Weekend Review: Heart On My Sleeve

Heart on my Sleeve / Jeanne Beker
TO: Simon & Schuster, c2024. 
256 p.

This memoir by Canadian fashion icon Jeanne Beker was a delight. Unlike a traditional memoir, this is structured as a walk through memory, tied to specific pieces of clothing. It highlights how something we wear can carry history and family with it, beyond just being a piece of clothing or an accessory. I really liked this concept and the way it was carried out. She shares an item, then talks about how she got it and the resonances of the piece. Each chapter has a line drawing to illustrate it, drawn by her own artist daughter. And this book sounds just like she's talking to you - the style is intimate and authentic, highlighting both the glamorous parts of her career and her personal challenges. 

I've read her earlier memoirs (such as Finding Myself in Fashion), and some of the stories here are repeated from those earlier books, but still just as enjoyable. The chapters are short, but cover a range of life moments. From the satchel her parents brought with them when they immigrated as Holocaust survivors, containing the small amount of family items they still had, to a Chanel dress given to her by Karl Lagerfeld, this book moves from touching and serious to funny & fashion-related. The pace is good and the book shares so many elements of her life, from her parents, partners and children, to the many famous fashion people she met and befriended in her many years of hosting FashionTelevision. 

There are some great moments included, from the unexpected generosity of Karl Lagerfeld (one of my favourite stories from past books too) to her interviews with fashion greats or music luminaries like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and more (she worked on MuchMusic before fashion). I really enjoyed the way she started with her wardrobe and let each piece draw out recollections - we all have the experience of knowing just when and where we wore something, and what the meaning of it was to us; some pieces that we've kept forever because of that, and some that we could never wear again. 

This covers fashion history, Canadian history (a fun story about Pierre Trudeau, for example), family stories, and traces the development of Canadian media in a way, too. I thought it was a great read, and one I'd recommend to anyone interested in fashion or Canadian women's lives - especially if you were a fan of FashionTelevision in the old days like me ;) I think it's also of interest to sewists because we really feel the connection to our clothing and can understand the concept of this book fully. Enjoyed this one! 

Weekend Review: Finding Myself in Fashion

 

Finding Myself in Fashion / Jeanne Beker
TO: Penguin, c2011
230 p.

Canadian readers will recognize this author immediately! Jeanne Beker is an icon in the Canadian fashion scene, as the long-time host of FashionTelevision among many other roles.

This memoir from a decade ago covers 40 years of her work in the tv world -- and this is an interesting mix, because it's about fashion but really more about fashion from the perspective of a journalist than someone on the inside of design house. It sheds another light on this world. 

Jeanne was always energetic and ambitious, and she chronicles her youthful character and escapades that led to her work in theatre (she's a trained mime!), radio, and then eventually tv. She moved into fashion journalism after working in the music field at MTV for a while, and that gritty energy helped her make FashionTelevision into a more interesting show than a simple model host might have. Plus she had all sorts of interesting connections from her earlier work to bring into their show. 

I really enjoyed reading about the work angle of this book -- it was fascinating to see her career trajectory, and how she also lost her job due to ageism -- still happening in the tv world for sure! But she found other fashion focused work to move to. She shared stories of meeting fashion greats like Karl Lagerfeld or Alexander McQueen, and shared how her down-to-earth persistence got her access and built relationships. The story of how she was sent to interview Karl early on, while hugely pregnant, was quite entertaining -- and she got an original Chanel out of it! 

The book also talks a lot about her personal romantic relationships, from the breakdown of her marriage to the many dates and relationships she had after that. I wasn't as interested in this element of the book at all, but these stories do round out the picture of her life and how her work affected all parts of it. 

If you want a look at the fashion world from another angle, and you also fondly remember watching FT and Jeanne Beker, this might interest you too. 

Weekend Review: Stress-Free Sewing Solutions

 

Stress Free Sewing Solutions / Barbara Emodi
Concord, CA: C&T Publishing, c2021
176 p.

I'm back after my summer break with a book review -- and fortunately it's a hit! I picked up this new title via my library and really enjoyed poring over it during the last week.

Well, in short, Barbara Emodi has done it again. She's created a very useful, practical sewing guide that is also completely in her own voice - quirky and full of tidbits from a lifetime of sewing. If you read her blog or have encountered her first book, you'll know exactly what this one sounds like. 

