Artisan Made Outer Wear

Closet Content Analysis: Clothing Art/Closet Gems

 

Choices: Winter Coats & Jackets

NOTE-WORTHY!        

Insofar as winter outer wear goes, after you have had the long camel coat, the black wool pea jacket, the down-filled parka or the shearling jacket, it’s time to purchase something unique. Shopping at arts and crafts shows, artist-owned co-operatives or museum and art gallery shops, even for winter outer wear can be rewarding. First you are supporting a craftsperson, local or international, and second you are getting a piece never seen in a department store.

The coats here are examples of work by master artisans in Canada and Eastern Europe.

Sometimes it feels like it hurts when you make a big purchase, so I really beleive that the more expensive things should be gems that you keep in your closet, not trends. 

- Amber Valletta

Artisan-made coat purchased at Galerie d'Art, Quebec City, October, 2004

Carolyn, Toronto-born and raised and now living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, bought her "festive holiday coat" in Quebec City. The artisan's shop was just inside the wall of the old city and was filled with Quebec-made knit, woven and sewn crafts and clothing. When Carolyn saw the coat she just had to have it and when she put it on, she visualized herself in a horse drawn sleigh. In fact, she did take a horse-drawn carriage ride after buying the coat. She only wears the coat two or three times a year, however, like a precious gem, it doesn't get "old" and it still makes her feel special.





The coat is reversible: red velvet "patchwork" on one side and blue wool on the other. It is stitched with multi-coloured crocheting and beading details. It features a hood and scarf which are also reversible.

Savelia decided to bring old world craftsmanship to Canada after meeting a master seamstress in Ukraine who made beautiful coats with the centuries-old tradition of appliqués. She brought them to Canada and sold them to friends, family and acquaintances as well as through artisans' shows and her self-sponsored fashion shows. Recently, unfortunately, the artisan in Ukraine is at a standstill since she is now becoming too old to maintain a steady stream of articles for a retail trade and must find an apprentice or apprentices to learn her craft. That puts Savelia with only two or three coats left in her inventory (the one in the photograph is the one long coat left) with an undetermined timeline for replacements.

I received what was called an "Eskimo" parka as a Christmas gift when I was a teenager in Manitoba. In Canada, the term "Inuit" now replaces all former references to "Eskimo". It was a beige wool parka, similar to felted wool, with Inuit inspired designs on the lower park of the three-quarter length jacket. It had a fur-trimmed hood and a dark brown waterproof overlay with matching Inuit designs. When the two-piece parka and shell was no longer a fad, it became a "gem" because of the timeless quality. These jackets are now being sold online as "vintage Eskimo parkas".

There's never a new fashion but it's old.

- Geoffrey Chaucer