Collar & Sleeve

I keep using the phrase, 'Keep Calm and Carry On' when it comes to my college course at the moment but I honestly have to say it is the most fitting. Not because it has anything to do with being British, purely because the best thing to do at a time this is to just breath, take a step back, calm down and carry on! I've learnt this probably more than anyone over the past few weeks. Yes, I admit I have needed a day or two breathing space to calm down as I was beginning to become very unwell again. BUT! We're back  on track and I will NOT be beaten.

So, a belated blog for Monday!

Pattern Cutting catch up.... My Shirt.

Again, with this I could physically kick myself as I have actually enjoyed doing it, yes its stressful but so are most things we do in life! Due to time I am only making samples for my shirt i.e the cuff, sleeve, pocket and collar. I've really enjoyed piecing it together I must say, feel like I've let the team down though once again after not going in yesterday and today but again, you yourself is the only person that can read your body and mine was telling me if I didn't calm down I'd never get to the finish line.

Monday, the collar wasn't too difficult because I had already started it so the collar stand was ready and waiting.

All I had to do was attach the colour pieces either side of the stand, flipping the top of one side over so that it's held inwards with a 1.5cm seam allowance and then continued on to sew a 1cm seam right around the bottom edge of the colour.

Flip the collar so the stand is over the top and the collar is tucked neatly underneath. Neaten any untidy edges and you're done!

The Sleeve is a work in progress to be continued....

 Preparing Shoulder of Shirt.

 Cutting the Sleeve from my own pattern of a Bishop Sleeve.

Attaching the Sleeve to the Shirt.

Feed The Birds II

A lot of people have been asking me where exactly 'Feed The Birds' came from.

Here is your answer!

Feed the Birds is a play on words which I think I have mentioned before. I was really inspired by 80's designer Katharine Hamnett once again in this brief due to how she uses fashion to put across a political matter/message. Mine may be more Gareth Pugh than Politics but it's the same concept.

As part of my research in the beginning I looked into super skinny models within the fashion industry and the issues in which role models and images such as size zero can create.

I personally don't see an issue with 'skinny' women nor do I see an issue with 'curvy' women, the whole point of fashion and good style is that it suits YOU and who YOU naturally are! But I do have an issue when you see images of obviously malnourished and unhealthy models and supposed faces of fashion parading across magazines sending out a bad message and setting poor examples to young girls and boys in some cases of how to look! It's wrong. Skinny can be sexy, but scrawny just can't!

While researching I found out some seriously haunting facts and it really opened my eyes to the reality of what the fashion industry influences on more drastic level than just how we wear denim this season! I know it did me when I was going through high school, I suffered from Anorexia for about 2 years and even now constantly battle with my weight and self esteem issues, and it turns out I am not alone! Over two thirds of teenage girls and young adults suffer from some form of either eating disorder or have an issue with their body weight and image and it more or less always comes down to what they see on the catwalk or in glossy magazines.

So, my slogan 'Feed The Birds' is a little bit like my own form of Hamnett. To bring a message across that it has to stop!

The slogan isn't just around eating disorders though, there is a lot more too it.

I don't know whether it's my nature to just accept someone for who they are or whether I have just been nurtured to always be curious but understand that everyone is always different and sometimes that means they have different preferences in life, one of which can be their sexuality.

My concept of eating disorders and super skinny models then developed on how fashion influences and hides other issues within young society.

One of the leading ones being homosexuality and other sexuality preferences. I was prompted to look further into this when I met my current boyfriend who had actually been gay/bisexual for most of his teen years and looking through his photo albums had used how he looked, especially his hair to help him figure out who he was and also whether or not being homosexual was what made him happy in life and would for years to come... Turns out it didn't (obviously) but that isn't always the case, sometimes young adults struggling to cope with their sexuality or even their gender use their body, style and personal image as a form of escape from what they know is really who they are, it's almost like a living experiment. Statistics show that almost half of young men who suffer from eating disorders such as bulimia use their weight and image as way of punishing themselves for being 'gay'. This isn't always because they're ashamed of it, quite often this is due to the amount of pressure young men especially feel to be 'manly' and often suffer horrific forms of bullying as a consequence should they admit the reality. This is all so wrong so I decided that the best way to incorporate this part of my concept would be to use the colours from the gay pride flag within my T-Shirt design. Which is why the text of 'Feed The Birds' is in the 7 colours of the rainbow.

I know it wont exactly do a lot in the sense of having an impact on said issues but it's a start and it has really inspired me, I'm not saying I'm going to be anywhere near as iconic and influential than Hamnett but it's certainly given me food for thought for the future.

