Walking the Knife's Edge

    When we think about the avant garde, particularly in regards to apparel, we think, largely, of things that are full on cray cray, and force thought of new shapes and proportions down our throats with gleeful delight, or even a sense of menace.

    It doesn't have to be so, though.  There is much to be seen that falls fully into the world of the avant garde that is less intensely challenging to view and less overtly intellectual in scope.  And as for what we can gather into the Attire language, there is more to add to the conversation gotten out of these more subtle efforts, than the visual shouts that appertain to the fringes of the avant garde realm.
    Conceptions like this dress of fluorescent pink and green with its architectural feel, and the counterbalance of perfectly deployed floral embroidery, are softer interpretations, that allow us to take new ideas in, and process them more easily. Sure you can say that that dulls the impact, but I think that looking at this garment, you could never say it lacks edge.

    Or this retro-inspired look that takes the sportswear shapes of the 50s and blows them out to new proportions, but in a way that still remains referential to the real world and real people.

    Sometimes its the decorative elements that push it to the avant. In this case the pieces that look like shattered mirror, combined with the unexpected marriage of textiles take an otherwise unremarkable silhouette and make it glaringly new.

    Textures smashed together in new ways contribute their own voices to the apparel conversation as in this red dress. Though the shape of the dress recalls the barrel shaped designs of Christian Dior, the handling of that shape with all its clashing textures, renders this seriously forward thinking.  And looking at a garment like this critically, can inform our own apparel, as blending such a mix of texture is not outside of real world usage.

    This Issey Miyake piece is a great use of avant garde in an accessible, understandable way. Merely by altering the shape of a poncho a bit, and using a unique textile, Miyake has given us something real to think about, and another new word in the Attire language.

    Occasionally its simply the application of a particular fabric to a design, in this case a slightly up-scaled trenchcoat that brings its expressiveness to a whole new level, and removes it from the mundane.  Seen in a plain fabric this coat would not get our attention, or inspire much internal dialog.

    And, sometimes its color, un-thought of color, that brings a garment out of the ordinary and involves us in new ways of thinking. This one shoulder dress is not new in shape or proportion, but its the combination of unlikely colors that send it out there.  Viewed with thoughtfulness we can imagine such unusual combinations perhaps in our own life, enriching our own sartorial vocabulary.

    So, whether its a massively scaled woven, used on a coat, or gleaming textiles used nearly flat, our world gets a boost and our range of expression widens with each subtle push from the avant garde.

Deconstruction, Reconstruction

   Recently Atelier Versace presented their Fall 2014 couture collection, and it sparked a thought in my head about re-visiting such collections, taking the elements apart and looking at all of it again with a more critical eye.  Surely there are many who tend to dismiss Versace as a brand with a pretty vulgar aesthetic, but much went down the runway this time that was worth serious consideration.

    I want to start with this piece, which presents a jacket of a new shape that could easily translate into the real world; just lose the overly tricky and obvious cut out with straps, and that jacket could be rendered in myriad fabrics and colors.  I won't even about the skirt.  This in essence is what buyers are doing when they go to shows of this sort. They aren't looking to do the outfit presented in its entirety, but rather to pull notions that can be made up in ready to wear effectively.

    This next piece I think succeeds completely.  The use of that particular fabric for the unusual pant/skirt maintains enough reference to its origin to make it witty, without being overt. The smooth shape of the bodice with its ombre'd micro-sequins blends smoothly with the bottom; and the two straps look integral rather than tacked on.

   The third look is exemplary of how too many good notions can crowd each other out, creating visual confusion.  One of the things we all look for, whether we realize it or not is a consistent through line of thought.  Even when we are intending a look to be challenging in one way or another, it still must have an essentially rational process in evidence.  This look which contains so many good notions, ends up muddying all of them by using too much at once. Take any two design elements and remove them and we get a far more coherent voice from the garment. I have no objection to the idea of a one sleeved top, in this case it is a distraction, not an advantage. Two sleeves or none would instantly improve this.  Lose the graph paper grid train and it gets downright awesome looking.  Which elements would you remove?

    Sometimes the success or failure of the presentation of an ensemble rests on the pairings done.  In this case, both pieces are individually terrific. The dress, for all its sheerness is lovely, and the embroidered pattern is interesting, in great colors.  The coat too, is delightful for its blend of color and texture. But put them both together and the eye has nowhere to rest, and both pieces suffer.

    I love the color combination in this piece. This dusty violet paired with black is terrific.  But there are, again, far too many ideas in play here.  The workmanship is admirable, and the bodice idea, paired with a simple black version of the pant/skirt theme would've been a slam dunk. What happens in cases like this is we become visually exhausted trying to sort through everything. The notion too, to have a clear idea of whom a piece is designed for is lost utterly in the crowd of competing concepts.

