“Handmade clothes increase the feeling that they blend in with us, with our flesh, but also with them who, patiently, made them to fit us”
I’m currently reading Dressing, by Jane Sautière, and this sentence made me finally write this post. That’s it. That’s the reason why I sew. To find, beyond ready-to-wear’s anonymous clothes, something that would make one with me. That’s also the reason why I’m so fascinated by the notion of style (which is not all about clothes). To me, style is the material, clothing, litterary, or cinematographic signature of a personality. I’m not foolish enough to believe that elegant people are better than the others, but I’m nonetheless fascinated by the matter. I love the fact that a movie character’s wardrobe tells me so much about them that the scenario doesn’t even mention. It’s simply part of them.
While I’m not a fictional character, I always dreamt to have a costume that would tell everybody who I am. And to prove my uniqueness (and to satisfy my clothing demands), what’s better than sewing? Preferring the fit of a high-waisted skirt or, on the contrary, the ease of a flowing blouse, a flared skirt rather than a straight one… Beyond the notion of style, I think that sewing is paying attention to your body : looking at it, measuring it, adorning it, sometimes repairing it. Taking the time to think , to make, stitch by stitch (I enjoy the hand finishing), at our own pace, what will fit one’s body and one’s soul. A very special way to pay attention.
