what not to knit

a knitalong blog of garments of which stacy and clinton (or, if you prefer, trinny and susannah) would approve! choose patterns and colors that flatter your body type--this is the antidote to unflattering clothing everywhere, the reason many of us learned to knit our own clothing in the first place!

Monday, May 29, 2006

what i should knit

the bbc show has a great little what to wear tool that helps you generate a list of rules personalized for your own shopping (or knitting pattern selection!). here are mine:
as i'm tall, when i want to blend in with the crowd, i should avoid clothes with vertical lines and monochromatic outfits.
as i have long legs, i should look for low-waisted, boot-cut, or straight-leg trousers. i should look for low kitten heels rather than flat shoes.
to enhance my average-sized bustline, i always wear a good bra (on a side note: i had my first real bra fitting last year in a couple of decades and it was incredibly helpful--i was one of the majority of women wearing the wrong size without knowing it). i should also wear high-necked or roll-neck tops and opt for delicate tops with spaghetti straps (hello, calla!) and sleeveless, round-necked tops that show off my arms (after i tone them up a bit). i should knit these in a lighter color than i wear on my lower half.
i have a small waist, so i should avoid covering this with long, loose clothing (so avoid my temptation to make comfy, baggy or boxy sweaters :( ). cropped tops draw attention to the waist (hooray corset pullover!), and i should wear tops that end around the waist. i shouldn't cover up the waist by wearing high-waisted trousers. (the bane of my existence, though, is the chill i feel with a bare waist, so my solution is tops that fit closely but still cover it.)
my tummy isn't huge, but it isn't something to which i want to draw attention. so i look for flat-fronted trousers and skirts and avoid pleats and front closures. low-waisted trousers make stomachs look smaller (though require me to make sweaters longer to avoid that aforementioned chill!). i need to avoid things that are gathered at the waist, and soft, forgiving fabrics that don't cling to my tummy. hm...maybe tubey *isn't* the right sweater for me after all. maybe only with the right undergarment cinching my tummy in. wrap-around tops create folds across the tummy that detract from any other rippling in that area. this is a pattern style for which i really need to keep an eye. and i need to avoid belted jackets and coats.
i have average, though woefully untoned, hips and thighs :( i need to avoid long dresses and skirts cut on the bias, trousers with detail like side pockets, and belted jackets and coats that flare out at the bottom. hm...i might have to post a photo of my vintage dress coat that might have a less flattering line than i think...
and as my rear isn't exactly petite ;) i avoid larger colors on the bottom and (duh) horizontal stripes.
what are your rules?

what not to knit

i love the what not to wear shows on tlc and on bbc (will be curious to see how the latter goes with its new stylists!). i confess to preferring the u.s. version to the british original.
but i digress.
i see a lot of folks knitting things that don't seem...like the most flattering knits for them. whether they thought they would be and they just disagree with me about what's flattering, or they thought they would be and the garment just didn't turn out like they planned, or they just didn't think about flatteringness and just really wanted to knit that beautiful garment (because beautiful isn't always the same as flattering on a particular person--or on anyone, or in the chosen yarn), i don't know.
but i thought maybe it'd be interesting to see what people knit with attention to body type and shape, complexion and coloring in mind--the way the stylists on "what not to wear" do. maybe even get stacy-and-clintonesque critiques from one another with good-natured humor ;)
so if you like the shows and you like to knit, join up, choose a pattern, and knit along! ask for advice if you like. and post links to sites with good patterns and smart info, too--we all need that :)