Have you Ever..?

So here's the sitch... It's my sister's birthday next week, and I've been completely blanking on what to get her (she's one of those people who never want anything). Finally the perfect idea came to me: a homemade purse! So a week passes and I still haven't gotten anywhere closer to even starting this purse.

Here I am, at midnight on a Friday night, telling myself that I actually have to get serious about making this present now. I picked out a fabric for the outside and the inside and I came up with a design that I could bead on the outside. All is good. I unfold the fabric I planned to use for the outside, a rich maroon fabric. After a few minutes I realize that there is really way too much fabric to "waste" on a purse. In fact, there is definitely enough fabric to make a dress. So I get the dress form (Jill) out of my closet and get my pins and start playing around. For an extra flair I even take the fabric I had been planning on using for the inside and wrap it around the dress for a sash that crosses at the back and reaches forward to create straps. I step back from my handiwork and realize that I can no longer use the fabrics I had chosen to make the present for my sister.

My plans for tomorrow involve me rummaging through my bags of fabrics and discarded thrift store clothes to attempt to find the new fabric for this purse. And then I actually need to do it...like for serious.

And hey, who knows, I might even make a step by step blog entry about the creative process...maybe.

D.I.M. (Do it Myself)

My latest endeavor: A homemade headband

I started with a wire base and shaped it to my head. Then because wire is actually really not that comfortable (shock of the century!) I decided to cover it with a basic fabric. I chose some gray material I had lying around and cut it to the right size. My next step was to pin it into place and sew it on top of the wire. Once this was completed I could get down to the real business.

I took three strands of fabric (light blue, medium blue, and hot pink) and braided them together. After that I made sure that the braided strand would actually fit over the size of the headband. Thankfully it almost did, and I had the perfect solution so that it wouldn't look weird. I had a white bow also hanging out with my various bits and bobbles of sewing stuff, something I acquired from a dress that I purchased at a thrift store. The dress itself was pretty awful, but it had cool yellow buttons and several of these white bows. Being me, I promptly took it apart.

Next I had to sew the braid to the band. This wasn't too complicated except that the thread kept tangling and knotting (like it ALWAYS does) making it necessary to stop and restart several times. It wasn't the best sewing job I could've done but it worked for what I wanted. The last step was sewing on the bow to the spot that the braid stopped. Once this was done my project was complete.

Now I just need to make a killer outfit to go with it! :)

New Beginning

I have all this time and lots of ideas of how to fill it. First and foremost I want to work more on my art, something that I've always enjoyed but never had the chance to fully indulge in. And also I want to spend more time learning the art of sewing. So from here on out I will attempt to be more faithful in my posting and show you whatever I'm up to. I have lots of projects going on, and I want to share them ALL with you. But you'll have to wait a little bit :)

Body Works

The problem with having a blog is that you actually have to remember to write in it. I however fail miserably at remembering (as you can tell by my lack of posts). Really sometimes I don't know why I bother. I do actually have something to write about (kind of). I've been working on dress designs based on internal structures. Mainly it's been really frustrating and hard work. Trying to get the right balance of high fashion with still a resemblance to anatomy. I think I've finally gotten into a good place where I can make progress. Now my only blockade is finding the time...

Anyway, had a long day bent over ye olde sewing machine. I spent too much time working on a hemline, but I was trying to get it straight (something I also usually fail quite miserably at). But it paid out in the end and is actually reasonably straight. Now of course I feel like Frankenstein's monster with my stiff shoulders.

I suppose that's all for now, perhaps I shall get into the habit of writing entries every so often. Instead of months later... We'll see!

Fashion Fun Online

If you're bored online ever and want to have some fashion fun the following websites are just for you:

http://www.i-dressup.com/
On this site you can play various dressup and makeover games. You can create an account and earn "i-coins" for playing games which you can then use to purchase clothing for your closet. Good if you just need to waste some time.

http://www.polyvore.com
This site is great. You can create "sets" of fashion trends, models, makeup, text, or whatever else you want to put on there using the tools they provide. It's like creating your own fashion magazine page. Very fun.

http://www.girlsense.com
Another good site. This website allows you to open your own boutique and design your own fashions. You start with garments they provide but can transform them in practically every way imaginable. You can then sell your garments to other users.

Hope you have some fun!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

It was several days before the Fourth of July and I was convinced I could make an outfit fitting for the occasion. I awoke with the design in my mind and immediately I sketched it roughly on a bit of scratch paper. I anxiously anticipated the moment when I would set to turning this bit of fashion imagination into reality.

However as many people have learned time and time again, nothing ever goes as we planned. I spent several hours creating this dress. I made the top and although it fit at first I added another layer which unfortunately was too tight. I then decided to remove it. I then continued on my adventure, carefully cutting the skirt and sewing all my pieces together neatly. But alas, fate struck again. The skirt was misbehaving most atrociously. I put in a zipper in hopes this would solve all my problems...it
didn't.

I then scrapped the zipper for a longer one. I thought everything was peachy keen until I realized how horribly I had put the zipper in. Unfortunately by this point I was too beat to rip it out and try again. So I flung the carcass aside and left to retire my career as a designer of patriotic rubbish. Alas, as I was relaxing reading the newspaper I had the silly idea to read my horoscope. It said something along the lines of: "Look past a small disappointment. It may not be a lost cause. Back to the drawing board."

I was quite scandalized. How could my horoscope be so clever and demanding!? But for all my foolishness I listened and returned to the my lair where occurs my fashion havoc. I went into my box of "projects in progress" and was quite intrigued to find a project which I had completely forgotten about. It was the beginnings of a vest: a red flower pattern on white, with a blue back. Quite horribly patriotic.

So as the moral of the story goes if at first you don't succeed...throw it out and start again!

First Flight of Fashion

"Fashion anticipates, and elegance is a state of mind...a mirror of the time in which we live, a translation of the future, and should never be static." (Oleg Cassini)

I quote the words of French-born American fashion designer Oleg Cassini (1913-2006) as a fitting start to this blog. For I am aiming for this to be a place where fashion is more than just another pretty face...so to speak. For fashion is something that can't really be described. It comes from all around us and yet it sends us into a spiral of questions resembling closely "which came first, the chicken or the egg". It is frequently changing and reemerging and disappearing. It's a beast that can never be seen or caught, but who we know is out there.

Which is why it fascinates us. It's why people are frequently writing about it, dedicating their lives to it, or merely reading about it in magazines. It's something that no matter how hard you try you cannot escape. For fashion in its most simplest terms is merely the clothing we wear, and unless you happen to be a nudist (no offense to anyone who is a nudist) you're going to be wearing clothes.

As I begin this I'm not exactly sure what I will use this for. Perhaps for feedback on my own designs or just for simple conversation about fashion news or whatnot. But I can promise that this will be a place to come for anyone who wants to dip their toes into fashion but are afraid as well as for those who are already confident in their clothing.