More observations from the runway

Our "Serene" design on the runway

One of the challenges I face, as a designer, is the disconnect between the sizes of clothing I make and the sizes of the runway models.


Although it's well-known that most women in North America take a size 12 or higher, runway models tend to be size 6 or size 8.  The problem here is the time that has to be spent making styles in smaller sizes when our styles are generally not worn by women in their teens or 20s, but by mature women, decidedly on the plus size of 30 years of age.

Serene on a Size 10

One of the comments I get is that some of my garments, on the runway, don't seem to have a shape, such as a waist line.  In fact, nearly all my jackets have shape, in the form of the cut of the side seam or darts used in the body of the garment, but this just does not show up when the model is so decidedly small compared to the garment.  While there are modeling agencies, which offer what are known as "real women" for modeling purposes, the fashion industry is only now coming around to the idea that women take larger sizes.


It's become quite talked about that, for the first time in living memory, some of the larger New York City stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, are actually ordering in clothing in size 12 and up.  Historically, the largest size they would order was a size 10.

Our design "Svelte" on the runway

My company, Harobed Designs, has always made clothing in larger sizes.  We regularly have sizes 16 and 18.  Our emphasis is on providing great style and unique options for women in all sizes.  However, it's an uphill battle, and we always appreciate anything our customers or blog followers can do, to get the word out.


So, if you know people who take larger sizes, send them a copy of this post and let them know about our company.

Svelte on a size 10

In the meantime, the photos I am showing show some of our clothes on the runway, on the models who are size 6 to 8, and then on someone who is more appropriately sized around size 10 or 12.  As you can see, the clothes hang better on the person with the larger size.

Our design "Influence" on the runway

Influence on a size 10

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Backstage pass - fall 2010 runway show

Clothes on racks, ready to go!

Most runway shows, especially when featuring a single designer, don't last very long but the outward appearance is deceptive.  What shows up on the runway is really the 'tip of the iceberg' compared to what goes on backstage prior to the event.

Obviously, the first step is the design and manufacture of the garments, which may take several months, culminating in the designer working18 hour days - or longer - leading up to the show.

Six of my models in pre-show chat mode

As for the area backstage, preparation starts up hours before the actual show.  The garments have to be dropped off, the show has to be organized, the models have to be prepped in makeup and hair styling, and everything has to work with precision.  As the Head Stylist remarked at the show I participated in, the last week in September, it's really amazing how a group of people, who have possibly never worked together before, can come together, put on a show and have it go smoothly.

In the photos with this blogpost, I'm once again taking you behind the scenes, showing where the clothes were prepared for the various segments (this was a multi-designer show) and also the models who wore my particular designs, waiting to go out on the runway.

Five minutes to showtime!

In my next blog post, I'll take you out into the audience and show more photos from that perspective.

One minute to showtime

In the meantime, if you'd like to view all the designs I showed, use this link: http://canadawears.ca/2010/the-clothing-show-fall-2010/photoset-482.php

Not so supportive - the inside scoop about interfacings!

Puckering from interfacing

People tend to forget that, inside every great garment is something known as interfacing.  Interfacings are the unsung heroes of garment construction; without them, most jackets, coats and the like, would not hold their shape; at the same time, if you buy ready-made outfits, you really have no idea interfacing has been used at all, as it is not something you see.

That is, until you've had the garment while.  And, if it's washable, once you have tossed it in the machine a few times,  you'll often begin to see the presence of the interfacing.  And it's not a pretty sight. Bubbles and puckers start to appear on the surface of your garment.  This is because nowadays, most interfacing is what they call "fusible" - that is, the interfacing is ironed on. 

Bubbling at side seam

Once upon a time, there was only what is known as woven interfacing, which had to be stitched into the garment.  A great leap forward - supposedly - was the introduction of  the non-wovens or fusible interfacings as they are known. These are just applied with a hot iron.  Problem is, such fusible interfacings often have their own ideas about how long they will do their job, sight unseen.  And once they start acting up - or perhaps I should say bubbling up to the surface - you may find an item of clothing you really love becomes unseemly and you have to stop wearing it. 

Fabric after ironing

In the photos I'm showing, puckering is what's happened to a white summer vest that I've had for some time.  For most of the time I've owned this, there haven't been any problems.  But, after the last washing, the interfacing began to act up.  As the vest has decorative trim, interfacing has been used extensively to give the vest shape. 

Luckily for me, this problem can be corrected with an iron, but it's not always possible to do that; it depends on the fabric and the heat that the fabric will tolerate.

This suggests that when you're buying a piece of clothing, especially if it's a major investment, you need to investigate how the garment is made to determine how well it will stand up to standard care.  As they say, better to be safe than sorry!

Unravelling unseen

Those of us who live in the northern hemisphere are preparing for the fall. It's after Labor Day and the weather is starting to cool down. Time to get out our sweaters - or woollies, if you prefer - and prepare them for the winter.

Usually, during the summer, I wash all my sweaters that are washable, turn them inside out and stash them away, ready for the cooler weather. This is how I happen to know that one of my sweaters is slowly coming apart.

Usually, when you make a sweater - or any knit garment - from two or more colors, as one color of wool is phased out and the second color is added, the end of the first wool is supposed to be 'knitted out' and the second 'knitted in', so the wool doesn't unravel, ever.

Due to the way garments are now made in factories, this finishing off process doesn't happen. In the sweater I'm showing, knots were tied instead, where the white changes to black and vice versa. The only problem is, when the sweater went through the washing machine cycle, the agitation started to loosen these knots, because they weren't very tightly tied.

