Rag & Bone Fall 2011

It's difficult to think about Fall when Spring has barely sprung, isn't it? But, I'm going to try!

Rag & Bone's Fall 2011 collection reminds me a bit of 60s Balenciaga mixed with Narciso Rodriguez Spring 2009, which is not a bad thing!

I can't help but love the nerd factor in this look:

There seems to be a futuristic tartan thing going on, which would look ridiculous on the average person, but as a concept I am simultaneously repulsed and in love with:

The perfect day?

When it's raining outside, staying in with a pot of tea and a sewing project is a pretty nice option. In fact, some might even say it's the perfect day, when that's what you're in the mood for. Today I was catching up on some runway shows while ripping seams out of a silk top that will hopefully be transformed into something else. Here are some of my favorites:

Cushnie et Ochs - NYFW Spring/Summer 2011

Ok, so the first dress looks like a trash bag, and regular people like me would look ridiculously un-sexy in those button-up shirts, but some of the details were quite nice. I like the strange cowl on this dress:

You have to sort of look closely to see it. I also love the beading on this sweater:

You really have to see the garments moving to understand how nice the collection is, I think.

Angelo Marani - MIFW Spring/Summer 2011

Ok, now this collection is just fun. I loved the female rock star inspiration:



There are others I'd like to post, but I want to keep sewing, so I will have to post them later!

Boxing Kitten

My own personal style tends to be a bit on the drab side, mostly due to laziness. This year, I am hoping to be more creative and also to create more, including making clothes for myself! With that aim, I will keep looking for inspiration in the hopes that I can find that balance between minimal (my usual choice) and adventurous.

Brooklyn-based label Boxing Kitten is definitely way too loud for my personal style, but on other people I think their clothes look fun and vibrant. Here are some looks from their Spring/Summer 2011 and Resort 2010 collections. What do you think?

According to family lore, my great great grandmother, Marie Viola Lanteigne, from Canada, was Micmac, which is an Algonquian tribe. It may be for that reason that I have always enjoyed Native American motifs. When I was a kid growing up in Northeastern United States, we used to love going to the Trading Post to buy moccasins and other accessories with beads and fringe on them. In fact, I wish I still fit into my moccasins, because they are in fashion!

Today I watched a profile on the etsy video podcast about a 91-year-old woman named Mabel Pike, who makes beaded moccasins in her tribe's traditions, my heart melted. I think yours will too!

I love everything about this Diane von Furstenberg dress

A friend of mine gave me a few yards of heavy grey wool. I wasn't really sure what to make with it because the only real outerwear I've made was a men's jacket. Also, my current wool coat is grey and I just got it last year, so I still like it. So I decided to do two things: first, to dye the wool green. Second, to make a cape with it! Well, strictly speaking, not a cape, but a cape-like garment with sleeves, because for practicality I need to be able to wear my backpack with it. Basically, if it were a regular cape, I'd barely ever wear it. My goal was to make something free and easy, comfortable and effortless. But then as I got to looking at other cape designs and drawing, I kind of got off the path. Because I also like designs with a structured element. So now I'm not sure what the heck I'm going to do! I started draping, but then I stopped and am stuck in indecision.


My first pass dying the wool came out too light, so as soon as I have a couple extra euro to get more dye, I will try a second take. In the meantime hopefully this weekend I can decide where I'm going with it and get the pattern finished!

So I read more fashion blogs than is probably good for me. This post caught my eye because Geren Ford designs clothes I wish I owned, and that I wish I felt I could wear. I am of below-average height and average weight, and so oftentimes I convince myself that oversized or slouchy clothes won't work on me because it'll make me look like I'm hiding something under those swathes of fabric. So I tend to wear more fitted and/or tailored clothes (not too tailored, since I don't find that flattering either). I'd like to see some of these pieces on a non-model's figure:

Greetings to my TWO followers! Hopefully this number will grow in 2011 because I intend to ramp it up a notch this year. First and foremost, I am working! For a fashion non-profit, no less!

"The aim of the Rediscover Fashion project is to demonstrate the potential for textiles recycling, reuse and recovery in Ireland and highlight the environmental, social and economic benefits. The project seeks to raise the profile of recycled, reconstructed and repurposed clothing, and like all of the Centre’s resource recovery projects, urges everyone to rediscover the value of waste."

