And people may ask- "Athena, why is this such a big deal? Can't you just share?"
Don't get me wrong, I know how to share, and contrary to popular belief I love sharing because it's a small and easy way to show kindness. However, have you ever offered to share your cool new pack of pens at school, and slowly but surely the entire pack disappears until you're left with nothing to do your work with? It sucks when something vital to your day to day work is taken away, if not impossible to complete!
Maybe you take your lunch to work because you don't have any cash? What if someone eats it straight out of the staff room fridge? Guess you don't get a turkey sandwhich today! Too bad.
My clients don't accept "Jessica stole my mannequin" as an excuse for what appears to them as poor craftsmanship.
What's that I hear you say? "Does it actually need to be on a mannequin your size? Can't you just use a smaller one?"
Fuck no I can't! You ever been shopping and thought something looked cute on the hanger or model mannequin, but when you try it on it looks like hot garbage? (Which is a totally seperate issue with the high street fashion industry, but that can be another rant for another day...)
It's pretty much the same thing.
I have clients. When I talk with them through multiple meetings, I am constantly showcasing my skills and my work. We do everything from initial consultation to concept, to design, to pattern making, to mock ups, to alterations, to fabric and costing specs, to final product, then feedback, with SO much more in between. This process, depending on my estimations at the initial consultation, can take months and 90% of the I'm using a mannequin all day every day. Mock ups, adjustments, free flowing shapes, patternless garments etc. The process is seemingly never ending!
Unless specified, we use our own measurements, which- to a plus size woman- is amazing and freeing but also of vital importance that the base form is correct because we have to show them the final product on the mannequin, even if it fits us.
Want an example? Here's the project I'm currently working on: (Ignore my unpressed hems. Industrial irons are scary and circle skirts are beasts taken fabric form...)
A relatively simple dress. It's nearly done. I need to add buttons to decorate the pinnafore and give everything one final press. You may think that it looks okay, but it doesn't.
As poor as my self esteem is, this is not an overly critical analysis, it's just a poor base: the bodice and pinnafore are lumpy and illfitting, the waistline slips towards the hips, the zipper and waistband are bubbling, the choker is oversized, etc, all of which indicate that I have either a) made the pattern incorrectly, b) cut the pattern incorrectly, or c) sewn everything together like I'm on a world-record-breaking seamstress speed run and I'm stitching faster than all the other bitches, consequences be damned. But I can't use a sewing machine to glitch through the castle wall and straight passed the final boss. No physics-engine exploits can stop my skills and experiences telling me everything about the tailoring is wrong, despite knowing it fits me perfectly.
Then there's the skirts. Those god damned skirts. I fucking love these skirts. But here they fall flat and look shapeless; the voluminous nature means that they don't neccesarily need a petticoat (though a hoop skirt could probably help hold the shape better) but the garment needs the flair of my waist and hips to add the volume. It needs my shoulders to keep the capelets full and not too long in the seam, it needs my bust to fill the bodice, all because I designed it that way.
When my client initially sees this design:
With its full and strong skirt, and distinct shapes in the upper torso, but they receive and formless and lumpy dress in the final product reveal, it not only makes my skills as a seamstress appear poor, but it also undermines the reputation I've built and all of the blood, sweat, tears and effort that I've put into the process of making the garment. My final grades literally depend on whether or not I have a suitable mannequin but instead I'm "making do".
It's like trying to fit your duvet sheets onto a pillow, or your pillow cases onto your mattress. It just doesn't work.