Eye Spy With My Little Eye, Something Beginning With D...

And sadly I'm not talking about super model David Gandy!

D is also for DRESS! My Final Garment and Dress of Stress as I am now calling it when my friends ask me what I am currently working on, because quite frankly...IT IS! Is getting nearer and nearer to becoming complete...

Due to time I've had to modify my design and work with what I have that fits a tight time scale, so instead of using eyelets and safety pins I'm using good old fashioned braces. (Androgynous AND Affordable, what more could you ask for.) It's not ideal but nor is it an issue in my eyes, one because the braces cost £0 as they're out of my very own wardrobe and they also fit nicely with my original concept so everyones a winner!



Illustrations Part II

You've seen my versions of Laura Laine and Anna Kiper previously, now to be continued.

Cecilia Carsltedt (Who I am LOVING right now, her work is elegant and feminine yet in a really unusual way! I certainly plan on learning more about her and I highly recommend anyone and everyone should do the same because she is truly beautiful talent!)

Lucy Macleod. Another fabulous illustrator with quite a quirk to her, I'm not her biggest fan but I do really like a lot of her work but it's just a little too haunting for me in some areas, AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING! But she again is someone that if you haven't already found her you should get scouting as it's truly worth the effort once you have.

 Simple Media techniques used in this drawing, Water colour and crayon for the lips, a 2B pencil for the line details and then for the left side of the face (as you look at it) it's simple just fine liner which is lightly watered over to create slight shading in areas required. The original image by Carlstedt is of Lily Donaldson, British Supermodel at London Fashion Week.

My copy of Macleod's work doesn't do her justice I would just like to point out. Side profiles are clearly not one of my greatest talents as we learnt from my Illustration board! I did try my hardest to create a near enough resemblance to the models character etc but it just did not seem to work out as well as I hoped. I do however really like how her eye and hair turned out. So two out of many features isn't so bad, not brilliant but not bad either!

If I was to do this one again I would probably attempt it on a smaller scale with different media such as fine liner or even CAD drawing as due to fine line and the issues I have with facial proportions I reckon using something like CAD would work out slightly better. 

Board Now...

And it isn't the board you are thinking! Goodness me, who could ever be 'board' when it comes to fashion!!! No, Board now simply means I have done my illustration and design boards and it's now time to blog about them. See what I did there...

I was really unsure as to what Illustration and Design Boards actually were, but after conversing with a few fellow students and using my initiative they are as follows.

My Illustration boards are quite simple, Front Back and Side views of my final garment and how I would style it. I really enjoy working with fine liner and water colours which is the media I have used for them. My
figures are heavily inspired by work by Tim Burton, James Jean and Laura Laine. There are naturally a few things I would certainly improve and work on from doing this board, for example, even though I prefer my illustrations to look unusual and quite Quirky/Gothic I think my Side View of my final garment is a little TOO quirky... SO practising a little more on figure drawing is certainly on my to do list for the summer. Otherwise, personally I'm quite proud of it all. 

 The Design Board is a lot more in detail (it still needs my fabric swatches and a couple more close up detailing completing) but instead of using water colour I stuck to fine liner which I washed over with water in some areas. I stuck to using fine liner as it was easier to show differences in the tartan for example and a more detailed look at the hand made pattern of the fabric and different shades and colours of the fabric even though in black and white. This one took the most time out of the two of them but I think it was definitely worth the effort.

What do you think?



Today is a very good day.

If next year when I'm in my second year at college and a first year turned around to me and asked what was the best thing they could do in their first year it would be without question that no matter what else they would rather be doing or how much they dislike a certain subject, putting it off is the worst thing you could ever do! Getting it completed and out of the way is definitely the only and best option any student could take, and I've learnt that the hard way! 

However, I did as I said I would and this morning handed in my 6 completed A4 textile samples, I am not best pleased with the quality and know for a fact that I could have done so much more if I had actually just done it at the time I was supposed too! Certainly would have had a fair few better nights sleep recently, I feel like a peaceful zombie right! All my friends keep going on at me about making sure I go out and celebrate the night I finish college on the 29th etc but to be perfectly honest, the only thing I shall be doing on Friday the 29h of June is having a glass of wine with my mum in the garden because I think we both deserve it after all the support and motivation she's given me, but all this will be swiftly followed by having a longggggg bubble bath and an early night!!!! (Shall do my partying on the student night after instead, would be rude not too!) 

Anyway, back to my samples? Would you like to see? I know I could achieve a lot more and I'm hoping over the summer while on my mission to improve my sewing skills I reckon working on a little textiles wouldn't be a bad idea either... 

So, from the top!

