Unisex - The Musical!

Readers, a pre-dawn epiphany:

The loathsome message implicit in every unisex sewing pattern is "we are so into each other, we don't give a damn how we look to the rest of the world."  Am I right? 



The Western shirt pattern below, a late Sixties Butterick, sums up the essential flaw in the unisex concept -- a misbegotten assumption about (heterosexual) intimacy and sartorial similitude -- which proved to be the seed of its destruction. 



Your comments yesterday relating to unisex patterns were telling:

 Yuck!

 One-size-fits-no-one.

 Who wants to look that bad?! 

Are the pattern companies listening?

Here is the primary problem with unisex:  Latest research shows that while 68% of women polled are willing to wear menswear (think boyfriend jeans), only 4% of men are willing to wear womenswear -- only half of whom are not consciously trying to crossdress.

As a result, unisex -- almost without exception -- has meant that men get to wear what they'd wear anyway, and women get to look like Eighties-era lesbians: an observation, not a judgment, progressive readers!







In the early days of unisex, during the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, there were exceptions to the soon-to-be-dominant women-in-menswear look  -- cringe-worthy exceptions.







Unisex was undoubtedly the reflection of a more idealistic time, when pattern companies naively thought that by dressing men and women alike, the sexes would be more equal.  I think you'll agree that the effort resulted in little more than a series of fashion don'ts.





While unisex lives on today, primarily in polyfleece hoodies, scrubs, and Gitmo detention camp-inspired pajama bottoms, one word you will never, ever hear is the oxymoronic unisexy.

After extensive research, I could come up with only two remotely titillating unisex patterns, both resembling Seventies-era Benson & Hedges ads.

 
If I had to distill the essence of unisex and turn it into a movie musical, I could do no better than the Burt Bacharach-Hal David 1973 snooze-fest Lost Horizon, produced by Ross Hunter, the man who gave us not only Magnificent Obsession and Madame X, but also Pillow Talk!

Here one finds songs oozing in unisex values, like the rousing "Living Together, Growing Together":

Living together, growing together, just being together
That's how it starts; Three loving hearts 
All pulling together, working together, just building together
That makes you strong
If things go wrong, we'll still get along somehow
Living and growing....together

Watch it (with Portuguese subtitles!) here.

There's also the heartwarming "The World Is a Circle," which is essentially Do Re Mi performed in the Himalayas by caftan-clad children seemingly on loan from Jim Jones' People's Temple cult.

The world is a circle without a beginning,
And nobody knows where it really ends.
Everything depends on where you
Are in the circle that never begins.
Nobody knows where the circle ends.

It's both profound and banal and very, very unisex, if you ask me.  Confession: I have owned the Lost Horizon album for nearly twenty years and can't stop playing it.

Sing along with me and Liv! (click twice to avoid annoying pop-up)



Friends and fellow travelers, our unisex journey has come to an end.  Is there anything I've missed?

If you have any closing statements to add to this veritable "Ode to Unisex," please feel free to add them below.  I will do my best to pass them along to the appropriate pattern company executive.

"Why are there so few men's patterns?"

Readers, thank you for your tremendous response to yesterday's post about my tour of The McCall Pattern Company.  I just know we're going to see this office turned into a live-action, Pirates of the Caribbean-style indoor cruise attraction.  But please, don't throw nuts at the seamstresses; it makes them sick.

In your comments yesterday, many of you had questions about the relative dearth of in-print men's sewing patterns, and I wanted to touch on this topic today, as it's one I've thought a lot about over the last two and a half years.  Believe it or not, the topic even came up during my visit to McCall's, initiated when Vogue Patterns Editor-in-Chief Kathy Marrone asked me why I was crying.

Friends, let me give you my own take on the situation, based on what I've learned talking to other people who sew, people in the pattern industry, as well as my own subjective experience. 

Let's start with a fact: relative to the number of in-print women's patterns out there, there are very few men's clothing patterns available to the home sewer today.

I would argue that this has always been true, but that it is simply more pronounced today, when there are fewer patterns available for either sex.  Pattern companies never turned out as many men's patterns as they did women's. 

Here are some reasons why:

1) Men's clothing is simply not as fashion-oriented as women's.  Men's clothing styles change more slowly and often imperceptibly.  Many men are still wearing the same types of shirts, pants, and outerwear today that they wore decades ago.

