#looking fat

Many people find this hard to believe, but a lot of us who are -- or have been -- slender know that it is possible for us to look fat.  Some of the garments we tend to avoid are as follows: 

plaid - especially below the waist;

heavy tweeds;

some double-breasted coats and jackets;

pleats - both skirts and slacks; and

naturally - this is a real "duh" - horizontal stripes!

Some years back, I read "Wake Up, I'm Fat!" by Camryn Manheim.  Among the items she cleverly debunks in a list of "If I Were Thins" is:  "If I were thin, I'd wear horizontal stripes.  Why?  They look crappy on everybody!"

Ms. Manheim and I are in total agreement on that one!  However, you may be wondering why the title of this piece concerns Fair Isle, yet I have been expounding on looking fat.  Reason?  Take a look for yourself:  Fair Isle patterning is artfully disguised horizontal stripes!

Now, you might argue with me that you have seen the iconic portrait of the Prince of Wales (the uncrowned Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor) in a Fair Isle jumper.  (If you are not familiar with this portrait, I am providing it for you in the pictorial above.)  You may protest, "He doesn't look fat!"  No, he doesn't, but face the facts.  Look at him in his swimming suit and in the other pictures provided (wearing pleated trousers, heavy tweed and plaid).  Although he may have been a Royal, he was practically skeletal!  Furthermore, his wife, thin as she was, never chose those types of patterns for her wardrobe.  (All right, she may have worn tweed, but it's definitely not a "heavy" tweed and certainly not plaid!).

Another thing to keep in mind is that the inhabitants of the Faeroe Islands during the 19th and previous centuries were poor and ill-fed.  Furthermore, they made these garments of stranded yarn for themselves using different colored left-overs from the beautiful lace shawls that were made for export to a wealthy clientele.