Šivenje i ekstravagancija / Sewing and extravaganza

Pre neko veče, dok sam radila na novim pantalonama sa reverima, pomislih kako su prilično neobične i zapitah se koliko šivenje utiče na moj stil oblačenja? Da li bih sebi dozvolila ekstravaganciju u oblačenju da ne praktikujem ovaj hobi?

The other night, while I was working on my new pants with a collar, I thought that they were rather unusual and I wondered - how much did sewing influence my style? Would I allow myself some extravaganza in clothing if I wasn't practicing this hobby?

Carolyn

Uopšteno uzev, mislim da je moj stil oblačenja prilično klasičan - ženstvena garderoba, jednostavne linije, ponekad kombinovane sa vojničkim stilom. Rekla bih da ponajviše eksperimentišem sa bojama i aksesoarom - volim cipele u jarkim bojama, i trudim se da ih uvek uklopim sa tašnom i nakitom u istom tonu. Povremeno primetim da me ljudi na ulici zagledaju baš zbog boja koje nosim, tj. zbog boje cipela - čini se da je u Srbiji, ili makar u Beogradu, prilično neuobičajeno imati žuto-zelene ili vrisak roze cipele. Ljudi se najčešće drže proverenih tonova: crne, braon, teget, bele i sive cipele su ovde najzastupljenije. Tek ponekad, ukoliko trend to dopusti, mogu se videti i neke jarke boje (kao na primer, crvene čizme, koje su pre neku sezonu bile apsolutni hit).

Generally, I think that my style is rather classic - feminine, simple lines, sometimes combined with military look. I'd say that most of my experimenting is with colors and accessories - I love shoes in bold colors and I try to combine them with purses and jewelry in same tones. Occasionally I note that people on the street look at me due to colors that I wear, in particular - due to color of my shoes - seems it's unusual to have shoes in lime green or in wild pink here, in Serbia, or at least in Belgrade. People usually hold on to the shades that are safe: black, brown, navy, white and gray shoes are most common over here. From time to time, if the trend allows, one can notice some bold colors too (i.e. the red boots, that were an absolute hit few seasons ago). 

FEDRA

No, ponekad i ja imam male izlete ka ekscentričnosti. Ovakvi momenti nisu previše česti, i mislim da u takvim situacijama nisam mnogo upadljiva, ali nekad poželim da štrčim i da se oduprem masovnom uniformnisanom izgledu. Kada sam bila tinejdžerka, bila sam mnogo hrabrija, i nosila prilično lude kombinacije: jedno vreme sam uporno nosila mamine poslovne kostime (imala sam 12ak godina); kasnije sam nosila rasparene patike - jedna je bila crvena, druga ljubičasta; vrhunac je bio kada sam počela da nosim mamine trudničke haljine... Tada mi je moto bio da budem originalna po svaku cenu. Sada sam već zrela osoba, i nemam potrebu da izgledam otkačeno, ali i dalje volim neobično.

Well, sometimes I have my excursions towards eccentricity. These moments don't come often, and I don't think I'm very prominent when it happens, but sometimes I want to strike out a bit and to resist the mass uniform look. As a teenager I was much more bold, and I wore some rather crazy outfits: at some moment I used to wear my mom's business suits (I think I was 12 at the time); later on I wore mismatched sneakers - one was red, the other was purple; the peak of my eccentricity was when I started wearing my mom's maternity dresses... At the time, the most important thing was to be different, no matter what. I'm a mature person now, and I have no need to look wacky, but I still love the unusual stuff.

Claudine

Svaki put kada vidim asimetriju, neobičnu konstrukciju i kroj garderobe, bivam inspirisana da napravim nešto slično. Sve češće biram ili smišljam modele koji mi predstavljaju izazov, a pantalone sa reverima su samo jedna od sličnih ideja koje sam imala. Šivenje sve više postaje potreba da se ispolji kreativnost, i sve više počinjem da cenim originalnost koju ispoljavaju mnogi od mojih virtuelnih prijatelja. Njihove ideje pomeraju granice mode, često me ostavljaju bez teksta i inspirišu da i sama na šivenje gledam kao na umetnost.

Every time I see asymmetry, some unusual construction lines and pattern, I'm inspired to sew something similar. Now I lean towards more challenging models, and the pants with a collar are just one of the similar ideas that I've had. Sewing becomes a need to express my creativity, and I'm appreciating more the originality I see at my virtual friends' works. Their ideas frequently move the fashion boundaries, and they leave me speechless more and more, inspiring me to look at the sewing as at the art.

Carotte Sauvage

Ali, umetnost nije jednostavna. Zahteva veliku posvećenost, mnogo vremena i ogromno strpljenje. Podrazumeva eksperimentisanje, odvažnost i maštu. A, pošto je ideja šivenja da se napravi garderoba, koja treba da bude funkcionalna i nosiva, zadatak je posebno kompleksan. No, gledajući radove ljudi koje ovde ističem, sve izgleda prilično jednostavno, lako, zabavno. Ono što posebno volim kod garderobe koju sam vam pokazala je to što je njeni vlasnici sigurno nose i uživaju u njoj.

However, the art is never simple. It requires dedication, a lot of time and tremendous patience. It assumes experimenting, courage and imagination. And, since the idea of sewing is to make garments that are functional and wearable, the task is especially complex. But looking at the work of the people I featured in this post, everything looks simple, easy and fun. What I especially like about the clothes I pointed out here is that its owners wear it and enjoy it.

Urban Don

No, i dalje stoji pitanje - da li su postali ekstravagantni zahvaljujući šivenju, ili su takvi rođeni? Da li je moja potreba da se u nečemu razlikujem od mase urođena, ili je isforsirana? Da li je ekstravagancija samo instrument da pokažem šta umem i koliko dobro šijem? Jer, svi smo smi pomalo sujetni i pomalo egzibicionisti, u suprotnom se ne bismo toliko trudili da budemo primećeni i pohvaljeni, i ne bismo pisali blogove, postavljali svoje fotografije i prizivali publiku. Nemam odgovor na ovo pitanje, a što više razmišljam o tome, sve se više pitam - da li je bitno?

Which brings me back to my question - did they become extravagant thanks to sewing, or were they born like that? Is my need to strike out given to me by birth, or was it forced? Is extravaganza just an instrument to demonstrate what I know and how well I sew? After all, we are all a little bit vain and a bit of exhibitionists, otherwise we wouldn't try this hard to be noticed and to be praised, we wouldn't write blogs nor post our pictures and call for an audience. I don't have an answer to this question, but the more I think of it, the more I wonder if it really matters. 

Hollie

P.S. Hvala Carolyn, Fedri, Claudine, Carotte Sauvage, Urban Donu i Hollie na slikama koje su mi ustupili za ovaj post. Mislim da nema boljih primera ekstravagancije od njih. Kada sam birala slike, morala sam dobro da promislim koje od njihovih sjajnih modela da prikažem, jer su sve njihove kreacije fenomenalne i jednistvene.

P.P.S. Slike nisu postavljene po nekom određenom redu.

P.S. Thanks to Carolyn, Fedra, Claudine, Carotte Sauvage, Urban Don and Hollie for letting me use their pictures in this post. I think there's no better example of extravaganza than them. When I was picking up the pictures, I had to think twice about which ones to feature, since each of these designers has many fantastic and quite unique models.

P.P.S. The pictures were not posted in any particular order