Linda Przybyszewski -- Remember the Name!

LizzieMaine · Mar 22, 2009

You might not have heard of her yet, but I bet when this Notre Dame professor's next book comes out, she'll become a familiar name around the Lounge:

http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/9594-a-nation-of-slobs

Discussion-worthy quote from the press release:

Przybyszewski has sewn since she was a little girl and still makes most of her own clothes (“I don’t make sweaters, and I can’t cobble shoes,” she clarifies). Something resonated when she came across a 1950s home economics textbook, “Clothes for You,” by Mildred Graves Ryan and Velma Phillips—“the dress doctors,” she calls them.

Ryan and Phillips’ book taught young girls both the art of dressing and the art of life—sewing, design and color theory, grooming, budgeting. They’re skills girls have missed out on since the disappearance of home economics from school curriculums in the 1970s, Przybyszewski says.

The textbook inspired both her own new book and the University Seminar she’ll teach this fall, “Fashioning the Self: Identity, Aesthetics, Economics and the Clothing of the Human Form.”

Students today live on the other side of two dress revolutions, Przybyszewski notes—the 1920s, when women rebelled against the painful corsets and hourglass figures of the 19th century, and the 1960s, when informality in dress became the norm, “and everything fell apart.”

There used to be a difference between city and country dress, and between day and evening dress, she notes. People used to dress up for church and for funerals. Employers today have to cope with young employees who can’t distinguish between appropriate attire for the beach and for the office.

In exploring the rules of the art of dress from previous eras, Przybyszewski realized that you have to have your clothing tailored, or make it yourself, to apply the rules—you won’t find the right color, the right fabric, the right fit in off-the-rack merchandise.

“Dressmakers feel sorry for people who don’t sew,” she says. “Most people are dependent on ready-to-wear sizing—they don’t realize their clothing could be made to fit.”

"Skeet" McD · Mar 22, 2009

Well, honestly...it would be hard to forget!

Particularly if proper names were allowed in Scrabble.

Oh, how I resonate to that final sentence--that people today don't even know that their clothes could fit. Believe me: this is true of men, as well as women.

As the inhabitant of a body--like many--that refuses to adhere to any known size chart, the ONLY clothes I have ever owned were the historical sets that were made for me. But (as we all know around here, I suppose) before about 1860 EVERYBODY had clothes that fit, and many, many did for decades and decades after that. It is only in our age of.....well, believe me: there are substances beyond brass the Greeks didn't think of, apparently (or were too well-mannered to suggest)....that everyone who is not lucky enough to be very, very rich knows this delight.

Not to mention really FRESH bread, or really FRESH eggs...and a thousand other things once so commonplace no one thought about them.

Mind you: there are trade-offs, and the vast majority of the folks that knew that old world willingly (and gladly) traded for ours. But it is saddening. We can own SO MANY THINGS....thanks to the industrialization and consumer society we live in....but so few of them are of a quality anyone from the past would think was much better than....junk.

We still, in my opinion, live in the best possible time to live.

"Skeet"

Tomasso · Mar 22, 2009

[QUOTE="Skeet" McD] before about 1860 EVERYBODY had clothes that fit, [/QUOTE]By everybody you mean those who had the money to pay a tailor. There were plenty of folks walking around wearing ill fitting cast-offs and hand-me-downs.

CherryRed · Mar 22, 2009

That sounds great! I'll definitely be watching for her book. Thanks for posting this Lizzie.

Fletch · Mar 22, 2009

Based on my Michigan schooling, I'm going to guess the name is pronounced Sure-bish-ESS-kee.

This will be a valuable book in a still expanding corner of academic study. But don't be surprised if she writes about women's clothing exclusively. Then and now there are double standards at work:
a) Men's clothing was a skilled trade when women's was still a craft.
b) Unless you're writing about out-groups or countercultures, clothing is still a women's issue for scholarly purposes. It's about getting published, and relevance to disciplines and other people's research.

"Skeet" McD · Mar 22, 2009

Yes, but....

Tomasso said:
By everybody you mean those who had the money to pay a tailor. There were plenty of folks walking around wearing ill fitting cast-offs and hand-me-downs.

Your point is well taken...and of course I was painting with a very broad brush (basically all of human history up to the 1860s, if taken literally!)...but remember, most folks' clothes came from the womenfolk of the family: for large chunks of time that meaning spinning the thread, weaving the cloth, and making the garments. This is pretty much incontrovertible for the small clothes (shirts, underwear, hose, etc). If you didn't live in a city, the more constructed garments came through barter with a travelling tailor or the shoemaker or tailor in the community. Sometimes money changed hands, but much less frequently than we take for granted.

Under any circumstances, and however acquired, the clothes were made of a quality of materials only the richest could afford today, FIT the original purchaser, and were continuously altered until they couldn't be worn anymore. The second-hand clothing market--and it was also large--is certainly a different matter; at the lower ends of society ill-fitting was of course more common.

But I was speaking in generalities, and I'll stick to my statement. Under any circumstances, it's only one man's opinion...and I offer it as nothing more than that.

Tomasso · Mar 22, 2009

Fletch said:
Based on my Michigan schooling, I'm going to guess the name is pronounced Sure-bish-ESS-kee.

Based on my Chicago schooling, zewski = zhef-skee. Only one city in the world with more Poles than Chicago; that's Warsaw.

MissAmelina · Mar 22, 2009

If you click on Lizzie Maine's original link, the phonetics are noted.

