I Became a Clothing Designer in Another World - Chapter 7

"Hmm..."

After finishing my meal and returning to my room, I began to contemplate how to accomplish the tasks given by my mother.

That's what I'd like to say, but I was just burying my head in my desk, staring at paper without doing anything.

I couldn't help it; nothing was coming to mind.

Especially regarding the maid outfit.

I had a vague idea of what to do with the butler's uniform, but I had no clue where to start with the maid outfit.

"Young Master."

As I was diligently drawing meaningless dots on the paper, Emily, who had brought a chair and sat nearby, narrowed her eyes and cautiously called out to me.

"What?"

"Is there a reason you've been staring at me since a while ago?"

"Have I?"

"Yes, your eyes met mine every 10 seconds."

"Huh..."

It was almost an unconscious action.

I probably couldn't keep my eyes still because I was so frustrated.

I put the pencil down on the paper, leaned back in the chair, and looked up at the ceiling.

"After you left the dining hall, my mother gave me two missions, you know?"

"Not just scolded you?"

"I was scolded too, anyway, she gave me two missions, and I readily said I would do them?"

"Yes."

"But as soon as I sat down at my desk, I didn't know what to do, so I couldn't even start."

"Where are you stuck?"

"The maid outfit."

"What did Madam say?"

"My mother said the direction of the maid outfit was ambiguous and told me to fix it, but in my opinion, the maid outfit is perfect."

"Is that why you kept looking at me..."

"I don't know where to fix it."

"......"

Emily's head drops.

Does Emily not have an answer either?

"Haa..."

I sighed and ran my hand over my face.

I needed something to clear my head, whether it was a change of pace or sleep.

"Tsk..."

I lightly clicked my tongue and stood up from my seat.

"Uhhng..."

"Young Master."

"Yeah?"

As I stretched my arms up and yawned, Emily, who was looking down and examining her clothes, cautiously called out to me.

"What's wrong?"

"When do you wear this outfit?"

"When greeting guests, of course."

"I see."

Smiling, Emily lifted her head and made eye contact with me.

"Then, in my opinion, there are about two problems with it."

"What?"

At most 1 minute.

She found two problems in that short amount of time when I couldn't find any even after thinking for dozens of minutes.

I was so surprised that I stared blankly at Emily, and Emily, wearing a triumphant smile, pointed to her chest and said.

"First, the buttons used to fasten the clothes should be moved to the back or hidden."

"Why?"

"Madam once said that the point of beauty in dresses is that buttons or straps are not exposed, if you're curious, take a close look at Madam's or Miss's dresses."

"But the clothes you used to wear had straps in the front."

"We also cover them with aprons, and most importantly, we don't have to appear in front of guests."

"Ah."

I was overthinking it too much and missed a trivial part.

I think I know why my mother told me to discuss it with Emily.

"Ha... Then, what's the other one?"

Feeling a sense of futility from wasting time digging on my own, I chuckled and asked about the other problem Emily found.

Then Emily pointed to the cuffs and neckline and said.

"The collar and cuffs should be made detachable."

"Why? Wouldn't that be more inconvenient?"

"Because it's hard to wash, you can't wash the whole outfit just because the sleeves and collar got dirty."

"Still, it's prettier and more... when they're attached."

"Then will Young Master do the laundry?"

"......"

I avoided Emily's eyes, which were glaring fiercely, and closed my mouth.

I can't say anything when the person doing the housework says it's difficult.

The way for a high-ranking person to survive for a long time is to listen to the voices of the people below, so I gave up on being stubborn and immediately offered an apology.

"Sorry, I'll detach them."

"Thank you."

Then, Emily's expression quickly softened, and she bowed her head and expressed her gratitude.

"Is there anything else besides that?"

"Hmm... Wouldn't a hair cap be better than a hairband for the head?"

"Ah, I'm going to have them use what they used to use, the hairband is only for you."

"Ah... Then I don't think there's anything else."

"Is that so?"

If that's the case, then the parts I need to touch are the buttons, sleeves, and collar.

It doesn't seem like it will take too long.

If I start quickly, I can finish it in the morning.

I pointed to the dressing room with my thumb and said.

"Then go change into the clothes and come here right now so I can start repairing them."

"Yes."

_

After the part that was blocked was resolved thanks to Emily, things progressed quickly.

