Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Pure Collection Ltd.
Net-a-porter UK

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Armani couture

A womanly shape for a woman's body. The bubble hem falls rather than gathers. Look at the slight flare of the sleeves. Look how the shoulders are cut. Pret a porter would lose the jacket decoration and it still would be a wonderful suit.

See the rest of the slideshow here

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

at's a woman? She's a hockey stick, egads!

Anonymous said...

d has a point about the model. Designers love catwalk models because of their height, how they move and the fact that they can wear sample sizes, but in many cases the clothes would look better on a woman with the normal bumps and lumps. In real life, that model should be in some sort of high-necked patterned jumper (god's gift to the small-busted) which makes a virtue of the fact that she has no cleavage and which disguises the bones in her neck. I'm not wild about the bubble hem on the skirt, but the jacket is a dream and it would look miles better on a woman with cleavage and hips.

Susan B said...

I've come to believe that Armani is probably one of the more wearable designers for real women.

While I'll never be a couture customer, not long ago just for grins I stopped into Emporio Armani just to peruse the racks. I tried on a couple of jackets which looked great on even short and lumpy me. I'm currently saving my sheckels to go back and do some serious shopping.

Susan B said...

That whole collection is really stunning, and most of those style would be dynamite on women with curves.

Anonymous said...

Having been convinced that bubble hems would always and forever look dumpy and unflattering, I am rather impressed at the line on that one.

Still, even that bubble skirt requires size 2 or lower to look good. That style just is not flattering on legs with any level of muscle or fat on them.

Anonymous said...

My two cents: I don't know anyone else who cuts a suit like Armani. Look at those shoulders and the high armsyce. This is a jacket that fits in the shoulders. As the others have said, this is a jacket that will flatter a woman with some meat on the front of her body - it's a little bit slack on this model because she is so thin. I am not a fan of bubble skirts, but this is a rather clever incarnation and frankly, I think if someone were not too big in the hips, she could wear it successfully also. But the big thing is the jacket - fits like a dream. Now, I would wear this with a blouse - no collar, mind you, just a plain jewel neckline or perhaps a bateau...nothing to detract from the rest of the suit. For me it would be a case of not wanting to show too much skin, a personal quirk.
Oh, yes - let's see this on Helen Mirren!!

Elizabeth said...

The jacket is great, sans the afterthought-y decoration.

Anonymous said...

Well, I’d say as a sewist, this bubble skirt is definitely more flattering than most. I can't insert a link, but if you go to Simplicity.com (the Simplicity patterns web site) and look up view G on style #4041 you'll see that most bubble skits have a hem just pulled up inside the skirt. This Armani skirt is unusual because it looks like it might be an a-line skirt, with another circular piece sewn near the hem to make the “bubble”; you can easily see the horizontal seam right at her knee.

Anonymous said...

Sorry,but I don´t like this suit at all.