Have you ever worn a garment that fits but there was just something about it that didn’t look quite right on your body? It may have been flattering too but something was a bit off? The problem may be one of proportion, or “scale” as it’s also called. Proportion is related to fit but it’s also a topic all to itself. Claire Shaeffer alludes to proportion and scale on page 15 of Couture Sewing Techniques under the header “Ordering A Couture Design At The House of Dior”:
“If you were to lay your toile on top of the original toile for the prototype, you’d probably find that they’re quite different in cut even though they look exactly the same on dress forms. This is one of the most fascinating aspects of the construction of a couture garment. Your toile will reflect the changes made to accommodate, flatter and fit your individual figure. It takes an atelier worker many years to learn adjustments that will be most flattering to the client and then execute them on a toile without visibly altering the design”
The operative words here with respect to proportion and scale are: ”accommodate” and ”without visibly altering the design”. How can a sewist “accommodate” a wearer without ”without visibly altering the design”? I think the way to understand the concept is to look at examples of real people wearing garments that are well proportioned and scaled to their body and also view the reverse; garments that may be the right size and may fit but still for various reasons just don’t flatter the wearer due to mistakes of proportion and scale. It’s a very common thing to see on sewing blogs garments that are poorly proportioned however for this exercise I can’t really use photos or links to sewing blogs because that would be cruel, however, on the red carpet it’s also very common to see examples of proportion/scale decisions gone awry. And unlike regular people celebrities are fair game. So as an example I’ve chosen Christine Hendricks from Mad Men because she made numerous blunders with respect to proportion and scale in the early days of her red carpet appearances. For an example of good proportion I’ll use garments made by Carolyn who we know from the popular blog Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. Carolyn is a master of proportion, she knows exactly where the various design details need to be scaled to her body and she applies her rules consistently with every garment she makes.
Hem Length
Christina goes first:
Now all of us wish we had fabulous stems right? But not all of us are dancers and yet we still want our hems to make our legs look as attractive as possible. Christina’s hem mistakes are:
- The gold dress is too short and makes her hips look wider
- The pink dress (a disaster on several levels) has a hem too long on her right leg and an asymmetrical hem that cuts her off at mid-calf on the left leg right at the widest point. This makes her look heavier than she actually is.
- The black dress hitting right below her kneecap gives no shape to her legs and shortens her a tad too much overall
Here is Christina with her perfect hem length:
A hem that hits right in the middle of her kneecap lengthens her legs quite a bit and also shapes them. Notice she’s waring the same shoes as the black dress above. What is really interesting is that in the three examples above we’re only talking about 2 inches max but it’s a crucial 2 inches.
Carolyn knows her ideal hem hits right at the bottom of her knee cap, and she uses that proportion consistently and regardless of style. I chose three examples here but it you go to her blog you’ll see this rule applied in dozens and dozens of dresses and skirts.
Sleeve Length and Width
Once again we’ll start with Christina. For some reason Christina doesn’t seem to realize that her bust size and bust point proportionally affects how a sleeve looks. On the white top the angled sleeve that ends right at her waist makes her look like she has no waist at all. All we see are boobs and shapeless arms. In the middle dress the ruched sleeves and lace are also draws the eye to her boobs at the expense of her beautiful decolletage. Also the peaked sleeve cap is too small in proportion to her upper arm. This black blouse has a similar problem as in the white shirt, the sleeve should be shorter, narrower and above her elbows. Also the angled drag lines from her neck to her armpits mean indicates there is too much fabric in the upper bodice.
The sleeve length on the brown dress is great for Christina and in fact if the dress with the sheet sleeves had sleeves this length she would have looked 100% better. Notice it’s literally the same type pf sleeve minus the peaked sleeve cap, e.g. a center seam on the outer arm with ruching. The black dress with a sheer, ruched 3/4 sleeve like this and a smooth sleeve cap would have been killah. Carolyn long ago figured out her ideal sleeve hem and length. On the red dress we see wider sleeve, however the sleeve cap is smooth and the outer edge of the sleeve hugs Carolyn’s arm and does not “wing out” . The length sleeve on the purple dress is in proportion to her bust size and bust point. This sleeve is about the same length as in Christina’s white top but it works for Carolyn because it’s in proportion to her bust size and bust point. The hounds tooth dress has shorter sleeve and notice it’s a tad more snug than the red/black dress because merely using the same sleeve width made shorter would not be flattering. So that’s short primer on proportion and scale as it applies to hems and sleeves. Proportion and scale is a much broader topic than what I’ve covered here. An in-depth analysis of scale and proporation is in the current issue of Threads; it’s a great article that every sewiest should read. Also I’d like to thank Carolyn for allowing me to use photos from her blog to illustrate this topic!
This is an excellent article with wonderful visual aids! Thank you. Isn’t it funny that a Hollywood star who makes her living trying to look good doesn’t look nearly as spectacular as Carolyn? Though I guess Christina doesn’t have couture clothing that is custom fit.
