Too cool to ignore...

All of us who complain about not wanting to wear the same clothes more than twice month, what would you think of wearing the same piece of clothing each day for a year? Ehhh...pass

However, Sheena Matheiken gave it a go for us all. In an effort to raise awareness of the The Akanksha Foundation, she has taken it upon herself to wear her little black dress for 365 consecutive days...

Check this out: How to Wear the Same Dress for an Entire Year

Could you ever attempt this??

And the verdict is in...

Kelly Cutrone, renowned fashion publicist once told one of her employees that in fashion you have to be ready for people to hate you and that constructive criticism is always good.

As a budding designer I tried to focus on this after many of the comments received, but it took much effort. As many of the criticisms were focused on the construction rather than the design (and I never claimed to be a seamstress) I was not that discouraged, however it was somewhat disheartening.

The comments ranged from "Not a fan" to "These are beautiful creations," but I never want to settle to be judged by the standards of a amatuer, student designer so I will use these comments as propellers of my dream and invest my time to make sure that these critiques are soon debunked my effort and future success.

VOILA!!!

Inspirations...

Sometimes you can't help but notice the beauty in certain scenes

My first love: "Simple Elegance"

This skirt is one of my first designs. I still am truly in love with its simplicity and elegance, not just because it was easy to create but because of its ability to catch your eye without blinding. My first skirt, which I have appropriately labeled "Simple Elegance" is in the final stages of completion...

PS- I thought the first image is a testament to my sister's genius who decided that flat-iron would be of greater help to my hemming process than an actual iron! AGREED

Mood Board 2.0

Thought it was too beautiful a shot to neglect...

Second Revision...

What my roommates refer to as the "lampshade skirt" has been revised as well. This will definitely be kept in my log for future ventures to undertake, but for now the construction of this skirt would be too much for me to successfully tackle. So though I've kept the color scheme the structure more resembles that of my first skirt. I now call this my black sheep of my line, because though it still fits, it adds some edge to my collection. The fabric is the bluish/turquoise print you see above with a few rows of red sequins about two inches from the waist. Final image is yet to be revealed, but let me know what you think: Is the change good?

First Revision....

Remember my Grecian dress? Well though it still remains Grecian in style, the concept has changed a bit to suit my abilities. Here is the sketch...

"Your perfect dress"

I was really curious to know what my friends, both males and females, would consider their perfect prom dresses/gowns. Here are my findings!

Katrina: "No neon colors, because thats tacky. Floor-length and dark colored. Tight on top to show off my cleavage, and fitted to my curves."

Manny: "Tight black or red dress."

Frankie Dee: "Cocktail/short, fitted, empire, deep purple/gray."

Nick: "Something black and red with a slit on the leg and spaghetti straps."

Michelle: "Gold. Mermaird-style silhouette. Strapless."

Chris: "Long, fitted with a high waist to show some cleavage."

Hmm...anyone seeing a recurring theme with the selections for the guys??

Visions & Revisions

There comes a time when one may realize that they've bitten off more than they can chew....i've hit that point. I love my designs but I feel like I may have, considering my inexperience with clothing construction, set my hat higher than my hand can reach. Therefore, I made a few revisions....

I hardly see it as settling, because sometimes you have to take a few steps back before you can move forward. So instead of going for gold clumsily yet immediately, I'll go for silver with grace. Baby steps....

"Today you are you, that is truer than true."

Thanks to a reminder from a friend and some inspiration from Dr. Seuss, I thought I'd let my followers know that there is only one you...therefore there is only person with your particular style, so OWN it!

Time itself has proven that everything, at one point or the other, has been or will be "fashion." So where those bold floral prints with your radical stripes...as long as you do it your way, because...

..."There is no one alive that is youer than you."

Maybe, maybe not....

Don't know if I'll actually make this but I loved the idea of a simple cream organza vest with (my favorite ) red and turquoise combo...

The back of the top has red flowers with simple, slim turquoise stems..

PS- Excuse the roughness of the sketch, I wanted to get it down before I forgot it.

A girl can dream...

I stumbled upon this dress about two years ago and am still in love with it!!! I can't imagine tackling a replica of this Badgley Mischka gown any time soon, but some time in the future I hope this create my own version of this yellow satin wonder :-) (the one at the bottom.

It looks like with a few practice projects under my belt, I'd be able to complete this with some ease.

See if you like, tell me what you think!

Dress help...

As you know, I am a beginner. I have love for fashion and have successfully altered and tweaked already-made clothes, but have never started from scratch. So I've used a few sources to help me undertake this endeavor.

I really want to make a Grecian-style dress; i think its the perfect combination of classic elegance and whimsy.

Also I simply can't imagine going to my high school prom in a puffy dress unless its a mini, and at this stage in the game I can't seriously say I could tackle such a task and come out alive. So here's a video tutorial I thought I could follow.



With a few tweaks I could easily transform this dress into my Grecian dream dress...

Sketches!!

These aren't set in stone but these are the designs I have in mind...peace & love!

This one is a satin cream skirt with a band of black sequins that then trickle down at certain places.

I love Grecian-style dresses. In my opinion they are epitome of free-flowing elegance and a perfect fit for a prom dress.

This skirt was inspired by the House of Chloe's Spring 2010 line. It was a collection of eye-catching voluminous, yet light pieces. This will probably be the most difficult for me to tackle. The body of the skirt will be red organza and the waist band turquoise.

I love this blog!!

Andrea Tung's blog "Making Things: Inspired Living" makes even a beginner like me feel like an expert when it comes to making my own clothes. From looped scarves to baby slippers and skirts, there are directions for sewing almost anything your heart desires!

I'm using instructions from this blog to make my two skirts. See for yourself...

Circle Skirt Instructions Option 1

Circle Skirt Instruction Option 2

Decisions, decisions...

Like almost every woman, I'm a fashion addict at heart (hopefully someday I can blossom into an expert). Therefore when it came time for me to realize and execute an idea for my senior project I knew fashion and all its elements had to be involved.

After countless meetings with my advisers and soul searching (I know: Cheesy, but its true) I decided to make several articles of clothing and donate it to some place like Prom Project or a charity of the like. So of course while one piece had to be a prom dress (simple of course, but eyecatching) the other pieces eluded me.

However, thanks to Prada and their infinite fashion wisdom, and their exhibition "Waist Down" I decided to make two circle skirts. Not only are they easy to make, but, worn correctly, they're quite dazzling!

So in a nutshell, my plans are one prom dress and two circle skirts.

Stay tuned, sketches to come soon!

Mood Board

As wacky and unconventional as it may seem these four elements are the main inspiration for my pieces. I thought it was pleasant mix of classic and natural with a hint of wow.

Without knowing this red vase that caught my eye at an event, turquoise(wow factors), a piece from Chloe's Spring 2010 line (classic), and deep green flora ended up being my mood board (natural).

I am pleasantly surprised and satisfied with their compatibility! But feel free to tell me what you think...