Next time you have no clue what to wear, look no further than last night’s dessert. I have a huge sweet tooth and am now wondering why this never occurred to me.

If you work in a fashion-forward environment What Thirteen People Wore to Their Interview With Anna Wintour might contain some useful pointers.

Infusing your ensemble with a little art never hurts. From Mondrian and Roy Lichtenstein to Frank Lloyd Wright, I enjoyed browsing this “Canvas-Worthy Wares” roundup.

Fab Links from Our Members

Raisin is curious to try out the BeauCoo app. You enter your measurements and it shows you clothing on someone who is similar to you in shape and size.

Mander found an interesting commentary on expensive handbags worn by Pippa Middleton.

According to podiatrist Emma Supple every woman has her own perfect heel height. Vildy took the test provided with the article and would like to add that ankle flexibility may also vary on the time of day.

Lena is intrigued by research that shows how scents can be used to influence our shopping behaviour, and have an impact on how we perceive the displayed merchandise.

Isabel liked how Audrey uses colour theory to put together a wardrobe from scratch.

London based graphic designer Shini Park is originally from Seoul, but was raised in Warsaw. This type of global integrity really speaks to Angie, who enjoys the Park & Cube blog for its mix of lifestyle, food and fashion posts.

Deborah recently discovered fashion label Complex Geometries. Designer Clayton Evans’ views on seasonless, trendless dressing really resonated with her.

I was all over flat oxfords when they re-appeared on the fashion scene in 2008 for three reasons. First, I wore flat white oxfords to death in the ’80s, so it’s a nostalgic and fun style to wear the second time round. Second, I love the look of refined menswear inspired footwear thanks to my tomboy style gene. And third, I’m always interested in closed flat shoes because of their high comfort factor. 

Five years ago, flat oxfords did not get much love from my clients or from our readership. Many liked the idea of the style but were stumped as to how to integrate them into their outfits. I suggested guidelines on how to wear flat oxfords, but still the reactions were very mixed. The challenge was the same: how NOT to look and feel dumpy, stumpy, short legged, flat footed, and masculine.

A laceless version of the flat oxford came out a couple of years ago, which seemed a little more feminine. That style won over more of my clients and our forum members. Availability in softer colours like taupe, nude, blush and light grey also made a difference. 

Now that ankle length and cropped pants are just about the biggest trend on the planet, flat oxfords are gaining even more popularity. Matching them with on trend rolled up boyfriend jeans is another fashionable way to wear the masculine ped. But truly, matching flat oxfords with just about any bottom these days — skirts, dresses, shorts and trousers — is perfectly acceptable. The outfits below show the versatility of the flat oxford across a variety of colours.

I enjoy wearing flat oxfords and just replaced my black and white pair that I walked into the ground. I bought Cole Haan’s Skylar Oxford in mirrored metallic, and couldn’t be happier with them. I like to wear flat oxfords with skinnies and tapered trousers best, both cropped and full length, and always sans socks. I like to showcase the entire shoe and see skin coming through the top of the shoe, which means no socks. That’s what keeps the vibe feminine to my eye. Of course, I can cheat by wearing nude hosiery and knee-highs so that it looks like I’m not wearing socks and still keep my feet warm. 

I’m interested to hear whether, after five years, flat oxfords look better to your eye, especially since wearing high vamped footwear has become completely mainstream. Do you still feel stumpy, dumpy, frumpy and masculine when you wear them? Or do they look fashion forward and flattering?

Here’s an assortment of on-trend pants and skirts, some casual and some dressy. All with oodles of personality. 

• Free People ‘Storm Chaser’ Embroidered Jogging Pants: I like the elasticated ankle hems and the way these pants scrunch when pulled up on the calf. Great coverage for a hot day with a simple pair of sandals. A fresh casual statement. 
• Vince Camuto Colorblock Pants: Do not wear these trousers tight, so size up if you need to. They look best worn a little loose with a tucked top. Modern gamine elegance. 
• 3.1 Phillip Lim Check Print Draped Trousers: Dress these micro checks up or down. Comfy, slouchy, and the look of so many of the trouser styles on runway shows right now. I LOVE it. 
• Vince Camuto Peplum Pencil Skirt: This one is for Team ’80s. Wear a peplum on a skirt instead of a top or jacket. I like the way the peplum is forgiving around the midriff area. Tuck in a top, add a very cropped jacket, or long coat to finish off the outfit. Also available in black if cobalt blue is not your cup of tea. 
• Milly Metallic Leather Skirt: This one is for Team Sci-Fi. Simple and impactful where the fabric of the item does all the talking. I love the matching silver shoes with the skirt. Chic! 
• MICHAEL Michael Kors Chain Print Slim Pants (Plus): I couldn’t resist recommending this retro late ’80s and early ’90s Versace-Gucci-Hermes type pattern. Patterned pants are stronger than ever, and it’s refreshing to see a style that is not a body con skinny pair of jeans. Available across petites and regular sizes too. 