Awesome post! It is amazing to me how such subtleties make such a huge difference. I think, the reason so many people walk around in garments with less-than-optimal proportions is that this element of fit is so individual and intuitive. I mean, every body is entirely unique, so a book can’t really tell ME how to do this on my individual body. I work constantly to perfect proportion on my frame – a short waisted, large-breasted one. I mean, my body is not like Christina Hendricks’ (I think you’ve chosen a really good example in that a) she really misses the mark a lot and b) she’s hard to fit, she’s got a complex shape) but I relate to the challenge of fitting a prominent bust. Of course, she’s got height on her side
Points well made and well taken!
very helpful, phyllis! Thanks!
Thank you for covering this topic and showing examples from Carolyn’s blog. Her work clearly illustrates the importance of proportion. How instructive! I look forward to the next installment of “Sewing Best Practices”.
Great post and most helpful. I really have to work on proportion being petite and always find articles on the subject of great value.
Great post! Lots of inpiration and lots to think about.
Thank you for this post. It will most definitely inform my sewing.
Fantastic post. Thank you for the thorough analysis.
This was a wonderfully informing post but I don’t have a clue how to do this myself!!! I loved seeing Carolyn’s photos here. She is so deserving.
Hello Phyllis , great article and timely too . I guess that this why models are the size and shape they are . No one needs to worry about this stuff. I love to wear layers as they can be used to hide less than perfect spots and also add colour and interset. The proprtions between the layers always worries me. I am often hit between the eyes when someone gets it WRONG and also when they look great but why exactly it is so is a bit of a mystery. Any Insights to that one ??
Looking at photos, it’s readily noted that Memom was able to understand this aspect when sewing her clothes.
Very interesting post. I am new to sewing and trying to figure everthing out. It is hard to work out what suits each individual. It would be great to have some formula. I will have to check out the threads article.
Great post! It really illustrates how a small amount can make a big difference, proportionally. Carolyn really understands her proportions and Christina could use a good stylist, though it is nice to see someone succeeding in Hollywood with a non-standard physique.
Poor Christina, she is so picked on.
While I love this post and was sent here by Carolyn’s blog, I got a bit defensive because I look up to Christina, seeing as we are both curvy red-heads. Maybe its because I never saw her before someone obviously schooled her on proper proportions that it irked me a bit?
That said, I’ve found myself going back to the same proportions many times over for exactly the reasons you’ve pointed out. Thanks.
I think lately she actually has used someone professionally, the photo of her with the Jaguar is pretty recent and she is clearly professionally styled there. Another thing she has reconciled herself to is the type of clothing she can pull off. In the past she clearly loves, and has tried to wear, a edgy, urban and more masculine look like what we see Florence Welch wear (who *can* pull off that look btw) but that style of dress really doesn’t suit her body type at all. And boy can’t we all relate to wanting to be able to dress like someone else? In my next lifetime I will have Kate Moss legs so I can wear all kinds of clothes I just can’t wear in this lifetime
Marianne that’s a good point and it may end up being a “best practice” post as well because Carolyn brought it up in our our email correspondence while I was writing this post. It’s definitely an aspect of proportion that can be investigated because you’re right it can be done well and done badly. And I agree that models are poor examples of how to do it well because they are such genetic oddities that what we see on the runway really doesn’t offer any guidance because 99.9% of women in the world don’t have bodies like models.
Fabulous post, thanks Phyllis!
Phyllis!
I enjoyed this article so much. I just happen to have made a dress yesterday that had NO room for a hem at all so it ended up where it ended up. I hardly ever — well, NEVER — wear dresses, but decided to try a few since they are so easy. I don’t like to wear them because I have fat ankles that swell, and I can’t wear pretty shoes.
ANYWAY, I wondered if you would look at my picture and tell me where you think my best hem length is.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m5dzv3RPDKc/UEdyj8Xa-KI/AAAAAAAADmk/NZFCfZPrHng/s1600/blue-hem-1.jpg
Not sure if that link will work or not. If not, you can see it at my blog address above on the 09-15-12 post.
So glad I found your website. It was recommended by my friend, Phyllis.
Hugs, Joy
Hi Joy, I’m really delighted you liked thiis blog post! I’d say that hem length is perfect for you, it hits right in the middle of your knee cap. And your ankles look slim and lovely to me btw
Thank you for dissecting these nuances in proportion/fit, Phyllis. Carolyn is definitely an inspiring real-life role model.
My wardrobe is on the smaller side, and I admit I struggle with wanting to find and wear my “bests” vs getting bored with the same-old/same-old in hemlines, sleeve shape, item shape etc. I’m afraid I’ve been in rather major rule-breaking mode this spring/summer due to the restlessness factor….
But I certainly want to know how to maximize the good a piece of clothing can do for my shape so I can run screaming back to “flattering” after a little experimentation/time on the dark side, so again — thanks!
I found your site through Carolyn’s blog. Thank you so much for this post. So thoughtprovoking – wow, this helps me a lot. I will go searching for the Threads issue (have just subscribed, so will probably miss this one) and if unsuccessful I am sure I can find other references to this issue in other books and the web – now I know what to look for! Thank you so much. I am really grateful!