Figure Out Your Figure.
My mom is 5'7" and swears up and down that when she was growing up that was really tall. For the record, she is the shortest person in my immediate family. I am an only daughter and measure in at a whopping 6'. Fortunately, the familial scales are balanced as my two brothers have a good 3-4" on me. (I am sure you can guess that this height problem of mine partially contributed to my dressmaking habit.)
I was recently reading that the average female height in the United States is somewhere in the 5'4 to 5'5" range. Now maybe we are a hardy lot in the Pacific Northwest or perhaps I unconsciously surround myself by taller folk, but that average seems a little shrimpy to me. Compare that to the above "Are You" height chart and we find that things don't seem to have changed all that much since 1953 in this regard. I guess I would be like, totally, off the charts regardless of decade.
Something else that apparently hasn't changed much since the early 50s is that women's bodies are not uniform. Fortunately there is something that looks good on everyone. Any more, I can look at an article of clothing on a hanger and know whether or not it will work for me. Things that do not work? 1) drawstring waists (no real loss), 2) skirts cut on the bias (heartbreak as I sometimes want to be Jean Harlowe), 3) boy cut swimsuit bottoms (hip alert!) . . . just to name a few.
This silly page from my Sew With Distinction books may be a little antiquated (foundation garments?), but the rules of getting dressed remain the same. Find what works for you and dress in a way that makes you feel good. Most of the time the two ideas converge into one heck of smashing outfit.
I stand by my claim (that I am making just now) that Fashion Law #1 is: Recognize that every style is not for every body.
That's just how it is kids. Sky is blue.
I was recently reading that the average female height in the United States is somewhere in the 5'4 to 5'5" range. Now maybe we are a hardy lot in the Pacific Northwest or perhaps I unconsciously surround myself by taller folk, but that average seems a little shrimpy to me. Compare that to the above "Are You" height chart and we find that things don't seem to have changed all that much since 1953 in this regard. I guess I would be like, totally, off the charts regardless of decade.
Something else that apparently hasn't changed much since the early 50s is that women's bodies are not uniform. Fortunately there is something that looks good on everyone. Any more, I can look at an article of clothing on a hanger and know whether or not it will work for me. Things that do not work? 1) drawstring waists (no real loss), 2) skirts cut on the bias (heartbreak as I sometimes want to be Jean Harlowe), 3) boy cut swimsuit bottoms (hip alert!) . . . just to name a few.
This silly page from my Sew With Distinction books may be a little antiquated (foundation garments?), but the rules of getting dressed remain the same. Find what works for you and dress in a way that makes you feel good. Most of the time the two ideas converge into one heck of smashing outfit.
I stand by my claim (that I am making just now) that Fashion Law #1 is: Recognize that every style is not for every body.
That's just how it is kids. Sky is blue.
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