Lifestyle
The Amish lead very simple lives due to their religious beliefs and their commitment to God. There are so many things that they do not possess, that we take for granted, such as electricity and cars. These are all connections to the outside world, and a temptation to give in to the restrictions of the modern world.They are a very close knit community who have their own land with farms, crops etc, producing everything they need for themselves. They rely on each other to run the community, therefore require no connection with the outside world, only if it is necessary, such as medical help.
They are not allowed to marry outside their faith, so marry within the community, leading to genetic diseases such as dwarfism.
Another restriction that they have is that they are not allowed to take photographs or have any taken of them, which is the reason why I do not have much imagery.
Restriction and simplicity will be very important to my designs, possibly dwarfism could inspire a play on proportion and silhouette.
Clothing
Amish clothing is really important in deciding what my designs will look like because it is very particular. It is very simple just like the rest of their lives are, very uniform.
Women wear dresses with long sleeves and full length skirts of a block colour, which are covered with a cape or apron.
Men wear dark coloured suits, straight cut coats without lapels and vests both with hooks and eyes. They also wear solid coloured shirts and broadfall trousers. Also black or straw broad-brimmed hats.
As I am focussing on tailoring for this project, the Amish menswear is much more inspirational. It definitely inspires: simple, bold and oversized, and also a masculine silhouette. The fabrics are completely plain, which is something I may decide to incorporate into my designs. Aquascutum on the other hand is known for its prints, so I will have to consider both!
