Can a bell curve inspire fashion? Well to answer that let’s start with what is a bell curve. Probably in school you heard the phrase grading on a curve but may not have thought too much about it. In statistics, data is categorized by distributions. There are different types of distributions, but probably the most commonly recognized would be the normal distribution. (It definitely isn’t the most common as data is never perfect in the real world!) Instead of thinking of the example I had said earlier, “grading on a curve”, let’s think of something even easier. Let’s go with the heights of 100 different men. We will say for simplicity that you randomly asked 100 men for their heights. You’d probably have a few that are short, a few that are very tall but the majority would fall somewhere in the middle. If we created a plot where we started to bin these heights you may end up with a plot looking like this:
This plot is a normal distribution, or a bell curve! Having data in this format can make more complicated concepts work very nicely such as forecasting the cost of an object or showing the relationship between age and height, but that would be for another post. Let’s get back to just a distribution. As I said earlier most data isn’t perfect though and a lot of the time tends to fall more to one side or the other so it becomes skewed data. This can lead to a plot that may look more like it has a tail. An example could be thinking about the prices of clothes you own. Most people may own more basics that range on the less expensive side, some pieces that cost some money, then a couple items that cost a lot. If we plotted this on a similar chart as before we now get a chart with a tail.
So now how could we use this to inspire fashion? Well something as important and unique as a normal distribution deserves only the best which is why I used it as the inspiration for a gown! I decided to have the gown have a curved shape on top and then flow out on the sides to almost tapper to that bell curve shape. In addition I brought the fabric together in the back so that it forms a tail to be inspired by skewed data. Here is what my original drawing was..very simplistic and spoiler alert, I skip the sleeves..
I found a gorgeous bright blue lining fabric and a navy blue lace to give it the perfect flowing effect. I started out the construction for this by sewing the lining underneath. I wanted it to be form fitted so it didn’t take away from the lace. I sewed the bodice first and added a simple straight skirt to it. On the back I brought it together with a cut out just as a fun detail. I used simple clasps, and did not add a zipper. I also added a piece of ribbon around the neck to really create the dramatic curve neckline I was going for. This would also help in holding up the dress.
Now that the underneath was complete. I could start on the lace draping. This ended up being the easiest part as I just draped the 2.5 yards of lace around the top edging of the gown. I sewed this onto to the lining and then went around and cut out a decorative edge to the lace on the bottom. It was fully coming together! The last step was to add a clasp to the lace on the back which I did with a simple hook and eye.
Putting this gown together was probably one of the most fun sewing projects I’ve completed, and I was able to learn more about pattern making to do it. I think the bell curve influence is definitely seen but also not too over the top where it’s obnoxious. This looks like a gown fit for the red carpet! What do you think of this creation and do you think I completed the challenge? Did a normal distribution inspire fashion? Watch the full video to see more footage of this beautiful gown!
Want more information about normal distributions? Check out these sites below!
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