Had I not spotted this, my sweater would have started to unravel beyond the point of repair or possibly left me with some embarrassing moments, out in public, as gaps started to appear in the body or sleeves of the sweater.

I purchased this sweater at a very high profile, high-end women's wear chain, which has stores throughout North America. I won't embarrass them by naming them, but caution anyone else buying sweaters that have more than one color of wool in them, to check the inside frequently, so that your lovely turtleneck or cardigan doesn't unravel on you.

You may also want to consider looking for sweaters made by an artisan, by hand, so that the workmanship should stand the test of time!

Needless to say, in any garment made by my company, Harobed Designs, we strive to make sure that these sorts of accidents don't happen.

Smart and cool

As summer starts to draw to a close in the Northern Hemisphere, I'll take one last look at the whole issue of casual dressing. If you consult a dictionary, there are many definitions of the word 'casual', but when it comes to clothing, the applicable one is "designed for informal use".

This was always the real meaning of casual wear, that it was not the same as formal wear - suits, gowns, tuxedos, etc. - but nowhere in the definition of casual do the words 'sloppy' or 'haphazard' appear.

So I'm showing three more shots of how you can be smart and cool and still casual. One is of my friend Judy, when we went out to dinner. Judy has chosen a simple color palette, she has a very neat T-shirt in Cordovan Brown, which matches her sandals, and then beige-toned capris and sweater, along with a brown purse.

Her companion - in this case me - has similarly chosen a simple color palette: pair of black jeans, black sandals, black wrap (one of my own Harobed Designs wraps in Tencel, which are extremely light in weight, but add warmth when the air-conditioning is too strong) and a black bag, paired with a strawberry shirt and matching strawberry earrings. (Another observation: dressing well is not necessarily about having everything purchased in the current year; the earrings are some I bought years ago while the shirt I purchased about two years ago).

Both of us managed to say stay cool and comfortable, in spite of setting off in sunny, hot weather.

These outfits look a lot smarter than some I see on the street, which include pairings of scruffy jeans, T-shirts that are so faded you cannot read the words on them, sandals or shoes, purses and jewelry, in a complete mishmash of colors.

But, to show there is hope for the future, I'm showing this photo of a little girl is about eight years old. Whether it's the case that her pink Crocs were selected to match her dress - or her dress was chosen to match her Crocs - doesn't matter, she looks pulled together! A lot of people much older than eight would do well to follow her example.

You can BE cool - and LOOK cool too!

One of the more unfortunate "fashion" trends of recent years has been the tendency, in a warm climates, to equate staying cool in steamy weather with sloppy outfits.

Just because the temperature rises, doesn't mean you have to forsake your sense of style. It's perfectly possible to be cool while looking cool too!

As well as looking for people with zero sense of style, I often go out with my camera and try to snap people who have pulled off a great look with ease. Here are just three examples: the lady on the bus is very simply dressed, but her outfit works very well. She's paired a white short sleeved top, with a white skirt patterned in silver, a silver bangle, black high heeled mules and a black bag. This is a case where being well dressed, doesn't mean loading yourself down with lots of garments and accessories, it just means thinking a bit about how you're going to look in what you've put on.

The same is true of two ladies I met when I went to the theater the other Saturday. Both were able to stay very comfortable in spite of the high humidity. What's even more interesting is that one of the outfits (photo in the middle) shows how you can pair two seemingly different colors - like red and peach - in a single outfit. Even the sandals combine these two colors. What makes it work is that the skirt, as well as having red and peach, has a black background and splashes of other colors. She was still able to stay comfortable because the top is a camisole and the bottom is a skirt.

The other lady, on the left in the lower photo, is wearing black leggings, black sandals, and a multicolored top. Her purse color picks out the green color in the top. It's cool, it's comfortable but, above all, she looks pulled together. (The lady in the white long-sleeve T-shirt, black jeans, hot pink sandals and accessories, is me!)

There is no need when summer arrives to slip into a haphazard look. True style starts in the brain with how you think about your clothes, and how you put them together. In fact, looking stylish is probably more of a no-brainer than a brain-teaser.

Is gray the law now?

Once upon a time, there were laws known as sumptuary laws. Depending on where you lived and what you did in life, you were forbidden to wear certain fabrics - such as velvet being forbidden for the middle class - and otherwise forced to dress not just according to your means, but also to your station in life.

Supposedly, in the Western democracies, we have moved well beyond this stage and now allow everyone total freedom of expression. Trouble is, you'd be hard pressed to know this if you look around.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in what are known as the 'society pages' in my local newspaper, there was a write-up about an event that is described as an "80s themed pre-show gala".

Since I didn't attend, I'm not sure if the guests were perhaps forbidden from wearing anything but gray or perhaps they were told to dress in a way so they wouldn't conflict with the 80s themed decor. (Hello? As someone said, weren't the 80s all about spandex, color and big hair?)

What is most ironic is that one of the guests in the photos here (which I've cropped to protect the guilty as well as the innocent), is the president of a large department store, who is always going on the radio and urging shoppers to go in and buy the colorful patio furniture her company has on offer.

This makes me wonder: is it now okay for the patio to be colorful but not humans?

In the spirit of doing something about color, we've recently re-launched the Harobed Designs website, and already have quite a list of colors: apricot, primrose, teal, sunflower, scarlet and ivory, to name a few. We also have quite a few more waiting in the wings: deep coral, ultra royal, emerald, cerise...

We encourage everyone to go beyond the gray and sashay forth in color. Not only will you brighten up the world, you'll feel more energized!