Stumbling upon Claire Schaeffer’s book, Couture Sewing Techniques, I flipped through the pages with amazement.
COUTURE FOR HOME SEWERS
With a dedication written for: home sewers everywhere who appreciate fine workmanship and take pleasure in creating beautiful garments, I was intrigued.
In the introduction, the opening statement boldly states: If you can sew, you can sew couture. Very few techniques are difficult, but they require time and patience. (p2)
The introduction continues: No matter what your sewing expertise, this book will expand your sewing horizons…While some techniques are less suitable for beginners, most will be of value to the average home-sewer; they are easy to duplicate and can be applied to many designs and fabrics. (p2)
The more I glanced through the book, the more I was reminded of one of my favorite Angela Lansbury movies, Mrs. ‘Arris goes to Paris.
I WAS SOLD!
After purchasing the book, I read through the first chapter, which fully explained the history of couture, the process of obtaining a couture gown, with a huge chart comparing/contrasting couture v off the rack garments.
Opening my eyes to my historic clothing research at museums, I better understood the clothing tags cleverly used by designers.
CHARLES FREDERICK WORTH CREATES COUTURE
Also in the first chapter, the author details the history of haute couture aka sewing at a high level OR finest high-fashion sewing.
While working at a Parisian fabric store in the 1850s, Charles Frederick Worth creatively opened a dressmaking corner in the shop.
Among the many seamstresses of Paris, this Englishman quickly distinguished himself.
Becoming the father of haute couture, Worth created seasonal designs on live models.
To govern French fashion, Worth established in 1868 the Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne.
Of all Worth’s creations, he was most proud to end the era of hoop skirts.
Worth’s greatest patron was the wife of Napoleon III, Eugenie, until the demise of her husband’s reign in 1870.
After setting the trend, other designers fell in step: Pacquin, Poiret, Patou, and Chanel, until WWII when many Parisian fashion houses shut down due to the Nazi occupation.
During the war America fashion houses rose to the top.
CHRISTIAN DIOR REVITALIZES COUTURE
Women’s fashions remained virtually unchanged after the war until Christian Dior showed his first collection in 1947…featur(ing) long, full skirts, wasp waists, and narrow sloping shoulders…restor(ing) femininity to a world tired of uniforms and uniformity and made fashion exciting once more. (p14)
Since this is the era I’m currently researching for our upcoming Becoming 1950s History presentation, I have loved the full skirts and frothy petticoats.
This grand style continues to be replicated today by many a home seamstress, as evidenced by a simple search on the internet for sewing blogs.
Still very wearable today, I get many compliments on the style when I’m out and about.
Let’s continue the fashion history of haute coutre before I tell more of my fashion story…
DEMISE OF COUTURE
By the 1960s, Couture lost its touch as hippie trends took over and Parisian designs became readily available at cheaper prices.
As a result, Parisian fashion houses transitioned to pret-a-porter aka off the rack clothing for a range of sizes, a huge departure from bespoke style and fit.
The easy availability of luxury ready-to-wear meant that retailers and manufacturers no longer had to purchase toiles and designs for copying. (p15)
PRINCESS DIANA REVIVES COUTURE
After the debut of Princess Diana’s frothy wedding gown in 1981, she became a fashion icon of the 80s, a time of improved economics, which revived couture.
Nevertheless, the number of couture houses has dropped from a high of 53 after World War II to 21 at the beginning of 1993. By 2010, there were just 11. (p16)
REMEMBRANCES OF MRS. ‘ARRIS GOES TO PARIS
As I read the wonderfully detailed section of how to obtain a couture dress, I recalled one of my favorite Angela Lansbury movies, Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris.
In the story, a poor housekeeper from 1950s London swoons over the newest Dior gowns her mistress has obtained.
Learning the cost, Mrs. Harris saves her pennies to travel to Paris to purchase a Dior gown off the rack, or so she thinks.
To her surprise, she needs to stay for several days as the atelier custom-sews it for her.
Meanwhile adventures galore await Mrs. Harris as she awaits her gown, in a backdrop of post-war Europe where she brings loved ones together.
REMEMBRANCES OF MY GRANDMOTHER
While I read through the rest of the book, I discovered the many encyclopedic techniques I can reference for sewing my future contemporary garments.
Memories of my grandmother sewing for me abounded, backed up by stories of my mom talking about fittings she herself, received, from her mom.
Another memory of my mom coming home with a sewing tip from her Aunt Laura that she passed on to me, hand picking a zipper, the technique of which are in the couture pages of the book.
Solving my dilemma with hateful sewing machine thread clogging while sewing zippers, I was amazed that hand stitches perfectly held the zipper and looked so much better from the outside of the garment.
