I got a really interesting comment from Xan this morning on the McCardell Update I posted a while back:
First, it has been with great difficulty that I have found time to finally comment on this post.
A real travesty indeed-silk charmeuse sprayed with sizing for this Claire McCardell dress? Not only does it give me the willies, I bet the fine designer of the pattern is rolling over in her grave.
I have had the gut-wrenching experience time and again seeing sewing projects online over the last couple of years borne from people sewing something just to sew something rather than do it in a respectable if not correct manner.
Yours here is obviously such a project. I understand wanting to sew from one’s stash of fabric, but first to mutilate charmeuse with spray sizing and then to do so in order to ‘shoehorn’ it into a Claire McCardell dress pattern for which limp, draping fabrics were never meant, what’s the point? What happened to taste? Do you go anyplace wearing this dress? Is it usable as a garment?
Never mind the fact that the print was not matched along the centerline of the front as San Antonio Sue pointed out on Nov.13-it is simply awful.
As always, I totally support anyone's right to be appalled by what I wear, and to be vocal in their disapproval. De gustibus, and all that, but I did want to respond to this comment, and not just in the comment thread.
(First, I wanted to clarify one thing — the silk was not sprayed with sizing, it was treated with Sullivan's Fabric Stabilizer Spray, which is washed out before wearing. The Sullivan's makes the fabric easier to cut and sew, but doesn't affect the fabric's "hand" after washing.)
This is the part I really wanted to respond to:
I have had the gut-wrenching experience time and again seeing sewing projects online over the last couple of years borne from people sewing something just to sew something rather than do it in a respectable if not correct manner.
It is the fear of encountering this snobby attitude that I think keeps so many people from sewing, and I think that's such a shame. Yeah, that dress was not the best I ever made, but — so what? I did wear the dress (to a wedding) and I got some nice compliments on it (from people who didn't know I made it, btw).
More importantly, I learned something from making that dress. It was an experiment. It was an exploration. You learn a lot more from trying something new than from doing everything in the "respectable if not correct" way.
I'm not saying "throw all the rules out the window!" (I wouldn't have made that dress out of plastic grocery bags or polyester double-knit) but I'd rather live my life trying new things (which are not always guaranteed to work) than making sure I only did exactly what's been done before, what's "respectable and correct," and nothing else. If you're only going to follow a recipe, why not invest in a few paint-by-number kits? (This is why I always ignore those "Copy Ready-To-Wear!" articles in sewing magazines. If I wanted "ready-to-wear", I'd BUY "ready-to-wear," people.)
It's the garments I make from weird fabrics, in fact, that have made me the happiest. Camouflage and stripey skirts, and curtain-fabric dresses, and on and on.
But, really — "gut-wrenching"? If seeing other people's not-quite-right (by your standards) efforts gives you actual intestinal pain, you might want to take some deep breaths and repeat "This isn't my problem" until it goes away.
The designer of the pattern, Claire McCardell, was herself an innovator. She pioneered ballet slippers as shoes, which would have been neither respectable nor correct in some people's eyes when she first did it — but she didn't let that stop her.
If you're just starting to learn to sew, and you're worried about attitudes like Xan's, think for a minute about what you want more: Making something that's "perfect" by someone else's standards? Or the experience and pleasure of planning, sewing, and ultimately wearing something that's a reflection of you, and not the equivalent of packaged cake mix? I know what my answer is.
A Dress A Day 
Hey folks, I just wanted to say that it’s fine to disagree with what someone says (I do it all the time), but I’d rather not see comments that are ad hominem (or ad feminam, in this case). Okay?Good: “What you said stinks!”Bad: “You stink!”Got it?
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Well, I AM making dresses out of plastic grocery bags. Perefctly chic and very wearable, I want to add! I sew also, and pretty well.Variety and differences absolutely make our world better.Shaun MuscoloHaute Trash
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Erin, you have the right attitude. I am glad for mistakes I make because I don’t make them the next time, and I learn something. And I don’t care if anyone else likes what I am wearing; I care if I like it. I cannot believe that anyone had the gall to write you something like that. You may not have sewn that garment in the orthodox manner that the commenter would have liked, but the commenter needs to learn social graces. Rudeness is much more gut-wrenching than not caring for someone’s creative handiwork.