    Here is another piece I think is just fine and dandy as it is. Allowing the complexity of the bodice structure to be balanced against a dead simple white skirt creates a near timeless look. The viewer can fully appreciate the work and detail up top, without distraction.

    And bringing up the rear this piece is another too much of too much set of ideas.  The mauve and black combination is great, and I love the volume of the skirt balanced to the minimalism of the bodice.  The idea of the emerging satin pieces is a good one, as well.  For me, I would lose the metal straps, and close the center front of the skirt.  What do you all think?

    You see, what we can get out of this, apart from simply dissecting a couture collection is a lesson in how to edit in our own lives, and present ourselves in a clear voiced way.  If we see someone on the street and our eye cannot rest anywhere, then something too much is going on. I don't mean that anyone should stop expressing themselves fully, merely that expressing oneself fully, also means with clarity.

Material Considerations

    By passing a thread over and under a series of threads laid 90 degrees away from it, and doing so repeatedly, we make cloth.  Its one of the major inventions of humankind, and one of the earliest.  To say that the language of attire would not exist without it is erroneous, but that language would surely have far fewer words to work with.

    And the variation that becomes possible with textiles goes right off the chart rather quickly. So, in order to get a better understanding of this varied symbolic tongue, we can't just look at the finished products.  We also have to look at the very stuffs that made the garment up in the first place.
    There are thousands of textiles in production, with the definition for each being based both on the weave structure, and the type of fiber used. Once you add color and print on top of this number, the range of separate fabrics climbs quite likely into the millions.  This is not even considering such textiles as are no longer in production for one reason and another.

     There are a simple easy to grasp set of factors to look at when talking textile.  Weight, hand, color, texture, and pattern or print are the determiners for defining fabrics as different from each other.  Of these only hand bears a bit of further definition itself.  For those unfamiliar with fabric terms, Hand refers to how the fabric moves and feels. Is it rigid, supple, stretchy, firmly or loosely woven?
    But apart from these factors are the inescapable emotional and psychological reactions we have the instant we see and even more importantly, touch a fabric.  The sleek sheen of silk satin evokes feelings both of luxe and of sex.

  Woolens seem practical and hearty to us.

Polyester, especially these days, makes a lot of people shudder.

Rayons, because of their mobility and fluid drape can make people feel relaxed and easy.

Linens say summer months and warmth to us;

and cottons are likely to inspire feelings of comfort.

    Take a single design for a garment and make it up in differing weights, textures, patterns and colors of fabrics and you will see an enormous range of results from sublime to tragically bad.  As well, the tone, and expression of that self same design will alter each time, sometimes radically.  Imagine for example a design for a simple loose fitting coat in a kimono-like style.  Render that coat in a nubbly  wool, and you get one statement, render it again in silk chiffon, and the statement changes utterly, though the design has remained identical.
    So, the next time you shop for clothing, or go to a fabric store, take some time to just feel the fabrics in your hand. Close your eyes and let yourself go inward a moment.  You might be surprised at the depth of feeling you experience, or the things you remember. All of that adds to the complexity of the language of Attire.

   

Its Golden

    This is a different sort of post from my usual run.  Its more of a statement of intent on my own part, and a suggestion for all of you out there.
    As we get older, for many of us the tendency is to get more rigid in many ways, and this is no less true of our approach to Attire than anything else.  But we short ourselves when we allow this to happen.  Why?  Because as we age, we have the chance to not only jettison the things that mean less, or no longer work, but we have an increasing freedom to tell the world to just get over itself, and let our individuality shine forth brightly.
    I called this a statement of intent on my part, and its true to a significant degree.  I have been a full time kilt wearing dude for a decade now, and recently discovered that though I had felt freed by that choice in years past, that now I was feeling hamstrung by that same choice, as though I had no longer the freedom to wear pants if I chose to. Additionally, doing this blog, where I champion the notion of Attire as a language and encourage others to explore and play in this vast, varied world, it would be a disservice to you all were I not to play in that same world myself to as great a degree as I might.
    So I have created for myself a challenge to keep trying new things, new shapes, colors, styles and manners of dressing, both to grow my own vocabulary, and to walk the walk that I talk.
    The suggestion then, is that each of us take the golden chance that lays before us.  It needn't beggar us, as so much is out there to be had for less cost if you can bring yourself to thrift store shop. (And a friend reminded me once that very often, vintage clothes, if that's to your taste are better made and have more style that a good deal of what's new).  Step out of your sartorial comfort zone a bit, and find new ways to tell the world who you are, and what you're feeling.
    Herewith are a random sample of some amazing looking mature folk, all flying their particular flags of style proudly. They range from ferociously out there, to fairly conservative, but in each case the message is clear.

