The
Black Skirt
Initiative

What's so darn special about the black skirt of The Black Skirt Initiative?

It's plain. Very plain. And elegant and sensual and useful and forgiving and nearly indestructible. It allows you to be who and what you are, whatever that maybe. It is comfortable in a way that is impossible to imagine until you put it on. It is not lazy-sweats comfortable...it is better than that. More comfortable, and you know you look wonderful and can go anywhere and do anything, come home and fall asleep and do it all some more tomorrow. Throw it in the laundry when necessary. It is an Ideal Garment.

What measurements do you need to make me a skirt?

Most important, we need your "hip" measurement, which actually needs to be the measurement around the biggest part of your butt. Yup. That's the important thing. We also need to know your waist measurement, and the distance from where you like skirts to rest on your torso to the ground, or wherever you want your skirt to end.

In addition, anything you want to tell us about your body, how you like your clothing to fit or problems you have had with the fit of clothing in the past is helpful.

Do you make skirts for bigger women?

Bigger than what? Tokyo?

We don't care what "size" you are. We work from actual measurements, your measurements, whatever they are, and that is the end of that.

What fabrics do I have to choose from?

The main fabric for The Black Skirt Initiative Black Skirts is a flat, matte, stretch velvet. Black, of course. There is also a panne stretch velvet, which has a sort of glimmer to it. The third fabric is fleece. Black, of course. And it makes a fantastic skirt, long or short. then finally we have come to love a "ponte roma" polyester, which is matte and very useful and comfortable. Who are we to say "no"? If you beg and plead and pay extra, we can also make skirts and pants in wool jersey or double knit. But let's leave that for later...

How will my Black Skirt save me money?

In the winter time, if you wear Ideal fleece pants or skirts instead of jeans, you will (one) look better, more graceful and more comfortable, sleek and more like Myrna Loy at all times, but (two) you will be able to turn down the thermostat by at least 10 degrees. No, we are not kidding. Say you are an energy conscious person and you put your winter thermostat at 72 degrees. If you are wearing Ideal Barely-There Winter-Ware, you can turn that thermostat down to 62 and be completely comfortable. (Actually, you can turn it down lower than that, but we don't want to scare you.) Plus, you will be a lot more comfortable when you go out of doors. Less shocking. I know it is hard to believe, and you are convinced that jeans are warm. They aren't. Cotton has virtually no thermal value, and putting long underwear underneath is not a very sexy or comfortable or flattering solution. Your Ideal skirt will keep you warm, and heat up the room with their sensual delightfulness. Ideal garments also save you money on dry cleaning and on pantihose and on pricey fragile shoes, since Ideal garments do not expose legs and shoes to criticism (unless you want them to.)

Moreover, you will save time, money and energy all year by not constantly driving to the mall or other shops, looking for a perfect skirt or pants. Once you have your ideal garment you don't really feel the need to keep looking for more garments.

No, this isn't the most clever business model in the world. But our point is to understand and re-invent clothing for the contemporary human, not to try to sell you things you don't need. And since we don't have a big old factory and a bunch of middle managers to keep fed, it is a perfectly fine business model. Thanks for asking, though.

How do I care for my skirt?

Machine wash and dry. Don't overdo with the heat, and it is not a great idea to wash velvet or fleece with cotton towels. The lint! But otherwise, just wash and dry. Or wash and air dry. Use fabric softener, if possible.

I'm planning to lose some weight... Can my Ideal Black skirt Initiative skirt be easily altered?

Yes. Ideal skirts are very easy to take in, and they are very forgiving if you put on a few pounds. Too forgiving, and you might not notice, so watch out!

What do I wear under my Black Skirt?

The best thing under these skirts is Scientific Panties, or something like that. There are a few "boy-short" briefs that manufacturers erratically offer and which work, if you can find them. It's not as easy as you would think it would be, so good luck. Spanx and things like that destroy the entire point and purpose of Ideal Garments. Unless, as a very stylish French stylist recently told me she does, you buy your Spanx a size too large, so they are not tight and do not bind. We'll take her word for it, and leave our Scientific Panties ON. You can simply wear nothing under your skirt, which works fine though it can be a little bare. Generally women are more comfortable, look and feel better, if their outer clothing doesn't have the opportunity to creep into their butt. Wear panties, but do not wear any kind of bikini or high-cut brief. They create a diagonal line across your butt which is apparent and ruins the grace and dignity of your clothing. See the Panty Manifesto. Heterosexual men love panty-lines because to them it looks like you are just in your underwear. Clothing dissolves away. Nice for them. Not so nice for you, since they then treat you as though they just saw you in your underwear. Yikes. Honestly.

