to share, issue #003

Wow, I haven't been good about posting this week - sorry guys! Busy busy.

To show you: John Galliano has been suspended from Dior! And who is going to design for the Dior House now?

To tell you: I am sprouting lentils right now! You can learn how to do it here, and it is super easy. Mine will probably be done tomorrow. I'm going to toss them with sprouted quinoa and a peanut dressing.

To acquaint you: I have just applied for a job at Reebok! I had to design an outfit for them and submit it online. Reebok has always been about a fusion between all-American design and individuality - it's more about the athlete than the clothes, but the clothes need to enhance the athlete wearing them. Here is my design:

Please ignore that the logos are different sizes - they aren't like this in real life

I only had about a week for this project, so it isn't as great as it could have been. But, my foot is in the door. My inspiration was the balloon. The design features a light gray polyester-elastane shirt with a gathered hem and built-in black sports bra that is visible through a circular opening in the back. The shorts are highlighter yellow spandex with a thick waistband, gathered side seams with toggles, and built-in black compression shorts. I would totally wear this to the gym - body wear has been on my mind lately since my 5k is coming up! I want to get myself a cute workout top as motivation for the run.

On another note, Nathalia, I have finished the mock-up for the foundation of your dress (the strapless part that will go underneath the twisted bodice part). Working on the twist now (which my cotton muslin doesn't want to do!) So the muslin may be purple and white - I have purple chiffon I can use for the drape.

I hope everybody had a good weekend!

to share, issue #002

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are all having a good weekend so far.

To show you: You have got to read through this guy's entire blog. It won't be a chore, either. For a new year's resolution (last year I believe), he vowed to learn to sew. And he did! He now makes his own button-downs, jeans, and apparently now, even more than that. You can really learn a lot about how jeans are made by watching some videos he posts (which are amazing - look at the machinery!) and the photos he takes of his own work. This inspires me to give jeans another shot. While you're on a roll, watch this video on shoe-making (or all of them, or the summary of all of them). Can you see why nice shoes cost a lot now? Still making faces at Louboutin price tags? Well ok, so am I, but at least it's a slightly more understanding wrinkled-nose face.

To tell you: I am reading a book right now called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I wasn't really interested at the time of required reading (English class, freshman year) but since my interest in nutrition has peaked I thought I'd come back to it. And I'm glad I did. I'm only two chapters in, but I thought I'd share an interesting tidbit of information: At one time, the recommended portion of calories from free sugars in our diet was 25%. This seems really high! However, according to the World Health Organization, it should have been only 10%. So how did this happen? The US sugar lobby threatened Congress to cut WHO funding unless the organization got off their backs. Makes you wonder what happens behind the scenes every time there is a new version of the food pyramid released.

To acquaint you: My sister, last night, was telling me how much she loves my bedroom, then said "it's so you". It doesn't have any paint on the walls, no decorations really, so I didn't really know what she meant. Then she clarified that just by looking around my room at the things inside of it, you could really get to know the person that I am. Interesting! Looking around my room, it can definitely tell you some things about myself ... I have two stuffed rabbits sitting on my bed. I have always loved stuffed animals, and Brown Bun (the obvious elder of the two, given the fur appearance) has been mine since birth, thus igniting my love for rabbits instantly. If you look in my fridge and freezer, you'll find baby spinach, almond milk, hummus, Greek yogurt, golden flax seeds, organic dark chocolate (with orange!), frozen chicken breast, vegan ice cream, edamame, and berries. Sitting on top of my fridge are pumpkin seeds, bananas, oranges, gummy vitamins, agave syrup, lentils (which I'm planning to sprout myself!), and those tasty sugar-coated fennel seeds you find at Indian restaurants (pink, white, orange, yellow). I think those are all very telling. My burgundy chair in the corner I can't sit in because it's covered in cook and bakeware. I have a rolled up tube of gold lambskin, a floral-print cotton, and a pile of metallic fabrics and black fabrics and various wools stashed on a bookshelf with assorted patternmaking books and illustration references. There is a little corner of that shelf devoted to sequins. On my dresser, I have a giant bowl of flowers that I wear in my hair, and beside that, a little army of nail polish (baby pink, metallic chrome, gold, and bronze, sparkly magenta, poppy red - always renditions of pinks, metallics, and reds). A large jewelry box sits behind all that. Nestled inside my empty, tiled-over fireplace is a crock pot, and lining the top of the hearth are (counting right now) 14 different teas and their boxes. A small Christmas tree with ornaments and lights still sits underneath my west-facing window. A box of chocolates and a pile of fashion magazines are piled on the end of my bed over a fleece blanket (atop a few more blankets). In my closet, you will find more American Apparel than you can shake a stick at.

Now of course when I say "give jeans another shot" I'll come out with something more like this. Baby steps. But isn't the volume on these perfect?

to share, issue #001

I'm gonna start something new on here; it's something I've seen other blogs or websites do and I think it's a nice idea: at the end of each week, give a little summary of some cool news you saw, something you learned, or just something going on. It's a nice way to show you things I've read about but didn't have enough material to post on, or to make the blog more personable. This may not always be fashion-related. So let's go!

To show you: New York Fashion Week for Fall 2011 is underway! There are already some great things going down the runway - Doo.Ri showed us how beautiful grays can be, in luxurious draped jerseys and wool tailored coats; Rebecca Minkoff sent down some fabulous textures (and furs, and prints ...); and Threeasfour did some fascinatingly unusual garments you just have to see for yourself!

To tell you: I will be doing a graduation dress for one of my sister's classmates! My sister, in addition, will be wearing a dress I made and wore myself for my high school graduation - the infinity dress. You can tie it probably twenty different ways, and so even though it will be the same gown, you won't even know it is. The gown I'm doing for her classmate is literally going to be a copy of a bridal gown from the J Crew Collection - which runs for close to $900,00. I will be working on the sloper and first rough pattern tonight! I am very excited to do this - the fact that someone came to me and asked me to make this for them was incredibly flattering, and I couldn't be more honored. I will be fitting her throughout the process in a fully-functioning muslin before I begin the final-fabric version (which isn't needed until the end of May, to play it on the safe side - but it will be done before then). More updates to come!

To acquaint you: I bought a raw food cookbook today! I read the entire thing this afternoon with the sunshine pouring in through the window. I am not interested in going raw - I simply think the techniques to create interesting flavors and recreate every day dishes are fascinating! If you aren't familiar, raw eating is a vegan diet that goes a step further by keeping all foods raw (or cooked below 104 degrees). The belief is that fruits, nuts and vegetables maintain their highest nutrient levels when raw, or until meeting 104 degree heat, when the nutrients begin to fade slightly from cooking. All recipes are strictly fruit, nut and vegetable based, then. And you guessed it, the desserts are thus good for you (and you can eat chocolate - you simply use the raw cacao bean or cocoa nib instead, with something to sweeten it). You aren't confined to just eating apples and oranges and cashews plain though - there are recipes for "pasta" using zucchini ribbons and a pesto made from parsley, walnuts, avocado, sun-dried tomato, and lemon, for example - which sounds delicious. I find this all very interesting - as an inspiration, rather than a lifestyle, for me personally. What do you think of raw food? Are there any food-related things that you'd like to share?

And of course I didn't forget my promise to never have an all-words post. I love to look at designer sketches - the different styles, how they translate into real garments - their personality really comes through. Rather conversely, I don't recall who drew these - and the signature doesn't help.

Have a good weekend everyone!