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Paris Fashion for Spring 2013

Posted on Feb 19, 2013 | 0 comments

I love clothes… they are my second skin! What I choose to wear each day is usually dictated by my mood. There are those days when my mood says “put on the fleece pants and a t-shirt because we are not leaving the house!” This is not a bad day moment, it just means that I am in a creative mode so I turn on the sewing machine and see where my mood takes me! Sometimes I find I need a little help to get the creative juices flowing and that’s when I start surfing the internet, looking at designer ideas. I enter this world with caution however, because I am looking for inspiration, not things to copy. Don’t misunderstand me, I really enjoy making a copy cat dress; one that catches my eyes due to the color, style and details.

For example…”Mad Men” inspires the retro look.

Photo Credit: Calley Brandon-Laux

My “Joanie” dresses, as one of my sons so eloquently puts it!

So – while I look to the inspiration of designers, I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I can come up with my own ideas. It is designer ideas though that have a big influence on what we are going to see on the racks in the shops, stores and boutiques each season so I find it fascinating to watch what they do.

The fall Paris Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show was held September 26, 2012 and went through October 3, 2012. There are some wonderful web sites dedicated to presenting beautiful photos of these events that include this site

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/S2013RTW/PARIS

but I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites here with you. I will not likely ever own any of these designer’s apparel, but I’m not gonna say never because never is a fallacy right? Just go with it – I’m not gonna stop dreaming! 🙂

So check this out.

Drafting Basic Bodice Block

Posted on Feb 5, 2013 | 2 comments

So if anyone asked me what I did over the weekend that was fun, I would tell them I drafted a fitted waist seam bodice block that fits! At this point the yawning would start! There are those of us in this world however, who know how rewarding AND challenging this kind of project is. During the holiday season this last year, I started drafting the bodice block, got sick and stayed sick for a while, then things got busy, actually more like turned into chaos, so didn’t finish it – until of course this last weekend!

I was intending on drafting a pant block. Why you ask? What about Vogue 1051 or the Silhouette 3008 pattern. NOT – Big epic fail! I know how you are suppose to fit pants, but… maybe I just stink at it! I don’t know – but it was at this point that I decided to not be a sewing artist for a little while, and instead be a wine taster. After several glasses of wine to gloss over the nasty feelings of defeat, I remembered the big gun I had packed away and decided to bring it out.

About a year ago, I purchased this book. “Patternmaking Made Easy”, the second edition, by Connie Amaden-Crawford.

No – I am not going to school and learning fashion design. Wish I was but it’s just not financially possible for me at this time. That’s okay though because I happen to be one of those people that enjoys figuring things out on my own, even when it sometimes requires beating my head against the wall! Uhem…moving right along. This book is intended for the designer student and covers oodles of things regarding flat pattern design, is pretty straight forward, most of the time, so certainly worth it to have for my personal library.