Dressing up is no laughing matter. The way we dress significantly affects the way we make people view us. It also affects our self-consciousness and confidence. It sets the image we project and reflects even our attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, and principles in life. The way we dress can even make or break a job interview, a date, or even a simple dinner with family or friends. A poor way of dressing is even considered by others as more shameful than walking down the street without any piece of clothing at all.



The need to dress up well is more than just a superficial concern; it is actually a vital component of personality development. It is beyond wearing the trendiest nor the most expensive; rather, it is about picking the best clothing pieces that can cover, protect, and enhance our bodies. The dress we wear is among the initial points of impression making people use to evaluate us. The appropriateness of what we wear to where and when are some dimensions of dressing up. These are important considerations in dressing.

Not only once did we see in many television shows dressing up experts talk about proper grooming and attire. Actually, it is almost everyday that America would ring the alarm for numerous grooming emergency. In "Oprah" alone, the number of episodes wherein common Americans were given life-altering tips on how to dress properly has reached almost double than any episode with a different topic. The phenomenal hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and all its official and unofficial versions all over the world have their handful shares of people in dire need of proper dressing up dos and donts. But I think the media has been very responsive enough to this national or even global need of competent education on dressing up well. Fashion-oriented shows are abundant in both local and cable channels, features on top shopping store choices are as many as news programs, and there are even shows that are specifically made for dressing up and dressmaking. In "Project Runway," not only are potential fashion designers being groomed for stardom but the public is also being educated on what constitute decent and good dressing up. But I think the strongest point of the show is that it sends a message that knowledge is indeed power-- knowledge on how to make good clothing pieces is empowerment for good dressing.

If we would come to think of it, the idea of knowledge on dressmaking as a self-empowerment is every obvious point. Sadly, for whatever reason most of us may have, we have overlooked this simple logic. We have been not recognizing that, indeed, knowledge is power, and had we always had knowledge, we would certainly not have caused ourselves unforgettable fashion crises. Not only that, knowledge on dressmaking can even be a very profitable profession. We are all witnesses to the stories of Giani Versace, Giorgio Armani, Vera Wang, and Monique Lhuillier who have turned their knowledge to great power and fortune.

Learning how to make beautiful clothes is not at all a painstaking venture. Of course, there are difficulties in it as in other fields would have. But the beauty of dressmaking is that it enables one to grasp a skill that is inevitable in all economic, political, and social situations. The industry of dressmaking is among toughest industries of all times. May it be in war or peace, poverty or prosperity, clothing is a basic need we all cannot do without.

Learning how to make clothing pieces is actually already very easy these days. With the advent of rapid modernization, dressmaking has also become very dynamic and interactive. People can now acquire a degree or training courses in dressmaking through online education. Aside from the usual English language course or computer course, people can now equip themselves with the necessary training to be the next top dressmaker or designer. The power of world wide web has made it a lot easier to have a good training in dressmaking. One can even earn a bachelor's or masteral degree on dressmaking by making that first step of enrolling on a college course online.

The Penn Foster Career School offers vocational training programs on dressmaking and design, Professional Career Development Institute has a fashion merchandising course, Westwood College Online offers a Bachelor's degree on Fashion Merchandising, and the Fashion Institute of Technology has more than five online training courses on dressmaking and other related areas. These are just some of the many training schools and institutes that have made dressmaking more accessible to the lay citizens of this world.