All Your Dress Form Questions Answered (Or Some of Them)

We're moving dangerously close to "Dress Form Theme Week" territory. And not a photo to show for it - as yet.

A few of you have asked me about the fitting system, and about doing a fitting system tutorial, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to address those topics. But let's start with a detour...

You know when you hear a word, or you see it on a page, and all of a sudden it starts to look wrong. Like bizarre, almost hieroglyphic? Well, that's what each part of your torso starts to look like when you stare at yourself with utter intentness, trying to reproduce the uniqueness of your every contour. It's awful on so many levels:

• It's so difficult to interpret how you are put together. Sure, you have a basic idea. If you are excellent at sizing or if you sew, you're probably better at this than most. But try to understand the intricacy of how your stomach blends into your waist and breasts. Oh, my.
• Two women can have exactly the same measurement - exactly - and have entirely different shapes. For example: I can reproduce, on the dress form, my hip measurement (38.5 inches) any number of ways - padding the stomach below the waist, widening the upper legs, adding weight to the derriere - and only one combo will work on me. Note: It's not either / or, it's a bit of everything - except derriere. Unfortunately really, because that's the least unpleasant of the padding techniques. (Note: I'm not one who dislikes a curvy bum.)
• Unfortunately, the fitting system only provides a certain complement of foam inserts. For what it's worth - no way are there enough of them to increase the size on the form by 3 dress sizes. There are barely enough of them to do what I need to do, and I'm not modifying the size that extremely.
• The foam inserts are insufficiently precise, for the most part, to recreate the curve of my body. I don't know about others, I'm just talking about me. I think they are designed to work with a longer torso and wider hips. The breast and stomach augmentation options are not as targetted as I would like them to be, given I'm a large-breasted, short-waisted person. Having said this, they aren't horrible - they're just not sufficiently "right". Something tells me it's not a sustainable business model, but I'd advise Fabulous Fit to create fitting systems for different body types i.e. the "hourglass set" and the "juicy pear".
• I have body tone. The dress form does not. That means it's lumpy (due to foam positioning) where I am not. Again, the measurement is correct, but the shape isn't. I'm going to get some cotton batting to fill out the holes in the hopes that it gets rid of the problem. But don't you think the FF people might have included some with the fitting system? I mean, it's not expensive - it's just not the kind of thing one tends to have on hand.
  

It has been very difficult - understatement implied - to look at myself during my "dress form sessions". The way I appear is entirely different than the way I feel. Statistically, it seems unlikely that I'm uglier than your average dress form customizer. I have to believe that many, if not most, of you are or would be challenged in a similar fashion. I mean, in general, I think I have a positive self-image. Can you imagine if I were judge-y??

Let's back track. I should concede that the linen-covered resin form is top-of-the-line. Before I started fucking with it, it was a thing of beauty. I don't mean cuz it was mini - I mean because it had no lumps and it was of perfect "standard proportion". It is also beautifully manufactured.

I now understand - and you will too, if you've ever undertaken this kind of exercise - how models grow to loathe themselves, even as they develop in their careers. Try looking at yourself critically - while a bunch of tailors and designers are looking at you that much more critically - and observe how you feel after 2 hours, much less 2 years. Those tailors aren't unkind. They're trying to adapt fabric to a specific shape.

When one sees one's body as a means to a (three-dimensional) end, it's fascinating. But let's be real, chances are you can't easily disassociate your "body haver" with your "body viewer". We are, few of us, hearty enough to observe ourselves with utter objectivity.

I've decided that the only way I can manage this is to compartmentalize. In the short term, I intend to design for my dress form (once I finally get it into some workable "Kristin-like" shape - which hasn't yet occurred) - a "real woman" of a certain size and shape. If those clothes happen to fit me too, so much the better! :-)

Will I do a tutorial?: I don't know how I can. Every woman is unique. The fitting is straight forward. You take measurements; you reproduce them on the dress form to the best of your ability. Of course, I would be happy to talk, off line, with any of you in specifics. If you get the same system, I would be willing to look at a photo of you and advise how I think you might optimally proceed.

Will I show my dress form?: The answer is "very likely". Once Mardel told me that the clothes I make (which I often hate immediately after completion) would grow on me as I let go of my criticality, of the challenges of the construction process. She was so right. I have to imagine that I'll get over my self-hatred and self-consciousness as I come to view the form simply as a means to an end. But it's not there yet. I will definitely photo my garments on it. I mean, that's half the fun of having this thing!

Would I buy the fitting system again?: I really don't know at this point. I'm not vilifying it, but I haven't got it right yet - and I've already invested hours. Mind you, maybe that's the cost of this exercise.

This Exercise is Not for the Faint of Heart

Lord, let me tell you: Customizing a skinny-mini dress form to one's own relatively short-waisted, thick-front-thighed, round-stomached reality is rough. I spent the evening, with Scott, positioning and re-positioning custom-shaped foam pads aka evil, crappy dumplings of doom. What? It's my pet name.

