Hem (pronounced hemm)
(1) To fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc.); form an edge or border on or around (short for hemline).
(2) To enclose or confine (usually followed by in, around, or about).
(3) An edge made by folding back the margin of cloth and sewing it down.
(4) The edge or border of a garment, drape, etc, especially at the bottom.
(5) The edge, border, or margin of anything.
(6) In architecture, the raised edge forming the volute of an ionic capital.
(7) In literature, a device (sometimes explicitly oral) to indicate hesitation or faltering.
(8) In textual transcription, a representation of the sound of clearing the throat, used to gain attention, express hesitation, etc (onomatopoeic).
Pre-1000: From the Middle English hemm, from the Old English hem (probably akin to hamm (enclosure)), from the Proto-Germanic hamjam, from the Old Norse hemja (to bridle, curb). Related words included the Swedish hämma (to stop, restrain), the Old Frisian hemma (to hinder), the Middle Dutch and German hemmen (to hem in, stop, hinder), the ultimate root apparently kem (to compress) and it was concurrent with other, geographically distributed forms, hemo and haem. Later, in the US there was briefly the variant haemo. The same Germanic root yielded also the Old English hamm, common in place names where it means "enclosure, land hemmed in by water or high ground, land in a river bend". In Middle English, hem also was a symbol of pride or ostentation. The representation of the clearing of the throat, an imitative form, was first recorded in the 1520s. The literary device, hem (and the now almost extinct haw) first recorded in 1786, haw being derived from hesitation. The now common meaning of a border or fringe emerged in the late-fourteenth century, the variation of which “shut-in or confined”, dates from fifty years later. Hem & hemming are nouns, verbs & adjectives, hemmer is a noun and hemmed is a verb; the noun plural is hems.
Hems: The importance of being weighted
Chanel’s original bouclé cardigan jacket with weighted hems (1955, left), Audrey Hepburn's (1929–1993) take on the LBD (little black dress, 1960, centre) and Brigitte Bardot (1934-2025) in a mini (Rome, 1963, right).
Coco Chanel (1883–1971) introduced weighted hems in 1955 as a feature of her bouclé cardigan jackets. Paired usually with a straight skirt, and simple blouse made from fabric matching the jacket lining, its signature design innovation was the weighted hem, engineered with a small gilded chain. A weighted-hem’s purpose is to add weight so the jacket or skirt hangs close to the body and sits properly when worn. It also serves as a counterbalance if a jacket has large, potentially heavy, buttons which can cause the garment to pull forward on the shoulders. The slight weight helps any wrinkles to hang out, especially if, like linen, the fabric is prone to them.
The idea proved helpful for photographers and film-directors. They'd long been used to fashioning all sorts of ad-hoc structural devices (wire, cardboard, tape etc) to make hair or clothing sit exactly where was needed for a shot and, if sufficiently rigid, such superstructure could even withstand all but string winds. The rakish swish of Audrey Hepburn's LBD was achieved with internal supports which ensured the wind-blown look could be both perfected and maintained; it was the weighted hem writ large. To have garments made with channels for a metal chain proved very handy, the chain able quickly to be swapped for something less flexible when a skirt or jacket needed to be maintained in position while photographs were taken. In this case the weighted hems were used as a structural member, providing the rigidity which lent the garment the desired shape. By the time Brigitte Bardot was being photographed in Rome in the 1960s, for the adventurous, hem-lines were rising further above the knee so the functionality of the weighted hem assumed a new importance, particularly on windy days. Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) of course made famous the dramatic possibilities the combination of a well-directed draft and billowing fabric could achieve but that was a staged "wardrobe malfunction" with a camera-crew assembled. Weighted hems were helpful in avoiding unplanned malfunctions.
Mademoiselle Bardot is wearing what the industry called a “fit-and-flare dress”, the first element an allusion to the closely-fitted “shirtwaist”, the latter referencing the exaggerated lairing of the skirt. The garments were produced as dresses but the same look could be achieved on a mix & match basis with a top/skirt combo. Either way, the defining features were (1) a fitted bodice (often structured or darted), (2) a nipped-in waist, a voluminous skirt (often with a lightweight internal structure or a similarly supportive petticoat and (3) a knee-length hemline. Although there were many interpretations, on catwalks or in catalogues, the fashion houses presented them usually with short sleeves and vertical stripes were popular, a trick use to create a visual perception of height, counter-balancing the sheer width created by the flaring. Even more than most styles, the “fit-and-flare” look really worked well only on the slender and preferably tall. Historians of fashion regard “fit-and-flare dress” as a continuation of the silhouette defined by the “New Look–influenced day dress” associated with Christian Dior’s (1905–1957) late-1940s collections. For the “fit-and-flare” motif, a form of weighted hems sometimes were fitted but they were part of a structure which maintained the flare, rather than “weighing things down”.
Mademoiselle Bardot for some years (apparently contentedly) drove a 1954 Simca Type 9 Weekend Cabriolet which was a fully-finished, pre-production prototype. The factory provided her with the car to generate publicity and in what was apparently a rather loose contra-arrangement, she did some promotional work for Simca (such as being photographed adoring their cars) and after some six years in her hands, the car was passed (either sold or gifted, both tales appear) to her friend and neighbour, the French sculptor César Baldaccini (1921–1998). The cabriolet still exists and is on permanent display at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jaguar devoted time and resources to testing the E-Type but one thing which slipped through the pre-production process was a buffeting the OTS's (open two seater, Jaguar's historic term for a roadster) fabric soft-top exhibited at certain speeds. It seems an obvious thing not to notice but, like the Hubble telescope's mis-shaped mirror, it was just one of those things. With the E-Type’s release date locked-in, it was too late to redesign the components and it was a hint at the machine's intrinsic unsuitability for mass-production. The factory had not expected demand to exist in anything close to what instantly emerged (they'd expected to sell several hundred) but the world was seduced and to this day the E-Type remains the definitive Jaguar. The consensus among the cognoscenti seems to be if Jaguar had anticipated what a huge seller the E-Type would become they might have (1) devoted a few more months to the development and (2) on the production line spent maybe another £40 per car, meaning many of the E-Type's inherent problems might have been solved and adding £40 to the price would likely not much have affected demand.
A "hem dress" is one with a hemline with an edge of the fabric turned under and stitched, usually with a fold or seam to prevent the fabric from unravelling and the technique can be applied to a variety of styles, including empire-line, sheath, shift, wrap, and maxi dresses, and can be made from any number of fabrics including cotton, silk, chiffon, or lace. The length of a hem dress varies according to the design and can be adjusted to suit individual preferences. Often added a flourish, hem can be worn on formal occasions, in work settings or as everyday wear. Although not a technically challenging project for a seamstress, making a bubble dress into a hem dress does demand a thoughtful design because it's all too easy to end up with something just too busy above the knee and, the bubble line being inherently "bubbly", they can end up looking untidy and even unfinished. Designers recommend that where possible, the hem detail should be matched with a similar duplication of horizontal lines at the waist and above the bustline. Visually, the hem dress can be hard to distinguish from the bubble dress and, at the margins, there is some overlap.
No comments:
Post a Comment