(Host) People looking for an excuse to dress up have found one in the
new season of Downton Abbey on PBS. Writer and commentator Stephanie
Greene takes a look at a growing trend in fine fabric and period
costume.
(Greene) The day after Downton Abbey’s final episode
last year, I was in a fabric store, when someone mentioned the show and
every single customer laughingly confessed to being inspired by the
series to buy a beautiful piece of cloth.
Jan Norris, owner of
Delectable Mountain Cloth in Brattleboro, says she often sees such waves
of enthusiasm ignited by the costumes of films and TV series. With the
upcoming PBS Gala in Burlington this weekend, timed for the premier of
Downton Abbey’s third season, more ambitious sewers have been flocking
to the store.
Things have changed.
When I brought my
sewing machine to college – admittedly, a few decades ago – my peers
found it hilarious. I was routinely greeted with cries of, "It’s Susie
Homemaker!" We young feminists were supposed to be beyond all that
home-economics drudgery. We’d change the world by studying law, not
pattern drafting.
In fact, many of us even considered certain women’s under-garments to be a thing of the past.
Well
today, there are not only corset makers who are thriving, there is a
growing number of people willing to spring for natural, fine – and
pricey – fabric from which to construct truly elegant garments.
There
are obstacles to overcome, schooled as we are in bargain hunting. As we
ponder the political, economic and human consequences of buying that
tempting five-dollar t-shirt, we also should consider the fact that fine
cloth is something of an endangered commodity. If we want to have it,
we have to protect it.
And the return to natural fabrics and
home sewing can be seen as more than a reaction to cheap, Pacific
Rim-produced clothing that doesn’t hold up. People crave beauty and
value, and even (surprise, surprise) find meaning in tradition.
So,
apparently, people are taking up sewing in droves, and with an eye for
natural fabric. According to Mark Penn in his book, Microtrends, sales
of sewing machines shot up after 9/11, part of the nesting instinct that
followed the attacks. Young professionals are eagerly embracing sewing
and knitting as creative outlets.
Jan Norris started her fabric
store in 1978 as a source for natural cotton quilt fabrics. Frustrated
by all the fabrics she couldn’t find, she came to see her mission as
preservation. She began acquiring beautiful pieces of cloth from all
over the world.
People often ask her how she finds so many old
pieces. But none of them actually are old – just similar to pieces you’d
find 150 years ago.
Doll makers, historic re-enactors, fabric
historians from old Deerfield and Plimoth Plantation are among her
clientele. One Plimoth project used linen and silk from her stock to
recreate a 1620’s jacket from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
It took 300 people 4000 hours to make and embellish it.
For my
part, as I galumph into winter wearing my sensible boots and parka, I
suppose it’s only natural that my thoughts should stray to voile and
velvet.
After all, beauty is always in season.