Remember that we are no longer living in a fashion world where things are trendy one year and out the next. That itself is a dated fashion concept. These days, current fashion has a higher degree of longevity. So rest assured you won’t look dated next year or the year thereafter when you purchase trendy items.

Having covered some ground in explaining our fabric selection process at Dobbin, I now want to bring you forward to a more real-time part of the production process: pattern making. 

Since our last entry, we’ve received most, but not all of our Spring 13 Production fabrics. We’re still waiting for some of our new pant, dress and blouse fabrics that we need to complete the collection. We are constantly emailing, calling (and sometimes begging!) fabric agents for updates. It usually all comes together; throughout the process our small team continues to regularly communicate about how best to deal with unexpected turns in the road.

While we deal with fabric hiccups, we’ve also started working with our pattern maker. She works with us on a freelance basis while she works full-time for a mass manufacturer. She’s been in the fashion business for almost 40 years, and is an expert in creating patterns for everything from jeans to red carpet gowns.

Of course, working with her on a part-time basis makes for a lot of schedule juggling, so that’s yet another part of the production puzzle! Many small companies like us use freelance pattern and sample makers because they can’t yet afford to employ them full-time. The other option is to use a pattern service, which is an office of pattern and sample makers and sometimes cutting rooms and production sewers. Pattern services work with small companies and even with larger ones who are in a rush to get a new product to market, and who need an additional resource beyond their in-house pattern makers. Pattern services can be very busy places; we tried working with one, and just felt that our patterns and samples did not get the TLC we demand goes into our Dobbin products.

It’s very hard to find a good pattern maker whether you’re a small or a large company. Pattern making itself has changed a good deal in the past 20 or 30 years. Before patterns could be created by computer programs like CAD (Computer Aided Design), they were all created by draping fabric on a dress form and then drawing up the pattern on paper by hand. Now, many companies who produce on a large scale prefer to use CAD. Patterns are created digitally and sent directly to sample makers or factories for sampling. Many companies who care deeply about the fit of their garments prefer the old-school pattern making techniques. To us, these patterns have more dimensionality and attention to the contours of the body. This kind of pattern making is as much of an art as it is a science.

The dilemma with requiring these techniques is that they’re used mainly by pattern makers who have an enormous amount of experience. And as they retire, there are fewer and fewer of these workers. Younger pattern makers who have graduated from Parsons, FIT or other fashion schools’ pattern making programs either lack experience and knowledge or they work primarily via computer. I’d encourage young people who are interested in a fashion career to think about this lucrative field, and to learn both ways of pattern making. It’s a great job, and one that the fashion industry cannot live without.

In the next post, I’ll touch on how we design our clothes and the considerations we make in the look and fit of each of our products. For now, I will skip that part and do a quick run-down of the beginning stages of working with our pattern maker.

With our sketches, we also hand over optimal measurements for each garment we’ve designed. Our pattern maker then takes the sketches and uses our specially made dress form to create Dobbin-specific patterns.

A few patterns are created at a time. We pick them up from the pattern maker, and then deliver sample fabric and trim (buttons, lining, zippers, etc.) to our sample maker, who sews them for us. We then schedule a fitting, during which Catherine (co-founder of Dobbin and my business partner), our pattern maker and I see the samples on a fit model. We discuss what’s right and wrong about the fit and the feel of the garment, and then our pattern maker goes back and makes the corrections on the original patterns. After the corrections, we make another sample and fit again. We do this three or four times until the fit is perfect, with weeks in between each fitting. We want the fit to be flawless and we won’t settle for less, so the pattern and sample process tends to be the most stressful part of the production process.

Left: The specially made Dobbin form

Right: Sketch from the Spring 2013 range