Working in the Costume Shop

During my time in the costume shop I worked on a wide variety of pieces and learned a lot of new techniques. Here are just a few things I worked on in the costume shop this semester:

Bok Choy, made for the Chinese New Year's Play

Petticoat in Process

Orange!

Finished Doublet

Back of the Doublet

Wrapping Up The Semester

This has been by far the craziest semester for me so far at Purdue. I have done a lot this semester besides classes. I've worked football and basketball games, worked 10+ hours each week in the costume shop, gone to numerous workshops and meetings, and somehow managed to find time to spend with my friends doing silly things like having a Fast & Furious marathon.

As this semester comes to an end I am starting to get more prepared for my semester abroad in London. I will be leaving January 3rd and flying back for the fashion show at Purdue in April.

I've written a little before, but I will be finalizing my schedule and classes when I get to LCF for the orientation. I am pretty excited for what this coming spring semester!! 

Besides preparing for finals week and for leaving for London, I am thinking ahead for the summer and for jobs. Since I am receiving my apparel design internship credits by working at the costume shop at Purdue this semester and next fall, I can do whatever over the summer. I am hoping to do something completely different from working with costumes, but I would also enjoy continuing working on costumes. 

Stay tuned for more updates, I'm hoping to post a lot over break & also in London!

Older Movies

I don't know why I have never seen Funny Face but I decided to watch it last night and it was wonderful! I recommend it to any Audrey Hepburn or Fred Astaire fan. I loved all of the colors and the singing thrown in wasn't too bad, same with the dancing scenes. The beginning sort of reminded me of the movie Devil Wears Prada, but with singing. I think choosing Paris to have a majority of the movie in was a great decision. 

After watching Funny Face, I started watching Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn. It was recommended by Netflix and I figured why not. I only got about half way through, she's at the party after returning from Paris, so I haven't seen the ending yet. I like the movie so far, however I really do wish it was in color. I love the clothes, but I think I would enjoy the costume decisions so much more if they were all in color. I will try and watch the rest tonight, but with the play starting this week I will be working another 12+ hour work week in the costume shop on top of my already busy schedule with classes and actual work where I get paid for my time.

Better Pictures

I have decided to add some more pictures from last year's fashion show. I know it's been a few months (7 months actually) but I just love these pictures and wanted to share them! 

I wrote an article over the fashion show titled Fashion Show Weekend and it covered my experiences, what I took in my bag, a few pictures, and more. Click on the title to read more about it.

The first picture is of my friend, Eric, who is modeling a pair of plaid trouser pants, a grey jersey knit top, and a lined striped vest. The lining and back of his vest is the same satin fabric that is used for the evening dress my friend gabby modeled.

The second picture is of my friend Gabby walking down the runway. I really like this picture because you can see the movement of the bottom of the dress. I chose to sew squares of the satin and chiffon to ribbons and then sew the ribbons in-between the dress and its lining. I love the whole look, from the blinged out earrings and bracelet to the black patent pumps and long gloves. I was going for a fancy Breakfast at Tiffany's feeling to both garments when next to each other. I am thrilled with how both looks turned out and how they look standing together.

Last Minute Work

Tomorrow is sort of our first Quality Control (QC) Check. We've had one, but that was for sketches and flats of 1 design. Tomorrow is a fit check so we need patterns, a muslin version, and pictures of fit. 

I am doing my sustainability project for my 1 design and I am pretty excited for it to come together. however, I have yet to actually start it...and I'm meeting with my model this afternoon too. So tonight will be spent, not doing my French homework but in the lab working on my piece. 

Since I'm using already functional garments I don't see the need to create patterns and a muslin version, hopefully this is okay. I have to deconstruct a dress and then put the skirt back together again but that shouldn't take too long since I'm just gathering it and using an elastic waistband with no zipper. the top is a different story. I'm using a striped button-down top and I need to hem it, take it in, possibly remove the pocket on the front, and change the sleeves. I do also have to pattern heart shaped pieces since I plan on cutting out a heart on the back of the shirt and also placing little hearts over the shirt in various places. It's hard to fully describe but i'll post pictures tomorrow!

More About London & Classes

The way study abroad classes work at London College of Fashion is that there are 3 required classes for 2 hours each and then you can pick up to 10 credit hours worth of electives, giving you a total of 16 credit hours for the semester.

