Sew Thus is Life...

The upside to having a backlog of things to write is by the time you get to it, the topic is relevant again. Starting now and going through Labor Day scores of young people will be returning to school for the new academic year. Many will be seniors in high school, and with senior year comes the pinnacle of the high school experience: graduation.   PROM. I was one of those girls who obsessed the entire year over what my dress would look like, mostly because I made it myself. I've probably made 12 or 13 prom dresses in as many years, through school, full time jobs, pregnancy and this year I would have an infant on my hands (I'm a glutton for punishment, what can I say.) I was approached by my husbands aunt to help a friend of hers who wanted a dress made for her daughter. As mom explained it, her daughter was a good girl  and had done everything asked/ expected of her, was graduating on time with no babies so she promised she'd get her baby the dress she wanted. As she put ...

So when I started my collection I asked a few of my peers (and my very out-there work study supervisor) how they felt about a purse made of lacquered feathers. It was met first by confusion, then intrigue, then finally after some thought, a hearty "Yes! Do it!" So I embarked on stalking eBay for bird feathers. I decided on macaw parrots as they naturally have the greens and blues so prevalent in my collection. I found a great deal on sets of 50 (thanks to kcvpjulie ) and set out to make a feathered bag. I already had hollow clamshell purse frames in my possession and I also needed to make the "shells". My professor suggested using buckram (a glue-covered woven fabric that's used in hat-making  to create the shape of my bag. I found buckram alone to be too flimsy- but backed with oak tag (a heavy paperboard) I found the shape and sturdiness to be quite pleasing. It ended up looking like this: buckram frame from the inside From there I had to practice my...

Recently an old girlfriend of mine reached out to me and asked me to make a video for her kids through Teach for America (shes a Physics teacher in Jackson, MS-- a LONG cry from Gettysburg or Philadelphia). In it she wanted me to profile how I got interested in fashion design, what my job is like, the ups and downs of the field, my educational background and quick advice. Whatever I could cram into 5 minutes or less. Naturally I obliged, but with my nutso schedule what was supposed to be delivered in  a couple days took 2 weeks. (oops!) Anyhow I got a spark and got it turned around and finally made and edited yesterday. So I present: Le Video. If you are interested in broadening the horizons of high school students, my friends name is Veronica Keefer and she is always looking for new material for her students. Email me or her if interested, This is a great way to expose kids to professions they ordinarily wouldn't know about, or may not understand. Shes also looking for more...

I promised a new post and here it is! So much has developed with Collection/ Accessory design and I'm super excited today. In fact just this weekend I bought material for my first two dresses AND the leather I need to make my first bag and a matching belt for the first dress. FOR LESS THAN $80! Super proud. Thats not all I accomplished. I've taken to naming my pieces, like many of the stores do and came up with a great back story. We have to do a minimum of three pieces, and there are 3 races in the Triple Crown (If I had truly started planning over the summer I would've done 4 and named the last after the Royal Ascot). So my 3 dresses are named Pimlico, Belmont and Churchill Downs. We also have to do 3 accessories that I'm coordinating as total looks. I paired them by naming the coordinating accessory after the horse that won the respective race in an important year in my life. The Pimlico dress is complemented by the "I'll Have Another (2012)" clutch, ...

What does and  and  have in common? My Collection! (tentatively).  Ta Da! It is revealed. I'm planning to focus my collection on the plus size market, with the concept being based on the grand races- Kentucky Derby if you're American or the Royal Ascot, if you fancy the Brits. I respect the gall of some British folk, they wear hats still, similar in the tradition of Christian Black American women. Personally I love hats, but I see them as a rite of passage, a fully fledged woman can wear a badass hat. My mom is a "hatlady" as we call them in church circles and shes also plus sized. I have friends and co-workers that are plus sized. I just want to create some daytime opulence to make my girls feel pretty, and know that no matter what size you are, whether its a 6, 12, or 24; that you don't have to be dowdy or wear the same thing "because it works". I want to take certain styles out of the box and elevate them. Something other than the stan...

I'm a happy lil camper right now. Contemp is done and I got into the Annual Fashion show all in the same day! And I thought of this song. And I wanted to dance. So I did, by myself in my room. Its such a relief knowing that my work was strong enough to be accepted, it makes the upset stomachs and all nighters well worth it. Now I can focus on making my mini-line for my interview with Charming for  Friday. Collection is not just a class, its definitely a labor of love, a lot goes into creating things interesting enough to considered different, or avant garde or just worthy of attention. Like my class judge told me, "its often that one little thing that makes it safe that makes it forgettable; so be bold". I did, and I guess it paid off. I honestly couldn't be happier. This weekend I'm also going to start a new page on my blog, "Random Tutorials (Having Nothing to do with Fashion)". lol. But its going to be a collection of simple tutorials of some of m...

ahhhhh yes. What we all have been waiting for, the sign my college career is actually winding down. (or up, if you look at the workload). My grande finale part one if you will. Or the end of what little social life I had. Anyway, I have had some pre-thought on what I want to accomplish this semester with this. So here goes: 1. I crave, love, breathe, eat simplicity . However i like handwork... kind of oxymoronic. This semester, like spring 2011 semester and even last fall, I want the fabric to do the work and let the silhouette take a back seat. 2. I crave, love, breathe eat comfort . I want my "woman" to be comfortable. Not just in a "in her own skin way" because the styles I'm planning are very body conscious, but also just COMFORTABLE. Breathable knits, loose wovens. I want her to feel as if shes wearing her favorite legging/sweats/t- shirt combo, not a bandage dress (even if it is a bandage dress). 3. I LOVE AFRICAN CULTURE! and INDIAN CULTURE! and CARIBB...

 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!

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...

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.