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Pomona College Magazine is published three times a year by Pomona College
550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
Online Editor: Mark Kendall
For editorial matters:
Editor: Mark Wood
Phone: (909) 621-8158
Fax: (909) 621-8203
PCM Editorial Guidelines
Contact Alumni Records for changes of address, class notes, or notice
of births or deaths.
Phone: (909) 621-8635
Fax: (909) 621-8535
Email: alumni@pomona.edu
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Students/ Frugal fashion
Sew Creative
By Lori DesRochers ’06
Using a black plastic garbage bag, a length of rope and a spark of
ingenuity, Hai-Minh Nguyen ’09 crafted her own gutsy gown for her high
school prom. She was inspired by a photograph in a magazine of a black
leather gown, creased with deep furrows and elegantly swathing the
model’s body. “I figure if you’re going to make something yourself, go
all out,” says Nguyen, sifting through photos of her creations as she
crouches on the floor of her dorm room. “Make it crazy.”
 This
kind of creative challenge and ensuing feeling of accomplishment draws
Nguyen and other Pomona College students to the time-honored craft of
sewing. Few young adults have time learn this skill that used to be a
necessity and a chore. Instead of making clothes because they have to,
these student seamstresses sew their own pieces of clothing do so
because they want to.
Tamara Weiss ’06’s Clark V room is shrouded from floor to ceiling in
billowing batik fabrics and gauzy saris. The hunt for gorgeous fabrics
has taken her to India, China and Fabric Row in her hometown of
Philadelphia. “No one will take me fabric shopping because it takes me
all day,” she says with a laugh.
Weiss began sewing skirts and dresses in the 7th grade out of boredom.
After completing her first shirt, she realized that she had no way to
actually put it on because she had forgotten to put in a zipper. She was
never able to wear it. But this perplexing process of trial and error is
part of what thrills her about designing her own patterns.
“I really don’t like following rules,” says Weiss, who listens to books
on tape while she sews. “I like designing my stuff myself.” She does
still buy “basic clothes” at retail stores, but her often-complimented
fashion style is frequently supplemented with her own designs.
Rachel Andersson ’06 also sees the search as part of the fun of being a
seamstress. She prides herself on finding used clothing in thrift stores
and then making alterations until they become a brand new style. A
simple T-shirt emblazed with an In-N-Out Burger logo becomes a sassy
off-the-shoulder shell, accented with ribbons and a ruffled fringe.
“What I love about adjusting designs is that it’s like solving a
problem,” says Andersson. “You take interesting ways to accomplish a
visual goal. I love working with my hands. It makes me feel accomplished
in a different way than writing a paper.”
Although she interned for a fashion designer in Los Angeles and sold her
own clothing line at an online boutique, Andersson quickly realized that
she did not want to be a fashion designer. “I don’t think I have the
genius, and I wouldn’t want to deal with the petty stuff,” she says.
“There is so much grunt work for such a slim chance of success.”
Yet she plans to use her skills and experiences in fashion to pursue a
career: this fall she is attending the Fashion Institute of Design and
Merchandise in Los Angeles. Her degree program is in merchandise product
development, which she describes as a combination of image development
and trend analysis.
“I'm interested in not just design, but also the workings of the thought
and industry behind it,” said Andersson, an American Studies major.
“After working in the fashion and merchandising world for a while, I'd
love to return to sociology. I want to study how people use style in
self-representation and identity projection, and I think that having had
years as an insider will help me hugely.”
Weiss and Nguyen also see their forays into fashion as a way of
suffusing their worldview into their everyday life. Sewing can make a
political statement or be therapeutic; it can be a distraction or a
point of focus.
“Part of the reason I like it is because it gets me away from
consumerism,’’ says Weiss. “It makes me self-sufficient.”
Nguyen often turns to sewing when she is feeling depressed, finding
comfort in the act of working with her hands and developing a creative
project. “For me, sewing has always been what I need to survive,” she
says. “I have a desire to change my world, to make an impact.” |
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