The 3 mandatory classes are: 
1. Fashion History, Art, and Artifact
2. British Cultural Studies
3. Theoretical and Contemporary Fashion Studies

The electives available are:

1. Draping (4 Credits)
2. Creative Design, The Process (3 Credits)
3. Corsetry (3 Credits)
4. Creative Footwear Design - Style to Street (3 credits)
5. Shoe Making (3 Credits)
6. Mastering Millinery (3 Credits)
7. Styling (3 Credits)
8. European Fashion Studies (2 Credits)
9. Fashion Drawing (2 Credits)
10. Fashion Speed Sketching (1 Credit)
11. The Perfect Moodboard (2 Credits)
12. The Perfect Photograph (1 Credit)
13. Creative Eyewear Design (3 Credits)

As of now I am "signed up" for corsetry, shoe making, and millinery. I'm thinking about adding either the moodboard class or speed sketching. I figure why not go ahead and take the full 16 credit hours since I am used to taking 18 almost every semester.

I will keep you posted because I heard we get to switch around our classes the first week, and nothing is final yet anyways.

Spring Plans

Guess who will be attending the London College of Fashion this coming spring semester??

-ME!

I got my notice last Wednesday and I have paid my deposit so I am officially attending LCF!

I can't wait until January rolls around I get to fly over there and settle n for an amazing semester abroad.

Stay tuned for more information regarding class descriptions and more.

My LCF Application

I officially applied to London College of Fashion! After a lot of confusion, a late application to Purdue, and lots of rushed scheduling of meetings, I applied! 

The application is a lot like other applications. It asks for your information, college, GPA (both accumulative and major), transcripts, a picture for your ID, an essay, and then 2 letters of recommendation. There's a few more pieces of information it asks for but that's just medical and housing type stuff. But the part I wanted to share is the pictures of my 5 pieces of work I sent with my application. I had to pick 5 pictures that show a variety of my work and it took me a while to figure out what pictures would show off my skills and a variety of work. 

So here they are:

1. Starting with the picture above on the left- it's of my models Eric and Gabby from this past spring's fashion show. I chose a picture of the back because it gave me the best view of Gabby's dress and how his vest matches her dress. Also, I just think they look really great like this!

2. My shoe project from over the summer! (above on the right) I think it's a good variation of work because who makes shoes out of cardboard and paper that you can walk in?

3. On the left is my collared top I made for class last semester (spring 2014). It has a black lace bow with a tortoise shell button.

4. On the left is a pastel piece I did in AD114 last fall of a sculpture I made.

5. Lastly I uploaded a picture of 2 pages from my portfolio. It's a project from last year where we created a line of dresses using optical illusions as inspiration.

Pop of Pink!

So a few weeks ago I decided to try and dye my hair pink. I didn't want it to be permanent so I tried finding a brand that would work. After asking my very hair coloring savvy friend I settled on Garnier's Color Styler wash out pink hair dye. 
My friend Hale then helped dye it for me one evening. I wanted to try that tie-dye effect and not completely dye all of my hair. I thought it would be a lot of fun to try something different  than the usual dip dye or ombre effect. Right after Hale put the coloring in my hair looked bright pink and I was a little overwhelmed. I had really hoped for a lighter shade, but the box did advertise a bright bright. I woke up the next morning and after showering it looked a lot better. I was happy that the color wasn't as intense anymore and I loved how Hale had made it looked when she dyed it. 
The only down side to the experience was that instead of lasting the 3-4 washes/days it stayed in for about 2 weeks or so. It wasn't great after the first week, it made my hair look oily and gross for a bit. I borrowed Hale's natural shampoo and washed my hair multiple times one night and it helped a lot. 
I might try a different color another time, maybe the blue. I think as long as I'm prepared to wash my hair with the natural shampoo (or dish soap) after it's been in too long I'll do it again.

Paper Shoes

I just realized I never wrote a post about the paper shoes I made for my summer art AD106 class. They didn't turn out how I had originally planned but I liked them a lot and I got a 100% on the project.

The project requirements were that the pair of shoes (yes 2 shoes) had to be created solely from paper and cardboard, no fabric materials at all. They needed to have a minimum of a 2 inch heel/lift/platform and you needed to be able to walk in them for 60ft+. While 60ft was the minimum you needed 80ft to get full credit and any foot after 80ft was extra credit, but you could only get a 100% on the project no matter how many feet you walked. 

Another requirement was that the shoes designed needed to have a minimum of 3 colors. Originally I was very certain I wanted my shoes to be red, black, and white. Just like most of my designs usually are those three colors. However, when I went to the store the prices and selection provided weren't great at all and I ended up choosing a black sparkly glitter paper and then blue and silver hologram type paper. 


I made the first heel as sort of my prototype for what I wanted the structure to look like and went from there. One idea I decided on was making the heels have a strap like a pair of sandals. I was going to have some ankle strap be decided against it because I thought it wouldn't help me with the walking. Then I played around with the idea of spikes or flower petal like cardboard pieces around the ankle. However, with the paper choices I made those didn't look too great. Finally I liked the idea of having little triangles connecting the platform to the heel. I thought it would help me with stability. 