It's an excellent sewing companion. It's all about how to deal with sewing FAILS (Followed-All-Instructions-Letdown). She discusses specific elements of a pattern that may cause problems one by one, and points out where pattern instructions may fall down on the job. Each section starts with an explanation of the FAIL, clear photos of what a fail looks like and what you might actually want it to look like, and gives directions on a)how to fix it as far as possible now that it's a fail and then b)what to do next time to avoid a fail. This is an extremely useful setup, and will encourage sewists who have those unavoidable projects in which everything goes wrong. This is not only for beginners! 

Some topics include knit neckbands (my own most common FAIL), tower plackets, invisible zips, buttonholes, mitered seams and more -- all those little elements of a pattern that can go wrong and ruin the whole look. There are clear instructions with photos on the suggested quick fix, and better ways to do things next time you start from scratch. (ie: A Wavy Knit neckband: "Cut it off and throw it out the window. I have done just that. Feels great." haha!)

This is a great resource when something goes wrong -- no searching through tons of books or websites -- I'd say most of the common issues regular home sewists encounter are discussed here. 

Also, the final chapter, "50 Ways to Relax your Sewing" reads like one of her blog posts -- funny, offbeat, and also helpful. One of my favourites is #28: "If someone insists on handing you something to alter, put it on a shelf and forget about it." Or the practicality of #10: "Know exactly when to quit while you are ahead. Definitely stop sewing before the 'just one more thing' point if you are tired"

Something that is particularly notable about this book is that the photography is so clear, thorough, and extensive. And, the photographs of the sewing steps were all done by Emodi's husband, as this book was written during lockdown. The garment photos were taken by a local photographer and all the models are her friends and family. The quality of  all photos is excellent, but that extra personalization required by the lockdown also makes this book feel even more down home and so Barbara! I was really impressed by the practical, useful and thoughtful content as well as the presentation of the book overall.

This one is a definite recommendation for every sewing shelf. I'll be picking up my own copy soon. 

Weekend Review: Boundless Style

Boundless Style / Kristiann Boos

London: Fons & Porter, c2015.

176 p.

This week it's another mix-and-match pattern book. Boundless Style is a book of interchangeable skirts, bodices & sleeves designed by Kristiann Boos of Victory Patterns, a Canadian company. 

There are 5 distinct designs for bodices, skirts and sleeves in turn. There are also suggestions on how to turn a bodice into a blouse, sometimes with peplum. The cover image shows the most unusual bodice as well as the most unusual sleeve, which has an inverted box pleat running from shoulder to elbow. If you are looking for a bit of a different style for your dress wardrobe, this book might be a good bet.

The photographs here are gorgeous; all styled images with forest, lakes and flowers as beautiful backgrounds. They feel quite moody, with mists and brick walls featuring as well. The models are all young and thin, suitable for the sizing, I guess. Size range runs from 2 - 16, or a 33-44.5" bust and 35-46.5" hip.

The book includes information at the beginning on choosing your size, preparing your pattern, basic dress construction like seams, zippers etc. For a beginner this will be helpful but most sewists interested in a book like this will probably be comfortable with these basics already.

Unlike the previous book of this kind that I reviewed last week, there are no pattern hacking elements to this one beyond the mix-and-match styles. She does mention adding elements like ties and collars to change things up, and the style lines of many of the bodices also encourage some colour blocking.

I don't think that this is necessarily an essential book for the sewing room, but if you're looking for some unusual patterns and you love dresses, it might be a good addition. I found that the sleeve section was the most interesting for me, as she has a couple of features (like the pleated sleeve) that I haven't really seen in many of my patterns so far. There are some intriguing ideas to use in future makes. 

One neat thing about this book is the addition of an online "lookbook" where you can test out different combinations to see what bodice/skirt/sleeve option you might want to mash up. It is really quite helpful! And fun to play with ;)

If you like Victory Patterns' aesthetic, this book will be just the thing for you. The sizing and the specific patterns included do limit its general usefulness somewhat, but as a dress lover, I find it lovely to look through even if I haven't tried anything yet.

The Fashion Committee: a novel

Time for another "Text Talk" book review! The Fashion Committee is a great book for sewists who are also readers, especially if you love teen fiction. 

I've read many of Canadian author Susan Juby's other teen & adult novels and enjoyed them, but this one has quickly become my favourite! Maybe it's because of the theme: fashion. In this book fashion design & enthusiasm for Making takes top billing.

