{"id":61,"date":"2009-05-28T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-28T19:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/principles-of-fabric-selection-see-the-child-before-the-outfit\/"},"modified":"2018-11-28T10:51:33","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T15:51:33","slug":"principles-of-fabric-selection-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2009\/05\/principles-of-fabric-selection-see.html","title":{"rendered":"principles of fabric selection: see the child before the outfit"},"content":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m a professional designer. But when my daughter walks into a room wearing one of my designs I would much prefer to hear someone say, \u201cWhat a beautiful child,\u201d than \u201cWhat a beautiful dress.\u201d That preference sets the whole tone for the Oliver + S design philosophy, and it informs the choices I make when I\u2019m selecting fabrics for our samples or trunk shows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a> This Sunday Brunch jacket, made by June Beetle<\/a> and found on our Flickr group<\/a>, demonstrates the “see the child first” principle nicely. The colors and print are flattering without being overpowering. And that muted yellow looks terrific on her!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

You undoubtedly know by now that Oliver + S designs feature classic, simple styling with clean lines and not a lot of unnecessary ornamentation. By designing this way, I\u2019m trying to create beautiful clothing that doesn\u2019t call attention to itself but that highlights the charms of the child who is wearing it. When I select fabric, I go for the same effect.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a trend in the quilt industry over the last several years toward very bold, busy, colorful prints. Many prints today are actually printed in 10 or more vibrant colors. While I like some of these prints, I tend to shy away from the loudest, boldest, most colorful ones when I make Oliver + S garments. A lot of these prints, when turned into dresses or tops, scream \u201cLook at me! I\u2019m a print by Designer X!\u201d I don\u2019t necessarily want to dress my child\u2014or anyone\u2019s child\u2014as a walking billboard for a fabric collection or designer of the moment. When you dress a child in a garment made from a very busy fabric, you run the risk that the child will get lost behind the print. (And if you combine two or more of these prints in a single outfit…well, it’s all exponential, isn’t it?)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> I’d be willing to bet that you noticed these two adorable sisters before you saw their sweet matching Birthday Party dresses, yes? Dresses by A.J.Jacks<\/a>, one of our Boutique Sewer Program<\/a> participants.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I also worry that many of these bright, bold prints won\u2019t age very well. We all have some cringe-worthy photos of ourselves as children, don\u2019t we? Take a closer look at one of those photos. Chances are the clothing hasn\u2019t aged well because the styling of the garment or the print of the fabric is overly complicated or very \u201cof the moment.\u201d In designing Oliver + S garments, I\u2019m consciously trying to achieve a timeless style. When viewed two decades from now, a 2009 photo of a child wearing an Oliver + S design shouldn\u2019t cause anyone to say, \u201cWhat is that you were wearing?\u201d or \u201cWhat was your mother thinking, dressing you like that?\u201d (I can say this from experience because I have plenty of photos of myself from the 1970s that elicit just those sorts of comments. What was it with those purple bell-bottom jeans with the silver rivets down the legs?) Rather, someone should say, \u201cHey, you were a really cute kid.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> The beige ground and clear-but-muted plum, mustard, and other colors in this 2 + 2 Blouse look wonderful on a toddler. Sewn by Angela Maureen<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So when I\u2019m selecting fabrics for making my own Oliver + S garments, I tend toward the more subtle and sophisticated prints. Although it goes against the grain of a lot of what\u2019s being done today in the home sewing industry, I think subtle and sophisticated work exceptionally well for children\u2019s clothing. The fabrics don\u2019t have to be loud and bright to capture people\u2019s attention. I would rather let people notice the clothing after they see the child wearing the garments.<\/p>\n

I think you’ll also notice that high-end designers are using more subtle and sophisticated prints these days. And this isn’t to say that we need to be afraid of color. I love color, and I’ll talk more about it when I discuss some of my other fabric selection principles in future posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a professional designer. But when my daughter walks into a room wearing one of my designs I would much prefer to hear someone say, \u201cWhat a beautiful child,\u201d than \u201cWhat a beautiful dress.\u201d That preference sets the whole tone …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20687],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-principles-of-fabric-selection"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/child-first-714100.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-Z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2009\/05\/principles-of-fabric-selection_22.html","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":0},"title":"principles of fabric selection: introduction","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"May 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Every season at Quilt Market, the show's organizers sponsor a series of Schoolhouse presentations for shop owners who are interested in learning more on topics of interest to them. This season, Oliver + S led two Schoolhouse sessions. One of our talks focused on how savvy retailers can increase sales\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/fabric2-778396.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":63,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2009\/06\/principles-of-fabric-selection-look-at-the-supporting-fabrics-in-a-collection-not-necessarily-the-central-prints.html","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":1},"title":"principles of fabric selection: look at the supporting fabrics in a collection, not necessarily the central prints","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"June 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"As a rule, most quilting fabric collections are comprised of a group of prints that are intended to work together. There is a formula to assembling a collection like this, and most groups work around one central print that holds the collection together. That print is usually larger in scale\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/1-710302.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2009\/07\/principles-of-fabric-selection-solid-colors-and-neutrals-can-ground-a-bright-busy-print.html","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":2},"title":"principles of fabric selection: solid colors and neutrals can ground a bright, busy print","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"July 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's say you find a print you really love, but you're a little nervous about using it for a child's garment. Maybe it's a large, bold print. Maybe it's very bright or multi-colored. Maybe it's both. You're afraid that by using the print you'll break the first of our principles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/aleksandra-785069.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":62,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2009\/06\/principles-of-fabric-selection-think-sophisticated-and-understated.html","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":3},"title":"principles of fabric selection: think sophisticated and understated","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"June 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I think this outfit is tremendously successful. I adore it. This 2 + 2 blouse and pleated skirt is understated and tremendously elegant while still wholly appropriate for a child. If you had run across these fabrics at your local quilt shop, would you have thought \"children's clothing\" when you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/brooke-753348.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1893,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2010\/11\/principles-of-fabric-selection-circa-1928.html","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":4},"title":"principles of fabric selection, circa 1928","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"From a 1928 Singer sewing guide published in Great Britain. DO NOT OVERTRIM The keynote of children's dress should be simplicity, and as a guide for trimming a girl's frock, if the bodice is embroidered or trimmed with lace, let the skirt be plain, beyond perhaps a few tucks above\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2010\/01\/principles-of-fabric-selection-approach-juvenile-prints-with-caution.html","url_meta":{"origin":61,"position":5},"title":"principles of fabric selection: approach juvenile prints with caution","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"January 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been dreading this blog post because it means we've come to the end of my Principles of Fabric Selection series. But I know many of you have been waiting to hear what I have to say on this topic, so here we go. Juvenile prints are a subset of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/owls-731303.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}