Grey Matter

Grey Matter by brimalotke

Check it out at fashionamag to read all about these style versatile shoes!

Scarf Love

Scarf Love by brimalotke 

Curious about how to incorporate scarves into your wardrobe? Check out my piece on fashionamag!

Costume Shop Dress Project: Finished

Hello Everyone! This is how my "Dress 1" turned out! I had removed the lace on the front, the bow from the back, and the straps. I showed my boss the final result when I took both dresses into the shop and she agreed with me that the previous straps were just horrible and definitely needed to be replaced. I chose this velvet lace to use for the straps because I love the black with the maroon and the lace adds interest to the plain dress. I left it embellished so that when used for a performance the designer for the show could add just enough without having to take anything off. For my other dress I also didn't add any embellishments for the same reason. I'm really happy with the end results and I wish I had finished them earlier so I could work on even more. I will be finishing some alterations for "Hay Fever" and this next week I will be helping finish organize the costume shop. In my private time I will be attempting to sew a men's shirt for practice and hopefully a jacket for myself.

A Little Gingham for Everyone

A Little Gingham for Everyone by brimalotke 

Head on over to fashionamag to check out how to be inspired by gingham & work it into your wardrobe.

Costume Shop Dress Project: Almost Done!

Back View.

I've been working on my dresses for the costume shop and should be done by Thursday! For this dress, ''Dress 2," I've taken the chiffon additions from around the back and moved them up onto the shoulder straps. To me it looks better, more elegant feeling and lays a lot better than the original dress. I also had removed the white bow from "Dress 1" and sewed it with the colored bow from this dress. I sewed both bows together and then hand stitched them to the back of this dress. I had stitched the one side along the back and then for the other side used snaps since the bow covers across the zipper. I really wish I used dresses my size so I could get pictures of someone modeling them for my portfolio, but I will settle for better pictures once I'm done. As of now I just have to stitch some holes in the chiffon closed and I'm debating on adding lace detail from the other dress onto the front of this one.

Closer look at the Back.

As for my other dress, it is essentially a blank state right now. I removed the lace on the front, the bow from the back, all of the fastenings except for the zipper, and removed the straps because I disliked the way they looked on the dress. I am thinking of using some black lace to make straps and a belt of some sort to add interest to the dress. I have some other chiffon I could play around with, I was considering a type of long vest over the top of the dress, but it's not the same color. Oh well, I will be playing around with my designs but not until I'm completely finished with this dress! That post will probably be tomorrow (or maybe even tonight!). Stay tuned!

Costume Shop Find: Corsets Galore!

We got a decent size donation this past weekend, mostly some random children's clothing but there were a handful of really awesome finds tucked within the bags. These 3 corsets (with stomachers!) are an amazing find for our collection of items. We don't really have any like these in our collection of costumes, and we barely have any period corsets, so this is great!

I've included front and back pictures for each of the corsets. There's a couple of things that need a little work to be fully wonderful, but they're definitely usable and will look great with some of our other pieces in the shop. 

Silver Jewelry: Moon & Stars

Silver Jewelry: Moon & Stars by brimalotke 

Check out my article at fashionamag to read all about how to incorporate space inspired silver jewelry into your wardrobe!

Berry Beautiful Lips

Berry Beautiful Lips by brimalotke

I am really enjoying using Polyvore as a way to organize pictures and texts for my internship with Fashion A magazine. On polyvore there are different contests you can enter sets (like the one above) in and you can try and win various prizes. The set I created above was for a color of your favorite berry lip products. I am satisfied with the overall look, however I am pretty positive I didn't win. I will definitely enter others though; it's fun and nice to make something with a reason behind it.

Ocean Blues

Ocean Blues by brimalotke 

Finished my article all about ocean inspired jewelry & it's up on fashionamag!

Online Portfolio!

So after some consideration I decided it was time to attempt making an online portfolio for my designs. Using a template off of WiX I managed to create something I am happy with and content sharing with others.

