What makes haute couture garments so special that some cost as much as luxury cars and small houses? What construction techniques are used for these garments? Are they really different from those used in home sewing and in the ready-to-wear industry? If so, how are they different? And can home sewers duplicate them?
These are some of the many questions that prompted me 12 years ago to begin thinking seriously about writing a book on couture sewing techniques. I had learned the basics of couture construction in college in the mid-1960s, but I was still unclear about how these techniques fit into the overall couture method of creating a garment. I was determined to figure this out and began my research in earnest.
In the early years, this research was limited to examining garments in museum collections. Even though this was, and continues to be, an invaluable source of information, there are limits on such research because the garments often have linings that hide many of their secrets. To solve this problem, I purchased a few couture pieces from resale shops, thrift stores and antique dealers so that I could rip out the linings to see what lay beneath and take the garments apart if I wanted. Ideally, I would have ordered my own couture design to learn more about the construction process, but, alas, my budget did not permit it.
About six years into my research, I had two unexpected opportunities: The first was to study with American couturier Charles Kleibacker, who taught me how to drape and sew bias-cut dresses. He also helped me update my basic couture skills, but more importantly, he helped me to understand more fully the relationship of the individual techniques to the larger couture method. The second opportunity was to work in luxury ready-to-wear designer Michael Novareses factory in Los Angeles. Since Novarese combines many couture and ready-to-wear techniques to create his custom-made garments, this experience was also extremely useful for my research.
In the mid-1980s, I expanded my research to include visiting workrooms at couture houses, bespoke (custom) tailors and custom shirtmakers. Sometimes my visit lasted only an hour or a day, but occasionally I stayed a week. Ive returned to a few of these workrooms again and again, and Ive always learned something new.
By the time I actually began writing this book in early 1990, I had amassed dozens of notebooks and thousands of study photographs. I had interviewed couturiers, luxury ready-to-wear designers, tailors, shirtmakers, the heads of couture workrooms and their staff, the directors of couture salons and their sales staff, archivists, collectors, museum curators and even clients. I had enough information to write several books. Then the problem became an excruciating one: choosing what to include and what to leave out of the book I had in mind.
I decided, first, to describe couture techniques as practiced in couture workrooms rather than adapting these techniques for the home sewer, the approach I and other writers had always taken before. My reasons for this decision were twofold: I wanted to document at least a few of these techniques for future generations, since I fear that couture is a dying craft. And more importantly for home sewers, I feel strongly that grasping the principles used in sewing haute couture will help them better understand garment construction, and in turn help solve many of the problems they periodically encounter. An important benefit of deciding on this organizing principle was that it allowed me to set aside all my notes on luxury ready-to-wear techniques for a future book.
My second decision was to focus on construction techniques themselves, even though elements like draping and design, proportion and balance, fit and fabric are equally important. In choosing which techniques to include, Ive concentrated on classic ones that can be applied to a variety of designs and fabrics and offer the most value to the greatest number of home sewers. I also decided to select, whenever possible, techniques that had not been described in print before and to exclude those similar to well-known home-sewing techniques described in many sewing books.
Although none of these editing decisions was easy, one was particularly difficult: I had originally intended to include alternative methods for many of the couture construction processes because in couture there are many means to arrive at the same end. In fact, I can think of no situation in couture where a single method is used universally. But the limits of space made it impossible to include all but the occasional alternative method for a given procedure. And in the end I relied on my observations as a teacher to select the methods that would enable home sewers to achieve the best results in the easiest way.
Also among my decisions was whether to photograph garments or samples. In the end, I decided to photograph both, and I chose garments that, unlike those selected for museum exhibits, are not always historically important nor necessarily the best example of a particular couturiers work. I rejected garments that had undergone major alterations since its often difficult to determine what had been sewn in the original workroom. The pieces I finally selected all have specific construction details that home sewers can both duplicate and apply to the kinds of garments theyre most likely to sew.
No matter what your sewing expertise, I hope youll find this book a practical guide to the fine construction techniques of haute couture. While some of the techniques are less suitable than others for beginners and some are impractical for everyday sewing, most will be of value to the average sewer and can be used on a wide range of garments and fabrics. I hope youll experiment with these techniques and look for new ways to apply them whenever you sew. And I hope youll return again and again to this book, using it as a resource from which to draw, whether you limit your couture sewing to a detail here and there or decide to make an entire garment from beginning to end with couture techniques.
The book itself is divided into two sections. The first five chapters are designed to introduce you to the world of haute couture and familiarize you with the basic skills and essential techniques of couture. The last six chapters focus on the application of couture techniques to garments. My instincts as a teacher compel me to suggest that you read or closely peruse the first section before proceeding to the second.
The measurements used throughout the book are only guidelines, and although they may be appropriate for many fabrics, they might not be exactly right for the fabric youre using. For this reason, I suggest that you always purchase an additional 14 yd. of fabric when you start a project so that you have extra material to make samples before sewing the actual garment. This allows you to fine-tune the dimensions for a particular fabric and practice your skills before working on the garment itself. Should you be unfamiliar with a particular technique or term, youll find both a glossary and an index at the back of the book to help you.
With regard to the drawings in this book, note that the right side of the fabric is always shown shaded, and where a drawing has several steps, they are numbered sequentially. For the sake of clarity, thread tracing has been included in the drawings only where its important to the information being conveyed. For the same reason, seam allowances appear narrow and consistent in width in the drawings, even though in couture, as explained in the text, they are inconsistent in width and quite wide.
I find sewing by hand and with couture techniques extremely rewarding. The pleasure of both making and wearing beautifully constructed garments far exceeds the time and effort required to complete them. I hope this book will help you develop these same skills and perfect old ones, and in turn, reward you with years of pleasureand a closet full of beautifully made garments.
