Identity

I have officially come across the most depressing quote ever:

"If you are not in fashion, you are nobody." Lord Chesterfield

This means that my identity is linked to (a) being fashionable and (b) what others think of me.
That is so sad, especially as you get older. Yes, ther are always some older people that stay on top of fashion and dress stylishly, but for most, there is not a lot that they like or can wear. I have reached that point in my life, where everything I see in the shops is either boring or there just is nothing I like. Often things also don't fit me any more.

So, the older we get, the more we bocome nobodies and fade away from a society seriously obsessed with "the new". We should celebrate age like real milestones, like we do for children as they grow up. Treat age as a rite of passage, instead of casting the elderly to the side. We are commanded by God to care for the elderly and if the Pharisees were reprimanded for they treatment of their parents (read MArk 7:8-13), then what about us?

My identity is NEVER liked to something as transient as people's opinion or fashion. It is linked to what God thinks of me and how much I have grabbed hold of that. It is linked to contentment with who I have become and who I want to be.

Lies the Runway tells us

It's been a while since I posted. Been kinda busy with wedding dresses, marking and the like.

Today I want to show some lies from the runway, relating to clothes, cuts and patternmakign issues, but also the way the fabric will mould ot a body.
As a patternmaker, I know that there are things that look fantastic on paper, but once the fabic / garment is put on a moving body, there are things that can be done, and things that cannot be done.

Let's look at some examples:
Open backs - there are two things that happen when a back is cut below the bra line. ONE, there is gaping towards the curve of the spine that will show up, no matter how hard one tries to make the fabric lie against the body.
Here is a stunning example from Julien Macdonald, where it is very clear that double-sided tape was used to give the illusion that the fabric is lying snugly and flat agaisnt the body. (click on picture to enlarge)

SECOND, there is nothing that holds the fabric over the shoulders from slipping off, especially if there is a sleeve. This example from Elie Saab shows the gaping again, but also the shoulder seam teetering on the verge of falling off.

Next example, when designing a low front, the same gaping happens around the curve of the bust, and some extra help is needed to shape the fabric around the curve, as can be seen in this example of a lacy number, that clearly has had to have some help either with double-sided tape or with Photoshop.

Onother problem my students always encouter is when a corset is done without a back or with a very low back, that the corset will stay stiff, but the body moves, and thus sometimes extra help is needed when walking down the runway, like strategically placed hands, that make the corset move with the body, or even sometimes just keeping the dress up, like in this example:

All in all, these are minor things, but very frustrating when trying to explain that what is put on paper does not alwyas relate into reality the way we envision.

If, then, we are lied to on the runway in this way, you kinda wonder what else the industry is not telling us. Let me not even get started on body image... The problem is not necessarily that there are some things that cannot be done without some external help to make the item wearable, but the fact that these things are needed at all, rendering the garment completely impractical for normal, daily use. This is probably why these problems only are evident in evening wear.

There is only one Designer, then,who can get what he designed EXACTLY right, with no additional help to keep things in place. In His designs every piece is placed exatly right and what he put down on paper, fits into and onto the world exactly like He planned. As you probably can imagine, that designer is God Almighty and He does not need any help in designing. I mean, if you think about it, He SPOKE the world into existance, He did not even need a piece of paper to plan it all out....He did not need a "prototype" world to test out His ideas and no "back to the drawing board" for Him. He never encountered any problems with anything He ever designed, and even Jesus' death all fits perfectly into the plan. He never lies to us and His word is for daily use and utterly, utterly practical.

The greatest critic of ourselves

That would be us. We criticise ourselves more than any other person. In light of how beautiful God has created us to be, here is a little bit of truth from Dove (no, they did not pay me to say this). I found this video online.

So, in order to celebrate the beautiful person you are,

Impossibilities and Possibilities

No matter how hard I try, I will probably never be able to do this (my back will not bend that far)

  or this

  or this

 or this for that matter (Maybe 25 years ago, yes. But definitley not now)

or ever look like this.

BUT I know that I am able to do immesurably more than the average-average human being and that I am immensly blessed in the life I live.

What I can do, is this (plus the trumpet and the recorder)

this (tatting)

this (knitting)

 this (sewing)

and restoring my old dresser to this

and a few more (go here)

I love working with my hands and although at times I don't FEEL like it, I still enjoy it when I do. I know that my talents have been nurtured by my mother who single-handedly renovated two flats, and an entire house, who was always busy sewing and knitting and crocheting and cooking and baking and ensuring that we (my brother and I) were taught skills that were beyond what schools taught. (I know my brother can knit and crochet, weld and repair electronic equipment, do carpentry and programme a computer). It ultimately is not in the skills you posess, but in HOW you use them that matters. How serious you take those gifts and whether you try to better yourself in doing these things.

