obsession : transitional sweaters

I'm pretty much all about sweaters for fall, but it's the transitional sweaters that are so hard to figure out. They seem like impractical things when you find them in the store, and then you realize they'd be perfect for when it's too cool to wear a light tee but too warm to wear a full-on winter sweater.

I've been obsessed with this sweater ever since it was posted in the "most wanted" section on Vogue a week or so ago. Everything about it is perfect: the turtleneck isn't stifling in the least; rather, it is much more like a cowl. The shape of the sleeves, a little bit dolman-meets-t-shirt, are wide enough for layering or just that cool, casual look. And I am in love with the color completely. Unfortunately, camel isn't a color I can wear - I am a little pale for it. But I suppose if I were to accessorize it right it could work out - skinny black pants a la riding trousers, tall black or caramel boots with a heel, and a chunky chain bracelet (since it's not every day you can wear a bracelet with a sweater, but here you can) seem perfect. This sweater is also spot-on transitional. I want it.

Fortunately, I knit. And I knit rather well.

co-op update

So, I have officially finished my first co-op quarter at a small costume shop in Loveland, Ohio. What my co-op assignment consisted of was creating eight of the Sylphide costumes from Phantom of the Opera for a theater group in Wisconsin.

Making something for theater is a little different than making something for every day wear - everything has to be able to go on easily and often things are put on in the dark or rather roughly, so all the bodices I made had huge metal zippers in the back. Adjustments also have to be done rather easily - my first three I made the mistake of encasing the raw bottom edge of each bodice in bias tape. Finally I edged the front and back separately and seamed them up the sides (lining that up with an armhole edging and a hem edging is hard, let me tell you). You must add a lot of seam allowance into all side seams so that things can be taken in and out, and I ended up making a couple in sizes 10, 12, 14 and 16 (and I know that sounds huge, and that these girls are ballerinas, but unfortunately in pattern making someone like me is a size 12, which can confuse people sometimes). Another constraint is that I could not use netting for the skirts, and thankfully we had a bunch of old seafoam green romantic leotard outfits that could be worn underneath each bodice and skirt.

Originally I only had a small photograph to work from when designing the bodices. I altered a dress bodice pattern for the tops to get the style lines and paneling right. The skirt pattern was drafted for a simple gathered skirt. I also drafted both the bodice and skirt drape, which took a couple tries to get just right. But, enough talk, here are the finished things and some detail shots!

Starting with the bodices, each bodice has boning in the front only to eliminate any discomfort when bending backwards in dance. Each flower snaps off for dry cleaning. The edging on the bottom and for each armhole was hand-stitched (my favorite), as was the lace on the bust drape.

Each skirt has an elastic waistband to allow for a range of sizes to be reached. There is a narrow rolled hem on the organza and each flower snaps off again for dry cleaning. The drape snaps off for removal as well.

I'm pretty happy with how these turned out! I definitely learned a lot from this project. I am hoping that when the performance happens I will get some action shots of my costumes in use. I can't wait to hear about everybody's co-ops when I get back to school.

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trend : turbans

This is something that's been on my radar recently, both in knit styles and in scarf styles - and I think it's really cute. I love the more luxe Rosie-the-Riveter vibe it gives off. A lot more sophisticated, no doubt. There is a cute video on how to tie one out of a square scarf here; I think I may play around with this later. The Prada S07 runway showed turbans in opulent jewel tones, like rich camel, emerald, and wine. I'm also loving Missoni's take on the trend with printed, vintage-esque scarves - though I'd like to see them in the famous Missoni print too. I've seen a bunch of turban-inspired headbands popping up as well, with a small knot or twist on top of the crown in the front. Gives you a whole new crop of choices for you to play around with when picking out a scarf in the morning.

an introduction

After four different attempts to come up with the "perfect" first blog post, I've decided to just show you one of my favorite pictures and tell you directly about all of my little obsessions. Rather than write out some long inspirational drawl about why I love fashion and why my opinions are important, or try to indirectly show you all the things I like with pictures I can't seem to format correctly, it looks like the easiest and most straight forward route is to list them off.

I am obsessed with glitter.

Now that we got that out of the way, I think I'll just briefly go over what types of things tend to be in my aesthetic, what sort of things you can expect me to write about, and other nonsense like that.

I am fascinated by the color white. As someone who wants to be a bridal designer, I think the challenge of making something different using the biggest color limitation in the fashion industry is so much fun. Texture is the best way to go about this, in my opinion, or just straight up perfectly clean, architectural lines that know what they are doing.

However, my favorite color is highlighter yellow. While it is a little hard to look at sometimes, I can't help but buy things in that color the moment I see them. It's a no fail formula for me. There's just something about taking a neutral outfit and adding a highlighter yellow (or chartreuse, as J Crew or more sophisticated versions of it seem to end up being) bracelet or belt or heck, a sweatshirt. I own the latter, and every time I wear it to class I get a "How was work at the construction site today?" comment.

Femininity is something I am a little obsessed with. I didn't wear jeans for a whole year in high school because I couldn't manage to feel feminine enough in them. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that as a child I had no hair until I was three, and strangers still said I was a cute little boy when wearing a pink dress and hat, to cover up the no hair. I guess this still subliminally affects me. I wear pants now, of course, and I am a huge fan of the new menswear-on-women trend, but every time I go to put on an oversized gold watch at the store I think it looks "bad" on me, but I don't think watches can really look bad on anyone. And as much as I would love to try the trouser look (rolled up, with heels) I can't bring myself to do it. Someday I'll figure this out. But for now, it's bows and lace and dresses in my closet, and trousers and watches and blazer pictures in the folders on my laptop.

I absolutely love knitwear, and I am very glad it seems to be coming back in again. I love fat, chunky knits - big sweaters that drip off of your shoulders, oversized pom-pons on hats, loosely knitted tops that allow a tank underneath to be seen, that sort of thing. I do knit, and admit to having other grandma-like hobbies I won't mention at the moment, and I am beyond excited to take a knitwear class next year. I am currently knitting a hat.

One last thing I seem to be partial to at the moment is the general hair accessory. I worked at a costume shop this summer and was allowed to take home a couple flowers and beaded sequined appliques to do with what I may, and they will undoubtedly become hair things. As someone who hates to wear her hair up because it seems too "casual" (yet another thing I need to get over), a giant flower always seems to fix that problem.

But I suppose the most important thing I should mention is how I like to design. My designs exude a very sharp femininity that tends to accentuate the human body, heavily influenced by my few years in ballet and the obsession for it I still seem to have. My favorite focal point has over time proved to be the small of the back or the shoulder - in ballet, my favorite thing to do was always to bend myself back at the waist as far as I could until my upper torso was parallel with the floor. I think that this negative space is beautiful. I love backless designs - possibly also influenced by the fact that I myself haven't much of a chest and love to show off other assets instead, but it also has a lot to do with the fact that the place the muscles in the back meet with the shoulder blade, neck, and arm is a very beautiful place. I tend to design diagonally, and I very much love detail - hand sewing, more specifically, like beading or perfectly invisible hems or pin tucks and things. I love sheer fabrics more than anything, and I find French seams captivating because they feel like a skeleton of the garment when held up to the light.

Well, I promised myself this wouldn't become a blog that is all words because quite frankly, I refuse to read those, so I'll stop now. I hope this is the last time I edit and then delete this first post because it is getting difficult to sound interesting or new. But that is all for now.

R