Sounds like a marvelous book, and I agree with her observations.

Paisley · Mar 22, 2009

Has anyone invited Ms. Przbyszewski to the Fedora Lounge? Considering that she's assigned her students to wear repro vintage and report the reactions they get, she might find some of the threads here worth her while.

Lareesie Ladavi · Mar 22, 2009

Tomasso said:
By everybody you mean those who had the money to pay a tailor. There were plenty of folks walking around wearing ill fitting cast-offs and hand-me-downs.

Tomasso, I concur.I don't know...the article seemd very elitist (mainly the title). It would be interesting to see what her background is. The woman gets paid to sew (a book in prgress).
Women of the day had sewn out of necessity (my mother included), not because they thought it was cute. I wonder if the author runs home and changes into her house dress (that she made) while baking cookies, ironing and doting over her demanding husband, while balancing that career, but I digress.
I think there are people that do what they do to get by and the saying "one man's junk is another man's treasure" could apply here. If everyone knew how to sew, books like this wouldn't exist and the author shouldn't bite the hand that feeds her.
Off the record, I like to sew for my own pleasure, but I don't prefer to wear what I make. I do tailor when needed, but I have plenty of store-bought clothing that fits just fine.
I think if there's any book to be wrote, it should be about what looks right on your frame. Sewn clothing can look just as horrible as ill-fitting clothing, if it isn't the right style.

chanteuseCarey · Apr 13, 2009

Lizzie Maine, this sounds great...

and thanks for the link too. As a 38+ years home sewer and fashion history buff I'm looking forward to this. I'd agree with her premises. I just went to my local mall today to the local bookshop hoping to find an old movie on DVD and was appalled at what the men,women, and young people especially were wearing.

I've sewed for myself since I learned in jr high when you could still take a sewing class in public school. But I can't do alterations. I have a very good gal that I have her tailor my clothes for me as I'm a tough fit. I have to buy blouses in a larger size to fit the bust, so she tapers the torso and waist. My skirts and pants usually need the waist nipped in a bit.

I've been very lucky and surprised to find four Vintage 40s day dresses that happen to fit me perfectly.

With how "modern dress" looks these days and how poorly most of it is made and designed, we are truly spoiled here with seeing the great vintage clothes people wear on the FL. It is wonderful to see pics of the terrific clothes that were made in the decades past.

Lady Day · Apr 13, 2009

Students today live on the other side of two dress revolutions, Przybyszewski notes—the 1920s, when women rebelled against the painful corsets and hourglass figures of the 19th century, and the 1960s, when informality in dress became the norm, “and everything fell apart.”

She is so right about this part. This is the niche we live in today. It seems like people want everything customized for their needs today, except clothing.

Go figure.

LD

TimeWarpWife · Aug 6, 2014

Again, I'm late to the party here. I did take Home Economics in 7th and 8th grades because they were required for both girls and boys. Shop was also required for both boys and girls at my middle school. Evidently, in the mid-70s my middle school was very progressive. I actually made A's in shop and C's in Home Ec. I now wish I'd paid more attention when we were learning to sew because as a "big" girl for some reason ready wear manufacturers think that plus size women have 8' long arms. Everything I buy that has long sleeves hangs down to my knees almost - and I have normal length arms.

Lillie Librarie · Aug 7, 2014

I am curious to see what tone this book takes. I took home ec in 9th grade (2000) at my school but it was an elective and they didn't call it home ec it had a fancier name of course. However most of my sewing skill came from my mother. Being a tall girl it is very rare for me to find vintage clothes that fit so I rely on vintage repro and my own sewing but I always wish I made more time to sew my own clothes.

I do hope she would encourage her students to contribute to FL especially in regards to the comments they receive about dressing vintage.

Overall I am horrified with how most people dress today. Especially teenagers and colleges students so a class like this would be a good time to introduce students to another prospective on such things.

Mme Dariaux · Sep 3, 2014

What did you think of the book? I found myself nodding in agreement many a time, but almost an equal number of times I wished to protest. The list of publications in the end of the book was extremely useful, as well as the link to Hearth electronic collection of Home Economics publications(http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/).

Libeled Lady · Jan 14, 2015

I recently stumbled across this book at my library and eagerly checked it out. I finished reading it last night, and as I am a slow thinker, I am still digesting the book's contents.

Like Mme Dariaux, I did not agree with all of the author's arguments. Her claim that black is not a flattering color for clothing particularly rankled. That's a personal bias, though, as I think I look good in black.

I'm no longer in my 20s and am struggling to fill my wardrobe with clothes that are more mature and sophisticated. This book gave me some thoughts as to how best to approach my wardrobe makeover.

DecoDame · Jan 14, 2015

I'm glad this thread got bumped. I was able to find this book in our library system and have requested it. I'm curious to read it.

Learning to sew competently is an ambition of mine. Relying on stock from the stores is never going to make me happy with what I own.

St. Louis · Jan 14, 2015

I met her once at a conference in Springfield, Illinois. Very nice lady. She's obviously passionate about the subject, and of course she has strong views. True, I don't agree with everything she says, but I'm so glad she's saying it. Some of her ideas seem to tally well with Miss Juf Jo in Amsterdam. In some ways I'd say Dr. P is a kindred spirit.

fgradowski · Jan 23, 2015

Hmmmm. Interesting! And this university is only about an hour and a half drive from my hometown.

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