Draping Drama + My Charm Bracelet!

Sometimes I forget where I originally raised a style-related question, here or on Instagram.

Regardless, if you're one of the many millions wondering whether men can wear charm bracelets, I am here to assure you that, yes, they can, though perhaps not every day and certainly not if the jingle-jangle of the charms is going to distract those around you or get in the way of your work.  Sewing in a charm bracelet, for example, can be challenging as the charms tend to get tangled in your threads.

I found my vintage charm bracelet on eBay last month and, while I might wish the bracelet itself were a tad heavier and the charms older (this one dates from the mid-to-late Sixties), it's a nice accessory that you certainly don't see every day, and quite the conversation starter.

Here are some closer shots of the charms themselves, which include a treadle sewing machine, a working hour glass, and an electric fan.  Naturally, I wonder who owned this bracelet originally and what the story was behind the charms. Thought-provoking.

Moving right along, I'm still busy draping in my Draping II class at FIT.  Today we had to present our princess-seam creative dress variation and we received our very first public critique: we lined our projects up against one wall, our professor graded them, and then at the end of class, she voiced her evaluation before the class.  It was a little anxiety-producing but thankfully I received a positive critique so I had no complaints, plus it was very fun hearing what the professor pointed out as positives and negatives and seeing if we agreed.

We'd started out draping a basic princess seam dress.

Then we began experimenting with variations on the princess shape.  My seam curved into the center front rather than extending into the shoulder or armhole.

My front princess curve is echoed in back.

Here's my final project.  I wish I had draped it in a softer fabric but we're permitted to work in heavy muslin even though the focus of the class is soft silhouettes (and I recently purchased an entire bolt of this muslin). That will change when we start draping cowl necks apparently.

Someone on Instagram said this was very Courreges.  It does remind me of a late-60's Vogue Paris Original shift dress, though it's more fitted through the waist.

We are graded on creativity, technique, difficulty of design, and overall presentation.  I'm happy to report I did well in all four categories.  Even though we're creating only the right half of what will be a symmetrical garment, we're expected to include a professional finish: hems, facings (which we must draft ourselves), pressing, etc.  It's surprising how many students don't take these extra steps.

In other news, I have purchased yet another Japanese men's pattern book, a brand new one titled simply Shirt.  I found it at Kinokuniya bookstore but first stumbled upon it on Etsy.  It includes not only a wide variety of shirt patterns, but a few vintage workwear-inspired jackets as well.  It's a beautiful book.

And that's it!  My Ladies Tailoring class resumes this coming Tuesday after a three week hiatus due to mid-week holidays.  Lots to do to prepare for our next meeting!

Have a great day, everybody!

In class today, we also draped a pegged skirt.