Long Time No Post

Hello All,

I realize it’s been quite a while since I last updated… I will try to stay on top of things a little more. Due to my insane schedule this month, my normal state of dis-organization has gotten even worse. I have tons of school papers and projects floating around in my car just begging to be put in binders.

Because of the fact that I will be in classes right up until the runway show, I am voluntarily taking some classes a few quarters early in order to lighten my load down the line. However, this means that I am in class (this month) 5 to 6 days a week… no, I don’t know how I do it either! This month my line up for classes is: History of Fashion II, Computer Aided Design II, Grading III (grading my black dress pattern), Technical Flat Sketch, and Design: Line and Proportion.

Let’s talk for a minute about Flat Sketch… which I must say is a total pain in the ass. In the course of one hour I not only developed turrets but also an extreme hatred for pants. The process of producing a flat sketch is basically this:

Lay the item out on a table. Take dozens of measurements of said item. Use these measurements to create an accurate to scale (and detailed) drawing of the item.

It isn’t exactly hard, but can get confusing (aka: frustrating as hell). I don’t think anybody really enjoys doing this, but it’s one of those skills that will be useful in finding a job in the industry.

Also, in September I begin work on my storyboards for my line. So I’ve been spending my downtime working on designing my line. I’m not going to give it away to you guys (you’ll have to wait and see) but it’s a fall collection, and I’m playing with a 20’s drop-waist sort of silhouette. I have a few solid pieces designed, but the rest I’m still working on. There’s also the possibility that I’ll completely change my mind a dozen more time too… I’m a gemini, it’s what we do.

History of Fashion

History of fashion is one of my favorite classes this quarter so far. I dont have to memorize names and dates of things that would only be useful on a triva show, so this makes it much more fun than high school/college history lessons! My homework for this class is to sketch some original ideas taking inspiration from the time periods. Lauren (my very first blog commentor!) suggested I post my sketches, so here they are, along with the time period that inspired them:

Egyptian inspired dress:

Minoan inspired gown,  loosely inspired by the shape of the bulls horns and the traditional colors of Minoan frescoes (the colors didn’t show very well when scanned):

 

 

 

Classical Roman inspired dress (back and front):

Let the Stress Begin!

Hi All,

 I’m officially back from vacation, and yesterday marked the start of a new quarter at school. This is quarter 3 of 5, I’m almost at the halfway point and this is where it gets serious!

We are at the beginning stages of planning the fashion show, and I got a handout of the deadlines this weekend. Somehow I didn’t realize that I would be THIS crunched for time. The initial sketches of my line are due at the end of September, this gives me less than 3 months! All of this of course has to be done outside of my regular 40 hour workweek + 18 hour school week. Needless to say I’m a bit overwhelmed, but I’m fully prepared to get down to business… caffine here I come!

Also, I went to the high end fabric store on my lunch break today (after exhausting all of my other, cheaper alternatives) and only found one fabric to my liking. I’ll take it as a compliment to my good taste that it’ll be setting me back $45/yard. Ouch. Tonight I’ll be finishing up the pattern (just a tweak to the hem) and trying to figure out how to squish all the pieces into as few yards as possible. (I decided to scrap the pleats around the pockets too, I just couldn’t get them to hang correctly.)

On a positive note I started my history of fashion class series yesterday, which proved to be very interesting and inspiring.

Well, I didn’t have any luck finding my black dress fabric last night 😦 I found a beautiful wool/rayon crepe that I thought would work quite well, but there was a 10 yard minimum and I couldn’t really justify buying that deep. I will have to suck it up and either try to find something while on my trip, or visit the (very expensive!) fabric store here when I return. I did get a little lucky though, I found a beautiful dark olive colored silk that I may use for my line.

I also had a meeting last night to start planning for the fashion show (graduation). Though it isn’t until April of 08, there is a lot of planning involved. My committee is promotions, so there will be much work involved contacting press, advertising, and trying to attract interest from local buyers. We’ve also got to plan for a silent auction to raise funds, which will take place around Thanksgiving. Lukily, La Dayjob is fairly mellow and allows me to multi-task.

Though I technically have class tonight, I’m taking the night off. The class is to work on our black dress, which basically involves: make a muslin (mock up version in a cheap cotton fabric), alter the pattern, sew a new muslin, repeat, repeat, repeat. During this class I’m usually off in a corner working on my own anyways, so I dont feel too guilty. Part of playing hookie is also lazyness, for 2 reasons:

 1) I leave for my trip tomorrow morning and I’d like to have time to get ready; if I go to class I don’t get home until 9 (four days a week people!).

2) One of my sewing machines (the 1975 Elna I keep at school) is spazzing out on me and needs to go in for a check up. This means lugging my computerized Pfaff back and forth. The Pfaff isn’t a metal beast like the Elna, so I’m paranoid about damaging it.