I Am Myself.

 

Big Hair Me

Scatter #10

    Here we go down the garden path of random beauties and oddities I call Scatter.
   
    First up today is this quietly sensual and timelessly lovely dress by Madame Gres, who was in her time considered the absolute master of this sort of goddess dressing.  Working mostly in solid color and almost always in silk crepe, as here, she created clothes that thoroughly transcend time, place and station.  This white crepe gown is a masterwork, particularly for those unusual gathered sleeves, which in someone else's hands might have been a failure.

    Next up, dancer Tony Ward as photographed by Ben Lamberty.  In this image Tony is wearing a ballet costume, clearly referencing the early Italian Renaissance. During that time, the sleeves were without question the most extravagant part of both men's and women's apparel, and in fact sleeves, which were separate pieces from the doublet, were sometimes given as gifts. These express the fashion for paned and slashed clothing that predominated for many years, and the volume of such sleeves added considerable swagger to a gentleman's appearance.

    In the 1820s this English evening dress graced the rooms of some stately home in Britain.  The cream silk underdress is edged at the hem with a box pleated lace ruffle, headed with a trimming of gold tinsel embroidery. The silk gauze overdress is in its turn heavily decorated with more gold tinsel work, and the bodice trimmed out, like the skirt hem with lace ruffles at sleeves, and neckline.  Imagining this dress in motion, and in candlelight, makes me smile inside.

    Say hello to Francois Verkerk as imaged in Apollo Novo magazine by Rock Armando.  Why post this sexy ginger fellow?  Well for me, its all about his hair in this case.  I haven't spent much time talking about hairstyles as part of the sartorial dialog, but they are a serious part of the language. But I find it intriguing that men's hairstyles, as boundaries seem to be fading a bit about sexual roles, are being allowed to express in more sculptural ways that previously would've been thought effete. And okay, I'm kinda in love with that jacket, and suddenly, I want a walking stick with a dog head.

    Continuing with the hair discussion a bit longer, this Edwardian lady is showing us her do.  Now is that all her?  Heavens no. Such vast amounts of volume were created by padding over which the natural hair was brushed, or by wiglets and falls.  And visually, it was part of the overall silhouette balance that a ladies head would be large proportionally to balance the volume at the skirt hem.  And then there are these amazing combs which were an essential part of keeping a lady's huge hair in place. They were an art form of themselves.

    Studded leather has significant connotations when we hear those words spoken or see them printed. We get instant images in our heads of what that might look like.  We would be unlikely to envision this though.  I like this for two reasons. One; it breaks that stereotype about studded leather and takes it somewhere else both visually and contextually.  Two: I love that the designer took the notion of a western wear shirt, and using the very snap studs that go into making such shirts covered the entire surface with them, making something entirely new.

    Oh, Cristobal Balenciaga, you do make me smile.  This evening ensemble is from near the end of Balenciaga's career coming as it does from 1963. The dress is a serene cone shape of ice blue silk taffeta, entirely without ornamentation.  The capelet in black beadwork and large scale paillettes creates a dramatic counterpoint, and draws the eye instantly upward, towards the face. Simplicity, perfectly rendered.

    Last for today is this remarkable lapel watch in gold, with black enamel and rose cut diamonds.  The watch face is on the bottom of the ball.  When I found this image it was erroneously listed as being Art Nouveau, but it contains none of the fluid naturalism of that design school.  Also, its from 1880.  It looks resolutely Victorian to me.  Whatever its true style, and its really an amalgam, its a unique and lovely accessory, from a time when great consideration was given to such things.

    More scattered stuff next week! 

The Power To Transform

    I've posted recently on facebook about the transformative power of the headdress both for men and for women.  It bears expanding on.
    When we put on a hat, there is of course a level of alteration that happens for us. we state something about ourselves loudly, or accentuate the major comments we are making with our other apparel by choosing a hat to finish the sentence.  There is a line, however, between a kind of headgear we wear for real life and one that makes the chameleon process complete.  We become someone or something else entirely from the real.
    Headdresses in history have been used for reasons, religious, political, sexual, artistic, humorous, revelatory and concealing.  But what makes them so powerful, and I believe that part of it comes from their tendency to completely cover the scalp, encasing our brains, is that they are not meant to be normal in any way. 
    We use a headdress to signal massive temporal power, access to divinity, and as a billboard to proclaim wealth, status and influence.
    Typically, I would go image by image and relay my thoughts on each one.  But I think each of these speak so loudly and effectively that I will let them do all the rest of the talking today.

    Think on how each one makes you feel.  What is your response to each person, transformed as they are?
    Hit it, Headressed ones!