 This one, my Rainbow as I like to call it (which is annoyingly upside down in the photograph and I do apologise!)  this one is based around Homosexuality. I researched into the issues that young adults and teenagers face when coming out or realising their same-sex sexuality preferences and how it creates unnecessary circumstances such as bullying, prejudice, abuse and sometimes can even cost a life due to suicide. It relates really well to my topic of eating disorders and peer pressure from my previous unit as a lot of young adults struggling to admit or cope with their sexuality suffer from horrific self esteem and quite often develop eating disorders as a way of drawing the attention away to the truth. 

 This one, my union jack you have seen previously! I am actually really proud of this one and really liked the way it turned out.

 Anarchy in the UK but my way, for example, my colour pallet is based around one of the LGBT flags,  Bisexuality is purple, pink and blue. A lot of people disregard Bisexuality as selfish, false and attention seeking but due to my research I discovered that there is a lot more to it that meets the eye. But for my sample I focused on trying to incorporate all my research within each design less obviously than the expected. Again I think there could be more development with this sample but that's a learning curve for next year. 

 This one is a simple hand stitch with embroidery thread around rolled black fabric to create a frail and weak looking rib cage. I didn't want to just do a 'straight' and basic rib cage look so I developed it to branch out and go off in a sort of hand span kind of way. I think on the dress design above which it is sampled for it would actually look really effective. 

 "Its okay to be Gay", can't get much simpler than that. This one is just applique in the colours of the Gay pride flag which like earlier are all the colours of the rainbow. 

For my Final Garment I have made my own pattern of tartan fabric for the skirt, so my last A4 sample was an experiment of how to create a look and weave style for the final design. I've developed areas of my design during manufacturing so I need to do a page in my sketch book now about the development and sampling for the skirt part of the dress. 

All in all, not to shabby I don't think. But I have definitely learnt more than just a textiles lesson with this one. 

Ever heard of Scarlet Fever?! Well, I've got Skirt Fever...

Toile over, time for the real deal!

I can solely admit, hand on my heart and all that jazz that I have never made an outfit or item of clothing in my entire life! I made a handbag and wall hanging for my GCSE's in textiles and that's as far is it goes, think I  may have made a pillow in my first year at high school as well. Anyway, you get the picture, I can't sew and for the past however many months I've been avoiding it like Scarlet Fever if you like... Hence why I call it skirt fever because it does genuinely look like I'm being punished or in an immense amount of pain when I'm told too...

I do enjoy it, and it is very therapeutic, but not when you're overdue on your deadline and nervous as hell! Honest to god if I had ever wanted someone to appear out of lamp and grant me three wishes it's now.

Anyway, manufacturing the skirt has been pretty easy, it was making the tartan patterned fabric that was the difficult and time consuming part! each strip placed, pinned and sewn one by one, panel by panel! The results are well worth it in my eyes and you yourself shall see very shortly I just can not get over how much time it has taken.

Mastering the lining was tricky as in the end we had to label each pattern piece for the panels with letters and pair them all up, once sewn though it was easy.

Just placed the lining inside the skirt and attached them by pinning seam to seam and sewing around the base attaching them together.

There is a little more detail and precision to it, but you get the picture.

I've really enjoyed making my own garment I must admit, especially as the last few weeks have been pretty nail biting.

As for the skirt... Here is the process in a handful of photographs taken during the ride as they say.

These are just snaps from when the skirt was inside out and  being lined up on the manikin so that we could make sure it was as accurate as humanly possible! I also took a close up of the exposed zip which is placed along the back of the skirt down the centre. This was probably the most simple part of the entire manufacturing process, sewing the zip on!

 Lining the braces up with skirt so I was sure it would hold and also not look to out of place, my biggest nightmare is Sophie, my model, walking down the cat walk and the braces snagging off the skirt and just the whole think falling to the floor! But, they seemed to hold well and look pretty neat so fingers crossed!



And finally, the (almost) finished skirt. It's meant to look 'Grunge' and 'Vintage Punk' inspired by Vivienne Westwood which is where my idea for the unfinished edges came from. I also was inspired by Alexander McQueens highland rape collection so I stole the idea of the waste band falling lower than you would imagine for 'couture' after seeing his black trousers which exposed he very top of a woman's arse. Mine however relates to clothes always looking like they hang or are about to fall off models due to their obscenely slim frames.

Not bad for a first attempt, but I would be lying if I said I had done it all on my own. Had a little fairy godmother helping me along the way! I'd still only have scrap fabric and a design if I didn't!!!! 

Just a little doodle...

A few posts down I mentioned the Illustrators I had chosen for my sketch book.