Who is going to make all these skirts?

We are. Depending on how many skirts you people actually order, we will be just our small crowd of Ideal die-hards, operating out of our super green, passive solar, historic firestation. If we are over-run with orders, we will recruit some of the many individuals, many new immigrants to Kansas City, who make their living by light sewing. Actually, since we are in a city with a long history of textile manufacturing, the is no problem finding people who are able to make things better than we can.

Why do you need money? Aren't there grants and things like that for urban renewal?

You would think so, and there sort of are. Yet even if a project fits the guidelines for "aid", one still needs a pot of gold to open the doors to resources. We have solved the mystery as to why the urban core remains obstinately forsaken while Wal-Mart uses blight-remediation dollars to plow up field after field for new stores. Turns out you have to have quite a bit of money in the bank before "incentives" are available. Then resources get sucked up by those companies able to hire savvy consultants. Oh, it's been an education, and a grim one, and on many fronts. The ill behavior is rampant, from the profiteering, speculating slumlords, to the city, county and state laws and institutional biases that keep everything stagnant, to the developers who ignore areas until they see a way to make money off of them, and do so at the peril of the community. Yes. The only solution we have found is to put together funds in the regular way, by earning money or, in our case, coaxing initial investment out of generous family and friends, and then just go ahead and fix up our corner of the world.

Having said that, in this first case we are working with many agencies, and do hope to get a little assistance of one kind or another, but who knows. This particular project, with which we are launching The Black Skirt Intitiative, is to heal a block that has a disproportionate effect on a whole city, for good or for bad. So it seems like a good idea to have a whole big bunch of collaboration and buy-in to whatever we do. In contrast, in a situation where The Black Skirt Initiative is intended to repair a block of blight in a low-profile neighborhood, that neighborhood will just raise the money and do the work. Programs for residential aid are extremely restrictive and demeaning, and the paperwork difficult to negotiate. It often seems impenetrable, a system set up to be gamed by speculators and developers.

All this is why we came to the conclusion that it would be easier, and better for neighborhoods and their sense of self and accomplishment, to just acquire funds through plain old creative productivity. This is the very heart and soul of The Black Skirt Initiative. Won't it be interesting to see how it works?

How much money do you plan to raise with the Black Skirt Initiative?

Lots. We are aiming for one million american dollars this year. We might be able to leverage that into 2-5M of grants and investment. Wish us luck. And buy a skirt or two. One short, and one long. One velvet, one fleece. That will solve pretty much all of your problems, and some of ours.

Who are you people, and how do you come up with this stuff?

We are standard-issue people of regular ages and normal education who, for a variety of reasons, are interested in how people stuck in civilization can live more gloriously, glamorously, deliciously, delightfully and everything good; while at the same time reducing effort, use of resources, trouble and strife and all things bad. Our unwavering belief that any neighborhood can rise like a phoenix from its own ashes, along with our profound indignation at the institutionalized and systematic injustice and discrimination that leads to profound and baked-on blight, has led us to this point in our urban adventure.

Where did you take those photos, and who are those women?

All the photos on this site were taken on our block, on Troost in Kansas City, MO. We didn't do anything at all, other than walk around and snap photos. Trespass a little, I suppose. The models are some of the beautiful women that surround us. One of them is our neighbor who is winding up medical school this year. Another works for a landscaping company and is a community activist in the neighborhood.

Why is Ideal Garment in Kansas City? And why on Troost?

Kansas City is a perfectly fine place, and somewhat forsaken so a person has time to think and do science and figure out problems, like "what can a human wear in this contemporary world without feeling diminished, and without breaking the bank?" Troost Avenue is lovely, tree-lined and historic, and again, a bit forsaken. It is also the center of the city, and its most diverse corridor, in every direction. And we can walk to museums, shops and restaurants and bars that host live music. What's not to like? You should come visit. Maybe learn to make something for yourself.

Where can I learn more about this philosophy of garments? Does it apply to things other than skirts and pants?

Go to our main website, idealgarment.com, or to our blog, idealgarment.blogspot.com. Ideal Garment is a line of research and reasoning that encompasses every aspect of clothing, and accessories. We are very sad that we don't know how to make shoes, so we are still victim of the industry on that count. Very sad. But every other aspect is up for understanding. Feel free to jump into the discussion.






home + buy something + faqs & figures + the black skirt initiative + testimonials
ideal garment + bottle bidet + about + contact us

ideal garment + 4518 troost ave. + kcmo 64110 + 816-206-6837
idealgarment.com + theblackskirtinitiative.com + New Hoboken (facebook)