Weaving Words Together to Tell A Hidden Story
The Phantoms for Which Clothes Are Designed
Sewing patterns are designed for imaginary
people, based on average measurements
taken in the 1930s by the WPA
and adjusted over the decades by the Industry.
I sew a Misses 14, designed for a woman
5’5” to 5’6”, 36/28/38,
which is to say no one,
so I alter the pattern to fit a phantom of me
instead of a phantom of her.
She doesn’t need any more dresses.
— Chase Twichell, 1950
When you think of clothing in writing, particularly poetry, a common assumption is that the writer must be writing about appearances; the color of the fabric, the texture if it’s soft as velvet or rough as denim, or if it’s a brand new piece of clothing or an old hand-me-down rag. Clothing is one of the main ways people portray themselves to the world and many people develop a sense of style or fashion, but with the above poem written by New York author, Chase Twichell, she describes the process of making the clothing that people wear and describe, and it’s anything but appealing:
“I do a lot of sewing (clothes). Construction is easy compared to fitting, which is basically math coupled with anticipating how a fabric will behave in 3-D. I’ve probably made a hundred dresses that are perfect on the hanger but don’t fit well enough to wear into the world.” — Chase Twichell
Yet if forming the clothes with a needle and thread is tiresome, one can only imagine the strains that a farmer has when they have to rely on the weather for good rain seasons and a successful harvest. The farmers of the world, especially those who are less fortunate and living in developing countries must live day by day while hoping that their land is healthy enough to bare a fruitful harvest.
This next poem, taken from a Tamil Verse originating from a blog called URGID, explains the trials and tribulations of Indian farmers and how they are abused by their society along with many others:
