Journal
What I know about making clothes for one person
Notes from the atelier. How a toile decides everything, what a stage asks that a room does not, and why a piece cut to your measurements cannot be returned. Written by me, between fittings.
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What Is a Toile, and Why Does It Decide Everything?
A toile is a full version of your garment cut in plain cotton, made to be marked and taken apart. It is the stage that decides how the finished piece sits.
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How Long Does a Made to Measure Wedding Dress Really Take, Month by Month?
A wedding dress made to measure takes one to six months. Here is what happens in each of those months, and what changes if your date is close.
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Made to Measure, Bespoke and Off the Rack: What Is the Actual Difference?
Bespoke, made to measure and off the rack are three different things. Only one starts with a pattern drawn from your body. Here is how to tell them apart.
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Why Can a Made to Measure Piece Not Be Returned, and What Protects You Instead?
European law removes the fourteen day cooling off period for goods made to your measurements. Here is why that is fair, and what stands in its place.
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Why Are Stage Clothes Built to a Different Standard Than Clothes for a Room?
Stage clothes face quick changes, hot light and eighty nights of wear. Here is what that changes in the cutting, and what I learned on tour.
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What Does a Camera See That a Room Does Not?
A lens picks up a seam, a lining and a fine stripe that nobody notices in a room. Here is what changes when a piece is cut for camera, press or red carpet.
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How Do You Choose a Couturier, and What Should You Ask in the First Conversation?
Questions to ask before you commission a garment, and what a straight answer to each one sounds like. Written from the other side of the table.
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How Do You Choose Cloth for a Piece You Want to Wear in Ten Years?
I pick fabric for how long it will last, not for how it photographs this season. Here is what I look at, and the questions to ask before a cloth is cut.
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How Does a Whole Collection Get Built From Nothing?
Concept, line-up, patterns, samples, run. What each stage actually decides when a collection is built from a direction and a deadline.
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Why Is a Pattern Drawn From a Body and Not From a Category?
Tailoring for women and for men uses the same method and the same measurements. What differs is the body in front of me, not the label on the service.
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