 The picture to the right is my final design. It's not the best craftsmanship but I was the only person to do high heels this way (not just a platform lift the whole foot length/size) and I was the only person to really take a risk creation wise. The colors looked pretty stellar too actually. I called them my galaxy heels. For the walking test I got maybe 10ft and the heels were breaking. I essentially slid my way all the way down to maximum extra credit on floating heels because my platforms were so strong. Essentially the triangles needed to be way more stable and I probably shouldn't have walked around in them so much immediately after finishing make them because I might have worn them down a little too much. Overall it was a great project and I'm really happy I went with my idea to do high heels even though it was difficult. I love projects like this and I think it just backed up my idea that I'd love to make shoes at some point in my career. Plus, it was just a lot of fun to work on over the summer!

Crayon Art

This year I chose to live in a dorm since I will be (hopefully) studying abroad for the spring semester. One of the perks of living in a dorm is free craft nights and other fun activities, they usually involve snacks or pizza, with your floor. Well my floor did a craft night this past Sunday night where we did crayon art. It was really neat! Everyone started out with a blank canvas and then got to pick out what crayons they wanted. I chose basically all of the pinks and a few purples and maybe 2 blues.

After you pick your crayons and put them on the canvas how you want, you hot glue them to the canvas. You could also tape them if you wanted to remove them but I just chose the hot glue option. Next you use a hairdryer to melt the crayons. There are a few methods to melt the crayons but I just pointed the hair dryer and moved my canvas around so that the colors would mix more. Finally, when I was satisfied with what it looked like I cut the parts of the crayons that were sticking out too much. So now it is just a colorful canvas, which I think looks pretty cool.

The whole process maybe took 20-30 minutes. It was fun though, socializing, eating some snacks, and making crayon art. I would definitely recommend this for other artsy people, or for even unartsy people!

My Final Piece

Fall Semester

It's been a while since I've written, about a month or so, and I'm ready to get back into and make some time for more articles. 

I've moved into a dorm on campus, a single room that is super tiny. It's nice and cozy though. I didn't bring a lot of my sewing stuff since it takes up a lot of space. 

I'm taking 19 credit hours. My classes include CAD, Showcase, being a Peer Mentor again for CSR100, French 302, Intro to French Literature, an Advertising class, a computer class, and then my design internship credit. 

I'm no longer working at Charming Charlie or writing for ColleeFashionista (that was just a summer long internship). I'm back to working at Levy for football games and catering events. I am, however, interning for the Costume Shop here at Purdue. It's great! It's an unpaid design internship but it's in PAO and I get 10+ hours a week. I'm doing 1 credit worth, so 140 hours, this semester and then the other credit next fall. I'll do a post on my interview process soon.

I'm in the process of finishing my application for London College of Fashion. I'm waiting on my letters of recommendation from my 2 professors and then I'll be submitting it! I'll write more about my application when I have it all put together and finalized. 

I'll be posting about the project I have to do this semester for Showcase involving sustainability in fashion.

As of now I'm just trying to get awesome grades, get quality sleep, and not get whatever virus is going around on campus. Stay tuned for more!

Pearls With a Modern Twist

I love pearls, especially layering pearl necklaces. However, when searching for a cool Fashionista to write my article about, I found a student who took a twist with her button-down and pearls. In my article for CollegeFashionista I chose to focus on her collar which has different shades of pearls sewn on to the tips. To me it's a neat extra touch of pizzazz to her ensemble. You can check out my full article "All Pearled Up" which went live today, August 15th. In  my article there are a few links to similar tops that take pearls to the next level. With these you can skip figuring out what necklace to wear and just rock a cool top.

200th Post!

Not going to lie I wasn't sure if I would every make it past the 100th post! (I have deleted a few posts so the numbers may have gotten a tiny mixed up but this is my 200th post) It's been a great time blogging; it's relaxing and also fun. I enjoy sharing my own fashion world with you and it's just great to see that people are actually reading what I write on Bri Vision.

For this post I figured I would write an update since the summer is coming to an end:

First off, I will be entering my 3rd year at Purdue University. I'm still an Apparel Design & Technology major with minors in French as well as Art & Design Studio. This summer I took 3 classes as well as completed my 1 credit hour retail internship. I worked part time at Charming Charlie to fulfill all of my retail internship requirements. I learned a lot about the retail world and that whole aspect of apparel. While taking classes and working I've also been doing a fashion writing internship with CollegeFashionista as a Style Guru. I've posted about my articles and I have a couple more until the end of my internship. I will not be continuing on as a Style Guru in the fall semester because I really want to focus on my classes and I also will have 2 part time jobs as well as my work study job. But I plan on reapplying for my senior year!

