A snippet I would like to share about corsets in 1913 plus questions about bust support.

[Yvonne De Rooij]

I was talking about old (edwardian to 1949) books on sewing with TheLongHairedFlapper on her youtube channel, and she recommended some freely downloadable books from archive . com

Comments

[ext_3749756]

I just googled Halston because I never came across the name.

I had some advice from the lady who runs the local sewing supply shop, which was to put fitted dresses/blouses made out of woven materials to the side for now and concentrate on projects that don't include armseyes or have to be taken in when you lose 2 kg.
She said drafting a block for a figure that keeps getting smaller is like trying to swim up a waterfall.
And she was right, I spent 3 months last year and 2 months this year trying to work as fast as I could with the mock ups but failing to get to the end point every dang time.
I learned a lot, that's for sure, because I went back to my old pattern drafting school book instead of plucking a ready made pattern from a magazine and altering that to fit.
So when I pick my fitted blouse project up again I know just where to start.

As for now I have resigned to feeling content with the plan of making 2 pairs of bloomers, 2 flat headdresses, topping socks with lace, decorating plain hats with flowers/ribbon and I could maybe make a black apron.
These are all things that will be very useful and allow me to make more outfits with my current wardrobe.

Ooh I was so stubborn and determined to make it work with the pattern drafting whilst losing weight, like I was gritting my teeth and saying I would not be defeated.
But sometimes you just have to sit down and realize what you are doing is futile.

My dietitian wants me to lose 5 more kg, and then come and see her to make a maintenance plan. She says that I should expect to put on 2 kg of weight once I am on that maintenance plan, which in her opinion would land me exactly where I should be.
That would put me at the higher end of healthy though, and my body fat distribution isn't as great as it used to be in my twenties.
Too much belly fat, dip in the waist isn't as nice as it used to be.
I don't think I will be content in just losing 5 kg.
And even if I was, 5 kg is a little more than just a regular weight fluctuation.

Sadly I can't make a fitting assistent of a weight I have not yet gotten to, but I do look forward to the place in time where I am both at a good weight and stable so I can actually make a fitting assistant.

I have one of those adjustable dress forms, it has a screw mechanism so that you can dial the size up or down on a few places on the body.
It's broken though so to avoid it becoming all skewed I let all the screws loose so it springs to its smallest shape. That is about 2 sizes smaller than I am.
I can't use it for draping or pattern drafting, but I do use it to display clothes on and take pictures.
They are a big investment at 150euro, I would make a fitting assistant when I've lost weight.

[virginiadear]

That was what Ms. Minelli was doing in Halston designs. They allowed flexibility of her body's, ah, topography.

"Ooh I was so stubborn and determined to make it work with the pattern drafting whilst losing weight, like I was gritting my teeth and saying I would not be defeated.
But sometimes you just have to sit down and realize what you are doing is futile."

*giggle* You sound like me! That stubborn, hard-headedly determined, "I'm going to make this work! This isn't going to defeat me!" approach is one I know well.
Right now, dress forms here cost between 212.57 euros (USD 239.00) and 257 euros (USD 289.00)
Now that I think about it, I have never made either buying or making a fitting assistant or dress form, a priority.

I agree with you about not having or making a dress form/fitting assistant until and unless one's weight is stable, and wasn't suggesting that you SHOULD have a family of fitting assistants, just that some people would find it a viable option to do so.

[ext_3749756]

Do you happen to know how Halston made his designs so size flexible?
I have trouble finding many pictures of Liza in Halstons designs, most of the google results seem to be about her defending him (I assume some kind of scandal).
What we see with many clothes sold as "one size fits all" is that there is either stretch fabric, elastic or a draw string involved.

The dress form that I have, the one that is broken, I bought second hand.
It was originally close to 150 euro. I think the lady who owned it knew it was close to dying so when she stopped sewing she sold it to me for 10 euros. I got a little bit of use out of it but it already had some damage.
I realize that even with the damage and later the thing completely dying, it was still a bargain.

I mean I have the money for a new one at 150EU but I just can't justify the purchase.

I knew that you didn't suggest I should make a family of fitting assistants. I was just pointing out that it would be impossible to make one for my body at 65kg when I haven't weighed 65 kg yet this year.

[virginiadear]

Re: Halston designs. Not specifically, no. I know he "hated things that don't work," such as buttons which don't hold anything closed, and he wouldn't have them on the clothing he designed. He eliminated all details he considered extraneous, no embellishments for the sake of sticking something on there. He was a big proponent of cutting on the bias to allow the body to determine the flow of the garment.
Dresses and jackets or coats looked (to me) to be kimono-cut, even when they had shoulder seams.

I do know there's a way to make a waistband expandable on a skirt or a pair of trousers, without making a casing out of the waistband and threading elastic through that casing; it does use some elastic, of course, but it's unobtrusive. Whether Halston ever employed that, I couldn't say.
I imagine, although I do not know, that the lady from your local sewing supplies shop who advised you to set aside fitted garments for the time being (until you have your weight where you want it) was thinking along similar lines. Personally, when I think of Halston I think of casual elegance, fluidity and, perhaps oddly, solidity because to me his designs never appear to be fragile, even when they're made of lighter fabrics; some garments do, you know?---They make you think, "Gorgeous, but I'd never dare wear it: the first time one of the kids or the pets hurled themselves at me in that gown/trouser suit/dress, it would be in tatters," but Halston's never made that impression.

[ext_3749756]

My favorite way to make a skirt that can fit me at different sizes is to make a regular interfaced waist band but have a casing for elastic at the center back that goes 3/4ths (or was it 2/3rds?) of the way to the side seams.
From the front it looks like a neatly finished skirt with a nice clean waistband.
The elastic casing doesn't reach all the way to the side seams so it doesn't mess with the silhouette there.
If I need to take it in I can just unpick a bit of vertical stitching on one side, pull on the elastic and re-attach it a little way in on the elastic.
Skirts have been the only garments I have that have gracefully gotten slimmer with me.
All of my dresses don't fit me anymore and will require heavy alteration when I get to my goal weight.

I got the idea for the partially elasticated waist band, but smooth at the side seam, from my favorite brands.
https://lolibrary.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/images/7de77a10-1623-5e37-97ae-0091fb88fab2.jpeg
That button is where a waist tie attaches, there's one on the other side as well, which is then tied around the back into a bow.

https://lolibrary.org/items/btssb-sugar-bouquet-skirt

Cutting things on the bias and having minimalist designs makes a lot of sense if you want to have clothes that are a little bit flexible in size.
Oh, yes I know what you mean about lighter fabrics being used for clothes that end up looking durable.
I've worked as an intern at a bridal shop. There were definitely some items made from chiffon that I thought would not live long when worn. And others looked much more durable.
I think the difference was in the way the seams were finished and the linings and possible boning structure.