It seems to have virtually disappeared. The Gap is now highlighting three options for jeans: Long & Lean, Curvy, and Low Rise Boot Cut.
Their Long and Lean jean is flared. Curvy and Low Rise Boot Cut are boot cut. They have backed off completely from the wide leg jean.
It stands to reason, since boot cut and flared jeans are so figure-flattering, slimming the thighs like no other cut can do.
As a children's clothing designer, I have to keep two factors balanced: the jeans cut that works best for kids, and the adult trends which inevitably predict kids' trends.
Fortunately for both adults and kids, flared and boot-cut jeans seem to be here to stay for awhile.
4/13/09
MFG.com: The Fashion World Is Not Ready
It sounds like such a great idea, doesn't it? Sourcing made simple via the internet. A site that connects designers and manufacturers using spec sheets and a formal bidding process. No more phone calls, faxes, or sending samples just to get a bid.
But in practice, I just don't think we're ready for mfg.com. When I submitted spec sheets for Pixyworld's dresses & shorts last summer, the response I got was somewhat puzzling.
Of all the hundreds of suppliers (domestic and overseas) they had listed, the only bids I got were from China. I have nothing against China, but I had hoped to be able to compare with some domestic factories too. Furthermore, the bids were so widely varying that I had trouble believing that all the suppliers were understanding my designs. Language barriers are still a big factor, as much as we would like to think otherwise.
The most unfortunate part of the experience was feeling stalked for months afterwards. I kept getting phone call after phone call to solicit more business, until I finally stopped answering their calls.
I would say the idea is visionary. Perhaps someday the fashion industry can run like a well-oiled machine, with a co-ordinated bidding system, and with buyers and suppliers leaving helpful feedback for future clients.
But we're just not there yet.
4/12/09
Full Belted Skirts are Only for the Few
Have you noticed the growing popularity of the belted full skirt?
I was on a discussion board (Body Type and Body Image) recently, where someone was asking whether this type of skirt would work for her body type. My question is, who does it work for??
OK, it looks great on these models. But it seems to me it is not for most women. It is so waist-conscious, and the fuller styles require slender hips as well!
One thing is for sure: It is not a style for my children's clothing line. Little girls' waists go out, not in. Anything belted ends up sitting down at the hips. As much as little girls would love the fullness of the skirt, I think the belted look will have to be saved for the willow-thin grown-up models, and very few of the rest of us.
Fabric quality is such an important element in producing a pleasing and long-lasting product. The average consumer does not necessarily know the technical terms for different types of fabric, but she knows good fabric when she sees and feels it.
My aspirations in this area, for my toddler girls' line, are high. One aspect of high-quality knit fabrics is that striped knits are yarn-dyed rather than printed.
Having a yarn-dyed fabric custom made for a small boutique line is virtually impossible, because of impossibly high minimums. But there are some wholesale sources that can provide good yarn-dyed stripes. I m finding them gradually online, and will soon be incorporating them into my striped designs.
If you are one, you know what it stands for: Work-At-Home Mom. (As if moms who stay home with their children without pursuing a career are not working??) At any rate, as Pixyworld's designer, I am one.
Now, it's interesting to me that we have a term for this now, as if being a mom pursuing a career from home were a brand new phenomenon. As far as I can see, most moms throughout the centuries have been WAHMs.
Take the biblical ideal woman, described in Proverbs 31: "She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night..... She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes." (Prov. 31:18, 24, NIV) Which brings me to fashion.
Fashion is a great career for a WAHM. My grandmother was a dressmaker out of her home; Almonzo's mother in Laura Ingalls Wilder's famous Farmer Boy actually spins, dies, and weaves her own wool before making it into warm and attractive clothing for her sons!
Besides being a fun and satisfying artistic outlet, fashion fits in well with family life. Unlike the "helping professions" early 20th century women were encouraged to pursue (ie. nursing & teaching,) fashion is not about serving people whose needs often vie for attention with the needs of a mom's own children. Rather, it is an income-earner that stays in its place and can be done in flexible hours at home.
There are, of course, down sides too. But those can wait for another blog, another day....
4/9/09
Images on Clothing: Embroidery vs. Applique
The ability to put images on clothing has opened up new vistas of fun and personal expression, both for adults and children. Printed fabrics and printed tee-shirts are so ubiquitous now that we take them for granted. But my favorites, especially for children's clothing, are embroidery and applique -- two methods that give an image a special texture and style that really makes it pop.
Embroidery Library has great examples of both. With embroidery, there is the possibility for almost limitless detail. With applique, although the scope for detail is more limited, the design incorporates one or more different fabrics. This gives the design a very special quality, resembling the beautiful appliqued quilts that have long been a part of our country's artistic tradition. You can see more great applique designs at Embroidery Boutique.
4/8/09
Pixy Friends for Little Pixies
It's not hard to see the logic behind Pixyworld doing a collection called Pixy Friends. There's something irresistible about the idea of magical people, when children are concerned.
My inspirations for this collection, besides my own little pixies, were C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and Johhny Gruelle's Raggedy Ann & Andy stories. My own children love these stories, wanting them read aloud, and then reading them on their own as soon as they are old enough.
I fell in love with the fairy embroidered on this dress as soon as I saw her. The color scheme I chose for this collection, which is my most pastel, still has the satisfying richness of periwinkle against gold. Perfect for fairy-land, I'd say!
Have you noticed the growing popularity of the belted full skirt? 
OK, it looks great on these models. But it seems to me it is not for most women. It is so waist-conscious, and the fuller styles require slender hips as well!
One thing is for sure: It is not a style for my 
The ability to put images on clothing has opened up new vistas of fun and personal expression, both for adults and children. Printed fabrics and printed tee-shirts are so ubiquitous now that we take them for granted. But my favorites, especially for 
It's not hard to see the logic behind 