A little bit more...I will be starting the application process for London College of Fashion for Spring 2015. Hopefully I get accepted!! If accepted I want to take corsetry, millinery, and shoe making classes. 

Lastly, I guess stay tuned for more on my journey for finding the perfect apparel design internship. I'll need to do this internship Summer 2015 but I have no idea where I'll be or what I'll be doing (hopefully actually designing!). 

Alrighty, well keep coming back for more posts! I'll be writing about some of my art projects, my moving process back into the dorms, and also on trying to clean out my closet and go about selling my clothing.

My First Fashionisto

I was very excited for my article, "All in The Details: Striped And Ready For Fall," because it featured my first Fashionisto article. I wrote about his sweatshirt and for how fellow Fashionistos and Fashionistas could incorporate a similar type into their closets for fall or for a few other type of sweatshirts for those who don't particularly like stripes. 

Back to School Backpacks

For August 1st my article, "All In The Details: Backpack to Basics," featured a bright red Lacoste backpack. A lot of people have their backpacks for a long time, especially if you purchase a quality brand. If you're on the market for a new backpack, or even just interested in looking at lots of options, then check out my article. 

Fashionista Shoe Choice: Converse

I know I've been a little behind with my posting about my CollegeFashionista articles so I'm going to try and catch up!

My article that went online July 25th is titled "All in the Details: Kicking It Old School Converse Style." It features a fellow Boilermaker showing her style with the classic black and white converse. I personally love converse, they're comfy and allow you to showcase your own sense of style. They have a huge selection with not only different styles of shoes but different colors and fabrics and more! 

While everyone loves a good print or color selection, there's something refreshing about the classic black and white converse. Check out the neat section that Converse has where you can design your own custom converse.

Moving, Packing And Cleaning

I will be moving out of my first apartment in a few weeks and as the date is coming closer I find myself thinking about cleaning out my closet and room even more. I will be moving back into the dorms the weekend before classes, either on August 22nd or the 23rd. I managed to snag a single room in Hawkins Hall and I know my closet will be smaller than the one in my apartment and that I will be downsizing in my dresser size. My room comes with a bed, dresser, desk, chair, and a few other things, but I know the dresser space will be smaller. I know I'll only need to be packing enough for the fall semester (hopefully I'll be studying abroad in the spring) but I will still need both warm and cold weather items, plus my winter coat and some boots.

I have so many options I really just want to narrow them down. One way I'm thinking about doing this is by getting rid of even more of my clothing. I already have a tote full of stuff I need to donate/sell but I can't until I get home and see what the consignment shops there say about the pieces. I also know I can't take everything with me to London in the spring, so by not having so many choices I can help myself when the time comes to pack for a whole semester abroad. Also, I know I'll buy clothing while in London and I'll need the space when I get home. 

After moving out of my apartment I will be going through all of my clothing at home and then making the final decisions about all of it before trying to sell or simply donate my things. It should be fun, but also a little nerve wrecking because sometimes I can't get rid of things nor do I handle change well. But I am really looking forward to cleaning out my closet and making more space for the future. We shall see what happens! I'll post more about what I'm getting rid of and my final decisions and more about packing for my 3rd year at Purdue.

New Hairstyles

Emily looking super stylish.

This week's article for CollegeFashionista features a friend of mine that I ran into, Emily. Instead of going with a clothing route or even a makeup trick, I decided to write about her short hairstyle. I think it's really cute and stylish. I like that it's not the typical pixie cut nor is it a bob. It also looks really good with her facial features. While she has a great ensemble, I liked the idea of branching out and not just writing about clothing. Last week's article was on a way to do your nails, so I figured doing a piece on a hairstyle would add more variety to my work. I also just think her hair is cute and simple, thus the title of my article "Short and Simple." If you're interested in reading my entire article then check it out here. If you've missed any of my articles and want to read them, go here. If you want to read a little more about me personally, then check out my Style Guru Bio.

Summer Plans Turning Into Fall Plans

As summer is winding down, well my time here staying at Purdue, I've begun to think about that list of all the things I wanted to do during the summer and how I've failed miserably at achieving those goals. I had a lot of projects I wanted to get done, such as sewing dresses and working on my portfolio. However, I underestimated how much time my summer courses would require and between the classes and my job my free time is limited. Part of me wishes I could stay past August 5th, but the other part is ready for an actual break- no classes and no work until August 25th. It will be nice to just chill and not think about art projects or management homework or exams. I do wish I was able to do more of my personal projects, like make my bustle so I could start working on the skirt, or just make dresses I have both the pattern and fabric for, but I didn't do any of those projects. 