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If Xan had her druthers, _I_ would never have started sewing at all, since I am entirely self-taught. I have had a lot of “learning experiences” over the years, and as I have learned, I have also become more … adventurous. The most fun sewing projects have been those where I have used the pattern as a _beginning_. I know what I want to sew, but that pattern isn’t IT. But I can get there from here. If I just alter _that_ piece just so, and this other one correspondingly; and _this_ piece needs to be cut apart _here_. And I need an extra pattern piece that goes _there_. *Smugly contemplates new winter coat, finished just last week* I am sure Xan would act appalled if she saw it, while quietly expiring from envy. And making it – and especially doing those changes – was just FUN!
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A long time ago a very wise woman told me that I’d learn a lot more from my mistakes than I ever would from my successes. This same wise woman told me that while you are always entitled to your opinion there are times when you should keep your opinion to yourself. So I will keep my opinion to myself in reference to Xan’s commentary. Experimenting is what keeps life interesting.
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I am delighted that so many people WANT to sew. It is satisfying and fills a creative need to construct a pretty piece of clothing out of a flat fabric. Too many of our creative arts are being lost to history because there isn’t time in our busy lives to participate. I love that I can peek into others’ sewing rooms and see their projects. A Dress A Day has been showing me the beauty of vintage patterns, and to see them made up into dresses that ARE worn and loved has given me a whole new perspective. Thank you very much, Erin.
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I should also point out that I kinda agree with wundermary: I should take my time, more often. But when the choice is “do it fast OR don’t do it” I always come down on the side of do it fast. :-)I’m actually putting off making a particular dress because matching the patterns is going to suck so hugely much. But I will do it someday!
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Following the rules too closely causes constipation….and depression also.
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So, let me get this straight, you linked to Xan’s site, sending who knows how many new customers and browsers to her site, and she had the nerve, (the gall!) to write that comment?!Erin, you always handle these people with such class, such poise, and just the right words to state your case. I admire you so much. Well said and well played.
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Erin, clearly you’re supposed to ask permission to stray out of the lines.Rules were made to be broken, and patterns will always have innovations. I never follow every rule in patterns, that’s the *point* isn’t it?The most reprehensible reason for following the rules is “We’ve been doing it that way for 20 years!”.Do as you please, Erin, of course. Clothing is an art form, not a term paper!
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I’m with Adelaide B. I don’t understand why a business owner would alienate all these potential customers. Her comments were too just plain nasty to be well intended. Comments like those discourage others from sewing and from blogging.
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Oh, I forgot to reassure xstpenguin and others that I don’t read people’s comments with red pencil in hand. I’m not the Grammar Police, I promise!
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the “weird” fabrics you use in your dresses, i think, is a distinct part of your fashion sense and personality (i’m assuming) and that is a wonderful thing about you and this blog. i screw up all the time when sewing and i used to get paid to do it! (not paid to screw up but to sew.) i don’t think any of my dresses would sell in a store and i often regret fabric choices. (“hand” is definitely something that i’m learning i need to respect and take into consideration – i’m too often charmed by the price and cute prints of calico.)i love the dress in question btw.
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Hi Erin,part of the reason I’ve gotten back into sewing is you. This year I’ve even started wearing skirts! (one day I may even venture out in an actual dress…people may faint)When I sew I do like to follow the pattern instructions, but I see this as learning the rules so I will know how to break them. Can’t wait!
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Oh. My. God. What nerve! You, and you alone Erin have given me the courage to attempt, plaid, covered buttons, patterns marked “advanced”. Why? Because you shwo your mistakes, experiments gon awry and it gives me the courage to “mess up.” If it looks remotely like the pattern illustration and it fits and hangs right I am danged proud of my work. I can’t believe this is how she returns your kindness and support of her site. Boo! Hiss!Sure everyone has a right to their opinion but do they have the right to be MEAN?!
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People like Xan are the reason people like me avoid certain fabric stores and classes. I suspect her gut “wrenches” around her good breeding on a regular basis, as it did here. Otherwise she’d remember that, as our mothers taught us, an imperfect dress worn by a charming woman is much more becoming than a perfectly constructed dress on an unpleasant woman. Every time.And it’s people like you, Erin, who make sewing itself — and the contemplation of taking on a project that might just prove challenging — such a pleasure. Thanks so much for this blog (and oh, I cannot wait to read the novel)!
