LEATHER AND DETAIL TO PERFECTION BY LYNDA’S COUTURE AND CHUWEE LEATHER
Leather...follows the body curves... LYNDA BUNN chuweeleathers.com and lyndascouture.com, “Fine leather is the ultimate fashion statement...but the statement it makes about the individual is far more interesting. The sensual feel and suppleness of leather heightens the senses and making one feel self aware. Leather is no longer confined to the aura of tough, rough riding rebellion. In today’s diverse uses of these rich, luxurious skins, you are as likely to see leather in the boardroom as the ballroom.” -- Lynda Bunn, An inspiration to us all... Lynda’s Couture and Chuwee Leathers is located in North Carolina, where she is busy with clients, understandably, from all over the world. Lynda’s mantra is the dress form. She matches the areas of the dress form to the movement of the body in the leather. Notice how even with a dolman sleeve, in the dress below, the crease of the armhole is addressed for movement. The elbow position in every jacket matches the movement of the body. Every step, of every piece, is carefully planned; starting at the shoulders and marking
the movement of the body across the upper chest, the armhole, and the bust of the bodice. The dress form is padded with ease built into the form, so that the leather is easily smoothed along the lines of the body. You can see how the dress moves easily when Lynda is being Lynda. Fabulous!
Lambskin Leather Dress by Lynda Bunn Overpadding the dress form to match the finished piece will be the key. The dress form is shaped to every pressure point, so that the leather, which has a mind of its own, can be shaped; and that shape, will give you room to move. Whether you are fitting for a perfectly shaped and even shoulder line, or creating balance in your clothes for an unbalanced body, the key to the fit is following the Fitting Sequence. Start with the balance of the anchor point, and work down. The dress is soft lambskin...and as you can see, Lynda cut this only once! Her work mantra...perfection in creativity to match the body movement. I love that. Lynda uses only the highest quality, and softest leather. What I love about the way she works the lambskin, is that the folds and ease points are natural. The movement in the leather flows with the movement of the body.
SUCCESS IS NOT A MYSTERY! If you’ve ever worked with lambskin, you know there is no ripping. Ripping leaves holes. Once you really start fitting clothes, there will be no ripping on whatever you create. Can you imagine? Clothes look dfferent when they haven’t been torn apart in terror in the middle of the night, or “ripped carefully”, eleven times. Things happen. Planning will make all the difference in how your clothes will look and feel. What I see in Lynda’s one piece dress, made to look like two pieces, is high armholes so that her arms can move freely without being restricted by lambskin that does not stretch, nor move. Well, yes....lambskin does stretch a bit, but when it stretches, it also bags, so be careful and plan for it not stretching. Any stretching, or cheating with lambskin, and you will find that the “fabric” will take on a mind of its own, by bagging, or pulling to thinness. No cheating. No trying, without a dress form shaped to you.
Building the Bodice... The curves, of the body on the dress form, were perfected with the lining so that any fixes would be easily visible before the final pelts were cut. Measure ten times...cut once. Each curve was carefully addressed with the curved seams. Notice how the Princess seams follow the shape of the bust, and the bust points. You can create wider or narrower bust points by placing the bust pads closer together, or farther apart on the dress form as you build out the bust. Lynda created a one piece dress to look like two pieces so that the lambskin would be easy to wear and move in. The shape of the neckline is carefully shaped with the facings that are attached only to the lining. Next she addresses the Dolman sleeve. You can see how the bodice is shaped with seams at every area of movement. After perfecting the bodice lining, Lynda attached the skirt lining to check for any final adjustments that might need to be made before the pelts are carefully cut. The sleeve is important in movement, of course, but most of the problems that you have had with sleeves, will disappear when the bodice is shaped. This is where balance starts. The attachment seam at the waist has been dropped slightly to decrease bulk and minimize the “tummy� area. For Lynda, the adjustments and design decisions stop here. She makes every adjustment in sleeve length, body proportion, and overall length of the dress before cutting the pelts. The leather pelts are cut using the lining pieces with ease for the pattern, as the alterations are particular and nothing can be missed on the pelts. The cut pelt pieces are then draped over the lining, and pinned at the shoulder for the test. You can easily see Lynda’s fitting steps...starting at the shoulder slant and working downward. The pelts are cut, one by one, starting at the top of the dress for the position that Lynda is working on. When the collar, sleeves and lining are shaped, the pelts for the lower bodice are cut. Even at this point, the pelts are carfully pinned to the lining for seam allowance and absolute shape.
At this point, Lynda pins and places to get the proportion, once again. The zipper goes through the hemline of the back bodice picking up the skirt in the zipper application. Lynda...you are good!
The sleeve hems are perfected last, stitched by hand, with detail. The killer bow is last.
From Lynda... “Fashion is sensual and sexual. Women should be afforded the luxury of clothes that ‘complete’ them. Their personal fashion should be an extension of their personality. Some like to be told what looks good on them; others want to create what looks good on them. That is applicable from your favorite pajamas to your favorite cocktail dress. Women who are comfortable (psychologically and physically) in their clothes are more confident and outgoing. We are here to make this happen for you. Whether your issues are hard to fit, hard to please, or just the desire to be unique and individual, our job is to make this happen.” Lynda’s mission stands true to giving every customer only what she would love for herself...pretty high bar, seeing that your every detail is perfect, Lynda!
THANK YOU, LYNDA! Your work is genius! chuweeleathers.com lyndascouture.com