Cardigan Empire

Salt Lake City Fashion Stylist

Fitting Room Friday: Petite Lower Figure Body Type

With the recent close of 2011’s New York Fashion Week, fellow stylist Sarah Hosman joined Cardigan Empire to refresh her spring wardrobe with some freshy fresh pretties. 

(More tips and tactics to be revealed on specific Spring 2011 trends next week.)
What Failed:
Lady Hosman knew her body type well and didn’t fuss with many of the trends currently proliferating, knowing they would either draw a box around her top half or swallow her petite (under 5 foot) proportions. 
Below are examples of some of the items she walked promptly past (click the image to view her comments in larger dimensions):
What Sailed:
Pulling It Together Sweater: A pink puffy heart for this cardigan.  The fit closely hugs Sarah’s narrow torso and ends before unnecessarily stretching across her wider bottom half.
Sing Sweetly Party Dress: Flattery from neckline to hem.  The pleated bodice adds volume to her subtle bust, the mint sash highlights her tiny waist, and the a-line skirt skims cleanly over her upper gams.
AG Angelina Petite: AG’s famously soft fabric flexes beautifully into a derriere balancing bootcut.
Primula Corset Top: A proper peplum perfectly flaring from her mini midsection to her fertile southern hemisphere.
Eastpoint Garden Top: A ladylike neck tie and ruffled collar bring attention to her diminutive north.
Washi Wrap Skirt: Normally Sarah would have passed this skirt up because of the bright color, pleating, and pockets.  But the fit turned out to be quite flattering, the pleats pointed in the right direction, and the pockets didn’t poke.  And we agreed color should always be a secondary consideration. (But it does fit small, so size up).
Gathering Blossoms Top: Sarah’s favorite top.  The ruching draws eyes to a visually narrowed center and then flares to the perfect thigh skimming length.  Breaking up her flanks without truncating her already sparse leg inches.

Let Cardigan Empire fashion you for Spring.  Freshen up with a complete Fashion Package: combining a theoretical look book & a practical virtual shopping session

Feed me fashionably fresh

How to Hem Jeans in 3 Easy Steps

**warning: this post is mostly for short people**

Mrs. Stephanie Court from Barefoot in the Kitchen was kind enough to lend me the following post. Contessa Court is a very accomplished seamstress, but I can personally verify that this technique is friendly and approachable (just like Stephanie). Follow these steps and soon your pant hem and leg lengths will be perfectly matched too.

“I never think of myself as short (I’m almost 5’3”) until I stand next to someone other than my kids (which doesn’t happen all that often). Or until I go shopping for jeans. This year I invested in a good pair of jeans. I love them. But, like most pants, they were about 2 inches too long. Since I am not a heels and jeans kind of girl, they had to be hemmed. This is how I did it:

Step 1: Determining the amount the jeans need to be shortened.

Try on the jeans with the shoes you will usually wear them with and cuff at desired length. (Make sure the cuff ends exactly where you want the finished hem to be.) Pin the cuff and remove the jeans. Measure the length of the cuff, ignoring the original hem. (see photo above) Divide that measurement in half and re-pin the cuff using the new measurement as the length of the new cuff, again ignoring the original hem.

Step 2: Sewing the new hem

Once the new cuff is pinned, it is time to sew. I like to use the zipper foot on my machine for this step. Sew the new cuff in place as close to the original hem as you can.

Step 3: Finishing

Now that you have sewn the cuff in place, you have a little fold of extra jean on the inside of the pants. This can be trimmed off, or tacked in place. I prefer to tack it in place so I don’t have to worry about unfinished ends raveling. (But before you do any of that, try on the jeans, again with your shoes, to make sure they are the right length.) To tack the fold in place, turn the jeans inside out. Press the fold in the direction of the waist of the jeans. Sew a few stitches at the side seams to hold the fold in place and out of the way of the hem.

To see your handiwork, turn the jeans right side out and ta-da! You have a “new” hem. Because we sewed the cuff in place close to the original hem, there is a seam there, but it is not very noticeable.”

My finished product: