mine?

field trip to the marchesa office/showroom.  my jaw still hasn't popped back into place. this is all i'm showing because they were kinda weird about me taking 600 photos, but i couldn't resist showing this little hand-beaded number, not for sale, only worn once by blake lively.  she's tall. i'm tall.  this should fit, right??
wearable art, FOR SURE.


i've never before had THREE WEEKS of midterms.  oh well.  i should have a lot of fun things to post by the end of this next week.  i've made more in 21 days than i think i have in my last 2 yrs of art school.  (i exaggerate, but it's a close call!)

circle du soleil

i own probably 10 skirts.


i guarantee you, 6 of them are circle skirts.  my addictive shopping behavior came in handy this week since we had to draft, design, fit, and sew a circle skirt for my patternmaking midterm.  see, daddy?? i really DID need to buy identical skirt #6!  bahahaha, excuses.


anyways. this was SO EXCITING to finally get to make something i can wear.... so i went out and purchased three GORGEOUS silk fabrics. i'm sure i will post them soon because i'm obbbbbb-sessed.  however, turns out my teacher wasn't really stressing the quality of the skirt, just an understanding of how to make one, so i'm saving it for a final assignment, or just a rainy day :)


so here's a pattern if you want to make one:

so i took my $4/yd leftover white jersey and some nylon thread.  this wasn't quite enough, so i made a lace+elastic waistband (my first time to sew with elastic!), serged some edges, and added a couple cheesy-fun poufs---voila!

it could totally be a ballet skirt, but whatever. i'm pretty happy for a could-be-crappy-demonstration-skirt.  so now i have 7.

(obviously drawing from some j.crew/free people inspiration. ironically, i heard jenna lyons--j.crew president--lecture tonight! ah! so amazing)

this skirt, however, was GENIUS!! a girl in the class that meets right before mine was wearing this FAB burlap skirt. so simple, but so chic. i want it SO BAD, but i told her i was taking her picture to put up here, not steal her idea. so i guess she will be the sole-wearer of this primo garment.  kudos, sylvia!!

and then...... for your viewing pleasure, chandra was in rare form today.  2 hrs of sleep in 3 days will do that to you.  her skirt was presh, made completely of found fabric (way to be efficient AND green!), with an adorable apple-corduroy waistband.  but she NEVER wears such figure-enhancing pieces (note the baggy sweater and black jeans underneath).  hello elf outfit. only she can pull this off and look this good with severe sleep deprivation.  man i love her.

so this weekend, i was assigned to "go, do, see!" and since i have less work than normal (midterms are ALMOST over...), i will be hangin' with my sweet momma and her sister--who taught me how to sew. :)

love them both.  now, GO-SEE-DO, AS WELL!!

how i got here

this is a pretty cross-section of my inspiration for pursuing fashion school.
it's funny to see these images now, because i feel like in 1 year my aesthetic tastes, preferences, and inspirations have changed drastically, but the underlying themes i'd say are pretty similar. we'll see as i progress, i guess.

left to right:
free people
anna sui print
anthropologie print?
free people
lulu de kwiatkowski (last two images from her book LULU--sneak peak on amazon!)


love patterns. love hippy. love flora/fauna.  love collage. love earthy palettes.  love yellow + pink + orange (although i hate wearing pink. ew.)

bring it, winter!

i'm now prepared for a new york winter:

 boots: hunter (duh) -- found them at my first sample sale experience--so cheap! j.crew :)

new coat (delia*s), new boots, new glittens (thanks Sophia!!), sequin pumps (zara/goodwill), beanie (forever21)

and a sampling of my favorite new friends!!!  yes we all wear black. a lot.

from left to right: chandra (who didn't want a frontal view), sophia, ariana, and keenan. 

a few are missing, but they weren't in class yesterday. boo.  LOVE!

i think we will be keeping each other alive this fall/winter via collaborative homework, healthy vibes, and probably snuggling together for warmth.  i'm nervous about the inevitable cold that's coming, but i've armed myself pretty well, i think.

first mood board woes??

i am exhausted beyond all reason, and i KNOW i'm overthinking this mood board/collage, but i need some feedback!! 


something's missing or should be missing and i can't seem to figure it out.
my 'mood'?? ----> go glam or go home** should feel romantic but with a touch of pretentiousness?

**that's something my boyfriend would've said. he's hundreds of miles away and i STILL talk like him.  he likes to say "go handsome or go home".  it fits. look how handsome that kid is:

photo cred: micah horvath

"schiap" to the lou, my darlin'

i recently had to research the first avant garde designer, Elsa Schiaparelli.  mind you, this was the 1930's. ANCIENT, right??  i had no knowledge of her before, and little desire to research.  but i'm SO inspired from all the time i spent looking at her work.  here's a sampling of some of her more well-known pieces, juxtaposed with the inspiration for each:

Schiap's Lobster Dress vs. Salvador Dali's Lobster Telephone

Schiap's Famous "Bow" Sweater and her Portrait

Schiap's Skeleton Dress vs. Man Ray's Nude

Schiap's Embroidered Blazer vs. Jean Cocteau's Drawing

Schiap's Fingernail Gloves vs. Man Ray's Hand Photo

And naturally we have to compare for the latter half of the century, aka decades in which we were actually present:

So now you know a little bit more.  I could post the actual report, but who wants to read when you can just look!?  So fascinatingly original.  i don't particularly think i would buy or wear many of her things, but they are genuinely works of art, not just clothes.  (AND she's the reason HOT PINK exists. fabulous contribution, right?  i'm a pink HATER and i still lovelovelove hot pink.)