Form and fashion, Part 2

The Pocket Stylist: Behind the Scenes Expertise from a Fashion Pro on Creating Your Own Look
by Kendall Farr

(Page 4 of 4)

As you stand in front of your mirror, take in a spatial impression of your whole body, meaning the relationship between all of your body parts. Now we'll also consider the size of your neck, the size of your breasts, the size of your booty, and the length and shape of your legs. With these features in mind let's concentrate on your individual measurements.

Now I'll ask you to do something that you'll probably resist: measure yourself. Stand up straight, roll your shoulders back to open up your chest, and really look at your body.

Take in the full view, not just your front and back. Consider your circularity, the three-dimensional quality of your body in all its glory. Having this visual picture in your head an awareness of your body size and shape is essential to making the right choices for yourself when you shop.

Okay, now take your measurements and fill in the appropriate spaces provided here (in pencil, as these will change over time). A handy tip straight from Parsons School of Design: with the exception of your shoulders and your rise, always hold two fingers under your tape measure to build in the right amount of ease.

• Shoulder to Shoulder: From the edge of one shoulder to the edge of the other shoulder.
• Bust: under your arms, around the fullest part of your chest.
• Natural waist: At your navel.
• Low waist: Approximately one inch down from your natural waist.
• High Hip: 4 to 5 inches: from your natural waist.
• Low Hip: 8 to 9 inches: from your natural waist.
• Thigh: At its widest point.
• Rise: Measure from natural waist down to crotch, holding the tape a little loose, through the legs up to waistband in back; repeat for low waist.

Stay with me. If we were working together in real life, this is exactly how we would begin with a fitting and start the process of finding what's best for your individual shape and size. And I'd ask to measure you after you'd had a healthy lunch so that I'd get the most accurate read of your body (not to mention that all of us, at any size, retain more fluid by afternoon). Yes, girls, more joys of womanhood. Taking and understanding these measurements will help you think about your entire body proportionately and will help you find better fit. I promise.

Unless you commit to the few minutes this takes, the very specific shopping list that I've created for your body type in the next chapter simply won't have as much value for you. I promise again: looking at your measurements on the page as a gauge of your proportions is the best way to find fit. Refer to your measurements when you shop in stores, in catalogues, or on the Internet, and stop worrying about arbitrary size tags.

The size enigma

If finding your size seems more difficult than ever, or if you wonder why your size can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, let me assure you that the problem is not you. It's the process of pattern-making for the mass market. Here's how a designer friend explained it to me: Patterns of any size, let's say size 8, for example, are a standardized averaging of every conceivable variance within a range of measurements.

Seventh Avenue's biggest manufacturers base their data on what their market research tells them about "their" woman: her height on average; her weight on average; bust, waist, and hips on average. They hire fit models whose proportions best simulate the number averages. The obvious goal for the manufacturer is to try to fit as many of us within the size as possible. This does not mean fit well. In fact, sizing is an inexact science at best, which means that finding great fit off the rack is a crapshoot. It usually translates as your body's resemblance to the fit model's shape. It's best to think of ready- to-wear as almost ready-to-wear, since it almost never fits perfectly without at least some minor alterations.

Vanity sizing

Another wrinkle in the fit system is vanity sizing; it's the reason your regular size can hang off your frame in some lines and fit you reasonably well in others. As manufacturers struggle to keep up with the expansion of the average American backside they downsize their size tags great for our heads but confusing and time-consuming for finding the right fit. Always try things on until you find the lines that cut things for your combination of proportions.

Buyer beware

Why do clothes look beautifully tailored and great fitting when you see them in fashion stories, in ads, and in catalogues? Because a stylist manipulates what is often a poorly fitting sample to look expensive and perfectly tailored. In general, if something is too small, I open up the back seams and fill them in with a piece of cloth (known as a gusset). More often, things are huge and require tailoring with large safety pins or quick stitches. Shoulderlines and necks are pulled in; arms, pant legs, and skirts are narrowed and pinned or basted down the back to create a shape and drape that doesn't exist otherwise. If a lapel or placket won't lie flat, a little toupee tape under the offending area solves the problem nicely. The stylist and the photographer work together to figure out the best possible angle to photograph this pinned, taped creation and voilà: the appearance of an irresistible piece of clothing. Now, armed with your measurements and tape measure, let's go shopping, say, for a pair of pants. As you reach for something in your size, hold it up and really look at the construction. Does it look like the right size? Not sure? Measure it. Try a flat-front pant, for example. Run your tape across the pant front at the low hip and multiply by two. Then measure the rise at the natural or low waist, depending on the style. If you're in the ballpark in both places, head to the fitting room. If not, move up or down a size and don't think about the number on the tag it's far less relevant than finding you a pair of pants that slides over your body without pulling or hanging off your frame. If you've fit your hips and bottom but the waist is big, pinch the fabric at either side of the waistband (which is just what a tailor will do when he takes them in so that they fit perfectly, but more on this in chapter 5). Now, double-check the rise. It shouldn't feel short in the crotch or hang low. If you slide a pair of pants down to sit lower on your hips than they have been cut to do, check that crotch: if it's hanging too low it's not a pretty sight. Adjusting the rise can be tough for even the most skilled tailor to remedy.

Try this same series of measurements when you look for jeans but also measure the thigh, since this is often an area deceptively slimmer than it appears on the hanger. As we've all experienced, the jeans market defines inconsistency in sizing. The formula for a slim skirt is the same as for pants: lower hip times two.

Your stylist would rather have an MRI than spend any more time than necessary in a fitting room, particularly for no good reason. Measuring works; it will save your time and your sanity. If you've ever grabbed a pair of pants based on the size tag alone, only to squeeze into what felt like a sausage casing, you know what I mean.

How and why did I begin measuring the hell out of everything? In a word: actresses. I dress a lot of them for magazines and advertising. I've often had nothing more to go on until the day of the shoot than the sizes their publicists or managers provided. Yes, in the infancy of my career, I endured a few joyless shoots because I trusted sizes alone. (Naturally, I now insist on a list of current measurements.) Buy a tape measure for your purse and keep it there (along with The Pocket Stylist, of course).

This is a process! As we hone your eye for your best proportions, think about your measurements first, in whatever you look at and ultimately decide to try on. Let's move on to chapter 2 for a more specific rundown of your body type and an edited shopping list of your best clothing options.

Copyright © 2004 Kendall Farr

About the Author

Kendall Farr is a fashion stylist and a former fashion editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications from InStyle and People to editions of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, and Marie Claire. She has dressed a number of celebrities including Sigourney Weaver and Diane Sawyer. Her work has appeared in ad campaigns and commercials for fashion and beauty clients including Revlon and Almay, among many others, and she has styled the clothing catalogues of upscale retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.