Learning that skillset shortly after college, I had no idea I was using a couture technique.
Also recognizing a few other stitches my mom had taught to me, I was glad to see the proper order of needle placement which I don’t always recall.
REMEMBRANCES OF MY GREAT AUNT
Further remembrances filled my mind of my mom’s visits to Great Aunt Laura in New York City.
Aunt Laura, who moved from Pennsylvania to Manhattan to work as an executive secretary for a financial firm, sewed her own lovely business skirt/jacket suites of the 1950s, with techniques I now understand to be couture for the home seamstress.
Visiting her in the 1950s by train from Pennsylvania to New York, my mom remembered the lovely suits Aunt Laura had sewn…and of the New York City experiences my mom had with her.
18TH CENTURY REMEMBRANCES
Repeatedly this book reminded of 18th century techniques I learned in my sewing classes that even my mom never knew of.
Even when I researched fashion history beyond the 18th century, into the 19th and 20th, I found that although the styles changed, the techniques were similar.
Since I’ve often referenced Parisian fashion plates of the 18th and early 19th centuries, a bit of research yielded that Paris first became the fashion trend setter for the world in the 17th century under King Louis XIV.
Thus, bespoke fashion and sewing technique is centuries old.
However, haute couture which began in the mid19th century, originated seasonal design collections on living models, then used age-old techniques of hand sewing with an incredible array of stitches as old as time.
Nevertheless, there are many contemporary home seamstresses who achieve couture style with a sewing machine, as evidenced by their successful blogs.
Always enjoying their work, I personally find hand sewing easier, though I do use the machine in certain areas.
That’s part of the beauty of finding our own style and technique that works for the individual.
It’s our own bespoke journey which is fascinating!
MY SEWING JOURNEY
First learning how to sew on my mom’s Kenmore sewing machine for Girl Scout badges, I used to whip up shorts, pants, and blouses in elementary school.
After my mom told me a sun dress would be too difficult for me to sew for my high school home economics class, I saved up my allowance to buy the pattern and 100% cotton fabric I loved and whipped it up.
I loved wearing that dress and wish I could have worn it to our home economics fashion show, instead of an ugly piece I was forced to sew.
Then in college a friend showed me all the grand dresses she sewed and won blue ribbons for at the Comal Country Fair!
Inspired by her, I determined to sew my own dress for college graduation.
After college we became roommates and she kindly let me sew on her Swedish machine, a dream after my mom’s plunky Kenmore.
Dreaming of my own sewing machine never really happened until I finally obtained my Pfaff.
Meanwhile, even on the old Kenmore I inherited from my mom after I first married, I sewed all my dresses, tops, and shorts, worn all the time.
All my dresses were worn in the classroom I taught and at church and many outings.
Inspired again from my friend, I bought difficult patterns and gave them a go.
Slowly that became more difficult, mainly due to fiber content changing to ickiness, and pattern directions becoming more difficult through the 1990s.
AHA MOMENT
My first sewing class at Colonial Williamsburg revolutionized that, as I learned about the beauty of natural fiber and hand sewing.
With that knowledge I was willing to again try sewing contemporary clothing, but that meant hunting high and low for quality fabric and changing all the directions with the sewing patterns…and taking the time to adventure into toiles/muslins.
Although the fitting process continues to be difficult for me to fine tune, everything else is a snap!
GREAT RESOURCE
Stumbling upon this book helped me make the connection between the 18th century sewing methods I’ve discovered, and my home sewing.
Inspired by bespoke design in this book, why not explore Vintage Flair with my contemporary patterns?
I’m excited to move forward to sewing for myself again, and so far I’ve been experimenting for my daughter.
Since she’s in college, and I have a huge fabric stash and many patterns, I’ve experimented exactly with creating Vintage Flair.
This has saved us lots of money on clothing, since our economics has changed due to college years.
Along the way I try to create bespoke garments for my daughter, and we have bought new patterns and fabric she likes…although those patterns are very irritating in how they do not function.
I hear this a lot with contemporary newbies who understandably give up.
Although I’m still in learning mode myself, I keep trying since I have some wins, a few so-sos, with occasional flubs.
NEVER KNEW I HAD A TOUCH OF COUTURE TECHNIQUE
Frustrated with contemporary sewing patterns that take a huge departure from historic methods, I have found reverting to home seamstress couture aka 18th century techniques much easier!
Totally frustrated by off the rack clothing that doesn’t fit, doesn’t last more than a couple of months, and have little flair, I’m looking forward to creating my own style.
Stay tuned for my journey of Vintage Flair!
