Inconvenience with clothes
One thing we no doubt all share is the inconvenience of buying mass-produced clothes that fit one part of your body, but not the other – having to compromise with a little tightness here and a little baginess there. Is there anything one can do for such a dilemna?
I am 5 feet high, weighing at 90 pounds. The most common comment I hear is “You are so thin, my dear, it must be easy for you to shop”. To which I sigh, hiding my hands into the pockets of my hand-tailored pants. How deeply wrong they are!
Whether you are short or tall, slender or plump, we all have the same problem. And that is the fact that no standard, mass produced clothing fits. You may have been able to find a brand here that carries ‘your’ fit of bottoms and another one there with accessible tops. But is that enough to express you unique individuality, your intelligent femininity, or aggressive youthfulness?
I personally find shopping extremely tiring, frustrating and unsuccessful. The right size is always out of stock, and the items that are available for your body type are, to put it softly, not exactly your cup of tea. Online shopping does suggest some hope as far as sizing and variety, but the responsibility is all yours if the final product does not look on you the way it did on the model online.
So, being done with the prelude, we are left with a couple of choices:
1. The first choice would be to wear your clothes as-is, that is too large, when your clothing consumes your body and all its natural beauty, or too small and expose the imperfections that you hope to cover by clothing (since in the modern understanding the function of clothing is not just coverage and protection from natural forces, but a symbol of status for some, for others way to belong to a group, or a way to stand out, and such).
2. Your next rather pricey choice would be to go to a tailor, to modify and alter your clothes to your body, or even have them custom made. If one has the means for such a thing, wonderful! I am very glad for you, my friend! Note, I’d also suggest a professional tailor for special occasions and job interviews. Unfortunately most of us cannot afford these privileges. So there is your last choice.
3. Tailoring yourself!
If you have not had any sewing experience, I would suggest you asking someone you know who has that skill to help you. If there is absolutely no one, please start with something easy and worn out, something that will not be too painful to lose in case the experience goes wrong.
Practice on such pieces until you gain your confidence.
The easiest way to tailor a piece of clothing is to turn it inside out, put it on, then carefully, I repeat, carefully pin the excess fabric at the seams, then carefully take it off and sew along the pinned outline. Make sure you try it on before you cut off the excess fabric. Then go along the trim with zigzag stitching (available on most sewing machines) to avoid the miserable falling apart of your favorite dress or blouse.
Some sewing skills and a little common sense will take you a long way. Once you’ve achieved that confidence, you will start noticing the pattern in most clothing. You might even get creative and start experiencing with adding darts and re-creating patterns. You can also get in the habit of adding more details to your store-bought clothing to create your own look.
Remember, whatever you do, you, my charming friend, can do anything.