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Hi Erin,a couple of random thoughts … obviously, this touches on the perfectionism nerve. Either you have that one or you don’t. Me, I gots it, so I slow down to match plaids and the suchlike, because I’m old enough to know that it will forevermore bug the hell out of me if I don’t do it to my satisfaction the first time.also, it touches on the “I don’t approve of the way you did xyz, and I’m gonna let you know it” nerve. That one, I don’t have. I have my opinions, for sure, but I’m also old enough to appreciate the wisdom in that wonderful old saying–“Each to their own,” said the old woman as she kissed the cow.If I ever do my own blog, that’s gonna be up there somewhere.cheers!
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At the risk of being a bore, I wanted to add that after have clicked on the link to the pattern, the illustrator most certainly did invision this garment in a drapey soft fabric (grey on left). I am certainly not an expert seamstress, but I do know a wee bit about garment design and production and I really don’t see why using a soft light weight fabric would be so wrong on this dress.
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Erin,I’m not going to read all the comments, because it seems pretty likely that Xan has been royally raked over the coals. Just want to say that, in my opinion, you are a class act.Nicely done.;)
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I have been sewing for a really long time maybe some 34 years. I think I started when I was about 6 or so. When I first started way back then, there were a lot of rules. Do it this way… don’t do it that way and I hated every minute of it. I might add that I was formally taught for a few of those years. It was a great eye opener when I realized that just doing it my own way gave me a lot more enjoyment out of it. Plus I still had a wearable item doing it my own way. I still make mistakes but I learn a lot from those mistakes. So thanks Erin. You say things with such class and grace. It is a shame that there are not more people with the same grace. kps. La BellaDonna, that is a tough one since you have had good a report with her in the past and had recommended her to others. I would be very disstressed as well. that is a tough one with no easy answer. Sorry.
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Boy, people really went off the handle on this one. Xan is terrific, Erin is terrific. Xan is having a rough time (see her blog), said something in a less than graceful manner, which she will probably regret. Remember the Dalai Lama, Compassion is my religion. Also the saying, To know all is to forgive all. Attribution, Erin?Xan is passionate about her work, and she lived with that pattern to multi-size it. (I’m thrilled she did that, because now I can afford to make it.) I’m guessing that it is very important to her to see it made up in a fabric that, once the starch/sizing/whatever is washed out, does justice to the pattern. She probably really wanted to see it on Dressaday. I think Erin’s dress is lovely, but it doesn’t really look like the illustration. When I make it, I want it to look like the illustration, because that’s why I bought that pattern. How can I achieve that? By making it in the appropriate type of fabric for that design. I can be innovative, but I shouldn’t stray too far from the drape, weight, etc of the recommended fabrics. At least not if I want it to resemble to illustration.I’ve learned this one the hard way, wish someone had made this abundantly clear to me when I first started sewing. Im sure Erin knows all of this, she made her own choices, Xan disagreed with them, and I get the sense that people are reading something different into her comments because of their own sewing issues which I share. There are two critical pieces of information in this exchange. The first is that some kind of starch can make silk charmeuse more manageable, thanks for that. I shall go find some of that stuff.The second piece of critical information, which I think is important for people to focus on, is the point that Wundermary made above. Before you can play, understand what youre playing with fabric-wise. I had to re-learn this recently. Boy, did I make the wrong choice recently for a Loes Hinse jacket. I really, really wanted to make that design, and I wanted the properties of this material, but the two did not work well together. Its fine, I actually like the suit, but it wasnt what I wanted when I put a ton of work into it. So Xans comment resonated with me.The correct type of fabric will support the design. Not “correct” per the Fashion Police, but correct for the design itself (i.e., a nightgown designed for denim dont use silk chiffon if you want it to look like the illustration!), so that I don’t end up with yet another piece that has me scratching my head, wondering why it just doesn’t look right. I’ve learned to not stray from the recommended fabrics (the hard way), and I think that is what Xan is talking about. It is advice that you’ll find in every sewing book. And will result in an item that is fun to sew, what you expected once the starch is washed out, and great to wear. I dont have enough time to learn everything from my mistakes, thats why I take classes at my local sewing center and at PR and read books. In other words, I apply myself. Im obviously talking to people like me, who are still learning quite a bit about the basics, and I saw quite a bit of this in the comments above.So maybe there are three things that we can take away from this exchange: (1) use an appropriate type of fabric for the design, unless you really do want something different and you know what youre doing; (2) use some type of temporary sizing to make slipper fabrics easier to work with; and (3) take advantage of the tons of information out there so that the results make you happy, not just the process.
