Question and Answer
Designer Cynthia Ivey Abitz answers
questions about her garment line.
What's In Store for Summer?
posted 03.20.08
Question: Can you let me know what to expect
for your summer collection? I can't wait to see
what is next!
Answer: This has been a very popular question
this week, apparently from the brief mention of
summer in our latest newsletter.
The Spring 2008 collection will be closing on April
13, and the palette will close, too. An entirely new
palette will make its debut in Summer 2008.
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What Are French Seams?
posted 03.16.08
Question: I read on your website that the
garments have french seams instead of serged
edges. What exactly does that mean?
Answer: Serged edges are a fairly recent
invention. By using an inordinate amount of
thread, seams can be put together with serging
machines. It saves some time in the construction
process, but at Ivey Abitz, we find such edges
unsightly and consider them a shortcut at the
expense of quality.
French seams have been a part of fine garments
for centuries, and they are a two-step process for
our stitchers...
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Who Sews for Ivey Abitz?
posted 03.13.08
Question: I love that everything is handmade so
well. I also like that it's made in the United States
and not some sweatshop -- that is rare these
days. Who sews the garments for Ivey Abitz?
Answer: Our stitchers come from varied
backgrounds, but they do have one thing in
common, and that is their passion for sewing. All
of them have been sewing for at least twenty years
or more; their experience is immense.
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Choosing the Right Fabrics
posted 02.18.08
Q: I love the designs. Now how do I know
what fabric will work for the designs I like?
A: The fabrics are meant to complement the
majority of the designs in the Spring 2008
collection. At the same time, there are some basic
guidelines you can follow, as you make your final
fabric and design combination choices.
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Ivey Abitz origins and dream job
Part 1 in a series of questions posed to Cynthia
Ivey Abitz
posted 02.14.08
Q: Have you always wanted to be a clothing
designer?
A: I've always wanted to create. I've always
wanted to be an artist. I've always been drawn to
design. There's a magnetic pull to the arts that I
won't ever shake. As for appreciating garment
design, it started early. The first memories of my
love for it stems from a collection of dresses I had
at about age 5. I loved them all. At one point...
Voices: Life Stories
Wearing Ivey Abitz
Customers tell all about how they use Ivey
Abitz to form their lives.
Do you have an Ivey Abitz story to tell? We want to
hear it.
Versatility Reigns with Ivey Abitz
Ties and Sashes
by Elizabeth from Missouri
posted 6/05/08
Chasing toddlers on a daily basis and want to be
comfortable? No problem. Just don a beautiful
Baedeker Dress (sans sash) and you can roll
around on the floor with the lil' hobgoblins all day
long. (BONUS FEATURE: the decorative buttons
on the dress keep the kids busy for an extra
20-30 minutes as they try and figure out how to
unbutton them...hehehe). And, when hubby
arrives home unexpectedly with a fist-full
of freshly picked irises (your favorite!) you can
quickly snatch that sash off of the floor, tie it
around your waist, and look as though you dressed
up nice... just for him!
(Something tells me that if my husband sees me
looking this nice all the time, he may bring me
flowers every single day!)
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My Precious Baedeker Shirt
by Elizabeth in Missouri
posted 5/27/08
When Cynthia Ivey Abitz first suggested to me I
try an item in the silk spun taffeta, it brought a
large smile to my face. I think the last time I had
worn taffeta was as a little girl: a poofy skirted
dress that always impelled me to twirl around and
around pretending I was a ballerina.
(Of course, I am sure that taffeta was
polyester...need I say more?)
Not ready to try this "grown up" version of taffeta
(as I had put my dancing days behind me), I
quickly abandoned the idea of using it as a fabric
in my new Wearable Art collection. But then my
eyes beheld a beautiful sight one day and I
realized that I just HAD to have something in that
incredible fabric! (that "beautiful sight" being, of
course, page 20 of the Ivey Abitz Winter 07 Look
Book). And, after a few clicks of the keyboard and
a couple weeks of waiting... that beautiful
Baedeker was all mine!
This time there was no delay...no time to admire
the elegant box and simple bow...just a flurry of
paper as I tore into that tissue looking for my
Baedeker. And there she was. Looking so dainty
(and tiny!) with her vintage black glass buttons
from Prague expertly sewn on the shimmering
fabric...breathtaking! read more...
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My Introduction to "The Baedeker"
by Elizabeth from Missouri
posted 05/21/08
The first piece of wearable art I purchased was the
Baedeker dress in a beautiful Deep Ocean
blue hemstitch jacquard linen. I just love the color
-- it brings back fond memories of walking on the
beach when I lived on the coast of Maine -- and
the fabric has an incredible drape with an oh-so-
subtle sheen. Beautiful. read more...
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Practical and Beautiful
by Elizabeth in Missouri
posted 05/17/08
Beautiful silks and linens. Getting softer with
time. "Year round" fabrics. Now THAT'S practical.
(It makes me want to hug my toddlers even
more.) read more...
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The First 3 Seconds
by Elizabeth in Missouri
posted 05/13/08
I will admit that chasing kids around in stiletto-
heeled shoes and a pencil skirt is not
only impracticable, but downright dangerous. But
who says that motherhood must be unglamorous?
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eleni from florida, final entry
Hollywood Treatment
posted 04.09.08
how many people can say that they have
personal advice from the actual designer of
their clothing!? i love the entire concept of what
Ivey Abitz, the company, does, and they do it so
very well. doesn't it just make you feel so very
special knowing that you can get this kind of
assistance and advice? i mean....we are talking
hollywood treatment here!
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From Eleni in Florida, entry 10
Make a Deal with a Nun
posted 04.03.08
i have always had an unusual (sometimes
downright weird) unique style and taste.
eclectic. that's a good word.
since i was a kid, i remember my clothes were
important to me in defining who i was. i even
went to catholic school and quit because of the
uniforms they made us wear every day...
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From Eleni in Florida, entry 9
Staying Cool in the Florida Heat - in Ivey
Abitz
posted 03.31.08
well, it is also the time of year that i start thinking
about what i can possibly wear to stay cool enough
that i don't pass out when i walk out of my house
(the heat sometimes literally takes my breath
away - it's like walking into a furnace) but stylish
enough that i can still live with myself. this is
where Ivey Abitz comes in...
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From Eleni in Florida, entry 8
gushing about eleanor. the shirt, that is.
posted 03.26.08
now have i mentioned the eleanor? how many
times? i love, love, love (how many times have i
said that?) my eleanor shirts! they are so perfectly
simple & practical, in fact i may actually have one
for every day of the week. but who's counting?
there are so many fabric choices that all of the
clothing pieces look completely different!
where do you stop? how can you stop?
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