Sewing wise I've only made a shirt and serged a scarf. Portfolio wise I have actually done something! My manager at work (I work at Charming Charlie) suggested I start taking photos of the work I do for our visual displays and that I could use it in my portfolio. I'm not entirely sure she knows what I need/want in my portfolio, but I do like the idea of having some of the hands on work experience showcased in my portfolio. In my portfolio there will be all of my sewing projects, with descriptions, inspiration pages, and sketches, but after she suggested I take the photos it got me thinking that I do more than just sewing that I should showcase and share in my portfolio. So now I think I'll have a visual display section with information on Charming Charlie, like what kind of company they are and their target market, and then I'll also do a section featuring what I think are my best articles from CollegeFashionista. If you've missed some of my posts you can check out my articles here.

I think I've done a lot with my time spent here, it just wasn't what I had originally planned out for myself. I am glad I've had the opportunity for some quality work experience, both in retail and writing articles. Maybe after I go home I'll sew some stuff, but for now I plan on doing my projects in the fall since I won't have a sewing class.

Beauty Report

So far all of my articles have been about apparel or accessories. First I wrote my Style Guru Bio and since then I've written about smoking flats, boleros, and bows. This week my article features a beauty trend- nail art! I'm the kind of girl who likes to paint her nails but I usually just stick to solid colors and maybe some sparkle every now and then. For my article I found a Fashionista who has gone a different route with her nail polish decisions. If this little post has sparked your interest, well then go check out my article on CollegeFashionista "Get Nailed!." And if you've missed any of my articles and want to catch up, then go here.

New Do, New You....Right?

My new do!

Today, after about a week of talking, I got my haircut. It was definitely needed with my split ends and grown out layers. I decided I like my bangs and my part so I really just needed some inches cut off and new layers cut. After talking to the stylist I decided on this length (see picture to the left) and she asked me about my layers and she chose to cut choppy layers so I could have more volume to my hair. My hair is typically really flat so any volume I can get without product and styling is great!

I went with my friend Hale and she got her hair cut super short, though she already has a short hairstyle. Before my hair was cut she said I should get it cut above my shoulders, but I wanted to be able to put it in a ponytail for working out and such and the stylist said a little below the shoulders would let me do that to my hair. I think this is a great length and it feels so healthy and makes me feel very stylish. It's light and fluffy and I love it! I'm excited for my first full day tomorrow and for trying new do's with it and all of my outfits.

Along with my new hairdo I cleaned out my closet (well my closet at Purdue haha). I filled a whole tote with all the clothes I don't really wear that I have here with me at college. It feels great to just have a more organized little slice of life. Although my friend Hale gave me a lot of clothes I am ecstatic to wear! Thankfully my closet is more empty and I have the room for the new pieces. I'm on the road to finding my style, which right now is just a lot of chaos of patterns and colors and a lot of black. Stay tuned for more about me finding my style, it might take a while though, and of course it'll develop over time too as I get older.

Beautiful Bows

Katie, the Fashionista
featured in my article.

My most current article on CollegeFashionista is on the topic of bows and how to find the right way to incorporate them into your wardrobe and ensemble. Published on July 4th, my article "Beautiful From Head to Bow" showcases my friend Katie and how she takes a busy printed dress and accessorizes it with bow themed jewelry and accessories. It's great how Fashionistas can create such wonderful outfits and how others can interpret their choices as inspiration for their own fabulous ensembles! Be sure to check out the rest of my articles here.

Country Chic

Not a lot of people can pull off a country inspired look, but for Hale, who can pull anything off, she rocked it! For last week's CollegeFashionista article I wrote my piece around Hale's bolero and how she managed to pull the outfit together. To read my full article you can check it out here: "Cowgirl Chic Bolero Style."

Menswear Fashion Shows

Ever since I worked with my friend Eric on menswear for the fashion show I've been paying more attention to men's fashion. I've scrolled through many fashion shows catwalk pictures looking at all of the garments and how the designers put together the full package for the ensemble each man is wearing down the runway. There's a lot of differences between a menswear show and a women's show, such as the atmosphere is more relaxed at a menswear than the hustle and bustle at a women's fashion show. Just soaking everything in is a great way to think about menswear. I think my favorite pieces tend to be more structured and tailored garments. As of now, my top 3 fashion shows (overall) that have come out of London this week are: Baartmans and Siegel, Tom Ford, and Burberry Prorsum. You can click the names if you'd like to look at the different pictures from the shows. I haven't quite figured out my future design path, but I do enjoy working on menswear and I think I would like to have some part in menswear in the future. I do know I will have male models for my senior collection in 2 years, so lots of tailoring! 

