Norman Hartnell Says:— TAKE COURAGE AND DESIGN A DRESS

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31680, 16 May 1968, Page 2

Norman Hartnell Says:— TAKE COURAGE AND DESIGN A DRESS

LONDON. It is a rare woman who has not, at some time or other, tried her hand at dressmaking. An enormous number of women now make a good proportion of clothes both for themselves and their families, finding it economical and relaxing to do so.

Working with fine fabric has a fascination. I have been handling cloth for more years than I care to remember, but I never get tired of it. Every cloth is different; the way it hangs or the way it looks in the light, can often suggest a complete style to me.

batches of woollens I turn, with relief, to dressier fabrics, such as velvets, satin, chiffon, silk, brocade, crepe and manmade fibres. Here again, my advice to the home dressmaker is simple. Do not fall completely for a fabric. Decide first if it will mix and match with other wardrobe items.

direction on the fabric and your dress is ruined. At first, you could ring the changes on a bought pattern by trimming, by choosing a vivid pattern, by trying your own variations with accessories.

Remember that a vital part of dress designing is choosing the right accessories. I actually draw in accessories, like gloves, hats, shoes and handbags, on the sketches. There is a moral in all this, the "togetherness” theme. Do not buy a handbag to go with a dress unless you know you can buy washable gloves in the same leather. And do not make a dress unless some of your existing shoes, hats, handbags or gloves will team with it. And when making a dress you will need a wardrobe of neutral accessories on which to fall back.

Logical Look Find the right pattern, the right buttons, the right trim, then and there in the store This way, your finished garment has the professional—and logical—look. If you are just starting In dressmaking, then stick to a pattern, at least until you have gained some experience. Stick to simple styles at first. Do not go for ornate trimmings and Involved styling. Leave these far later, if you must do them at all. When you have made enough dresses from other people’s patterns, try designing something of your own. There are several ways of going about this, but this is how I design a new model. 1 bury myself in my country house for days on end, sketchin„ like mad. My drawing board is empty, and 1 have 10 weeks in which to create 100 models. Some designers drape cloth over models, but I cannot work that way: 1 actually enjoy drawing each dress before it is ever seen in the workroom. She Could I find I know (in most cases) exactly what to draw and which model will wear the finished garment. But what about the home dressmaker? If she is something of an artist, could she find a fabric, and do a sketch of a dress she thinks will make up nicely? Technically, she could. But could she then make a toile—or pattern—from it? Or, does she know an excellent dressmaker who can make it up for her at a modest fee?

But ask most women to try designing a dress, as against buving someone else’* pattern, and they will look at you as though you have asked them to split the atom. Yet, if you have courage, and a firm idea of what sort of clothes you like, I cannot see why you should not try it You may not believe it, but you have many advantages over someone like myself, who has to design for a living. For instance, if you are planning a summer dress, the most logical time to make if is when you are in summer mood—just as the weather is getting warmer, and you are thinking about clothes for hot days. Final Decision But a professional designer lives in a strange back-to-front world: he will spend the summer working with heavy winter tweeds, and the winter choosing light, frothy fabrics. It sounds crazy, but the home dressmaker has a much wider range of fabrics to choose from, too. She can look at any number of samples in a store and take them all home to make a final decision. How I envy her. When I am planning a collection, I am allowed to keep samples of new materials for only 12 hours. Then the rival couture houses must be allowed to have them.

Beige or stone leather accessories, black, or navy, are always a wonderful stand-by —and far more useful to you than ruby shoes, primrose gloves and a white hat—all bought on impulse, at different times. Decide Colours When I have drawn a model I paint in the colours. These are influenced by all sorts of unlikely things such as the hang of a gold curtain or the contrast of two satin cushion colours. I often pin dress fabrics on to a curtain to see the fall and fold of the material, and I am unashamedly influenced by anything going on at the time—from a famous ballet to Old Masters in an exhibition. Dress designing is fun even If one has to sit down and battle with a hundred new models for a collection. Try it yourself. Keep your designs simple and you will probably be quite astounded by your success. But let us hope it is not too astounding. I still have my living to earn. Plunket Society.—Officers elected at the annual meeting of the Tai Tapu-Green Park Plunket Society were: Patroness, Miss A. Welsh; president, Mrs D. Meyer; vice-presidents, Mesdames M. Manson and R Radford; secretary, Mrs S. Earnshaw; treasurer, Mrs L. Burney; trustees, Mesdames M. Manson and L. Burney; committee, Mesdames B. Adams, E. A. Clark, D. Cunningham, P. Cunningham, W Dawber, B. Drozdowski, D. P. Graham, W. L. Harris, B Hight, R. Kelso, B. Miller, S. Miller, M. Gilbert, A. Jennings, J. McR. Williams, J. McLeod, N. H. Meyers, P. O’Loughlin, R. J. Radford, W. H. Scott, J. White.

I always see woollens first, because I enjoy these least. They make beautiful classic suits, but tailored classics impose limitations on a designer, and I find woollens frustrating, but necessary. What do I look for in a fabric—and what should the home dressmaker look for? Simple Advice She should aim for a wardrobe of mix-and-match clothes, and “total look” clothes. So far as colours are concerned, remember that sallow blondes should not be seen in slate grey, nor olive-skinned, blackhaired women in chilly blue. Brunettes suit most everything, although, of course, complexion and eye colour count And if one errs on the side of being plump, darker colours appear to slim. I choose about eight woollen samples for each collection, and then I look through the colours available in each pattern. It is worth remembering that, although a certain material might look dreadful on you in brown, the same pattern in another colour, say blue, could do wonders. When I have spent a few days struggling through

In Italy and France this is popular practice. But even there, the day of the “little woman round the corner" is on the way out, I fear, and the eager sketcher may be left with a handsome drawing, yards of fabric, and no seamstress. Easily Ruined With practice, you should eventually become experienced enough to devise and cut out your own pattern. But do practise cutting on paper first. One snip in the wrong