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Wow, what a wonderful response to Xan. I really don’t understand her problem or why she felt she needed to be so snobby. Her problem.I enjoy the fact that you are so public with your work, and I appreciate your efforts. I am a late-in-life learner and really love the creativity used in making these old patterns. So bug off, Xan. Let each of us explore and enjoy ourselves. Happy sewing everyone!
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Erin, thank you so much for this great post– a really elegant Finger to a clearly unhappy, self-conscious, small-minded snob. Poor thing. Rock on to all of the weird, mismatched, experimental sewers and crafters!
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Erin, thank you! As a previous commenter said, if Coco Chanel had worried about the “respectable and correct” way of doing things, we’d all still be wearing corsets! If people didn’t throw the rules out the window occasionally, there would never be any change or innovation!And Xan, the first garment I ever sewed was a dress, made from flannel Mickey Mouse sheets. And I love it dearly, thank you very much.
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“I’m guessing that it is very important to her to see it made up in a fabric that, once the starch/sizing/whatever is washed out, does justice to the pattern. She probably really wanted to see it on Dressaday. “As it happens, Erin made her dress from the original pattern, not from Xan’s redrafting. She said so in the original posting.I would have chosen dupioni rather than charmeuse myself, but I wouldn’t have had the courage to try the pattern at all.
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Elle, while your solitary defense of Xan’s rant about the “correct” way to do things was brave amidst the vast community of Erin fans, I think the general consensus here is not so much that Xan is wrong – though obviously, many here find joy in doing things their own way. We all have opinions about what we like and how we like to do things. But her delivery of said opinion was way out of line. If Xan is really concerned about doing things the “correct” or “respectable” way, she might pick up an Emily Post sometime. I’m sure it says in there somewhere that if you don’t have anything nice to say, keep it to yourself. And to be so rude to someone who promoted you on her well-read blog? Well, that’s just business suicide. I’d be trying to find time to write an apology if I were her.
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Golly! What an ostentatious, sour puss killjoy that Xan woman came across as! Her letter doesn’t contain any advice, it’s merely a rant about how busy and PAINED she is…pained by SO MANY people, not just Erin. I wonder what Miss Xan thought we were going to carry away from her gripe-fest. Something productive?She strikes me as the kind of person who wanted to be a designer herself, and now guards the “perfection” she sees in the designs of others she’s collected. (Xan is the expert, Xan is the fashion gatekeeper.) I see this attitude when shopping for antiques and vintage jewelry, sometimes. The shop owner will be so condescendingly smug and knowledgeable, I want to remind them that all they’re really doing is ripping off someone else’s real artistry and plopping a markup value on it.A good thing about trying things differently once in a while is, suppose you yourself felt that this fabric was really NOT the way to go. Now, you can actually get down on your knees before your daughter or whoever and say, “TRUST ME! Don’t make the mistakes I DID! I KNOW where you’re HEADED! If you MUST go down that path, take this SIZING with you!” You can describe in detail what the challenge is firsthand, rather than lamely murmur, “Well, in books they say….”But the other possibility is, maybe the dress in that fabric pleases you. The silhouette may turn out differently than the picture, but maybe that’s actually more flattering. Maybe you’d stay at a wedding an hour longer, and enjoy yourself more, because there was something soft caressing your skin, and not a sharp organza creasing or cutting you? Maybe you’re going to own the dress in TWO fabrics, one stiff and one slinky? It’s your closet, your time, your appearances, your pleasures, your LIFE. Good for you.I’m sending Xan a Xanax.
