FASHION AND ARTISTIC DRESSING

Fashion denotes artistic dressing, and it is a product of the sewing trade considered important to the public. However, if the general perception of the sewing trade had been viewed with a little more respect, the trade wouldn't be on its deathbed today. The public must understand that manufacturers alone can't meet their thirst for elegance; there must be technicians outside the manufacturing arena to service the clothes before they wear them. No matter what, if you have acquired some social and fashion values, at some point during the life of a garment, you must consult with a garment technician. But people are unwilling to respond to the importance of the trade and compensate those who help them look their best in life. Western dressers will feel the disappearance of bespoke (custom) tailors and dressmakers, who were known for their exceptional talents, and especially now with the increased demand for fashionable clothes. The public must read and learn about fashion and clothes not just look at photos of glamorous people; or read articles usually written by good writers but without substance, but read articles to acquire knowledge about clothes and properly wearing those that depict fashion and artistic dressing. This book provides the knowledge and was written for that purpose.

This perception stigmatized the sewing trade as the "trade of the dropouts," and thus caused the younger generation to turn away from learning the trade. With the same breath, they can restore the artistic talent through a concerted effort of the authorities, the fashion schools and the manufacturers, before the art disappears completely. Since both men and women have acquired a desire and taste for fashion dressing, it is a sign that indicates a willingness to respect the trade and to place it in its proper perspective in order to protect the quality of fashion.

What would we do without clothes? It's a fact that no one ever leaves home unless he or she is dressed with good taste. But clothes by themselves are no more than just pieces of fabric sewn together, unless a person wears them as a garment properly. It is important that you respect clothes, because they make a statement on your behalf; they give you confidence at work, among your friends, in social settings, in public; and above all, they play the most important part in your life after food. Clothes are the epitome of fashion and are the product of the sewing industry, which must be preserved.

Hamza Simrick studied with Jean d'Arroux in Paris and at the Tailor and Cutter Academy in London, where he received diplomas in fashion design and drafting. He has studied the sewing trade with various establishments in London and practiced the trade with Hawks of Savile Row and other well-known merchant tailors in London. Later he formed a company that made CMT (Cut, Make, and Trim) garments for Burberry's, Airy and Wheeler, Aquascutum, Austin Reed, Hector Powe, and Simpson of Piccadilly, all in London. In the U.S., he was a manager with several known stores such as I. Magnin, Nordstrom, and so on. He has a fashion-consulting business in Crystal City, Virginia, known as Fashion Center. He teaches garment construction technology, consults with foreign countries' garment industries, and has written a textbook, The Art of Tailoring, published in 1983.