The title of this one is pretty self-explanatory. I was in two minds whether to include a collar like this. The whole topic of sexuality at work is a tricky one. There is no doubt that some women do use their sexuality as a way of advancing their careers, and that the double standard still applies. There are male womanisers in my profession, of course, and people smile and wink. Women who do it, on the other hand, are often viewed with some distaste and even a tinge of pity. There is also a very strong argument that women’s sexuality has always been strictly policed and controlled, and this just continues into the workplace, a method of social control that should be challenged. So, it is a contentious area, and a difficult one to work with, but one which has to be included in any serious discuss of women’s clothing at work.
This collar is a bit of a cheat as I bought the neckpiece and then stitched some feather trim around the edge. I had forgotten the hazards of using this kind of elaborate edging, which is that they can often have a prodigious amount of glue keeping them together which quickly transfers to the needle. I had to throw two away because they were so gunged up by the end. The idea is a bit of a cheat too, as I saw it in Cloth magazine ages ago and had a yen to make one.
I think that this one would be wearable in the evening. My inspiration comes from Mata Hari and all the jewellery and accessories of the Roaring Twenties:
I think I bought the centrepiece in Liberty:
All this is reminding me that I bought a bargain copy of the recent version of The Great Gatsby and that I should sit down and watch it, if only for the costumes.
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