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Erin, you are awesome. And Zoltar Panaflex — term papers are an art form, too! I’m always encouraging my freshman comp students to experiment, take risks, and break the rules of “good” writing (so that they can find what they like or, maybe, discover something great). 🙂
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Wow, Xan’s original comment and a couple in this thread made me feel really sad. Something BellaDonna said really resonated with me: Don’t let fear rule your lives. Who among us hasn’t spent YEARS thinking “I shouldn’t use the nice china”, “I shouldn’t take five days off to go on an impromptu road trip”, “I shouldn’t quit this job until I have another one”, “I shouldn’t pursue my dreams”, etc etc etc? To me, being too scared to try something in case it doesn’t turn out sufficiently perfect is exactly the same, and it sucks time and joy out of your life. I am trying hard to cultivate a twofold attitude in life: 1) “Try it and see what happens”2) “Who cares what other people think”It saddens me to see Xan’s comment try so very very hard to talk people she doesn’t even know into living in fear, fear that they’ll use the wrong fabric, fear that it won’t be perfect, fear of what she, Xan, or Wundermary, or anyone else, will think about their project. What on earth could be going on in your own soul that you really want other people to fear? I appreciate Erin’s commonsense in the face of such silliness. I love Dress A Day. I LOVE IT when Erin posts one of her home-sewn garments. You know why? Because that’s the kind of seamstress I am, too. The kind who’s figuring it out as I go. The kind who’s trying to be kind to herself, and trying to be okay with the possibility of messing things up. The kind who loves fabric and loves clothes and wants to try it out and see what will happen. I have always been perplexed that Xan/Evadress has a business model based on grading up patterns designed by others for resale, but shrugged it off as something I was probably misreading. But I will certainly not be purchasing anything from her store. I want to support woman-owned crafty businesses, but not if they’re pre-emptively horrified by the fact that I will probably finish my seams in a way they consider wrong, WRONG WRONG.
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PS: Miss Xandra might do well to re-read her own blog entry from a while back:I feel these vintage patterns are an assortment of colors, if you will. They are colors which are packaged in the form of paper patterns in which many different people see many different possibilities and from which they will render so many wonderful results. She may want to update that to explain how your “different possibilities” might be publicly condemned by her (after you’be purchased her product) (or even if you haven’t), should they dare to stray from her personal vision for them.
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Well said, Erin. Sewing, in fact, helps me get over my perfectionist streak. I’m a novice, and I have to recognize that I’m going to make mistakes. BUT — I have to remember that my mistakes are learning opportunities. For me, I have to forgive myself and enjoy the process — and curse less and not get down on myself for not getting stuff right away. If sewing is going to be stressful, what sort of a hobby is it? Live the cliche: Learn from your mistakes. 😀
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“Life is short. Wear your party pants *skirt*” My fear of people saying exactly this is what made me not sew anything else after my first/last project. It didn’t fit well and the bodice went together wonky. However, since I read this blog everyday, the desire to try again is still there. I just came home from the fabric store. I’ve got a gorgeous new dress waiting for me to sew it, (and a new top too). All I have to do is get some guts. I probably won’t share the finished product with you though, ’cause I suck at sewing. 🙂
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Erin,I love both your blog and your attitude. Xan’s comment reminded me of the old standby – if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all. By the way, your style is eclectic, stylish and completely your own. Keep on keepin’ on. Kim
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Erin,Reading your blog every day brightens my day. You are a class act, not only in your openness to the entire world and respectful discussion with whoever shows up on your virtual doorstep – but also in every piece of clothing that you have shared with us on your wonderful blog. You have exquisite taste and even better character.Thanks for experimenting. Thanks for sewing. Thanks for writing. And thanks so much for caring so much about all three.Annette in Toledo
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Darn right, Erin – so what? Having just learned to sew a few years ago, I find a lot of inspiration here on your site from both your successes and your less-than-successes. And you’re absolutely right – we learn more from experimentation and exploration than we do from rigidly following the rules. Keep up the great work!
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I have been lurking on your blog for ages (thank you, by the way), and it makes me laugh that there are people who bother to leave that kind of negative comment. I don’t have enough time to leave comments on all the fantastic things I see on the blogs I read, let alone go sniping. I also don’t understand why you would go on looking at sewing sites if it causes such pain…
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Erin, I’m totally with you on this. I aspire to have more of your courage and spirit of adventure and less of my own perfectionism. This is one of the reasons I regularly read your blog.
