DAVIDSON, Sask. – From behind the screen came the whisper of cloth and women’s murmurings as they submitted to length and width appraisals of their bodies.
It was the end of a workshop that kept two instructors and their tape measures busy long after the formal talk was done. The women lined up to pay for clothes fitting advice from Nancy Michalishen and Collette Salym who run Nacol’s Perfect Silhouette in Melville, Sask.
“A lot of women think they can lose 25 pounds and wear anything, but that’s not true,” said Michalishen.
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She and her partner both sold women’s clothing and agree on their present system. The silhouette system uses 13 measurements and a computerized program to suggest styles for individuals based on how their body parts balance and harmonize.
The fashion session was part of a day-long retreat, along with health, vacation and home decor tips to help rural women in central Saskatchewan ignore a string of -30 degree days last month. Organized by the Carlton Trail Regional College, 106 women attended, said Nola Schmiedge.
The popularity of the clothing session is based on the fact everyone wants to look good and won’t trust their own mirror. After personally analyzing 400 women in the two-year history of their company, Michalishen said everyone can look attractive, even if they are overweight, as long as they wear styles that flatter their skin tones or figure.
Some women already dress well but are in a style rut and need advice to venture out of it. Other women like to emphasize their best feature, such as legs, to the detriment of the whole person.
Little extra in the middle
A common problem for women is wider hips, but Michalishen said the real dimension problem is higher up: As women have children and age, they all tend to develop a protruding abdomen, whatever their weight.
The partners in this business are willing to travel to do assessments in women’s homes or to handle workshop groups. That’s a desirable attitude for those serving farm women. Michalishen, who also farms grain in the Willowbrook area with her husband, said she spends a third of her time on the clothing business, mostly in the winter.
“I’m a rural woman, I farm, and when I head to the city I want to look good.”
But what’s popular in the city is not always appropriate for the farm.
“In the city there’s a lot more need for dress suits. Out here, the style is more relaxed – easy care, easy wear.
“I feel rural women should spend their fashion dollar where they spend their time,” and for most, that is in jeans and other casual wear.
The partners don’t recommend stores to buy clothes or what colors to purchase. That’s up to the women who, armed with the system’s style recommendations, can mull over store selections or peruse fabric shops.
