kmkat and her kneedles

Knitting in the big time.

I look at The Sartorialist every day, don't ask me why, my version of high fashion is Target instead of FleetFarm, mostly I despise fashion, but anyway. This was in his blog today, and I had to share it with you.

The rest of his readers may marvel at that garment -- the warmth! the individuality! the chic-ness! -- but you and I are scrutinizing it carefully trying to figure out exactly how those sleeve cuff cables were made and is that bulky alpaca and where did the knitter find those buttons?

I fully expect to see a version of this on Ravelry within the week ;-)

The word from Paris re: shawls and how to wear them.

The following is excerpted from Passage des perles: Style over fifty. Delights, (a)musements and resources for the Elegant Age, a non-knitting blog I read. The author is often the voice of common sense in a fashion world gone nutso, although her price range, which she considers modest, is far above mine. She lives in Toronto and is in this post writing about items she purchased on a recent trip to Paris.

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2. Shawl
A fine wool from Wolff & Descourtis, supple enough for indoor wear. Their silk  and velvet pieces are divine (Nicole Kidman collects them) but too dressy for my current life. Victoria Wolff, designer and granddaughter of the founder, lectured me, "Never the point at the back." Superb quality and design from a small historic house.
Wolff & Descourtis, 18, Galerie Vivienne (2nd arr.); this passage is a treasure.

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Comments:

kmkat said...

As a knitter who intends to make some shawls, I have to know: why no point in the back, and what shape did she recommend?

Duchesse said...

kmcat: The shawl is square, and the classic fold is to bring both points together in a large triangle. But you don't WEAR the triangle so the point falls across the middle of your back. Why not? This is unspeakably dowdy, "no one wears them this way." You toss the point on one shoulder, so the whole deal is skewed. Or you fold the square into a long rectangle and wear in various ties and twists. Ooohh, a hand knit shawl sounds fabulous.

materfamilias said...

I'm a knitter who has made shawls, kmkat, and if I don't wear the point at the front (with sides flung 'round back to come over the opposite shoulder and meet in the front), I will obscure it by folding it to the long edge, then folding again for a scarf shape. I just find the point in the back too suggestive of the rocking chair. No thanks. Curious to hear the Parisienne's reasons, Duchesse.

Duchesse said...

ma: Victoria too wore a shawl with the point at the front, ends wrapped around to tie under the chin- I do this a lot in frigid Toronto as well. But in a heavier shawl it is a lot of fabric under the chin.

As for reason for no point at back: dowdy, not chic. When I tried on one melting chiffon paisley (that I still pine for) she remarked that "English ladies buy it" and that was not a compliment. Ah, the French!

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That's the word from Paris. Discuss amongst yourselves.