In my fashion Academy in Italy, I learned that a couture garment begins with pattern drafting (nothing but geometry and calculations), which is transferred on a muslin fabric, than the muslin is cut leaving generous seam allowances, set up multiple fittings until the muslin is perfect and finally cut the fabric with white gloves on to protect the fabric from oil of the skin. If the garment is of high quality, nothing needs to soil it. I enjoyed every minute in that Italian fashion school set in a four hundred years old building.
Handling high fashion garments taught me patience, to produce quality work, appreciation for anything custom-made and elegance. Exactly elegance! Wearing an expensive garment doesn’t make a person automatically elegant in manners and comportment. We were students, but we had to carry the flame of beauty, style and be the ambassadors of elegance in every aspect of life. With the teaching of garment design and construction, many other things went on: knowing how to sit properly, knowing how to walk, how to wear a stylish ensemble, how to respond to compliments, how to apply an elegant makeup, you name it, we learned it.
In my blog on Elegance, I wrote: “Elegance is not showy. Elegance is style, awareness, and moderation. Elegance is a balanced mix of good taste and precise choices. It translates in the right search for substance and attention to details. Elegance is sober and sobriety is elegant. Both are pleasing and comfortable, functional and beautiful”. http://goo.gl/syAQX6
Gabrielle Chanel used to say that elegance meant being equally beautiful on the inside and the outside and that’s why her famous jacket fits so well. The silk lining quilted to the jacket conceals a fine chain that gives the jacket its impeccable silhouette. Hand sewn pockets and sleeves set in the armhole to gently follow the woman contour are carefully studied to avoid curling up, bunching up, or puckering. All seams have plenty fabric allowance to let out two or three sizes when weight gain occurs.
Chanel jacket is iconic and possesses a magic that fits each woman in all her differences. Chanel jacket is collectible and will always be fashionable through times and styles, it wears well with jeans or evening attire, from the office to an afternoon cocktail. Chanel jacket will never lose the aura of beauty and elegance, Coco intended. She also liked to show her bracelets thus she made many jackets with ¾ sleeves. Granted Chanel jacket is not for everyone. If you are the type of person who loves to accumulate clothes without rhyme or reason, Chanel jacket is not for you. This garment is expensive and requires a close study of your personal style, your lifestyle and your comportment to fit the price. You cannot have rings on nose and lips or body tattoos and wear a Chanel jacket.
Karl Lagerfeld has reinvented Chanel jacket since 1983. He is very creative in reinterpreting the past. The tweeds, the silk-wools and wool bouclé are still in his designs of the Chanel jacket even though often he brings out his own interpretation of this fantastic jacket that has attracted generations of women though hundred and more years. Have you seen the new very colorful Spring 2015 Chanel collection? Click here for the backstage view – http://goo.gl/chgbYV
Ciao,
Valentina
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Copyright © 2014 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world, she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
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