Inspired

Photo credit: Valerio Mezzanatti for the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/fashion/28COUTURE.html?scp=1&sq=Paris%20fashion&st=cse

A fashion history class that focused on styles of dress in Ancient Greece, an assignment to review various fashion blogs and reports of the couture runway shows in Paris have led to this posting and my humble attempt at artistry. Mostly it was Karl Lagerfeld's pink sorbet gown for the Chanel show that set my imagination aflutter. So here goes... Let's see if I can condense my thoughts into a few simple paragraphs.

Influences for modern fashion can be found in numerous places, but much of the basic silhouettes, principals of design and foundation of proper proportions stem from ancient Greece. Essentially, this is where western dress began, and its influence on modern fashion is still profound today.

Style elements like the empire waist, soft draping fabrics and the current one-shoulder trend can all be credited to ancient Greece. Grecian dress is based on a tubular silhouette and began with a long rectangular length of fabric that was draped in various ways to create specific styles of dress for both men and women. The Chiton (ky'tn), which was essentially an early version of a modern tunic, was the primary garment worn in many variations by both sexes. Pictured below is the Doric Chiton, worn by women during the classical period of Greek civilization.

I think it's beautiful. Fortunately, Grecian dress continues to influence modern fashion as demonstrated by Mr. Lagerfeld earlier this week. Of course we all can't wear Chanel - especially pieces from the Couture Collections - only about 300 women in the world are privy to these fashions. So that's when I decided to pick up a pencil and start sketching away, something I haven't done since junior high. Below is my own idea of a Grecian inspired gown.

Pretty rudimentary, but I don't claim to be an artist or even all that good at sketching and it may even be too much of a copy of the Chanel gown. But, what I like about this sketch is the idea of the floor grazing underskirt and the folds that gather from the low hip to approximately the knee. I also wanted to add the shoulder pinning and draped bodice of the Doric Chiton - I thought that was the loveliest detail all through class this afternoon. Who knows someday maybe I'll splurge on a sewing machine and make it. For now it will go into a folder until I'm ready to do something more with it.