headers for both of them. Here is the other header that I made:

But after a quick poll (just my boyfriend really) The Last Stitch won over So sew me! I think it was the right choice, although I have to say I still really like the cheeky retro vibe of my "other blog".