The Opinionated Tailor: Recent Episodes
Krista West and Ancient Faith Radio
The Opinionated Tailor is a glimpse into the colorful world of Krista West, ecclesiastical tailor, priest's wife, and mother. In her podcasts, she discusses any and all matters pertaining to Orthodox church vesture, parish life, motherhood, and faith.
In this podcast, Kh. Krista explains step-by-step how vestments are made, from the very first phone call to the finished garments.
Krista explores the topic of missions and evangelism through the lens of the ancient beauty of the Church and her living room.
Krista explores the topic of missions and evangelism through the lens of the ancient beauty of the Church and her living room.
Ever wonder why stuff looks different in the Orthodox Church? Krista helps us imagine being Roman in the late antique period and learning how textile usage then influences aesthetics in the Church today.
Krista muses on faith with works and creating our praxis, or the practice of our faith.
Want to bring more beauty to your church, but don't know where to begin? Listen is as Krista shares some easy tips and ideas for making and keeping your church beautiful.
Krista West recently wrote an article about Beauty in the Church for a priest whose church was starting a building program and they wanted to raise awareness about beauty in the Church.
Have you ever felt incomplete or unfinished? Krista shares what moving to an old home has taught her about bringing life to completion in Christ.
Kh Krista talks about the gifts and struggles of parenting if you haven't grown up with good role models.
In this podcast, Kh. Krista reads Dorothy Sayers's essay "Why Work?" which was written over 70 years ago and yet is highly relevant today.
Kh. Krista encourages us to learn to work efficiently and deeply and make every moment count.
In part one of three of her new series, Kh. Krista explains why raising skillful children is important and then focuses on practical suggestions for ages birth through 7.
Kh. Krista discusses her complicated relationship with her late father, which became less so as she helped him negotiate the end of his life.
Kh. Krista turns her thoughts to the fast fashion industry and what its implications are for our vestment tradition.
On a recent research trip overseas, Kh. Krista visited San Marcos in Venice, Italy, a church adorned with looted Byzantine art and iconography. In doing so, she was really hit by the magnitude of the loss of Constantinople, which prompted a reflection on beauty and the sublime.
As a Christmas gift to her listeners, Kh. Krista reads The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde.
Kh. Krista completes the first chapter of her book on the origins and traditions of Orthodox Vestments.
With this podcast, Kh. Krista continues reading from her book on Orthodox vestments, discussing the ancient garments of Greece and Rome and their transformation into Orthodox Christian liturgical dress.
With this podcast, Kh. Krista continues reading from her book on Orthodox vestments, discussing the ancient garments of Greece and Rome and their transformation into Orthodox Christian liturgical dress.
Kh. Krista contemplates the differences between Mary and Martha, in light of making Arabic pastries.
With this podcast, Kh. Krista continues reading from her book on Orthodox vestments, discussing the ancient garments of Greece and Rome and their transformation into Orthodox Christian liturgical dress.
Kh. Krista begins reading from her book-in-progress on the origins and traditions of Orthodox vestments.
Kh. Krista encourages us to put down the service books and enter more fully into this year's Lenten services.
Getting ready for both a new baby and a new book on vestments has Kh. Krista thinking about preparation in general.
As part of a disciplined life, Kh. Krista discusses the place occupied by balance, eikonimia, and rest.
Is almsgiving just about money? Kh. Krista explores how almsgiving teaches us to let go.
In part two of her series on leading a more disciplined life, Kh. Krista looks at the traditional discipline of prayer.
How good are you at going with the flow? Can you "abase and abound," as St. Paul mentions in Philippians? Kh. Krista uses her experience making cassocks to consider this topic.
Christ charms us into His kingdom, says Khouria Krista West, and this is nowhere more evident than in the physical manifestation of beauty within the Church.
On the list of 7 deadly sins in the Bible, the 5th one is Gluttony. In a society where we are often denied nothing, how do we as Orthodox Christians face this issue head on? Kh. Krista has a very personal experience to share with us today.
Kh. Krista muses on Christmas, preparation, twinkly lights and priorities as we draw closer to Christmas day.
Today, Kh. Krista lets us in on her planning and final completion of her new workshop where ecclesiastical vestments are made.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
Today Kh. Krista celebrates the laborer who works with his or her hands in a day of automation and machinery.
Kh. Krista takes us into her workshop where she is working on some unique and unusual cutting projects.
Today Kh. Krista reads a fascinating and instructive article from the Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies about Byzantine iconography compared to western art.
The Bible says we are to pray without ceasing. But does that include when we have a paint brush in our hand?
Kh. Krista imagines an Orthodox world where our priorities favor the beauty of our Temples rather than the beauty of our cars.
Since today is Holy Friday, Kh. Krista takes a departure from her usual topics of vestments and beauty in the Church and gives a meditation on motherhood and death.
Kh. Krista gives some reflections on the prayer of St. Ephraim from a tailor's point of view. 16:09
In this podcast, Kh. Krista explains step-by-step how vestments are made, from the very first phone call to the finished garments.
Kh. Krista walks us through her journey and experiences that brought her to the world of ecclesiastical tailoring.
Kh. Krista continues her informative tour paying particular close attention to what the deacon and priest are wearing. Don't miss her perspective on the importance of the beauty of the fabric close to the end!
Today we walk through the temple and learn about the fabrics, vestments and colors that we encounter. This is part 1 of our tour.
In this episode Kh. Krista gives us some history on the use of the cassock and shares her opinion on how it should be used today.
Kh. Krista gives a helpful perspective on current cassock usage in the US and the modern history of clerical dress in America since the 1950s.