Oct. 20, 2009
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One fundamental of fashion- a great silhouette begins at the shoulders. How a shoulder is cut defines a tailored piece of clothing like a jacket or coat. Armholes too. In dressmaking the armhole is carefully considered. Too tight and the piece will strain and crease across the shoulders ( front and back). A too tight sleeve also causes the dreaded sausage arm. An armhole that is cut too big and a sleeve that is too wide creates baggage under the armpit and instantly adds visual pounds. Another fashion fundamental- bad fit equals style implosion.
So when restyling a jacket start with something that fits you reasonably well. Recutting an armhole or refashioning a shoulder is expensive and the results can be disappointing.
Changing a jacket or coat collar from a shape like Peter Pan, for example, to a smaller point collar can transform the look from retro to modern. Remove a collar altogether for a clean, minimalist line. Narrowing a too wide lapel to a current-looking width or shortening sleeves to a 3/4 length are common requests and will not cost a lot. I recently took a black tux style jacket from 3 years ago ( at least) to my tailor for a sleeve removal. He finished the armholes beautifully and suggested that he narrow the lapels - just a tick- for balance. The result is a new jacket/vest for under $75.
Wide leg pants languishing in your closet? It is easy for a tailor to narrow the leg to an au courant stovepipe line. What about that poker straight skirt ( with the weird length)? Restyling a straight skirt to a pencil shape is easy. The success of the pencil is the subtle narrowing at the hem that gives it that essential curve.
A sack shape dress to a sheath? In general, an easy fix. An unheard of sale on designer jeans but the available sizes are too big? Go ahead. A tailor can style them to fit.
Shopping your closet can be better than bargain hunting. Hit the attic. It could be a treasure hunt. If you don't have a good tailor it is time to find one.
Sept. 23, 2009
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Imagine walking pain free in a pair of high heels without popping a Xanax? Determined to learn how, I recently dragged my tired and swollen dogs to the Backbones and Wingspan Pilates Studio for a High Heel Recovery Clinic. Trudging from the subway to the studio I imagined a scene from the documentary Paris Is Burning and a task master instructor barking "Girl, you better work!" Instead, I was greeted at the door by the zen countenance of Tim Driscoll the studio director and a respected teacher on the NYC pilates scene. Tim along with fellow teacher Cathy Ferrara have developed the clinic in response to clients with all kinds of lower back pain, calf strain and shin splints related to wearing vertiginous heels.
including Pilates, GYROTONIC®, The Feldenkrais Method®,
CranioSacral Therapy and Physical Therapy.
To learn more about Backbone and Wingspan and its instructors or to see
the schedule for other upcoming free clinics, go to
www.backboneandwingspan.com
or see the Backbone and Wingspan Facebook Fan Page.
For studio inquiries, press previews, and reservations:
Call: 212-647-8878 or direct email to
tim@backboneandwingspan.com
According to Tim "The heel is probably the most under-utilized part of the body. When someone can expand into their heels and into the back of their shoe rather than letting their heel shove forward onto the ball of the foot then they can get relief." The key, he explained, is to connect with the upper back of your legs rather than your lower back or the balls of your feet.
To put us in touch with this sensation it was time to walk around the room. We'd been asked to bring a 'challenging' pair of heels. I put on my red patent leather Fendi sandals that slice into my toes like a cheese knife. Walking with all the grace of a middle-aged cross dresser in size 13 pumps, I noticed the woman in front of me. Elisabeth, a slim 50-something was navigating swan-like in a pair of 6" St. Laurent platform sandals. How could she stand it?
Then it was shoes off for mat work designed to identify critical body/pressure points that are engaged when walking in high heels. First, the core since all things balance and posture rely on a strong trunk. Three sets of hamstrings ( 3? who knew?). Asked to imagine these as strings reaching right up into our butts, I tried to visualize my hammies rising up to tether two balloons (or rather, bum cheeks a bit larger than I'd like them to be). By tucking my tail -just slightly- I instantly felt a strong connection right there. Finally, the hip flexors-that 'pocket' of muscle at the very top of your thighs.
Next, we lay down on mats and for the next 30 minutes Cathy led the group in a series of exercises designed to help us open up the pelvis and to feel the hamstring/bum connection. With our knees bent and our calves and heels flush with the top of the ball, we were directed to place our arms at our sides, palms down, and to raise our bums until we created what Tim Driscoll calls a 'suspension bridge'. Visualize what a suspension bridge looks like and this make perfect sense. Ahh! An immediate release of tension in my flexors. Please try this at the gym or at home if you have an exercise ball at the end of the day to work out tension.
Finally, we lay on our stomachs and raised both our arms and feet - just slightly- off the matt in a kind of semi-superman in flight move. Again, ever so subtly I could feel a connection to my core, my 'tethered balloons and an engagement in my hip flexors. All the sensations came together and I was ready to try on those tortuous Fendi's and take a spin around the room.
So, try this little sequence the next time you slip on any heel over 3 inches. Breath -not a deep belly breath- but so you expand the width of your back. Lean ever so slightly into your back and feel how that subtle movement puts you into your hammies and bum connection which simultaneously opens up the hip flexors. In making these connections you will feel a subtle shift back onto your heels and away from the balls of your feet. This works. Check out Tim's blog for more about high heel recovery http://pilatesiconoclast.typepad.com/universalprinciples/high-heel-healing/
Backbone and Wingspan is a unique fitness studio dedicated to the
functional principles of movement explored through a variety of methodsincluding Pilates, GYROTONIC®, The Feldenkrais Method®,
CranioSacral Therapy and Physical Therapy.
To learn more about Backbone and Wingspan and its instructors or to see
the schedule for other upcoming free clinics, go to
www.backboneandwingspan.com
or see the Backbone and Wingspan Facebook Fan Page.
For studio inquiries, press previews, and reservations:
Call: 212-647-8878 or direct email to
tim@backboneandwingspan.com
July 07, 2009
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Distill the elements of personal style and much of it is about what is on your head and your feet. Hair and heels. One thing I have learned in years of styling fashion images - the clothes and jewelry may be gorgeous enough to launch a full-throttle riot but if the model's hair is somehow 'off' (fussy, stiff with products, lank, stringy) then the image is blown.
This goes double for shoes. A too low heel that doesn't enhance the line of a model's leg, a toe that looks dated or a style that just plain looks insignificant is an outfit killer. Real life is no different.
This spring/summer season most of us have shopped our closets instead of buying new clothes. If you feel the need for a spruce-up or that you are looking past your sell by date, spend your money on a good haircut ( maybe a few highlights and some color while you are at it) A good haircut and a flattering color can erase pounds, years and make the same old clothes suddenly 'new'.
After a dreary selling season, most shoe departments are heaving with spring shoes on sale at up to seventy five percent off. Time to trawl the sale racks for a bit of trend. And I don't mean a six inch heel or a platform that resembles fetish wear or an orthodic but something you can walk in that is bolder, or chunkier, or a little higher, or strappier, or flat with a subtle nod to gladiator style ( but skip the grommets, buckles and multiple ankle straps however and you may be able to wear them next summer too).
Especially if you are over 40, wearing a shoe that is au courant is the best way to stay in the style game. So throw a little trend around on the streets. A shoe with some presence is a sure way to make last year's skirts, cropped pants and dresses look updated.
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Kendall's Style Blog