The chapters go back and forth between the viewpoints of Charlie Dean, a fashion-obsessed teen dying to get into the fancy local Green Pastures Academy of Art and Applied Design, via this year's fashion scholarship contest, and John Thomas-Smith, a young man whose first love is really metalwork but reluctantly throws his hat in the ring for the fashion competition because it's his last chance to get into the Academy.
Charlie is a bit of an oddball in her school; she dresses "like an old lady" according to others. To herself, though, she is stylish and chic, following the dictates of Diana Vreeland, fashion diva (which just made me love her more). Her chapters open with a "Thought" which is part Vreeland, part Stuart Smalley -- and the tone is perfectly attuned to vintage style books.

Charlie designs a glorious, architectural dress for her father's new girlfriend, who she is slowly warming up to. Charlie's dad is a rehabbed drug addict, and so Charlie is always on edge about the possibility of him returning to the drug life alongside his usual sketchy girlfriends. The uncertainty of Charlie's life, emotionally, financially, practically, is drawn clearly, and her strength of conviction comes through in her determination to get what she wants. 

John, meanwhile, lives with his grandparents who are sweet and supportive. He doesn't know his father, and his mother works in a city far away, seeing him just once in a while; he has a few anger issues as a result. He has a best friend and a long-time girlfriend & the three of them are a solid trio of average teen life. As this fashion competition ramps up, though, and John gets serious about actually competing, his vision of what's possible in his life changes. And this necessarily changes the relationship between the three of them; they don't want him to change, to leave the world they've all constructed. John sees other artists of all disciplines at the Academy and realizes he does have ambitions and that artsy people are not the dorks he and his friends have always made them out to be.

So these two manage their complicated home lives even as they are rhapsodizing about fashion and ambition and possibility. The voices of each character are distinctive, realistic, and enjoyable. Juby studied fashion design herself (briefly, as she notes in the afterword) but as a result, the love of fabric and texture and design is authentic and absolutely real. I could feel my stitching mind racing after some of the descriptions of what people were making -- what fabric did they use? How could I copy that? And so on. 

It's a fast-paced story with lightness and warmth, despite the serious issues of class, drug use, domestic violence and more. There are some really touching moments, some well-developed emotional connections, and bad decisions by both characters actually have consequences. There is no fairy tale ending but there is optimism and hope nonetheless. 

I found this book uplifting and engaging, and I really loved it. Highly recommend to teens who are searching for their artistic path or who are really into the Maker scene, especially those who love Project Runway and similar things. Susan Juby is an honest and empathetic writer whose portrayals of the two unusual teens in this novel are complex and replete with understanding. It really hit all the readerly high spots for me.


(this review first appeared at The Indextrious Reader, in slightly different form)

Fitting with Angelina di Bello

This week, I found this intriguing book in my thrift store travels:

Tome II, V.1 Dust Jacket

Beautiful binding

Adding the blurbs from the front flap,
 as they are nearly all I could find out about Angelina Di Bello!

It's pretty interesting; lots about how to make basic fitting and design alterations. Large, clear line drawings and instructions that are thorough, but do expect some sewing knowledge. Here are some of the interior pages:

Adjusting for a high bust

Adjusting for one shoulder higher than the other

On the next page, a numbered list explains all the different profiles of dress
 you will learn to make with Angelina Di Bello's courses--
and notice the television channels she also appeared on at bottom

I found out a little more about this author, teacher, and expert dressmaker via the Montreal Gazette. One of the many fascinating things about her was that she began her first studio in 1946 on Tupper St -- a tiny street that I lived on for years in Montreal! Other amazing points directly quoted from that article:

• In 1966, she was the only North American to be authorized by the House of Dior in Paris to make use of the Dior Pleat, which had been invented by Christian Dior to eliminate unsightly slits in the back of a garment and which Dior had copyrighted.
• Di Bello worked with Gazette fashion maven Iona Monahan to co-ordinate the fashion shows during Expo 67. She was responsible for fitting and altering the more than 800 garments that were shown during the six-month exhibition.
• In 1976, she designed and tailored the Greek gown for the women who carried the Olympic flame as well as all the hats worn by athletes in the Parade of Nations at the Montreal Games.

She also had a tv show on public television for many years, both in French and in English -- in English, the name was "Pins & Needles"; in French, "De Fil en Aiguille". According to a conversation on a sewing forum, her son Francesco (Frankie) assisted on her show and it was quite a family affair. Her husband Luigi illustrated her books and patterns and helped with the couture business -- I had wondered why his bio was included on the back of the book I just bought!

If I could have found a clip from her tv shows, I'd have shared it, but sadly, she seems to be absent from much of an online presence. Thank goodness there is enough to know that she was a busy, creative, and very successful dressmaker throughout her working life. I know I'll enjoy learning from this book, and will be keeping my eye out for the other volumes she published as well.