2) Men's workplace fashion has become more casual over the decades.  Many men can wear khakis and a sports shirt to the office, and they can wear the same ones year after year after year.   Forget about sewing, they don't even have to go shopping.

I read this post recently on Debbie's blog and I think it speaks volumes about how differently women feel about clothes than men, though of course there are exceptions.

3) Most home sewing is done by women, sewing for themselves.  They do it because they like to sew, because they can provide themselves better fit than RTW, and get more bang for the buck.  They also enjoy the craft/art of sewing.  It's fun.  It's culturally sanctioned.  In turn, they create a market for new patterns.

From among this group of women who sew, some want to sew for their husbands, boyfriends, fathers, sons, etc.  But based purely on anecdotal evidence, many of the male recipients of these sewing projects are not even particularly receptive!   Readers comments, particularly during sew-alongs,  suggest that many of the men in these women's lives are a fussy bunch, and will not wear a shirt that's too slim-fitting, or boxers that aren't exactly like the Hanes brand (or the very pair) they've been wearing since 1980.

Also....

4) Men's bodies come in fewer different shapes and sizes, so men have an easier time finding ready-to-wear clothes that fit.  They don't need custom-sewn clothes.   Since men wear separates, the shirt doesn't have to be the same size as the pants, or vice versa.  Men's clothing styles are also much more forgiving.  We aren't expected to wear pants that accentuate the curves of our butt -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- and if our armscye seams hang two inches off our shoulders, well, you can argue that that's a style too.

I think if you ask most men, you'll find that they don't particularly care about their clothes, provided they look neat (enough) and don't stand out.  Culturally, men are not judged by their appearances to the same degree that women are.  We don't have to look fashionable or stylish.  Or young.  Or thin.  Rightly or wrongly, this means men don't have to care about clothes or sewing.

5)  Few men sew and fewer still sew clothes for themselves.  You'll find some reasons for this outlined in my early MPB post, Why Johnny Can't Sew.

6) Based on all of the above -- and probably other reasons that don't come to mind but perhaps you wish to add below -- the potential market for commercial men's patterns is radically smaller than that for women's patterns.

Pattern companies are for-profit businesses.  They track the sales of every pattern they produce, month by month (I got to see how this is done at McCall's, and it's fascinating).  Profit margins aren't huge.  Think of how many people only buy patterns at 99-cent sales at JoAnn's.  In-print patterns have to earn their keep, so to speak.  It's amazing how many people's labor is involved in producing a pattern, and nobody works for free.

7) While the Big Four pattern companies don't have a lot of men's patterns in print, they do have some.  Vogue, for example, has V8720, a new men's trenchcoat pattern.  I love this, and it could have come right out of the J. Crew catalog.  You can see the other Vogue in-print men's patterns here.

Kwik Sew has a wide selection of men's patterns, including ten in-print men's shirt patterns, none of which are scrubs or pajama tops.  You can see the Kwik Sew selection of shirts (and other patterns) here.

Jalie is a Canadian pattern company with a good selection of men's patterns in print.  You can see their selection here.

Burda has more than twenty in-print men's patterns.  You can find them here.

Finally, I learned to sew shirts using a fantastic Margaret Islander video (Shirts, Etc.), and the Islander company also makes mens patterns.  Take a look!

When I led my shirt sew-along last spring -- 185 members! -- we used Colette's Negroni pattern.  Very hip and vintage-inspired.  You can purchase it here.

This is clearly not everything available in men's sewing patterns today, just what came to mind as I was writing.  If you can recommend other in-print men's patterns, please do!

A good place to purchase patterns online is Pattern Review.com.  Members receive discounts.

My Own Experience

As you know, friends, I am something of a cultural scavenger, a dumpster diver, a gleaner.  For many reasons, some no-doubt warranting psychoanalysis, I prefer the old to the new.  I love vintage patterns.

Vintage patterns are easy to find on sites like eBay and Etsy, which successfully fill my particular niche in the pattern market.





I would definitely be inclined to purchase (new) a men's outerwear pattern like this out-of-print Vogue, which I used to make my toggle coat last year.  There are not a lot of good outerwear patterns out there, vintage or otherwise.

I would love to see this pattern re-issued.  I bought mine from Paco Peralta on Etsy, and he had to ship it all the way from Barcelona!