Here's a link to shots from their last fashion show: Spring/Summer 2010

And if you are in the Dublin area and you have a garment you want altered or redesigned, here's a link to our alteration service: ReAlter

I am a part time assistant in the studio, and having just completed my first week there, I am completely pumped and ready to breath new life in my fashion pursuits. So expect LOTS more posts, drawings, inspiration, and finished projects to be posted here! (Exclamation points make it true!)

We have a big Fashion Show coming up at the Guinness Factory on April 21st. It's a free event, but you need to book in advance. More details on that to follow. So if you're in Dublin (or plan to be on 21.4) save the date!

I like some of the pieces in the Azzaro Spring 2011 Collection:

For anyone possibly reading this, which Spring '11 collections did you like? I spent a bit of time (finally!!!) looking at everything I missed during the fashion weeks, and I am not coming up with much that I'm in love with. Everything seems so heavy and dour, or else massively flowy and ethereal. So far, the only thing I have come across worth mentioning is Helmut Lang.

Point me to what you found exciting, would you?

Have you been looking at any of the new collections for Fall 2010? It's overwhelming, isn't it? I'm going to attempt to post some of my favorites, but I'm sure I won't make a dent in all the wonderful work out there...
Erdem


Basso & Brooke


Louise Goldin


Anna Sui... I love the inspiration for this collection. So perfect. Head to toe, each look is amazing.Check out the entire collection



Cynthia Steffe


Peter Som...I guess I have been bit by the print bug because I love this collection

all images via www.Style.com

Now that we've moved, and settled in (mostly), and the holidays are over, and I'm starting to get motivated again, etc etc, I've been back to sewing! It was bugging me that a couple of shirts I made last year were hideously ugly, so I decided to save them from the bin by re-working them. Here's what I came up with:


This is now a dress with a jersey bodice and a printed cotton skirt. I added a belt because it came out a little loose. It looks fine on its own, but I think the belt gives it a more polished look.

I have also been into upcycling lately. I took an old sweater of my husband's that had holes and candle wax on it, and I cut it into strips, basically cutting out the holes and waxy bits in the process. then I sewed those strips together (each one was a completely different width), and in the seams sewed in some yellow and turquoise trim I had laying around. I popped on an elastic waist band, and voila! a brand new comfy skirt. I wore it over a pair of black leggings with leg warmers and black shoes. It was great for dancing! This isn't the best photo, but it gives you an idea of how it came out:

I like projects like this that only take a couple of hours, and reuse something that was about to go to the dump.

I also made a pair of leggings out of some gray pointelle knit fabric I had laying around. I made them on the long side, and gave them a little cuff effect at the bottom. I will have to post a photo of them later!

I made myself a quick little dress the other day! I wore it last night, but I didn't get any photos of it. So here's a photo of it on my dress form. It's comfortable, flattering, and can be layered!

New York Fashion Week...latepass!

September and October flew right by, didn't they? Two months later, I'm going to attempt to post some of my favorite looks from New York Fashion Week, Spring 2010...

Alexandre Herchcovitch:
I'll be honest and say that if it weren't for the socks and shoes, I probably wouldn't have given his dresses much notice, since I'm not a satin fan. However, as an entire look, I'm sold.

(images from Style.com)

Anna Sui:
Most of the collection did not resonate with me. I admit that I found much of it a little too 90's, and some of it just plain frumpy. But as always I love her the ways she puts prints together, so I found these looks inspiring:


BCBG Max Azaria:
I know it's been a trendy color combo for ages now, but I can't help it. I am a sucker for pale yellow and grey:


Alberta Ferretti:
Sometimes it's like she can do no wrong.



Cynthia Rowley, she might not be a revolutionary, but she is always a fave:


Carolina Herrera:


Ralph Rucci spoke at FIT when I was there, and he inspired me so much, I nearly cried. Chado Ralph Rucci's collection is sexy sexy sexy. And looking over his spring collection, I get that same fluttery feeling all over again:



I don't know anything about Douglas Hannant, but I definitely aim to find out:


Ok, so this list is pretty conservative/main stream, but I'll have to go with more unusual stuff in another post. As it is, it's taken me all day to just get through the Ds!
Diane von Furstenberg:


Dries Van Noten. Holy crap. I'm in love:


Are these Elie Saab dresses the picture of perfection or what?

This fabric reminds me of those Magic Eye pictures:


If you took an 80s video game and wove it into clothing, and then sent it to New York Fashion week, you'd get Fashion East's collection:


That'll have to be it for now. I will have to finish the rest of the alphabet later!