What I need to tweak on my dress:

The volume of the skirt, it’s a little too a-line at the moment

The front pleats, I just need to move them slightly

The hemline (figuring out the exact length and making the shirt-tail detail)

The cuffs

It sounds like a lot when I write it out, but I still have 2 weeks to do it and I think I should be able to get most of it done at home. Perhaps I will take a picture of one of the muslins for you guys next week!

Pack Like a Pro

I’m leaving on Wednesday for a short trip back home to visit friends and family (yay!). I travel semi frequently, so I thought I’d share my packing tips.

Since I rarely take a trip longer than a week (and I suspect the airlines don’t give a crap about my stuff) I’m a carry-on only kinda gal. The key to this is to maximize space, and minimize wrinkling. You will need 1 carry-on bag/suitcase, and 1 totebag (or a Murse if you’re a dude).

Suitcase: 1) Lay any nice pants, jackets or dresses flat along the bottom, leaving extra length hanging out of the suitcase. (you will later fold that extra up over your other packed items) 

2) Any jeans or non-wrinkle pron items can be folded as usual and set on top of the first layer.

3) Fold tops lengthwise in half (hotdog style), stack on top of each other, and roll ’em like sushi. Rolling = less folding = less wrinkling. The one verticle fold in the shirt will come out easily when you wear it. It also helps if you separate your rolls by sleve length, so you know whats in what bundle (ie: tanks, long sleve, etc.)

4) Now flip the excess lenth of the first layer (step 1) up over the rest of your clothing. These clothes are now basically wrapped around all of your other clothes and are sitting in a soft U shape. No folds, no wrinkles!

5) Put shoes in along the side walls of the bag, sole facing away from your nice clean clothes.

6) Now get out that 1 liter zip-lock baggie and fill it with your liquid toiletries (3oz. or less). If your salon will give you little sample packets of shampoo and such, this is even better since they are flat. Also take your regular toiletry pouch with your brushes and other non liquids, you can transfer from your zip-lock after the flight. Luckily I use mineral makeup (powder), so this creates some much needed room in my zip lock.

7) Toiletries should go in your tote so that you can pull the zip-lock out easily for security checks. Your tote will be most accessable during the trip, so pack your purse essentials, passport, magazines, ipod, etc. in the tote.

Thats about it; I’d love to hear your tips for packing as well!

Jobbers and the Black Dress

Today my school will be getting a semi-annual visit from “The Brothers” as they are so called by the students and staff. The Brothers (S. Rimmon & Co.) are jobbers who operate out of LA. A jobber is fashion speak for fabric suppliers who get their stock by buying “leftovers” from fabric mills and clothing manufacturers. They usually have small quantities of fabric and you can’t reorder, but these guys in particular have always got some beautiful designer fabrics and sell for amazing prices.

Anyhow, I’m pretty excited to check out their selection and possibly make a few purchases! What I’m really on the lookout for is some fabric for my black dress. The black dress is the first big project that I’ve been working on for school (it’s our pattern making final), and I’ve been procrastinating on buying my fabric for it. I’ve got to have all of the pattern pieces cut out of the final fabric and ready to sew by the 2^nd week in July… never mind that my pattern isn’t done yet J If I don’t find any fabric for it from the brothers I’ll have to buckle down and buy some at retail price, but I’d honestly rather not!

The guidelines for the black dress are:

1) It has to be black (duh).

2) It has to be appropriate for a job interview (or appropriate with a jacket over it).

3) We are designing it to fit ourselves, so body shape should be considered.

4) We will have to grade the dress later, so it should be fairly simple. (Grading is the process of sizing a pattern up or down, more on this later)

 

The silhouette is inspired by a Chloe creation from FW06

 

 

The Chloe, as worn by the beautiful Jessica Stam. (Loves it!)

(Photo courtesy of Style.com)

Rough sketch of the black dress. More of a shirt dress than the Chloe (shirt tail hem + cuffs), with some pleated pockets. The back will have an inverted kick pleat and the waistband will tie into a bow in the back. And of course, picture this in black!

First Post!

Hello Reader!

Welcome to my blog. Though this is more of a belated welcome, as I dont have any readers right now… you probably found this in the archives 🙂

A little bit about myself, and the future of this blog:

As of right now, I have about 9 months to go until I graduate from fashion design school. I love clothes (and  purses, and shoes, duh!), and I love the fact that these things (if done correctly) are functional art. I realize that the fashion industry is mysterious to outsiders. Part of the reason I’m creating this blog is to share my thoughts and experiences as I become part of this world. I am still in the process of becoming a fashion “insider” and learning new things everyday.

I hope to include:

School projects/experiences, fashion related tidbits and gossip, biased runway coverage, random thoughts/subjects as I see fit, book reviews, and I’m happy to take reader requests/suggestions when I get some readers 🙂