I also like the way vintage patterns fit me: shirts in particular were cut slimmer, both because men were slimmer years ago, and it was more fashionable in, for example, the Seventies, to wear a close-fitting shirt, even in Middle America.

Anyway, friends, I hope you'll find this post useful, and I invite you to add anything you think I've missed.

Do you sew men's clothing -- or want to -- and wish the selection were greater?

What do you think is missing?

Jump in!

Awesome New Men's Patterns!

Readers, I can't talk about lace and taffeta for one more day without puking wedding invitations.  Instead, I want to talk about guy stuff. 

I was shopping online for patterns last night when I came across these incredible new men's pattern lines.  I can't wait to make the cute plaid shirt up top and the pea coat below center.  And how about that great messenger bag!



Then, from a different pattern company, I found this classic chambray shirt with shorts:



And these colorful summer pants, vests, and jackets:





Wait -- did I mention I was dreaming?  I'd dozed off right there on Etsy!

I woke up and was reminded of the grim reality:

His and her fleece.



Boxy jackets to wear over said fleece.  (Note how this is categorized: "Sleepwear, Unisex, and...Men.")



Scrubs -- they're not just for orthopedic surgeons and dental hygienists!





Unisex pajama bottoms in novelty flannel from Jo-Ann Fabrics.



Roomy shirts perfect for the all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet at Shoney's.



Elastic waistbands for same.





And people wonder why more men don't sew.

Let's give credit where credit is due: German Burda is ahead of the game.  This jacket is cute-ish.



Then again, Burda is also responsible for this.  I shudder.



Friends, how difficult would it be for a pattern company to come up with some cool patterns?  We're not reinventing the wheel here: we're talking pants, shirts, a vest, a jacket.  Style it to look hip, hire a model.  Don't make him pose next to a six-year-old mini-me.  Can you see the difference?





Seriously.  I can't speak for every guy or woman who sews for guys, but I would be thrilled to have patterns for some of the outfits posted here which, by the way, are from J. Crew and Woolrich Woolen Mills -- nothing avant-garde, no men in corsets or Pee Wee Herman suits.  Explore any fashion magazine or men's style blog and this is the kind of thing you see.

Both Land's End and LL Bean both have "hip" fashion lines using the same fabrics and styles their main brand uses but cutting them and styling them in a more contemporary (read slimmer) way.  Why can't pattern companies do this?

I'm not one for rants and I do understand the economics involved.  But there's a potential market out there of young men who care about how they look and they can't all draft for themselves or bother tinkering with vintage patterns.  Are we investing in the future or aren't we?

Readers, what are your thoughts about this?

How can we make this happen?

Jump in!

MPB Jeans Sew-Along -- Save the date!

Guys, it's official: the MPB Jeans Sew-Along is scheduled to begin Monday, May 2, 2011.  It's for both men and women and I hope you'll participate.

I know for some of you May seems too far away to even think about, for others too soon, but I'm counting on there being enough Goldilocks for whom this sounds just right.  You?

Part of the challenge for the men is finding an in-print jeans pattern.  My staff informs me that there is one -- yes, one in-print men's jeans pattern, Kwik Sew 3504.   Is this correct?

Kwik Sew 3504 is currently for sale at Fabric.com where, when last I checked, they had 4 in stock.  They've told me they will reorder when they're down to 2, and that it takes 3-4 weeks for them to receive another shipment.

Friends, does that seem like a long time in these days of overnight delivery and online downloads?

The jeans pattern I've used most recently, no longer in print, is Kwik Sew 2123 which, admittedly, has a somewhat Eighties look to it. 



I've also used Simplicity 5048, a vintage pattern from 1972 that includes a Western shirt and vest.  While it does show up often on sites like Etsy, and eBay, I don't think it's practical for a group sew-along to use a 40-year-old pattern.  It's also not multi-sized, nor does it include back pockets.



Believe me that the difference between a Seventies jeans pattern, an Eighties jeans pattern, and a 2011 jeans pattern is so slight, and the adjustments needed so minor, that I'm tempted to just say go out and get whatever jeans pattern you can find.

If you want to, you can pick up Kwik Sew 3504 from Fabric.com now.  That might force them to re-stock before May.  If you can find it elsewhere, that's fine too.

As for the ladies, as usual you have many more pattern options.  I'd love to know what your favorite jeans pattern is and what makes it so special to you.  I've heard good things about Canadian pattern company Jalie.  Ever made their jeans?

I know a few of us have experience drafting our own jeans.  For men, who generally have fewer curves below the waist, this is not particularly difficult, though it helps to have a commercial pattern on hand just for comparison. 

If you have any questions or comments about the Sew-Along, please ask.  We'll do it the same way as the Men's Shirt Sew-Along, with a separate Flickr group for posting and group discussion.

I'm also excited to announce that I have a piece up about sewing menswear on the BurdaStyle site, so if you'd like to take a look and/or leave a comment, that would be great.

Also, if you haven't thrown your hat in for the groovy vintage Seventies pattern I'm giving away, you still have till midnight tonight.

I'll be talking more about the Jeans Sew-Along in the weeks ahead, naturally.  I'm excited!

Any mens and/or womens jeans pattern recommendations out there? 

Have a great day, everybody!

NOTE: Blogger does not seem to be accepting live links at this time.  If you'd like to leave a link in your comment that we can cut and paste, please do.

Last Sunday before Sew-Along stream of consciousness

Friends, have you ever seen the original version of The Thomas Crown Affair from 1968?  I bought a used copy of the DVD at the flea market yesterday, having heard about what a stylish movie it is, and it is indeed quite glamorous.  Faye Dunaway is fetching in styles familiar to any fan of vintage Sixties Vogue Paris Originals.

Lovers of taupe nail polish, this is the movie for you.

Otherwise it is something of a snoozefest, though not unwatchable, especially if you're a Steven McQueen or Michel Legrand fan (The Windmills of my Mind won the Oscar for Best Song that year). I read that the Persol sunglasses McQueen sports in the film were auctioned off recently for something like $60,000, which is a lot of money for a pair of sunglasses even today.

Anyway...

Other fun flea market finds include three yards of this vintage cotton fabric for $2.



I was originally attracted to it because it had a very distinct right and wrong side and I thought it would be perfect to use for my Sew-Along Negroni muslin.



It was a little stiff originally but after laundering and ironing it has softened up a lot. Does it look too much like something you'd pull out of a Dixie cup dispenser?  Should I save it for something better?

I also found some wonderful old patterns for just $1 each.  I picked up three but I may go back for more today.  A vendor had an entire boxful of largely Seventies patterns that had likely belonged to the costume designer for Eight is Enough.  

Have you ever in your life?  The last time I saw this kind of foreshortening was in a Mannerist painting.  And just think what a shirt in that vintage-airplane-and-hot-air-balloon pattern would cost today -- if you could find it.





Words fail me.



And then there's this.



If there was ever a Junior pattern that tacitly acknowledged the reality of teen pregnancy, I think this is it.  You'll be relieved to know that this pattern includes matching "bikini pants."







I know more than a few of my readers were dressing this way back then, and probably well into the Eighties.  At first I thought that girl was holding a yarmulke, but on closer inspection I think it's a 45 rpm record, no doubt Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves or Paper Roses.

Speaking of Marie Osmond, did you know she has her own Marie-branded Janome sewing machine?  Apparently she's been sewing her whole life, quilting in particular.  Who knew?

I have a soft spot in my heart for Marie Osmond I won't lie.  Any Marie fans out there?

Oh, before I forget! -- If you have a few minutes: remember that video I posted yesterday of an Eighties-era commercial for the Nevele hotel in the Catskills?  Well if you really want to laugh -- or cry -- read some of the feedback left by some of the Nevele's last guests on Trip Advisor (12 pages of them). 

The titles of the reviews are a bit of a giveaway, from "Pathetic and Disgusting," "The Worst," and "Remember the Shining?" to the more nuanced, "No!!!!!!!!"  Honestly, I nearly peed my pants reading them, so go now just to be safe.

Friends, it's time to get moving -- much planning in the works.

There is still time to join our Sew-Along Flickr group if you haven't already and I am delighted to see that you're getting to know one another there.  Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if some real and lasting relationships came out of all this or at least a hook-up or two, given the amount of activity under some of the discussion topics.  Fortunately I'm a very laissez-faire moderator.

Does everybody have their fabric and pattern(s) at the ready?  Hope so!

NOTE: You have only one more day (January 31) to get the 20% discount on the Negroni pattern offered at the Colette website if you're just joining us.  More details here.

Happy Sunday, everybody!