1-The Cut
This is why Designers charge the prices that they do. Each garment goes through different stages of fittings to ensure that the fall of the garment over the body is smooth and graceful, but also stands up where it should.
Garments with lower, discounted prices usually don't fit properly, are sewn badly, or are outright copies of other Designers work. The fact is that, they may copy the constructing and pattern of the Designer’s garment, but not the quality of the sewing and craftsmanship.
Garments with lower, discounted prices usually don't fit properly, are sewn badly, or are outright copies of other Designers work. The fact is that, they may copy the constructing and pattern of the Designer’s garment, but not the quality of the sewing and craftsmanship.
5-Execution of all the above step combinated.
The old saying, "you get what you pay for" holds true in this industry. The reasons why a Designer' garment is considerably more expensive than one found at a local discount store are many.
You pay for creativity, the better craftsmanship, and the fit of the garment. There are many things that can go wrong in producing a piece of clothing; therefore, craftsmen will demand higher wages.
Next time you buy a garment, keep these features in mind: fit, craftsmanship, and most importantly, how it looks and feels when you have it on.
You should feel comfortable, sexy, and fabulous!
Don't consume!!
Buy what you love!
Buy what makes you feel and look good!
Five things that make a good garment:
3-Style
Style is what makes us buy a new piece of clothing. Otherwise, we wouldn't spend the money, on thing we don't need. Choose the style that compliments your body type. When you put on a garment it should feel comfortable and/or sexy.
And, let's face it - sex is the driving force for all of our looks, even though sometimes we don’t want it (but I would not know when that would be!) Even in those times, we still want to be desired and feel wanted. Even if you are a plus size, you can still be sexy and elegant.
Bring sexy back baby!
Choose the clothes with style and some sexiness. Beware of comfortable clothing (over baggy t-shirts which you should never wear it in your house unless you want to start gaining weight and let your self-confidence and self-esteem go down the drain.) It's an easy slippery slope!
2-Fabric
The fabric is the embodiment of the garment. It does not have to be expensive, but it has to enhance the shape of body, the style, the cut and how it drapes on the body.
There are many different type of fabrics, but to simplify it, we could put them in three different categories.
1. Light/delicate: shear, lightweight silk and some cottons
2. Regular everyday fabric: cotton, jersey
3. Heavy duty: tweed, jean, and wool.
A good fabric should always keep the shape of the garment. i.e.: It should
not have your knee imprint on your pants when you stand up, lose it shape, or cotton balls on it after a few washes.
not have your knee imprint on your pants when you stand up, lose it shape, or cotton balls on it after a few washes.
4-Craftsmanship
Putting a piece of garment together is a production not for the faint of heart. There are so many parts and so many departments involved in the process. Any one of the departments can at any time make a mistake. I continue to be surprised how the industry manages to pump out three new good seasons each year.
The Designer: not only does this person have to be creative on how he/she wants the garment to look and fall on the body, but they also have to creative a design that is cohesive and possible to make.
The Pattern-Maker: the right-hand man of the designer, and is sometimes the same person (usually this is the case with a small company and or independent local designer.) Think of the pattern as a blueprint for the garment. If a measurement is off by even 1cm., the garment won't fit or fall properly. The whole production could end up in the garbage, or worse - at your local liquation discount store!
Cutters and Sewers: these people are responsible for putting the complex puzzle together. The more skilled the cutter or sewer are, the more accurate a garment will be that is produced through the process, and the garment will fit the body as the designer envisioned, or maybe even better.
If cutters and sewers are not skilled: they could cut or sew into a pattern 2.5mm more than that what was planned, which would make the garment smaller all around, by anywhere from 2inches to 6 inches or more. Can you imagine a pair of 28" waist pant coming out of production as 26”, with the hips and legs considerly smaller than the plan? Can you imagine what the garment would look like?
In general, a well-crafted garment is as clean on the inside as it is on outside, is nicely pressed it where it should be, and fits and falls on all the 300 body parts how it is supposed to fall.
