♥FWF – INTRODUCTION♥

So, it had been my intention since I decided to start keeping a blog again to post my favorite looks from fashion week at the end of each city’s shows (sort of hence the sub header of my blog being: “fashion from a designer’s perspective”), but up until now I had just been incredibly lazy about it. In fact, in the future I’ll probably break it up even further and do day-by-day recap posts, but right now you’ll just have to deal with slogging through hundreds of lovely pictures at once!

Actually, it won’t be so bad, because I’m EXTREMELY picky. I have very specific taste, and very few things make it into my lookbook that I couldn’t see myself wearing. The things that DO usually meet two or more of the following criteria:

♥ Interesting construction details. Seam lines, crazy draping, something else crazy and original you hardly ever see, etc.

♥ Interesting finishing details. Embellishments like embroidery, rhinestones, passementerie, feathers, etc. used in unique ways.

♥ Great print/fabric selection. This includes the utilization of multiple textures in one garment. I’m actually a huge fan of this, especially for fall. See: chunky knitwear.

♥ Season cliché defying looks. There are a lot of seasonal standards for both Fall and Spring. Some Fall examples are: dark colors (especially black and brown), plaid, stark minimalism… Obviously if I see something that’s out of character for Fall, like brights and/or pastels, crazy prints, etc., it gets me excited to see more.

♥ Showmanship. I’m a sucker for a great production, and an even better story behind whatever the designer is showing. Understandably though, there aren’t a lot of designers who can afford huge productions, but a strong theme that comes through on the runway is perfectly acceptable and appreciated.

It actually takes me about 10 seconds to figure out whether or not I’m going to like a designer’s collection. For those of you who have never been to Style.com, or any other fashion week recapping website, when you click on the designer’s name you are directed to a page with a picture of the first look in the collection and a two-three paragraph review.

A picture says 1,000 words.

Like a lot of other art-forms, pacing your show is critical, and most designers adhere to (at the very least) this one rule of thumb for putting together a successful show: Start with a bang, end with an explosion. You need to start the show with a strong piece to grab the audience’s attention, and then leave them with a lasting impression before they walk out the door. So, that first picture on the review is basically like the plot summary on the back of a book. If I don’t like the plot, why the hell would I read the entire book? Now, now… I give everyone a second chance to make an impression on me. If you click over to the “Complete Collection” tab, you get a page of thumbnails for the entire collection!

Maybe it’s the Virgo in me, but I can appreciate a cohesive collection that moves seamlessly from group to group, color change to fabric change, etc. So before I decide to navigate my way to the next designer, I check the thumbnails, click on anything that looks like it MIGHT be interesting, and if it still doesn’t strike my fancy, I move on. I feel bad for all of the editors that have to sit through every single show until the end

With that said, here are some of my fashion pet peeves! And unfortunately the poor folks at Central St. Martins are going to be used as examples of my fashion hate (for the most part.) Sorry, dudes.

*yawn* Oh, I’m sorry. Were you saying something?

◊ Minimalism. Don’t get me wrong, minimalism has its place. But an ENTIRE COLLECTION of garments that are essentially all one color, two pattern pieces per garment?! *SNORE* Fuck, and it would be one thing if whatever designer doing it was the only one and it was like CUTTING EDGE, but it’s so common these days that Style.com has a section in their shop for it. “Shop Minimalism!” This is why FIDM was filled with stupid girls who decided “being a fashion designer is easy.”

Dangly bits, sticking-out parts, and loooots of different colors.

◊ Clutter. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some designers who think that fashion means THROWING AS MUCH SHIT ALL OVER A GARMENT AS POSSIBLE, regardless of whether or not it actually looks good. Yeah, I’ll be the first to admit that I love RIDICULOUSLY over-the-top avant-garde, victorian-throwback, so-many-details-I-bet-those-seamstresses-bled-pints-of-blood-sewing-that-shit garments, but it comes down to taste at the end of the day.

