Recommendations for Ladies' online style forums

[Simon A]

I must compliment the moderators and members of this forum. For the period I have followed the postings, I have learned a great deal. Not only the small details of styling and construction that differentiate a good garment from a great one, but the approach to development and maintenance of a personal style that is comfortable, elegant and timeless.

If we menfolk face some confusion amongst the blizzard of fashion industry advertising hype, I think it must be ten times worse for the ladies. The nature of discourse on this forum is civilised, sensible, and independent of any fashion house, and I was interested to know if the members knew of any forums (fora?) of similar style and bespoke orientation for ladies. Perhaps your better halves might be a rich source of information? No doubt my better half will be glad for the recommendations. Many thanks

[Costi]

Good question. On the LL, only a couple of threads come to mind:
http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... =32&t=9094
http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... =45&t=9573
(of which the latter will hopefully grow by the time someone digs up this post in some distant future and follows the links).
There is a lot more freedom of expression in women's style, as well as dress. This is, at the same time, an opportunity and a danger.
We have a "Ladies we admire" thread in the Great photos section. Lots of beautiful women, a few interesting women. Perhaps we could start a thread on stylish women, whose presence accounts more for their success than canonical beauty.

[Jordan Marc]

Simon A:

Google Claire Shaeffer and you'll find some of the most intelligently written and insightful books on dressmaking, not least her thorough dissections of the designs by Coco Chanel. Suffice to say Claire
is something of an authority on the subject. I'm not sure if she is a regular contributor to any forum,
per se, but she pops up now and then, lectures on the subject of dressmaking and gives classes on sewing from time to time, so try to make contact to get her schedule.

You might also try to make contact with some of the better costume designers who do work for theatre,
film and television. Unless they're swamped with work and tearing their hair out to meet schedules,
they're fairly easy to chat-up and generous with advice.

Further, grab every book you can find on the top designers of the 20th Century. Although much of their work may not seem to have much relevance to the way women dress today (pathetic and ugly), there is much to be learned from the visions of Chanel, Adrian, Travis Banton, Norman Norell, Bill Blass, Pauline Trigere, Givenchy, Laurent and Valentino. Keep in mind that fashion has nothing whatsoever to do with being well-dressed, and that what goes around comes around.

JMB

[Simon A]

Thankyou for the excellent referral.

I have always been amazed that the very simple lines of the Chanel suit and Givenchy suit of the 1960's never look aged, stylish ladies have been confidently wearing them (or bespoke variations on the theme) for over forty years. Amidst so much marketing buzz to convince female consumers to completely purge their wardrobe every year, a few simple modern designs remain ever-popular..