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I've sewn my entire life, so did my mom, my grandmother even made her own patterns.
That being said, I no longer alter my own clothes, just dont have time. I have a fabulous alteration lady that does barter with me. I supply her with free range eggs and organic produce and herbs, and she alters my stuff for me.
Gotta love barter!
I like the idea...I'm bored with what men's fashion is today also.
I agree, it's kind of a one size fits all for males...and the stuff that one does actually like, seems to sky rocket in price...it's like they can read your mind...
Example...20 shirts you don't like...all marked at $6.00....
Then you see a shirt you do like...and it's $55.00....
I use to sew long ago, but was terrible at it...I was to impatient...I wanted to be Calven Klien over night...
I once knew a guy who was into all that medeviel decor gladiator stuff...and they would often make their own outfits...sew leather and all...
Right now I'm interested in hats...I love female hats...the colors, the patterns...the glitz...
I saw one such cap that was black, and had metalic diamonds on it...I wanted to buy it...but it was to small...the female clerk that was standing there with me, seemed to think guys shouldn't wear such stuff...
I told her I strongly disagreed...
I think many male celebrities have their stuff custom made...and the female celebs definatly do...
I have many exotic and casual ideas...Like Rita Mordio said...I think much of it is just crash and learn...
This girl i know who used to be a buyer for Diesel says that many of today's top young designers don't have formal apparel/tailoring training. Rather they approach fashion (especially men's urban/sports wear) from a graphics background & have learned clothing design off the cuff (literally cut & sew), with guidance from the Latino seamstresses they employ to help translate their ideas on paper to cloth. The sad part about it is that a poorly-constructed trendy boutique label jacket probably costs more than a tailored plain coat by Brooks Brothers or Burberry.
The OP makes it sound horrible to have your clothes made by someone else. If you want to make your own clothes, that's perfectly fine. But don't attack the outlets that provide the rest of us shop at. I guess it really depends on where you live, how much shopping choices you have. In NJ and NY, we have to many options that there's very little chance of not finding something you like.
Spending $100 on a pair of jeans is more efficient for me than spending hours making a pair myself. It's also nice to know that I have something made in America or Italy than by child labor in a 3rd world country (which is why I avoid Walmart and such).
I'm not against people making their own clothes. Infact, there's a lot of things that I choose to make myself (furniture, computers, meals)... but that's because I enjoy it. Clothes, I don't see myself enjoying and appreciate the availability of other stores.
I love sewing! You really don't need a machine at all. You just need the proper needle,thread, thimble and sharp scissors. When I worked with a lady who was a tailor most of the work she did was by hand as she did a lot of wedding and evening dresses. Also there was this customer who was a doctor and he was such a clothing nerd. He had to have his stuff hand stitched because he loved how soft it felt. He was right. It absolutely feels different. Take a moleskin notebook vs. a factory notebook. They don't even feel the same or turn the same. I think there is something magic that happens when people take their time to really put out a well crafted hand made item. It does not matter if its pants, books or a dinner.
The stuff at outlets suck because little kids probably sewed it. Or people trying to live on 60 cents a day. Not really good for a focused happy worker.
Cloth not in bulk makes it too expensive to make a full closet for me. But now I can finally fit into everything almost so if I find a fabric I like and its too big, I buy it anyway and make it into something else. I love the fabric and Layne Bryant stores. I always look through clearance racks at those places. They always have such a nice weight to the fabric. I think its the best store for plus size stuff too.
I use to sew long ago, but was terrible at it...I was to impatient...I wanted to be Calven Klien over night...
You definitely need quite a bit of patience. After 8 years of doing stuff, I can make basic shirts and pants easily... but crazy costume stuff still drives me batty.
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I once knew a guy who was into all that medeviel decor gladiator stuff...and they would often make their own outfits...sew leather and all...
I actually do Medieval and Renaissance stuff as well. The clothes are just too gorgeous.
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Originally Posted by pitt_transplant
I love sewing! You really don't need a machine at all. You just need the proper needle,thread, thimble and sharp scissors. When I worked with a lady who was a tailor most of the work she did was by hand as she did a lot of wedding and evening dresses. Also there was this customer who was a doctor and he was such a clothing nerd. He had to have his stuff hand stitched because he loved how soft it felt. He was right. It absolutely feels different. Take a moleskin notebook vs. a factory notebook. They don't even feel the same or turn the same. I think there is something magic that happens when people take their time to really put out a well crafted hand made item. It does not matter if its pants, books or a dinner.
The good thing about hand-sewing is that it can do a lot of things that machines cannot. No matter how good somebody is with a machine, doing it by hand gives the maker a lot more control.
Now, I can't sew an entire outfit together by hand... simply because I'm impatient, but there are definately parts where I'll just sit back with a nice movie and hand-sew something.
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Originally Posted by pitt_transplant
Cloth not in bulk makes it too expensive to make a full closet for me.
That's why I usually have a nice 40-50% off coupon when I shop for fabric. Such a coupon is going to massively help me when I go to get the fabric for my next project. We found the exact fabric that would work, but it runs $20/yard.... and we need 15 yards of it.
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Originally Posted by NJBest
The OP makes it sound horrible to have your clothes made by someone else.
No. He's just saying that he doesn't like the stuff he's come across.
When I use to sew...or try too, there were some angles and corners ect ect...that I just could not get....but now that I think of it...by hand I could of...
Wow...such a simple solution...
I mean I would try to do impossible things with the machine...and the machine would just gobble up the fabric...and I would start crying...
But now, after reading the above...I can see how hand sewing could really have it's advantages...expecially when doing small stuff like certain angles on hats and all...
I've sewn my entire life, so did my mom, my grandmother even made her own patterns.
That being said, I no longer alter my own clothes, just dont have time. I have a fabulous alteration lady that does barter with me. I supply her with free range eggs and organic produce and herbs, and she alters my stuff for me.
Gotta love barter!
Barter is good. LOL!
I missed you (I haven't been around a lot myself). Hope you're okay.
I used to sew a lot (and did a lot of stitch ripping out too, lol). At one point I was altering everything I owned and creating my own "style". I had a friend who did that too and she started her own business but overhead costs kept her from profiting. I guess you have to live in NYC and know the right people.
I no longer sew as I just don't have the time and I really enjoy shopping for new and cool things.
when it comes to male hats, designers are so uncreative...lately I've been looking at female hats that come in an array of styles and colors...
Why do designers think males have to be 'bland'??
My time on this earth is short...and while here I too want to enjoy the full array of colors put here before me, us...I don't see that as being a gender thing...
go out and get a sewing machine guys, and learn how to use it
Okay, look, over here on the right hand side of the room...guitars & motorcycles. Left hand side of the room...sewing machine and lovely fabrics. You can do whatever you want, no problem, but I'm going straight for guitars & motorcycles every time. I haven't even added beer into this equation yet. Not saying it will never happen but the odds I'll ever start sewing my own clothes? - very, very unlikely.
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Sewing by hand...now that's an idea...
