"Nobody told me it wasn't supposed to."

[miera_c]

A friend of a friend won a free consultation with Clinton Kelly of What Not To Wear, and she was very excited, because she has a plus-size body, and wanted some tips on how to make the most of her wardrobe in a fashion culture which deliberately puts her body at a disadvantage

Comments

[stexgirl2000]

I am a big fan of What Not To Wear and what he said makes sense. I am sure for many contractual reasons they just cannot come out and say this on the show. Plus the fact that many stores would not let them come in and film there. I can't imagine Macy's or Express or Lane Bryant or any of the other places they go into being happy if the show then said "And now we have have tailor all the clothes that our lucky makeover client bought so she'll REALLY look fabulous."

Off the rack is all smoke and mirrors. Smoke and mirrors.

This has once again made me go "Fuck this, I need to learn how to sew. Even if I cry in frustration while learning it will be nothing compared to how I feel in the store."

The post was very interesting, thanks for sharing.

[havocthecat]

I wish there was an easy way to learn to sew clothing. But maybe I should just suck it up and take a sewing class.

[miera_c]

Yeah I just posted asking for suggestions. My mom is getting rid of her old sewing machine and I said I'd take it.

The books available on Amazon were disheartening. There were almost no books on altering clothing that weren't "turn vintage into chic!" or something like that.

I need to check the local craft and fabric stores for classes, I think.

[havocthecat]

I find I have a hard time learning sewing from books, possibly because I'm a perfectionist. :(

My local Jo-Ann's has a one-session Sewing 101 for $35; I'm going to take that and see if I like their class style. But I might see if there's an independent store with more variety in their classes.

[miera_c]

I tend to learn most by messing around on my own, actually. I may sacrifice a few pieces that I don't wear much anymore, take them apart and see how they work.

[melyanna]

Honestly, it is totally worth it to learn how to sew. At the very least, it is worth it to learn how to make basic alterations. There's a lot of great resources on the internet now as well, as there's been a resurgence of interest in vintage clothing and traditional sewing techniques.