This is completely irrelevant to weddings...

By -
...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 waistband was reworked into armholes and the top is actually cut from the sleeves. The buttons and zipper were recylced from the front to the back.
Southpole Jacket: $10


These next three are the Body Systems challenge. We had to pick a body system and interpret a topic of our choice. I chose the cardiovascular system, and I focused on Heart Attacks, resulting in renal failure. Yes, morbid I know. You can blame my mom, who's an RN. The color palette also had to be monochromatic- meaning various shades of one color so I did tomato- burgundy reds, with black as an accent. The burgundy represents the dead muscle tissue, the tomato- blood flow and veins and the deeper red are vessels. I focused on the left side of the body as people tend to feel the symptoms on that side.


 the heart exploded! :-/
Heart Attack 3 pc
Top & Skirt:Tissue paper, streamers and metallic yarn. Armband: Wire, streamers, yarn.

This has nothing to do with Problem Solving. This is the jacket and top combo I did for Advanced Patternmaking/ Tailoring, inspired by the musical artist Prince a la Purple Rain. It has velvet skinny tuxedo pants with the tuxedo stripe matching the jacket midriff  but I  havent finished them to photograph yet. They exist though.

Purple Rain suit. 100% wool/silk charmeuse/ velvet burnout
jacket Est. Retail: $600+
Alas. sew thus is my life.

New problem solving on Thursday.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rules of Retail

By -
Image
I've worked in retail since I was 17. It started off as an easy summer gig. Fast forward to last January. I had been applying to various design jobs following my graduation in December. One by one each opening was filled, and I wasn't the one filling it. Not wanting to be a freeloader to my parents, and wanting to prove myself not lazy to my boyfriend, I relented and picked up two retail jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the majority of new jobs created come the retail industry. In August alone 44,000 of the 169,000 jobs created were in retail. That's 26%! Unfortunately, most people lose their humanity when they come to shop. In my experience, department stores have it the worse. I work both at a department store and a mid range boutique chain and I leave the department store hating life every night I work there. Customers often take advantage of the cliche "the customer is always right", then wonder why the cashier is rude. So to save us fro...
Read more

Getting "Me" Back

By -
According to my husband, I'm going through a quarter- life crisis. (2 years early). I'm having problems finding solace in where my career and work life are heading, and where I want it to be. I don't remember if I discussed it here, but back around my birthday in October I forfeited my only vacation (and the first as a married woman) for a big job interview, that ended up not materializing into the dream job I have been praying for. It left me pretty broken, because I had spent about a month going through the motions, gave up my vacay, and took off work (who were all too happy to put me back on the schedule). It left me broken as a wife because I have a strong sense of marital duty, and while I'm on my way to being a great housewife, its not how I envisioned my life. Much of American society functions off of dual incomes and I didn't see me as being any different. I WANT to pay the mortgage, or at least all of the utilities and shared resources. That's is nowher...
Read more

Pomp and Circumstance

By -
Image
 This post is very seriously delayed. I am proud to announce that after 4 and a half years (9 semesters, countless months, probably over a $100K in tuition and another $50K due in loan interest...) I am a graduate of Philadelphia University (formerly the College of Science and Textiles). This post is late because I have spent every day since last Friday making up for all the lost sleep. Now that I'm refreshed, I can finally update all on my life. This post will also be split. (I've decided to allow my fashion-y things have its own spotlight.) Looking back, this semester was TOUGH. Tough financially (for my dad). Tough socially (the first semester without half my friends on campus, and most of my core girls gone). Tough on my boyfriend (he had a hard time as to why he couldn't visit... one day he'll understand and appreciate.) Tough academically (balancing a 3 day/ 24 hour a week internship and 3 classes.) But by the grace of God I finished on top. My cumulat...
Read more