Sew Thus is Life...

WOW its been a while. I think the last thing I said was that I had been entered into the Sew In Love Competition. Since then grades came out, bought a new phone, attended a football game, Christmas, birthday dinners you know the usual... In that time I finally got my hands on some photos of the dress! Rehani was as beautiful as I remember, can't wait to get back to Philly and finish working on her (something I wish i could be doing now, oh well) Thanks to Yulia who was obviously smarter than me to bring her cell phone, as i forgot my camera. Enjoy be blessed this week. me blabbing about the gown answering questions? about the gown AHHHH ALMOST FORGOT! the website is officially up so please please please visit it! you can like the fashion and photography pages!

So that beautiful gown that pictures still yet to exist for? Well it got me an A- in my Advanced Patternmaking class AND its being entered into the Sew in Love Wedding competition in Philly. I was one of five students selected from my school. I feel proud. In another turn of events, my out of commission phone got replaced today with a nice new shiny smartphone. Good day indeed. Lastly as I sign off this quick post, heres a video (taken on said new shiny phone) of my sister doing what she does best. Playing her harp.

 I WORK OUT! Work out, rock out, go out in this dress! This is the dress I decided to create from my " HeartStoppers" collection for Problem Solving. Its poly Ponte knit and cotton. Very easy and fun to make. The giant ruffle things are symbolic of the blood travelling through the body with detail again on the left, an allusion to heart attacks. Shannon (my bestie and model and soon to be owner of said dress) and I realized that even the prints I used in the cotton are symbolic to the circulatory system. One looks like blood, the other blood cells, but in an artsy non- gory, morbid way (considering how morbid the project is. my flirty blood ruffles. :) see the prints? \ back.  suits her figure well, considering its a straight- from- form pattern. Well thats all for now this was just a quick update, be awesome sweethearts!

THANK GOD ALMIGHTY IM FREE AT LAST!! For what was a fairly zen semester, ish surely hits the fan the last week no matter how good you are with time management. Both crits went well and the wedding dress is done! buuuut you still cant see it yet, as my professor is grading it. I can at least post the illustrations So enjoy, love you all. inspiration: local flora of Nigeria and Maryland fabric swatches and color story ^ this is my baby! Say hi to the Rehani Gown ^ Rashida and Tamasha Zahra and Sanaa .

So for the final Problem Solving prject we have to turn one project into a saleable garment. I'm doing the Heart Attack dress and for some reason it makes me wanna dye my hair again. BAD. So as I Youtubed, I stumbled upon Vivalicious' channel. This girl got everything I want/ working for (yes ebonics and bad grammar in FULL EFFECT) Shes a natural (hair, for those not hip. I'm 2 years as of my last birthday:-) she colors, she straightens and her hair is healthy and B- E- A- U-TIFUL. I have a girl crush now. As this relates to fashion.... idk. Well the way I see it, your whole appearance is not delegated to your clothes, its your hair, shoes, accessories, nail polish and makeup. What you choose to do or not I dont care personally, but things CAN make or break a look. In Black culture hair is a big deal. (And no pun on the actual voluminous styles we can pull off). I love my hair. I wear it down, in twists, curls, wash and go's, weaves, braids, buns, wigs you name i...

or as JayMcCarroll says to our class twice a week: tickticktickticktickticktick BOOM! As in the time we have left. As in none. As in the moments slipping away while I sit on the floor by the door in my room typing this instead of drawing. I break to bring any new followers/ casual readers news on my updated site. We're getting there! I'm setting the official launch date at Dec 23! Just in time for the holidays, fully equipped with Flash, HTML, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter Widgets. Go mee go mee go mee! Here are some teaser screenshots:  homepage, main slide about me page- bio/resume download/ this blog I'm excited. It'll make distant interviews and even in person ones nicer because this will have EVERYTHING on it, rather than just schoolwork, which is my print portfolio. Well, sketchbook calls babydolls. Thanks for all the support, you're an awesome bunch.

So this weekend I coerced my sister and her friend to model dresses I've made with the promise of more dresses... Here are a few of the raw unedited photos. About halfway through I noticed these weird smudge/flare spots. Gonna be more work to get them gone but the rest of the photo itself is fine so I pretty much say screw it. I'll try to fix the lens before doing my second shoot this week.  this does not even look like my neighborhood... but it is. felled trees for drama I suppose?  that dress fit her more beautifully than the original fit model or anyone else who wore it.  shoulder details see smudge? ew. hand beading detail photos taken with a Nikon D90 DSLR

So I resolved my issue with FedEx. Tonight I'm planning on sewing my dress, I feel an all nighter because I probably won't have jack to do at work and I can sleep on the way home. I'm a little upset because while cutting my overskirt I goofed and forgot to check my patterns, so I don't have enough to do the second color, without piecing... and I don't want to piece. On the other hand, I did master a 1/8 inch French seam and it was beautiful. I'll have  to get a pic of that. Plus the fabric is VERY open weave and less overall sheer so I don't think nixing that one layer will devoid it of the color aspect I was shooting for. I'm also trying to hurry up and do mad sketching this week for my portfolio. I don't draw full illustrations when I design, and I have to fully illustrate 5 collections. I think I'm only going to do 3 each. I dont have time. The final for Problem Solving asks for 10. So I have 22 illustrations to do by Dec 5/6. fun times ahea...

I'm currently embroiled in a package war with PhilaU and FedEx. Currently highly dislike both parties. They are keeping me from fully cutting out my wedding dress. Ticked off. Anyway I promised my new Problem Solving creation so here goes.  This was inspired by 1960 and 70's fashion and the textiles of Zandra Rhodes. The challenge was stripes  while utilizing high or low contrast. I created "stripes" from recycled vintage polyester and painted chipboard. The underdress is poly taffeta and plastic. fun times.

...but I thought this would be a nice time to see what I'm doing in Problem Solving since I wont be posting any more pictures of anything wedding related till the dress is done. Selfish? Yes. If the groom shouldn't see the dress till the day of why should you? (j/k) Anyway for those not in the know of PhilaU classes, Problem Solving is the class that is like those random Project Runway challenges (make a dress out of dog food! or and old coat! or streamers! I figured it'd be a nice interlude to keep you entertained for a while. So here we go. This project was to study  deconstruction and reconstruction. The challenge was to buy a coat from the thrift store, take it apart and re-work it into a garment or other body adornment. The body emphasis was the shoulder. My base inspiration was Junya Watanabe, a Japanese designer; and Nicki Minaj. This is the resulting "romper". The top is the shell, the shorts are the lining and batting cut out of the jacket. The knit wai...

My phone was on the fritz and I couldn't get the pictures off. But here's my masterpiece slip. in progress finished! I also finished my muslin and will be able to cut final fabrics on Tuesday!! Excited much. 

Steelers lost :-(. So I took out my frustrations on some tulle and cotton poly and finished the crinoline! (kinda). Its functional right now, but super itchy because I haven't actually lined the tiers or edged the hems of the layers. There's 3 layers and each layer is 3 tiers totaling 14" long. The full circumference is 288 inches and is made from three yards of 72" wide. I'll post pictures either tonight or tomorrow.

As soon as most parents hear this, parents thought processes go two ways. Mom: aww I can dress her, and take her shopping and mani- pedis with venti mochas and... le gasp! Her Wedding!*gushes and cuddles* Dads: great, now I have to pay for a pony.... oh crap, and a wedding. *awkwardly smiles at wife*. Fast forward about.... let's say 27 years. Meet Leslie.   Believe it or not, Leslie is the dress, not the model, or the gorgeous baby girl. Its Badgley Mischka my favvve I always found it interesting that designers named their gowns, especially in bridal. Theres Leslie, Katia, Tasha, Katherine, Amanda etc. If you had a girl, there's a 99% chance there is a dress with her name on it. LITERALLY. Example? Here's me, the Whitney: Making this wedding gown has gotten me attached, like most of my work, but the fact it has purpose makes it mean so much more. Some woman could walk down the aisle and say "I do" to the man of her dreams IN MY GOWN [or not: enter Kim K., I d...

First things off, I actually hate slips. But being born and raised in true Southern traditions and as a fashion designer who knows how things should look, hang and FLATTER, let me tell you a slip can make or break a skirt or dress. But back to me, you should know what you're getting into by following my journey the next couple of years. *I'm a 3 semester senior in fashion design at Philadelphia University * I'm from Maryland, born and raised in the DMV (not the dept of motor vehicles, the District [of Columbia], Maryland, Virginia metro area) * I love Jesus, I thank Him for my talents and gifts * I have an awesome boyfriend and a crazy (but supportive and amazing) family. They may make guest appearances. * I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. They may also make appearances. I am making a wedding dress and its driving me crazy. Back to slips and petticoats. I thought to let you all see the vision beforehand, but I thought it would be more fun to go along blindly with me, ...