◊ Ugly prints. I seriously… I just… *facepalm* I DON’T GET IT. If you can afford to have your own fabric printed, fucking hire a print designer that knows what they’re doing. This is probably one of my BIGGEST fashion pet peeves being that I do both graphics and fashion. THERE’S REALLY NO EXCUSE. That’s why I opted for solid colors for my first runway show. If I can’t afford to print my own AMAZING print, I’d rather not have a print at all. Because I’m sorry, but most textile designers on this planet… are probably just obeying orders, BUT THE PEOPLE GIVING THE ORDERS SHOULD BE SHOT. This is actually more of a problem in lower price ranges, as I searched through Fall 2010 prints and I honestly couldn’t find one completely heinous example…

Is that... a bathrobe?!

◊ Trying too hard to be avant-garde. I know, this really just comes down to taste, but I also kind of feel like… you either hit the mark, or you didn’t. There’s nothing wrong with trying, but if you’re just going to design stupid shit no one will wear in a futile attempt at being edgy, then hang up your measuring tape because you’re not going to make any money.

♥What are some of your favorite/least favorite things about fashion? Tomorrow will start us off with a NYC Fashion Week recap.♥

♥RIP: Alexander McQueen♥

I follow a lot of blogs. Some of them already posted little blurbs about the untimely death of Alexander McQueen, but for me, that’s just not fucking good enough.

The boyfriend and I had our first mild disagreement over the fact that he’s in the “fashion is frivolous and stupid” camp, and that he could only appreciate fashion if it were as functional as it was aesthetically impressive. Of course, being a fashion designer, my appreciation for fashion goes way beyond creating garments that are functional and “acceptable to wear in public.” Fashion is an art form, and like any other, sometimes the boundaries get pushed. I really and truly feel that if there was any designer who could prove the artistic merit and relevance of fashion, it was Alexander McQueen.

I’ve put together a retrospective of pieces from McQueen’s collections over the years that had the most profound impact on me. His work was what tipped the scale for me when it came down to deciding what I wanted to do with my life. If it weren’t for his incredibly inspirational works, I would probably be rooting around in people’s mouths right now.

Let’s begin your Alexander McEducation.

Added to Etsy!

Just listed, adorable t-shirt dresses from Neighborhood Story! Two styles to choose from today, but more are coming soon! You can get them in your size, order now in time for Valentine’s day!

Dresses! And such.

Whoa, hey! The other day I took a trip to Vancouver and took some pictures of my friend Nikki wearing some dresses I made! I’m listing them on Etsy tomorrow!

Handmade by meeee, modeled by Nikki Marsh

Hell yeah outer space!

Hey, remember this dress? I figured I should get a picture of it on a person!

I’m going to make more of them soon, but I got a commission from my neighbor to sew some samples for her clothing line, so I’m busy doing that. Woo!

Also, check out my extensions! ^_^

Sexy sexy!

♥ That’s all for now, see you soon! ♥

Wow, has it really been that long?

Phew, I’m really going to try to post with more regularity. But damn, things have been quite busy for me lately. I’ll run down a list:

♥ Contacted a couple of knitters about knitting some sweaters for my circus collection, which included learning some things about knitwear myself!

♥ I’ve also been making my very first knitting chart for one of those sweaters, and let me tell you, it’s harder than you might think.

♥ I got really wrapped up in planning my collection, and wasn’t really thinking about things I could make here and now, until one day I was struck with inspiration. So, I started a new project:

T-shirt dresses!! Coming soon to my Etsy shop!

I acquired a bunch of blank t-shirts and decided to hack off the bottoms of them and attach skirts with elastic waistbands using fabric I already had. I needed to buy all of the trimmings, but I’m happy to have found something to use all these random fabrics I have lying around on that won’t end up looking slapped together!

This one is still a work in progress, but I love it already:

SPACE!!