Project: Dress or Shirt?

Front View

As I've mentioned in a previous post I've only had a little bit of time to work in the lab on the machines. When I was there last time I serged the edges on a scarf and then, instead of starting a whole new project from scratch, I found a dress in the scraps bin. It was a simple, single strap knee-length dress with just 2 bust darts, side seams, and a seam down the back. Nothing fancy about it. I decided to spice it up a little bit.

I shortened the hemline so that it's a shirt length and it's shorter in the front than the back. Then I seam ripped the side seams and sewed in a panel of black satin fabric on each side. The panels are about 2 inches wide. After finishing the seams around the armhole and hemline I decided to take the straps and change them. The dress had two cords to tie in the back and when I seam ripped the sides I cut them off. With these I cut them again, but in half, and braided them with the one strap on each side. Then I sewed the braid to the top and voila! Fancy braided straps! It took less than an hour and I have a cute tank top ready to wear out and about! 

Close up of the braided straps.

Side View

I'm hoping that I can find more good finds, especially at Goodwill, to alter and make my own. It's neat to just see something and think "Hmmm, I can take this plain shirt and change the neckline and add some details and trims and wow now I have a fancy cocktail dress." It's not all like that of course, but I do enjoy making things different and being able to just be creative and try different techniques. Especially when the garment is really cheap or free, because then it's not wasting fabric, money, and time! Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time in the lab, I really want to work on my bustle so I can make my bustle skirt! Stay tuned for more on other projects later on this month.

New Article Published And More

The Fashionista showing
 off her earrings.

Hello All! It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I've just finished up with my Personal Finance class, I've sewn a shirt (expect a post soon), and I've been trying to not be overwhelmed with writing for CollegeFashionista and working for Charming Charlie. 

My new article is published on CollegeFashionista today! It's titled "Rainy Day Grays" and you can check it out by clicking here. It's all about how to pair a great pair of statement earrings with an ensemble for a chilly, and potentially rainy, day. In my article I wrote about how pairing a solid color knit dress and statement earrings is a great choice because it'll draw the focus of the eye to the earrings. So, if you're interested in a little how to then check out my article.

Stay tuned for a new post on my article every Friday and also a few this weekend as I try and catch up on my writing. My life is about to get a little more hectic since I'll be starting 2 new classes on Monday the 16th.

STYLE GURU BIO: ME

My feature picture on my article.
It's me trying to be stylish and not
goofy in a picture.

Hello Everybody! It's official, my first post is now published on CollegeFashionista! It's just my Style Guru Bio, so not an All in the Details report, but it's still worth reading. For the full article and pictures check it out here: Style Guru Bio: Brianna Malotke.

It's a great start to this whole internship. I submitted my second post, but first All in the Details report, today and it will be published next Friday. I like that they have us submit them a week early and then go over them for errors and message us about things we should fix or tweak. I only had a couple of problems, such as I forgot to change the sizing of my photos and I formatted a few words incorrectly. I triple checked my second article though so hopefully there are no errors. 

I am really glad for this opportunity. I am able to work on my writing and I get to work on how to put things all together, which is great practice for working on my portfolio in the future. I think when I go to work on my portfolio, for job interviews and such, I will definitely include a few of my favorite articles that I've written. It's a way to show that I am a diverse designer and that I am able to do more than just the basics.

Well, every Friday I will be posting a link, or even my entire article, on here so stay tuned!

Quick Update: CF Posting

Just a few updates about College Fashionista:

• I am writing for All in the Details.
• I will post my URL for CF after my first post.
• My posts will be published every Friday on the website.
• My first post goes live next Friday, June 6th.
• I will be posting my articles on here when they go live, not when I'm done with them.
• The first post is the BIO so on June 6th I will post the BIO and pictures that will be on CF onto Bri Vision.

I am just so excited, I am thinking of having my friends over and doing sort of a fancy dinner. Mainly because we love any reason for getting dressed up. But also because this is in a way being "published" and why not celebrate being published?

Dreaming of Shoes

Flash back to last summer when I would
shoe shop during my lunch break on the
ever so popular, Shoe Dazzle website.

As usual I am coveting a lovely pair of heels that is out of my budget. During the school year one of my go to relaxing tasks was to take a break from studying and go online and look at designer shoes.

Well it's summer and you'd think it would be a relaxing time, but not this summer. I am currently juggling a part-time job at Charming Charlie, which counts as my retail internship so I have to do weekly journals and other reports for the class that goes with it, a personal finance class that meets Monday-Friday every morning, and my writing internship as a Style Guru for CollegeFashionista. It doesn't sound like a lot when I write it down and reread it but each task has its own long list of things I need to accomplish each day and week, on top of other tasks like filling out scholarship applications, writing for my own blog, hanging out with friends, cooking, and working out. With all of this going on I need time to just chill and wind down. One of these ways is to just shoe shop online, well more of just look at shoes online and drool over them because they're way too expensive for me right now. Maybe some day when I have a steady income and am a well known designer I can buy all of the shoes I want, until then I will settle for ogling the Louboutins online.

