The Vanity of Fashion

In any discussion involving sewing fashion for oneself, the greater issues surrounding the subject of fashion as a whole invariably come up. One of the chief of these being the accusation that interest in fashion is vain, materialist, a vice.

I think this viewpoint is limited, and at least in my case, absolutely false. So why am I interested in fashion? What does it matter? They’re just clothes, aren’t they? Well, not really. A quote on The Mrs. reads:

"Put even the plainest woman into a beautiful dress and unconsciously she will try to live up to it." - Lucille Duff-Gordon

How fabulous is that? And so true. Clothes, when we believe them to be beautiful, and when they fit us well, inspire confidence in a woman. She feels as if she looks great, and she radiates confidence. And this isn’t about What She’s Wearing, What Size She Is, or What’s In Fashion. It’s about how her clothing makes her feel, and how that translates to the way she interacts with others.

The benefit of this is two-fold, the first of which simply being that both you and I deserve to feel confident and beautiful. To embrace ourselves, accept, and love who we are. Unabashedly. Women, especially women in our media-saturated culture, do not do this nearly enough. The other benefit to this confidence is in positively affecting the perceptions people have about her. And appearances absolutely do matter, certainly when it comes to the world of the career woman, but also to the stay-at-home mom.

I believe that any woman, regardless of shape or size, can find styles and fashions which are flattering and exciting to her. But she must know herself. Get in touch with what touches her, what she finds beautiful.

For me, it’s the styles of the 1940s and 1950s. These styles are flattering on me, and I’m entranced by the silhouettes and glamour of fashion in those decades. Women dressed to go…anywhere, really. Or even to just stay at home. (I know you've heard the term "house dress" which brings to my mind grandmother's polyester, plastic-buttoned tent, but the garment has some pretty glam roots. Check out the ones that Gertie featured.)

Interestingly enough, I did not know that this was “my style” until I recently began sewing fashion for myself. I’m liberated to create designs of my choosing in whatever shade or print of fabric I desire and adjust that garment to have the proper fit. And in doing research into vintage styles and modern styles and the silhouettes I love, I pretty unilaterally lean toward 1940’s and 1950’s designs. Take a look at these lovelies and tell me they’re not beautiful and wouldn’t make you feel fabulous: