Last night I went on a photo hunt. After mulling over the Dior dress, I wanted to see if I could find a runway shot. And if I got really lucky, maybe even one of the back. Ever since Kathleen posted on 'coffin clothes' last summer, I've been obsessing about the back. That's just me, obsessive I mean.
I went to Style. com, and found this:
I was so disappointed seeing the glaring mistake in Space v. Volume.
Space= The Length.
The short length cuts off the flow of the drape, stumps the figure and also makes the draped hips appear too wide.
(The model is probably 100 lbs and close to 6' tall. Just consider how this will look on a normal person)
Volume= The Bodice.
Too full in midsection, no structure to balance the skirt, especially considering the heavy pull of the beaded side. In the ad, the model is leaning to the opposite side, which produces the balance needed.
(Again, this will not be to a normal person's advantage)
After some thinking, guess what popped in my head? McMansions, of all things... They've been sprouting up everywhere here in West Los Angeles. Can't afford a big property? No problem. Just fill the space to the limit. Not that The House Of Dior can't afford the space :-)
All design need balance. As much as I go on about lines, it is equally important to consider space and volume. Just my NSHO.
The dress on the runway is not something I would make or wear. The dress in the ad is. What to do? Not sure. But it got me thinking, and that's (almost) always a good thing.
What a difference between this version and the ad! We can't all stand around in a specific pose all day long. I've seen this with a number of dresses, and even BWOF patterns - again, another reason I go straight to the line drawings. I wish all dresses, RTW or patterns, would be shown in multiple poses. It really would give us a much better idea of line and space, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteI have a 1930's rhinestone pin that separates into two pieces. The owner of the vintage shop that sold it to me showed me how the two parts can be attached to opposite sides of a v-neckline. I wonder if you can do something like that to balance the hip embellishment? I thought about stuff on the shoulders, but that would be too 1980s "Dynasty". ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell said, I love the analysis.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's paint heavy black eyebrows to balance the truncated skirt length!