Constantly Inspiring: Chanel

Back in high school I never quite knew what I wanted to do with my life. Sure I could see myself doing different jobs such as being a lawyer or owning a store. When I was a junior I took AP English Language and during the school year I read a book titled "Coco the Novel," written by Patricia Soliman. It was amazing and I know I've written some posts about it and Chanel:

• "Coco Chanel" February 24th, 2012
• "More Chanel, Because Really, You Can Never Have Enough" March 5th, 2012
• "Channeling Chanel" June 20th, 2012 
• "Chanel's For The First Time" April 10, 2013
• "Chanel's Words" July 10th, 2013

It seems as though every few months I have something to say regarding the topic of Chanel, and as of now I have more to share. First, regarding the videos from Chanel, the first one being "For the First Time," well there is a total of 11 videos now and they are wonderful. If you have some free time you should check them out, it's worth it. Each video is short, around 3 minutes, so you can watch them one at a time over a span of a while. Check it out here: Inside Chanel. I've linked it to the first video. 

As of now I want to create a cardigan using my "Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket, Sewing Secrets from a Chanel Collector" book. I also have another book on Chanel I am looking forward to reading when I have some spare time. I wish I had brought more of my fashion related books with me for the summer but I decided against it because I wasn't sure how much free time I would have and I figured I could go home over the summer and switch out books. So I will probably be writing more about Chanel soon since once I'm settled in my class (which starts tomorrow) I will be starting some sewing projects.

Bustle Project Plans

Last month I had written about how I was going to make a bustle skirt for my design class. Well after purchasing all of the materials and trying to start the project, I realized I wouldn't have enough time to finish it for the due date for class. Instead I made a simple circle skirt with some fun details. However, I want to share some inspiration and some sketches I've done for the project.

 To start off, I wanted to share a few pictures of my inspiration. I knew I wanted to do something red and black. I love these colors and I think the dark red color would look amazing in a floor length dress. I like the way the two dresses pictured above use draping and gathering to add depth to the dresses. I also love the pleating and little details given in the skirts of the dresses. I have to say a lot of my inspiration came from the red dress worn by Mina's character in the 1992 "Dracula" film.

This design is my rough draft for the back. I'm not great with drawing all of the draping and pleating so I make notes on the sides of my sketches. I know I wanted the pick up and draping, but I also know I want to play around with it before making final decisions. I also know I want some pleating on one of the sides. I'd love to show the black petticoat underneath but I'm unsure of how much. I also think I will do some detailing on the black skirt to keep it interesting and not just a plain boring petticoat. As of now I am just making the skirt but I think it would be neat to make a bodice to go with it with black lace in the back. I might also add black lace to the skirt but I really just want to get the skirt finished first.

Here are some ideas for my bustle for under the skirt. I bought embroidery hoops that are flexible but wooden to try and make my bustle out of but I might have to switch to something more durable and stronger. I am trying to make it as if it fasten in the front like a belt but so that is also comfortable for the wearer (me). It will definitely take me a couple of tries but I am determined to make this bustle skirt. Hopefully I will finish this over the summer and be able to use it for something, even if it's just having a fancy themed tea party with my friends.

Summer Sewing

As of now my list of design projects to get done is ridiculously long. I have so much fabric I've bought or got for free that I feel like I should use a lot of it. I also want to make a few quality pieces for my application to London College of Fashion.
Here is a list of my projects:

1. A shift dress using my black and white spiral fabric. After I sew it I want to practice doing some hand sewing by beading certain areas or embellishing the shoulders/pockets. We'll see what happens.
2. My bustle skirt. I spent $90 on materials and I really want to make a bustle and bustle skirt. 
3. I want to make my boyfriend nice dress pants. I'm unsure of the fabric as of now so I probably won't be starting off the summer with this one.
4. A dress using my patterns from my elephant dress but using a really fun and brightly colored fabric. I love the shape of the dress and the fit so I just want to make it for myself. I'll probably start with this since I'll be using patterns.
5. A dress for my friend Gabby who was my model this year. I told her I'd make her something so I thought I might find a nice fabric similar in weight and stretch to what I used for the show and make her the same dress minus the bottom of it.
6. A Chanel-like cardigan  for myself. I have a red tweed-like fabric I got for free and I think it would look great as a cardigan.
7. A men's suit jacket. I'll probably only make it out of muslin using my boyfriend's measurements, but I know I want to learn how to make one because in my senior collection I want to have a men's suit.
8. I have to make the scarf for my grandmother and a scarf for my mother. These will be quick serger and sew around the edges types of scarves.
9. I would love to make myself a few tops, such as tank tops but all different color blocking and patterns.
10. Lastly, I want to make a black and white striped dress using a Vogue pattern I have for myself. It'll be lined and nicely constructed. I will be making adjustments to the pattern since I want to change a few features but I would love to definitely make this dress.

