The Stylista: True Couture

Couture. The word is wrongly and overly used today. It used so casually, that those who truely work hard to make clothes that are the essence of couture, no longer wish to use the term in the same way. Juicy Couture is not couture. Its crap fabric that is mass produced in a dusty factory. Nothing against dusty factories; that is where everyone begins. But it does not deserve the rewarded title of being couture. Today people think that couture is simply high fashion, something with a fat price tag. In the dictionary, the word couture is defined in several ways. Here are a few :
1) "High fashion and dress making" Maybe thats the definition people take when wanting to staple it to their brands. Its a bad definition.
2) "The clothes and related articles designed by such designers." Again not a complete definition.

THIS is couture, from the Wikepedia, who got it right:
"Haute couture (French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking"; refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. It originally referred to Englishman Charles Frederick Worth's work, produced in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century. In modern France, haute couture is a "protected name" that can be used only by firms that meet certain well-defined standards.

However, the term is also used loosely to describe all high-fashion custom-fitted clothing, whether it is produced in Paris or in other fashion capitals such as Milan, London, Rome, New York and Tokyo. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. You simply cannot find anything couture at a low cost and for good reason. Only the finest most expensive, handmade fabrics are used, and sometimes taken from preserved fabrics that are carefully removed from very antique museumesque pieces of clothing. Every applique, every sequin, every glass and crystal bead is meticulously hand sewn with the finest of care, as done in Valentinos couture white number below. A couture piece is a treasured collectible. And dont get me wrong, you dont have to be a big designer to make couture pieces. If any designer really takes the time to wisely choose their fabrics, and hand sew their pieces with time and attention, can deservingly describe their treasured work as couture.
Below are some of falls 2008 couture pieces from designers, who use the sacred word when they present peices that have hours of work put into them. So the next time you see the word couture attatched to a piece of clothing, take a closer look and see the truth.