I think I may need some therapy.

Apparently, I have body dysmorphia on the positive scale. In my mind I look as slender as a swan's neck. (Well, not any more.)

Don't get me wrong. I don't prize slimness above all else. I put a higher value on say, intelligence, charisma, sex appeal, style and, um, food (to name a few things). I know that being lean doesn't mean anything other than having a certain body shape. It doesn't bestow royal favours. It doesn't make you cuter, richer, hotter. It doesn't give you better orgasms.

And yet I'm having issues getting acquainted with the minutiae of my every curve, lump and shelf.

Here's the thing: You can't design for what you can't see. Or, to make this aphorism positive: You can only design accurately for what you can see. Blinkers off.

On an amusing note, Scott said: I can't believe you paid $800 bucks to undertake this misery. I would never have the nerve.

It's amazing what passes for bravery these days.

Eeeek and Bitch

OK, peeps, my dress form arrived and it's fab (on first glance), despite the fact that my careful management of delivery (based on challenges I'd have with FedEx in Canada if it arrived on any day other than a Wed. - the day my husband usually works from home) failed because I have to conclude that somebody at Fabulous Fit was not paying careful attention.

Miraculously, on a whim my husband opted to work from home today, Tuesday, expecting a winter storm, so he was here when the package arrived. Otherwise, it's likely it would have gone to the warehouse and I'd have had a challenging time (for many boring logistical reasons) getting it to my home without picking it up. Fetching a 40 lb. dress form from a far-away location without a car is not in my list of "near future life plans". Knowing this, I carefully researched all the contingency challenges that could arise before buying this thing. Flawless delivery was that important to me.

To start with, given the cost of the item, I imagined that the manufacturer might have done that delivery research on my behalf. After all, isn't some complement of its client base in Canada? Isn't it relevant to them? Alas, I was on my own with that task... I accept that.

However, I don't accept - after all of my careful instruction and numerous conversations about shipping with the vendor, during which I explicated the challenges of delivery as recently as Friday, and my need to be kept directly in the loop - that they would nonetheless ship this thing without consulting me.

I know all's well that ends well - and I'm not commenting on the product, which I've scarcely had a chance to get acquainted with. It was very well packaged, I will say that. And it looks just like a dress form should.

I'm just rather pissed that I spent so much energy to ensure a smooth outcome, and it merely worked by accident. I can't say I'm overwhelmed by the client service - though I didn't expect much, knowing what I do about delivery to Canada from the US.

I promise next post on this will include a detailed inventory of its many wonderful features. (And, totally unrelated, a number of you have been, so caring in asking about my foot recovery. I didn't want to bore you with more posts on that topic, but I will do a recap in the next couple of days.

In Good Form

How is it that I merely need to read a post and I'm online shopping for sewing supplies??

In case you need clarification, I did buy a dress form today. A really exciting one...

The Fabulous Fit, Pro Studio Semi Professional Misses 3/4 Form with 2 arms!!

Plus the special fitting system - the pads one uses to customize the form to the exact proportions one happens to be:
One woman I read about says she keeps a robe on hers because she's totally freaked out by how "naked her" it looks!

In truth, I have been thinking about buying a dress form for a long time - even before I thought about buying my serger. But I did some research as a (more) novice sewist and I was confused. I didn't understand the collapsible shoulders (which I opted to pass on). I didn't know if arms matter (after discussion with a bunch of peeps, I decided they do). I didn't understand whether a 3/4 was as good as a full (technically it's not, but it is affordable and entirely useful - even if one makes pants and undies) It is much more multi-purpose than a cage base (which works best for skirt makers).

My new form is pinnable and adjustable to perfection. I made a lot of calls to ensure that the delivery time is knowable (theoretically) - and that there are contingency plans. It takes 2 weeks to make my linen-covered, resin form in the size I've requested.

Apparently, one should buy a slightly smaller-than-her size and pad it up - as a too-large form cannot be made smaller. I suspect - though I didn't see this written anywhere specifically - that the most non-negotiable measurement is the shoulder span - the one that most accurately dictates one's frame size. It happens that the size I was encouraged to buy matches my shoulder width exactly. Note: The woman who helped me to choose it, went by my bust, waist and hip measurements though she did indicate that the FF forms are not wide in the shoulders. As you know, neither am I.

The form can be modified up to 3 dress sizes - and to address many changes in distribution of weight. I think this is a great feature. Women change in size and shape all the time. Isn't it great to know that the dress form you've spent tons of money on will not need to be replaced every time this might occur?

So here's my question today: Do you have a dress form? If yes, what type? How do you enjoy it? How do you modify it for changes in shape (if that's relevant to you)? Does it actually get used or does it languish in the corner as some piece of art? What's the best thing about working with a form? Do tell!