Where Did The Wearables Go?

Back in the day, a quilter would always wear a garment that she had sewn to the monthly Guild meeting. This garment would attract more quilters to the pattern and the next month there would be even more quilted garments. Show 'n Tell is a major part of every Guild meeting.

In Quilt Show terms, these are called "Wearables". I recently came upon a program brochure for my Guild"s 2000 Quilt Show. There were six pages of wearable art in the program including 32 vests, 15 jackets, 5 sweatshirts, and 1 purse. There were also skirts and dresses and jewelry.

Our 2020 Quilt Show had only 2 jackets. There were also 7 tote bags and 4 umbrellas. Things have changed. But why?

Fads is the obvious answer. Whether it"s square dancing or quilting, styles come and go in cycles. Maybe these patterns weren"t selling because styles had changed? Maybe we no longer want to model what we have made. We are all getting older and perhaps the idea of other women looking at us no longer appeals to us.

Perhaps it"s global warming. Quilted jackets and sweatshirts may have become too warm for parts of the United States. Maybe better control of temperatures inside buildings has progressed to the point that we don"t need to take as many extra layers to meetings.

Fashionista recently had a heading "Fashion is still obsessed with quilting, according to the Fall 2020 runways". Modern fashion designers have picked up the quilted look and we see it on the runway. Shades of blue and darker plain fabrics seem to lead the way. A look at Vogue tells us that quilting is the "in" thing for Fall.

What caught my eye was the quilted slippers! Do you think the Coronavirus has confined me to the house for too long?

https://fashionista.com/2020/02/fall-2020-trend-quilting

https://www.vogue.com/article/puff-piece-ten-down-jackets-to-consider-this-winter