"Emily, your clothes smell nice."

"... Young Master, please show some consideration to women."

"Ah, sorry..."

The repair started with Emily's cold glare.

"How should I do the cuffs?"

"I hope the length is about half a hand span, it can prevent the clothes from getting dirty, and I hope the collar can cover half of the neck."

"Okay, is there anything else?"

"Hmm... Can you make them stiff? So that they hold their shape well."

"I can do it if I have interfacing fabric."

First, make detachable collars and cuffs with the fabric left over from yesterday.

"You need to put on two buttons so they don't fall off easily while working."

"Should I put two buttons on the collar above the collarbone, and for the cuffs? Along the wrist circumference? Or towards the armpit?"

"Please attach them towards the armpit."

"Okay."

Make a part on the existing sleeves and collar where you can attach buttons to fix the collar and cuffs.

"Isn't it uncomfortable to fasten the buttons with this overlay?"

"I don't think the fabric will get in the way at this level."

As a last step, I added a long piece of fabric along the buttonhole line of the front closure to hide the buttons when the clothes are fastened, and the problem with the maid outfit could be finished in the morning.

After neatly cleaning up all the loose threads that I couldn't clean up in the morning, I stood up from my seat and unfolded the repaired dress.

From top to bottom, from bottom to top.

After checking for problems for the last time while rolling my eyes several times, I held the dress out to Emily as it was.

"What do you think when you look at it?"

"Hmm..."

Emily's eyes narrowed, and her eyes moved busily.

After scanning the black dress as if disassembling and analyzing it in silence, Emily gently raised the corners of her lips and simply left a word.

"It's perfect."

"Is that so?"

"Then we should confirm the reception maid outfit with this design."

"Yes."

Now that the design has been confirmed, all that's left is to draw it in three views on paper.

I neatly folded the dress and handed it to Emily, then glanced at the clock on the desk.

Lunchtime is in a few minutes.

"Should we do the rest after eating?"

"Yes."

You have to eat every meal, no matter what.

_

Unlike maids, butlers already had uniforms of their own.

This is because, unlike maids who do odd jobs in unseen places, butlers already show their faces for various reasons, such as accompanying employers on outings, greeting guests, running errands, and serving at banquets or meals.

Therefore, there is no need to create a new uniform for the butler, but what my mother requested this time was a new uniform that 'matches the maid outfit'.

So, I was thinking of dividing the butlers' uniforms into full dress and informal dress through this opportunity.

Raise the clothes you used to wear to full dress worn for important events, and make the new clothes so that they can be worn in a versatile way like casual suits.

"I should make the butler uniform a tailcoat."

"A tailcoat?"

"Yeah."

So the target I set was the tailcoat.

If you think of that coat with two tails that butlers wear all the time in novels or comics, you're right.

The reason why the tailcoat was created was very practical: to move comfortably.

In Europe, until the 18th century, coats that came down to the knees were like formal wear for nobles.

The problem was that it was very uncomfortable for knights who moved often or people who liked horseback riding, and the tailcoat originated from people who cut off the hem of the coat appropriately to make it easier to move.

As you can see from the reason it was created, the tailcoat was worn as active wear, but after going through various twists and turns, it settled as formal wear for nobles in modern times, and then the tailcoat, which had become an outdated outfit as the trend moved to other formal wear, was worn by butlers.

Of course, it is still a polite formal wear that can be worn as formal wear in important places, but this is all from the previous world.

"Isn't that the clothes that knights wear?"

"Yeah, that's right, nobles sometimes wear it when horseback riding."

"I see."

In this world, tailcoats were still being used as active wear.

I was really lucky.

If the tailcoat was used as formal wear for nobles, I would have to change the direction to classic suits or tuxedos, which would be a little disappointing.

For me, if it's a butler, it's a tailcoat, and if it's a tailcoat, a butler comes to mind, which is common sense.

It is impossible to deny this common sense.

"But Young Master, if it's a tailcoat, you'll have to make a set of coats, vests, pants, and shirts, can you make the design and clothes at the same time in a week?"

"Well... I have to do what I can."

"You're not thinking of staying up all night again, are you?"

"Haha, I'll try."

"You're definitely not, right?"

"Hahaha!"

"Ugh! Young Maaaaster!"