I love the bias cut for shaping and fitting. I so tried to get my step-daughter, who had the most magnificent figure, to let me dress her a la Jean Harlow, but she was too young, too shy and too Swedish to buck trends at the time. Now, of course, she is in her 30s and says she regrets the decision, but I haven't cut and fit a complex dress for probably 15 years now.

I always wondered with all of the "dangly bits" attached to wrists etc how they managed without standing around with their arms extended. Did they knock over things or set parts of their dress on fire when reaching for a cocktail over candlelight?