Yes, our parents matter as do our teachers, but what we do with those skills we are taught is up to us.

If God has gifted you in any way, use the gifts. Don't wait until they are perfect, but practise them, because only practise will ensure that you become good at things. The 10 000 hour rule applies in all instances - it takes 10 000 hours to become an expert in anything. The earlier you start, the better you become. Even if you never are paid for the talents you have, it is the use of them that matters, not the reward.

Awesome!!

Found this amazing article on Christian music. If you haven't heard, TobyMac is on number 1 on iTunes and in the top 200 on the Billboards. WOW what a witness!

It makes my heart sing, and also shows that people are tired of hearing the mainstream stuff (well, up to a point).

Technology fatigue

We all suffer from it, right?

We comment on facebook, retweet tweets, pin like crazy on Pintrest, Instaram, use our phones to receive emails, catch up even on the weather and the news. The latest gadgets are advertised and off we rush to get into the latest craze.

George Orwell's book "1984" is nothing compared to how we watch each other, we do not need a "Big Brother" to do it for us. We monitor the ones we like (and dislike at times), we seek their approvals and measure it by the amount of comments and likes on whatever status update / post / link we have put out there. Often this also comes with deep hurt if we are critisised ever so slightly for what we believe in and stand up for.

Media is all around us and unfortunately shapes our view of ourselves, in addition to shaping our view of the world, since we do not know how to think for ourselves any longer. The thinking is done for us in more ways than one. Pity, since we have been given a brain to test theories, test arguments for truth and validity, yet we hardly engage our brains.

With all this technology and fear of missing out, comes a busier and busier lifestyle than ever before. We deceive ourselves if we think that technology makes our lives easier or even gives us more time to things. The fact is rather, that every spare moment is spent catching up on the latest tweets and what our "friends" are up to. In the process we forget how to breathe and seek for peace which we so desparately ae longing for.

Needless to say, the faster technology becomes, the faster we live our lives. Thus we "live" for the weekends and holidays like these:

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In some cases we even live for the next adventure, chasing down the next adrenalin rush, thinking it relaxing - haha

So, what is the solution to all this? Well, peace cannot be found in this upsidedown world without some spiritual context. However, the only spiritual context that will bring true peace, is found in the Bible - seriously! There is no way to attain peace in meditation if you do not know WHAT to meditate on. There is no peace in nature if we cannot look at it through God's eyes. There is no peace in the fast pace of life if we don't stop for a while to think about what really matters.

God created us for peace - to live in it and to show it to others. Let's find peace in this crazy world by praising Him and worshipping Him and in the process extending soem of that peace to others.

On: selling out to corporate sponsorship

This post is a bit of a venting (sorry it also contains a lot of links)

On Saturday I had the priviledge of seeing Switchfoot live in Cape Town!!

(sorry, pic stolen off their website)

What an experience. I LOVE the band, LOVE the songs, LOVED the performance, even LOVE the (now not so) new album. There is, however just one thing that really bothers me, and here it is:

As a Christian band, selling out to corporate sponsoship (they are sponsored by Hurley - see this link and scroll down to "donate" or even go to the tab "bro-am") will have an effect on what you can and cannot say at concerts, in your music etc. Lyrics like "Restless" clearly show that there is a tension between what they can say and what they want to say. Because the "you" they sing about could really be anyone, not necessarily God or Jesus. Compare this to one of their earlier songs "I turn everything over" or even "Something More (Augustine Confession)" where thier faith is expressed a lot stronger. Even on their album before this, for which they won the Best Rock Gospel Album Grammy, there is already that sense creeping in, except perhaps in a song like "Hello Hurricane".

The other thing was that I was missing at the concert was a true sense that it was a Christian band. The opening act was more explicit. They at least sang about Jesus and they were pretty good too. Pity they did not have back-up singers or second voices.

I am not saying that every song should contain words like Jesus, Christ, being saved and the like, but I want to know that faith and Christian living has not been compromised. I do read whom the bands thank (always) and I expect there to be something about God in there, because cleary they have not done this on their own or achieved any of it by their own strength.

I'm also not saying that I will stop listening to them, because I really like thier style and can interpret their songs from a  Christian perspective.

It is just sad to see that money is drawing us away from what we believe and the more we sell out to it the more peole will notice. I am so grateful to other bands like Reliant K and artists like TobyMac who, although they are doing well have not compromised on the Gospel message. In every song, in every interview you will hear it. I appreciate that more than compromising and being more subtle in lyrics. We need to ge the message out there that there is ONE Lord and there is only ONE way to Him. That way cannot be found in corporate sponsorship and money.