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Erin, thanks for defending those of us who not only aren’t perfect, but who live in the real world. I visited Xan’s site and it is beautiful and idealistic. Her photos show dresses many of us could never wear, for instance, and it’s all beautiful, artistic, etc. I’d love for my wardrobe, and everyone’s wardrobe, to be that perfect, but we all know how soon that will happen. There was nothing positive or helpful about her comment. Dawn
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After Erin’s initial post about sizing her fabric so that it was more manageable, I quickly ran to my fabric shop to ask for some such spray, only to get an appalled look and a very similar response to Xan’s from the lady in the shop (in the UK). I ended up going home with marked up paper to pin down my rayon faille so that it wouldn’t shift while I traced and cut it. I spent AN AGE getting the fabric ready, even before I could get round to tracing and cutting… Now I’m sure that’s the ‘correct’ way of going about it, but sometimes, you just don’t have all those hours, and if there is a wonder spray out there that you can simply wash out afterwards — I still want it!Have bought some patterns from Xan recently and she was most courteous and efficient. She must have been having a pretty off day when she wrote this — to Erin, who wrote a very measured letter back. Erin was the one who chose to make it public though, so we shouldn’t be turning this into a witch-hunt against Xan.Erin’s blog is a delight because she is happy to show both her successes and her mistakes. It is a blog about the joys and pitfalls of sewing, buying fabric, fashion through the ages, etc — not about how great she is, and ‘look at what a fine job I’ve done’. Sewing can also be about fun and trying different things. If it was only ever about making the perfect garment, it would be really stifling and boring. So now, where’s that spray?…
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Dear, dear La Belladonna,If Xan truly meant her comment with the snarky attitude with which it comes across, it is not your fault. Not your fault. You are in no way responsible for her, or anyone else’s, behaviour. You made recommendations based on what sounds like a great deal of good information and experience. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to know why this person now appears to have presented herself in a way that so contradicts all your other experience with her, but people do this sometimes. It’s not your fault. And in case this thing has plunged you into self-doubt about the reliability of your own judgement, no need to go there. Your presence on this blog has shown such good intention, such goodwill and caring toward others! No need for us not to trust you; most important is that you don’t stop trusting yourself. Sometimes people shock us by contradicting themselves in ways we could not have seen coming. I recently had it happen to me with someone I had trusted for years. Turns out he probably has Borderline Personality Disorderhe has fooled a lot of people. (I’m not saying Xan has BPD!) You are very experienced and no doubt that’s partly why you are so thrown that you didn’t see this one coming; but that’s the nature of the thing. No need to doubt yourself. You are fine. Let your judgement only be strengthened by this thing. Don’t hold back from continuing to offer yourself the way you do. We need you.You come across as so kind and decent that I believe you wouldn’t want to be put up on a pedestal as being an iconic good person, would you? Well, I’m not saying you’re better than others. I’m just taking time out to try to boost you up, because you seem to be so down about what happened here. And I mean everything I’m saying.
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I just read the comment from Anonymous 6:21 a.m. (the one just before my previous post) and want to say that I agree that we should not be turning this into trashing Xan.Anonymous’s comment has made me concerned that my post to La Belladonna might be misunderstood as implying something about Xan that could end up subversively encouraging the trashing of her. I referred in my comment to a very serious and destructive experience I’ve had recently with a pathologically deceptive person who turned around and tried to do me actual harm in my life, and I implied that many people now believe that that person has an identifiable mental illness. I want to make it clear again, in case it was not clear enough, that I honestly did not intend to imply that Xan’s behaviour could fit that or any other description of mental illness. My message was directed toward La Belladonna and her obvious concern that she may have made an error in judgement that had implications for other people in turn. I was trying to assure her that no matter how much experience we have, we cannot always know that someone we believe to be one way is not who we thought them to be. As for this person Xan, with whom I have no experience, I make no assumptions at all, including those as to where she was really coming from when she wrote Erin. As Anonymous 6:21 said, Xan may just have been having a bad day and expressed her views to Erin with more edge than was needed.