I fell in love with this fabric the moment I saw it. I have a lot of it too, so I can guarantee this won’t be the only thing I make out of it. Obviously I’m still figuring out what to add to the top. Here’s a close-up of the binding on the pockets:

Pockets are awesome!

♥ I’ve also been finishing up (or trying to anyways) old projects I started! One of them being a whole bunch of macaroons and decora-style cookies!

The lighting in my house really sucks... I appologize.

Soon, these will be morphed into a myriad of accessories!

And I STILL have more of those little bears left...

I think the tiny decora cookies are my favorite... maybe they'll be hairclips!?

Noms!

♥ The other project that is in progress are plugs that I started while I was still living in California! Resin is curing as we speak… although I’m a little annoyed because I think the weather is affecting the curing process in a very negative way. It’s upsetting. But hopefully it will work out. I have an entire gallon of resin! Pictures of those babies will be posted as soon as they’re finished.

That’s all for now!

A little survey…

I stole this from Karin of Lily of the Valley. I thought it would be fun to do a little survey here now, and maybe again at the end of the year.

OH MY GOD THIS BOX IS TOO SMALL FOR MY HEAD

CURRENT CLOTHING: Black skinny jeans, motorcycle boots, Transformers shirt.
CURRENT MOOD: Feeling productive! I accomplished one of the things I set out to do today, and I’m ready to do some more sketching/idea-generating!
CURRENT HAIR: Irritating! I really want to cut it, but I also feel like I need to be patient and grow it out! ARG!
CURRENT ANNOYANCE: Aside from my hair? I’m constantly annoyed that I have too many ideas, and not enough time! THERE’S NEVER ENOUGH TIME!
CURRENT SMELL: It still kind of smells like the meat we had for dinner.
CURRENT THING YOU OUGHT TO BE DOING: I’m doing exactly what I should be doing! HA!
CURRENT JEWLERY: “Just piercing jewellery that is always there.” Ditto, Karin.
CURRENT BOOK: I’m not reading anything currently! I should start. What should I read?
CURRENT WORD: I’ve been using the word “boggle/boggling/boggles” a lot lately.
CURRENT CRUSH:

THIS CAR

CURRENT LONGING: *see above* Also, I’m craving sweets. But I just had dinner like an hour ago! And I already had a light Frappucino today. I AM SO BAD AT DIETING.
CURRENT MUSIC: Nothing at the moment… eerie silence. And my mom yammering on the phone downstairs.
CURRENT WISH: A wealthy investor.
CURRENT MAKE-UP: The usual: foundation, mascara, blush.
CURRENT REGRET: None.
CURRENT DESKTOP PICTURE: Some Lolita artwork I forget the origin of. I was thinking about changing it today… My other computer has a Scott Pilgrim wallpaper.
CURRENT AMUSEMENT: My google reader!
CURRENT OBSESSION: THAT CAR.

And, I think it would be fun if anyone who reads this would fill out this survey for me! You don’t have to obviously, but I would like it ^_^

NAME:
AGE:
LOCATION:
WEBSITE/BLOG:
DOES FOR A LIVING:
A PICTURE OF SOMETHING YOU MADE:
A PICTURE OF YOU:
A PICTURE OF SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL:
AN AWESOME SONG:
ASK ME A QUESTION:
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ MORE ABOUT HERE?

♥  Thanks y’all, see you soon! ♥

Cell-Phone Snap!

I was going through my phone and decided to post all of these photos that failed to upload to Facebook over the last couple of months! Enjoy.

My coffee is black as the night...

Taken one night during the first couple of weeks of living with my mom here in Bothell. My step brother was visiting, and we played a very rowdy game of Apples to Apples, wherein my brother and I got pretty drunk. We then watched Unforgiven, and when the parents went to bed my brother and I stayed up talking and listened to the Fuck Buttons album. He’s had those stuffed animals since before he was born.

Happiness found in unexpected places.

I noticed one day while having a cigarette in my backyard that this chair has a smiley face!