Anna Kiper

Cecilia Carlstedt

Krister Selin

Laura Laine

Laura Macleod

and

Stina Persson

Well, here are my versions of pieces of their beautiful work:

Anna Kiper

To complete these drawings I used various water colours and black fine liner pens for the trench coat.

Laura Laine

Laura's drawings were simply a rough sketch for out lines and then I went over carefully with a fine liner and washed over with clear water to add delicate shading in the required areas.

All in all this is my favourite pair of drawings so far that I have done for my illustrators because it's more my kind of style of drawing and I really love her work.

Every time I think I have an idea... I modify it along the way!

It's true! Every time I have an idea or a design in my head I feel so confident about it, but the moment it goes from paper to pattern cutting I just immediately start over thinking about ways I could improve or other things I could do, even just slight modifications! It drives me mad, it's like a disease, designer disease... I doubt they have a proper name for it but I'm sure Coco Chanel was diagnosed with something similar along the way. I know it's not overly professional changing your idea slightly along the manufacturing process but when time and patients aren't on your side, beggars can't be choosers! And no one is in a position to be picky with me at the moment because if I receive one more piece of distressing news with college I have a feeling I may explode. This isn't as much a dig at college as I totally understand everyone is under an immense amount of stress but me being me have decided that this week, the busiest most stressful week of the year would be the PERFECT time to quit smoking... Stupid I know, but hey, if I can cope without them now, I can cope without them through anything.

Anyway, my modification to my design is slightly more Androgynous than Anarchist which is no bad thing I'm just disappointed I fell back to far to be able to pursue with my original plan, BUT better to learn now than loose later!

I've kept the concept of my dress, over sized and punk looking with the two pieces being separate but now instead of large safety pins and curtain eyelets holding the two together, I'm using good old fashioned braces! A staple to any Androgyny chic...

The design is not as predictable than what you would expect, for example the braces with be warn underneath the T.Shirt and not above and will there for not take away any attention or detail from the T.Shirt.

I would like to point out that the dress is not the above, this is my toile! However, I do love how the braces look underneath the stripes...Coming soon in my local area shall be me probably pairing the above with skinny jeans and Dr.Martins instead of the table cloth you see hanging along side them.

Juicy Jubilee

I think we can all safely agree that this long weekend has been much appreciated! However, I have never been so aware of my nationality in all my life.. Has anyone else ever seen so many union jacks and patriotic displays!!! 

Unfortunately dressing myself head to toe in red, white and blue has never been my thing and I may explode if I see one for flag printed on a T.Shirt! 

The only time I have ever owned something with the union jack print on it was my sex pistols album 'God save the Queen', sadly I don't think anarchy quite counts but everyone celebrates Britain in their own way! I'm not for one moment saying I am an Anarchist but I do think that at times people do go a little over the top.

Anyway, the title, Juicy Jubilee comes from something I came across on Vogue online. 

To me the jubilee shows Sixty years as a style icon in a way, I mean, the queen more than anyone has seen British Fashion rise from the streets of portabelo market right the way across the pacific and beyond! 

Looking back sixty years ago, where was fashion? What was it doing? Who was interested in it's very existence? After the war everything changed, especially for women. And it was the royal family that would have been the icons of the time, especially when it came to feminine elegance. It was only in the 1960's when as Anna Wintour once quoted you'd have to be wondering around with a paper bag over your head to not notice the sudden boom in style and liberation of the British woman. As hemlines got shorter and heels began to get higher everyone was celebrating! The 70's brought flower power and wide legged flares onto the scene, make up became more exciting than elegant and the punk revolution was born! A huge part of Britain's finest fashion booms! The 80's again, massive impact... Crop tops, big hair, punk rockers, glam, glam and glam again make up and massive shoulder pads! Girls weren't restricted to the a-line skirt and buttoned to the top blouses any more and it amazed me when I suddenly realised that H.R.H was front row seat to all of the above. Not that I expect you would ever find a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II at a roller disco wearing hot pants and baggy T.Shirt with The Clash splashed across it! Luckily for us we had the late Princess Diana wearing the fashion tiara when it came to the style icon amongst the royal family during the 80's, for her time and era she truly was a beautiful leader of style! 

No matter what your age or taste when it comes to fashion you can not mistake H.R.H for having a fabulous take on coronation chic! She always looks so well turned out and manicured to the greatest standard and always has done, overall, its been sixty years well spent on the fashion thrown! 

 Coronation Chic to max! So stunning!!! And there really is no other way to say it.

 Two of royalties biggest icon's in the 1980's both looking beautiful in vibrant shades of pink and red.

Her Royal Highness with Michelle Obama.