Interpreting fashion

In reference to Melody Kemp's letter on Reform in fashion dated July 11, 2000, she tailored a wonderfully graphic description of how fashion is interpreted on a fitting basis, which is quite amusing to read.

However, she implies with an animus attitude or rather, racist remarks towards another race by saying "... Jakarta is full of every white males wet dream in black Lycra..." concedes Melody's aversion for male foreigners and her generalization of their manhood which seems a bit aggressive. For the black Lycra, well one can only guess Melody's irritation for their youth and well shaped bodies. Perhaps that makes us believe she is a size 12 or 14. One is to assume she has been shopping at the wrong stores, if she has been fitting herself with parachutes.

Putting aside Melody's snide and anti people remarks let's get to the heart of the matter...being a good fit...If there is clothing that fits badly, we can only put it down to a cheap product line or bad production, which comes back to poor management. It is not the fault of the pattern designers, in my opinion. If one looks at the fashion market today, Jakarta and Bali have a promising future with new, top designers creating new, innovative lines.

Pattern designers are taught basics that have to be abided by (laws and patterns) and only follow through on their orders from above. Finishing and cuts are not made like they were 70 years ago, they are more casual and loose. As for Melody's fitting scenario, one has only to think that she has tried on a very cheap product, or, giving her the benefit of the doubt, been unlucky enough to pick up a faulty garment that slipped through a production check.

Controlling quality of clothes is difficult when one looks at the number of shops, markets and boutiques in Jakarta, because it caters to a wide range and class of people. It is the quality control of the garment industry that controls the outcome of their products. And it is this section alone that needs to be more strict on what goes out ... even then, it still comes back to management in the long run, before we have proper control.

One can only conclude -- be selective to where you shop. In other terms, what you pay for is what you get.

C. PARRY

Jakarta