The Dark Side Shoe

Agh, I’m so mad this came out blurry! For some reason I never snapped a picture of the completed Dark Side shoe of the Star Wars shoes I made my friend Luke, so I attempted to take a picture of it when I visited him a couple of weeks ago. You can see the Jedi shoe at my DeviantArt.

The Ghetto Batmobile?

On this same trip, Luke and I went to Craft Warehouse so I could get some colored pencils, and parked next to this little gem in the parking lot. I know it’s hard to see, but there are wings coming off of the roof. Yeah, Vancouver!

The best part is, he actually bought two of these.

INSIDE Craft Warehouse, Luke found the most ridiculous felt animal hats. They had all different kinds of animals, and Luke ended up buying the cat and tiger versions. He then wore the tiger hat for the rest of the day (which included a grocery shopping trip, and Carl’s Jr.).

"I got the one that was most humanoid in shape."

The day after Christmas my brother came over to have dinner with me. We decided to make Bulgogi, so we took a trip to the asian market to get all of our ingredients, and forgot the ginger! We discussed how ginger is awesome because it’s always shaped like monsters and animals and stuff, so when we stopped at the grocery store on the way home, I made sure to buy the most humanoid looking ginger root I could find.

Mmmmm Bulgogis.

My brother manning the pork on the griddle. I can’t even tell you how delicious this stuff was. After all the cooking was done we sat down in front of the enormous tv and watched the director’s cut of Alien. It was a pretty successful night.

Crunchy ice creamsssss

For some odd reason, I had been craving freeze dried ice cream for a few weeks (probably because I drove by OMSI the last time I was in Portland), and my mom just HAPPENED to bring some back for me on her trip to Florida!! I was so happy, I gobbled it down while watching the L Word, and it was just as amazing as I knew it would be.

♥ That’s all for now. Today I’m going to be finishing up my collection sketches, and I will post them this evening! Keep your eyes peeled!  ♥

Good-Bye 2009!

In the spirit of being completely honest here, I’m going to start out by saying that 2009 was by far one of the worst years I’ve ever had. But before I rehash all that, here are some of the GOOD things that happened this past year!:

♥  My second San-Diego Comic-Con (my FIRST time going for the whole weekend!)

♥  Reconnecting with old friends, and making some new ones.

♥  Moving back to the Pacific Northwest

♥ Venomous Raptors

♥ Finally getting off my ass and making things!

♥ Getting over some of my major anxieties

But I’m glad it’s come to an end because…

♥WIIL:2♥

Well, what do you know, another Wednesday is upon us. I realize I missed the last two or so Wednesdays because to be completely honest with you kids, I have been doing a whole lot of NOTHING for the past few weeks. My mom and her husband went on a cruise to get away from the holidays, and my best friend took a trip to Palm Springs with his boyfriend and his family, so I was completely on my own. My mom was kind enough to hook me up with some FAT CASH for Christmas though, so of course I went shopping…

Let’s begin…

What a bad girl I am!

I posted about two days ago in Facebook that I had a big blog announcement to make, and then I never posted it!? Hahaha! I can explain though. I’ve been really feeling the pressure the past couple of days, trying to revise my collection and make it more awesome, and more WOW, because…

I’ve decided to apply to participate in

Seattle Portland Fashion Week!

And I’m completely excited and terrified at the same time! Anyways, I’ve run into a problem with this pattern I want to get printed on some fabric, but I’LL FIGURE IT OUT EVENTUALLY, never fear!

I guess I should explain further by saying that yes, since Seattle Fashion Week takes place in April, designers will be showing Fall collections. Which is one of the reasons I needed to revise mine. Also, there’s a good chance that it won’t end up on Etsy. I might set up regular e-commerce for the official Neighborhood Story website, but since I’ve decided to jump in to business mode with both feet, I might not use Etsy anymore. But we’ll see what happens!

Until tomorrow, kids!