Tilt

I finished a sweater last weekend and although my knitting has its own blog, the finishing and photographing of the sweater has sent my mind wandering down the path of fitting and style and how I want clothes to appear, or not appear.  

Hence it has wormed its way over here.

I shall show you the photo that prompted all these ruminations.  I included it in my flickr album, not because it shows the sweater to any advantage because it does not.  In fact it shows me and the sweater to disadvantage.  

You can see the problem.  It is not the sweater's fault.  The sweater is perfect.  Everything is the same length.  The weight of the cables do not pull the sweater forward.

It is Matilda.  You see she tilts forward as if she is bending forward from the hip, with her back held straight.

Oh how easy it is to blame the dressform.  But the truth is that Matilda was made from a cast of me.  And I too bend forward from the hips.

I would prefer not to be faced with this daily evidence of my own faults.  In fact, when Matilda first moved in I would walk into the room, see her, turn around and exit.  I couldn't bear it.  

Do I really tilt forward like that?  Does my left hip and butt really jut out like that, so much further than the right?  

It was not pleasant.  But Matilda has also been very helpful with some fitting issues, and many things that confounded me no end became much easier.

But I never really dealt with this tilt problem.  It is easy to ignore.  I generally avoid looking at the profile view, and take even greater pains not to see the rear-end view, excpet to make a specific check for particular flaws.  But I avoid the big picture.  And Matilda has not had legs for so long that I forgot how she stands relative to the floor.

Now I can't do that anymore.  And I can't really fix the problem with my own stance.  It is what it is, regardless of age or weight or fitness.  The simple truth is that I have scoliosis, my back is fused from T1 to L4 and I stand the way I stand.  

Matilda is a casting of me wearing flats.  I lean forward.  I suppose I need to lengthen the back of my jackets to accommodate this.    Because I lean forward I suppose that the garments hang down from my bust making me look somewhat like W.C. Fields.  I should probably deal with that too.

This photo tells me lots of things.  It explains why my back hurts when I wear flats and stand or walk all day.  To think I used to love hiking.  Perhaps hiking is not so much in my future.  This is something I have thought about.  This explains why I like to go up hill.  I am upright.  It also explains why I hate to go downhill, because I am already leaning downward and the slope makes it worse.  Too bad that I can't always go uphill.

Now, when I wear heels, the tilt is not as noticeable.  That is because I have to compensate to stand up straight. Apparently I bend my knees, which tilts my back backwards so I look more straight.  The sweater hangs properly then.  But my shoulders are back behind my butt, and my tummy sticks out beyond my bustline even though it actually doesn't.  I am beginning to see why I think fitting the back of a jacket is so important.  It adds an illusion of slimness which I at least  don't get from fitting the front.  It also explains why I get away with not looking particularly busty.

G tells me I always bend my knees.  I don't stand with straight knees ever.  Apparently I would fall over if I did.  If I am in heels I bend them more which makes my pants buckle at the knee.  This is why wider pants are more attractive than very slim pants.

If I wear heels my back does not hurt.  It is convenient that I live a suburban life dependent on cars.  Wearing heels is not so terribly inconvenient.  I occasionally think I would love to live in a city where I could walk.  This would be more problematic.  My back may prefer heels, but even at 50 I can say that my feet definitely do not.  My feet hurt when I wear heels all day.    

So there are decisions to make.  The clothes and the alterations for me in heels are not going to be the same as the clothes and alterations for me in flats.  So I have to think about how I am going to wear a garment when I make it.  I can see that perhaps what works and looks good will be different depending on the shoes, depending on the tilt.  I am not yet ready to give up heels.  Am I ready to give up caring?  Not quite.

I am not sure where I am going with this yet.  I am still thinking.  But it bears thinking about.  As for that sweater, well I have enough yarn to lengthen it, but I don't think it needs lengthening at the bottom but further up at the upper back. That will make the shape look good.  I don't think I will do it.  I can just wear this jacket with a bit of a heel for now.  That doesn't mean that I won't do it some day.  

Comments

[Laura]

Interesting thoughts. I tend to shy away from photos and mirror views that show how much some of my RTW skirts and dresses have a tilted hem. It really looks ridiculous when I pay attention to it (thanks, big butt and tilted waistline!). When I started sewing again and started adjusting hems and/or waistlines, I was really surprised at the pretty huge amounts I had to shift everything around.

I talked to a professional patternmaker about it once, and she thought that everyone's 'actual' waistline had to be level front to back. I'm not really sure how that can be the case - I mean, you can always create some kind of artificial line that you measure at, but if your waistbands won't even rest there without being mind-bogglingly tight, what's the point? Without x-rays, I don't know if I actually have a tilted pelvis or it's just that my hips, thighs and butt create the impression of one.

[Janaan Lake]

I can relate to your fitting issues. I too have scoliosis and my spine is similarly fused. I am curious as to the specific adjustments you make to your clothes for this? I recently took up sewing again and decided to get serious about my fitting issues. I've made progress, but it continues to vex me somewhat.

I enjoy looking at your website. You make some beautiful things, and I can relate to your logical mindset.

On a non-sewing note, do you have a lot of back pain due to your scoliosis? If so, what do you do to alleviate it? I am 33, was fused at 14, and am wondering what the future holds for me. It is hard to find people in a similar position, so I am curious as to how this has worked out for you.

Once again thanks for a great website!!