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Classy thoughful response, Erin.
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“Respectable and correct” is usually in the eye of the beholder, anyway. Wasn’t Coco Chanel totally “incorrect” when she started using wool jersey?And I’m sorry, but war is gut-wrenching. Child abuse is gut-wrenching. Some of the things I had to deal with when I worked for a veterinarian were gut-wrenching. Somebody else’s taste in clothing is not gut-wrenching. I hate the way my mother dresses, but it’s definitely not “gut-wrenching”; no babies have starved or kittens been run over because of her high-water stretch pants. Let’s get a little perspective here.
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Thanks so much for this post, Erin. It gives me hope and encouragement as a beginning sewer. 🙂
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Hi Oracle, dont worry my ‘witch-hunt’ comment wasn’t at all in response to your post (which hadn’t even been posted at the time I was writing). On the contrary, I entirely agree with your assessment of the situation, as well as your reassurance to La Belladonna. Certain comments by others did make me feel a little uneasy however. The lovely thing about this blog is its celebration of sewing and clothes. Occasionally however, I’ve noticed its ‘guests’ ganging up against someone because they dare voice an opinion. However wrong or ill-advised that opinion may be, I think Erin is quite capable of standing up for herself, as she has so aptly proven time and again. I understand why she mentioned this letter here, and just I don’t think it was for the purpose of Xan bashing — which this seemed to veer dangerously close to at times, despite Erin’s attempt at calming things down.
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Anonymous at 6:21, actually Xan left a very public comment on the site for all to read. Erin chose to respond to it as a post, instead of the comments.I’m not attacking Xan, or Erin, or anyone else. I am stating my opinion that I won’t be shopping there because *I* feel she could have made the comments with more tact, and I don’t feel like giving my money to someone who feels they are entitled to be that mean in saying they didn’t like something. As a consumer, I have to speak with my checkbook.
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A very classy response Erin. My response would be more along the lines why you ?*!!!!!! Im very disappointed in the attitude of this person. I have purchased several patterns from Evadress. Now I feel like I would not want to post pictures of my projects, knowing that somewhere she is tsk tsking me for my choices and that Im being judged.
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I’ve given this some more thought over night and after reading some new comments, and there are a few points I think are important:1. Nothing will ever, ever sew up like the drawing on a vintage pattern envelope. You can get close, if you have the right body type, but it will never look just like the package, and it does not matter what fabric you use. This is for the simple fact that those drawings are stylized, simplified, idealized, 2 dimensional representations of real, complicated, diverse, 3 dimensional human beings. Once you realize that it’s darned near impossible to look like the lady on the package, but you can still make something that looks GOOD on you, it takes a lot of the pressure off.2. Certain designs look good in certain fabrics in certain colors on certain figures (the trick to a flattering garment being to figure out the combinations that complement you, the maker and wearer, as an individual, in both taste and suitability to your figure and coloring). It’s really not very useful to make comments on the “correctness” of the (recommended or suggested, not demanded, might I add) fabric for the pattern if you do not see it on the intended wearer. Yes, those who have sewn a lot may be able to make an educated assumption as to what the garment will look like on, but you can’t really know based on even an educated assumption. 3. It does not make sense to use a fabric that is “correct,” but that you will never, ever wear. It does, however, make sense to use a fabric that you like, even if it will not look precisely like the design on the package, if that is what you, the maker and wearer, want. Points 1 and 2 are completely irrelevant IF the garment makes you feel good when you put it on. If it’s flawed, but gives you a sense of acomplishment, or feels nice against your skin, or anything else that makes you want to wear it, it is a successful garment.
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I think criticizing someone’s sewn (or otherwise crafted) items is as pointless as criticizing their tattoo. It’s too late, and they’ve already learned any lesson that they were going to learn, without your input. Plus, what you see as a horrible, awful mistake, they may see as a wonderful artistic expression. In any case, as I said, it is already too late to change what has been done, and you have to consider what you hope to accomplish with your criticism.
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Hi Sewducky, you’re absolutely right. Xan did post it as a comment for all to see (except me, it would seem!). Wow. Talk about alienating your core audience… Erin, I admire you. Your response was even more measured than I thought. I’d have been fuming!
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