Love Story

Winter Plaids et la Ali MacGraw

So this one started with the garment and not the movie! At the beginning of October, I took a ten week course on tailoring that wrapped up a little over a week ago and I am pleased to unveil the final product of that learning experience— a plaid wool tailored blazer :)

I took this class through the Sewing Training Academy , under my teacher Trishawna Quincy. It was really nice to be in a classroom setting, especially to learn a more a daunting skill of the trade. Using a mix of hand tailoring and speed tailoring techniques, we sewed the Jasika Blazer from Closet Core Patterns. The directions were really great, but I was still glad to get more fine tuned tutorials and advice along the way. This great plaid came from my teacher’s stash of wools and provided an extra challenge. Having to match plaids for the first time made cutting out the pattern a feat in itself! After testing the sizing, I made a few adjustments to the fit, most importantly, moving up the “roll line” where the lapel folds and the buttons start, making it three button instead of one for a more vintage feel. I was also able to hone in and gain confidence on welt pockets, collars and full linings— lots of sewing uplevels! All in all, this jacket took around 30 hours of labor, so I am glad the effort resulted in a classic jacket I am proud of and am excited to wear!

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Blazers, wool, plaid… with that frame of reference I went looking for a movie with same sort of winter prep sensibility. Enter Love Story, 1970. I had never seen this movie before, but I had clippings of some stills on my bulletin board, so it’s been on my inspiration radar, and on a quick search of “preppy movies” (lol) it turned up on a few different “best of lists”, plus, it fits a mildly Christmas mood. I checked it out from the library and gave it a watch. Okay, so the movie, starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, was nothing to write home about. This 70’s romantic drama block buster tells the tale of dating over socioeconomic lines and a love between the millionaire Harvard preppy, Oliver, and the middle class Radcliffe girl, Jenny. We follow their love story from start to end, from meeting to marriage to tragedy. It was a very quick book to film adaptation with both being released in 1970, and so kind of reminds me of my experience of The Graduate (1963 book, 1967 movie). I really liked that movie, and when I read the book I was expecting to get more nuance and character insight, but it was the actually the performances in the film version that gave it all to me. So the source material was perhaps a good jumping off point but not the deepest well, and the film exceeded it. I’ve seen the same said about Love Story, yet despite the tragic ending, it wasn’t able to stir up much emotion within me. What I did love, however, was the fashion! This film ended up being just what I needed it to be, a sartorial influence.

Great layering, great tailoring and great plaids are seen through out the film. I loved the details like leather buttons (my choice too!), sweaters under blazers, plaid scarves to match plaid skirts, and colored tights.

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I plan to spend the better half of Christmas weekend curled up in this same fashion, and Shane’s been really loving the soundtrack, with it’s harpsichord, baroque flair, and ice skating waltzes… I hope you all have a very happy holiday :) !!