So as you can see I have a lengthy list of projects I would love to get done over the summer. I think between work, classes, and my writing internship, I'll have some time each week to work on this list. Hopefully Jessica will push me to make time, just like I'll be dragging her to the gym. That's what friends do, push you to get your goals accomplished. I'll most likely start with the projects I already have patterns for just to practice sewing techniques and using different machines. Stay tuned for pictures of finished projects, though it might be about 2 weeks since I'll be going home this coming week.

Spring Cleaning & More

Since I have about a week until my summer classes start and I don't work until next Saturday, I will be going home this coming week. I am trying to make sure I pack everything I will need plus things I can leave at home and not clutter up my room, such as winter coats. Cleaning out my closet and reorganizing it will take some effort so I am taking my time and weeding things out one category at a time. I started with my coats, then my sweaters, then went through my shoes. But then I've had to think about work. Since we're allowed to wear solid colors I am trying to make sure I keep my solid colored garments and also anything solid black. I've done some goodwill shopping this past week and have some new items in my wardrobe as well, so there is a lot going on in my closet. I have a few days to get it all together and pack what I need though, so no rush.
My current roommate is moving out and my new roommate, and best friend, Jessica is moving in. I am so excited for Jess to be living with me. As two apparel design students we understand what we're going through and she's very studious like me so she respects study time. We have a lot of great plans for the apartment, a whole new makeover! Also, we plan on making sure we both go to the lab every week to work on projects. We both have goals and ideas for cool design projects so we want to make sure we can get everything we need to done. Also, Jessica will be going to Italy in the fall for the school year so I will be helping her start a blog for her assignment for one of her scholarships. All in all I think this summer will be great with Jessica.

Dip Dyed Shoes Report

Previously I had written about how for our last Purdue Fashion Association meeting we could dip dye shoes and that I would post photos. I dyed my friend Michelle's shoes in the green dye. I then chose to dye the front of my shoes pink and the back navy. They turned out a little lighter than I had hoped but I still like them a lot.

Well here they are:

Side View of Michelle's green dip dyed shoes.

Front View

Top View of my pink and navy dip dyed shoes.

Side View of my shoes.

My Mock Article for College Fashionista

Hale Henderson

Style Advice of the Week: Legs for Days

            It’s that time of year when you walk to class in the morning and it’s barely above freezing but when you go to lunch it’s suddenly 60 degrees and sunny. To be prepared for these crazy weather changes it’s important to have layers but to make sure your main layer is comfortable and keeps you cool. But sometimes it’s easy to appear bulky when trying to layer. This fashionista knows how to rock the layered look and manage to stay comfortable and chic. She picked a t-shirt dress with a high slit but modest neckline and hemline. The slit shows off her amazing legs and hwen it gets warm out in the afternoon will keep her cool. She paired it with a leather jacket, black pumps, a black bowler hat and a cute Betsey Johnson clutch.

            Her t-shirt dress is able to keep her cool and comfortable while running around all day and her motorcycle jacket can keep her warm during the morning. And whenever she may need it. When rushing to classes it’s important to stay comfortable, so her heels are low and they aren’t brand new never been worn before, they’re worn in. This fashionista told me she was on her way to a coffee date after her next class, taking this t-shirt dress from a cozy class choice, to a chic casual date ensemble. It’s simple, yet looks great and effortless. Her accessories keep it interesting and let her stand out in the crowd.

            One way to make this style your own would be to pair a t-shirt dress with a light cardigan or a fitted blazer, it would add structure and interest with mixing fabric choices. The t-shirt dress is a comfy go to look for the spring and can be worn with a variety of shoe choices. So if you’re really busy, instead of wearing heels try ankle boots or a fun printed pair of flats or sandals in a bright, contrasting color. For me it’s all about the shoes, if I feel comfortable I know I can rock any outfit and feel great all day long. This is a great look that can be taken from classes to coffee dates and allows you to stay cool and comfortable all day long. So what are you waiting for? My style advice for this week is to try and rock that casual t-shirt dress in your own way for this new spring season by adding colorful shoes and structured jackets.

Style on,

Brianna Malotke