If you want to check it out go here: 

http://brimalotke.wix.com/malotkedesigns

It showcases some of my designs, my sketches, my work from internships, and also has my resume available to download. There's some few things I want to change, for example my main picture of myself, but I will get to it after hearing some feedback from friends and family- those who are honest with me and want to see me succeed. I'm hoping it will help me in the search of a job for after graduation. Plan B is still graduate school, but I would love to land a wonderful design job or costume opportunity (even if just an internship) for the spring.

Atypical Skirts

Atypical Skirts by brimalotke 

My post on fashionamag all about atypical skirts & why you should try one out is ready to go!

Fringed Love

Fringed Love by brimalotke 

Interested in fringe? Check out my article on fashionamag to read more about fringe & shoes!

Sewing Goods:

This past weekend I bought a table top ironing board. It's light blue with white polka dots and can be folded in half. I decided to go through my sewing box to see what I need to return to the costume shop, such as some of the threads I've used on projects, and what I need to either replace or reorganize. I am definitely missing some things, so I bought a new seam ripper and fray check this weekend when I got my ironing board. I used to have at least 3 seam rippers and then poof, none. I am hoping I have some things at home or at school, but we'll see.
I ordered a serger online as well as a menswear patterning book, so stay tuned for the wonderful things yet to come!

Beaded Costumes

While searching for some potential costumes for "Hay Fever" we finally went through some boxes labeled "Beaded Tops." It was a little intense the amount (and the weight!) of beaded garments in the boxes. A lot of it is very 80s looking, but we managed to find a couple of options that might work and be turned into a fabulous 1920s ensemble. Stay tuned for the final look!

Earthy Choices

Earthy Choices by brimalotke

My piece, "Earthy Choices," all about lightweight, wide legged trousers is up on fashionamag! Go check it out for some great bohemian style options. 

Costume Shop Find: Grey Men's Jackets

This first men's jacket is by Yves Saint Laurent and is a lovely grey striped pattern.

This other grey jacket is plaid and has two front pockets and multiple inside pockets too! It's by Oscar de la Renta.

Costume Shop Dress Project: The Pieces

What I did was remove the bows from both dresses and then combine them together. This brings the colors together and also adds a little interest to the final bow. I had removed the fasteners on the bows (snaps) and will wait until I'm further on the dress to see where I want to put the bow in the back. I want to add a type of Watteau back to the dress with a toile fabric I found at the costume shop. I removed the lace trim from the front of the one dress and will most likely be sewing it onto the front of the other, though I haven't quite decided yet. It might end up being on the shoulders. As of now I'm working on fixing the chiffon dress and doing the Watteau back for it. Once I make more progress I'll post my steps & more pictures!

Costume Shop Dress Project: Dress 2

 I chose this dress mainly because of the chiffon on the back. I'm not a fan of the way someone altered it because they messed the back up, but I'm going to use this as my base dress and completely change it. So far I've taken the chiffon bow and other pieces off as well as the fastenings and the silver pin that is broken and missing jewels. Stay tuned for more updates!

Costume Shop Dress Project: Dress 1

I chose this dress for the color, weight of the fabric (heavier than the other dress), and the details on it. I liked the bow on the back and the trim on the front; however, I didn't like the straps. I decided I wanted to take off the straps, bow, and trim. I also took off the fastenings like snaps and hook and eyes. I'm saving the fastenings for my final dress or also just to reuse for other projects. Why waste useful pieces?

Home Inspired Statement Necklaces

Home Inspired Statement Necklaces by brimalotke 

Ever inspired by the things around you in your home? Check out my article on fashionamag to see how your can incorporate your surroundings into your personal style and wardrobe!

Crochet Tops

Crochet Tops by brimalotke

For more on their versatility and styling, go to fashionamag to check out my article!

Costume Shop Find: Embroidered Kimono

During work today my boss and I headed over to another costume shop. We went to pull items for her next play "Hay Fever," and also for her to show me another costume shop in Champaign. It was neat to see the way costumes are stored and how the costume shop is set up at Parkland College. While we were looking for pieces to use as costumes I found this wonderful kimono. It's a lovely green with colorful embroidery all over it. The frogs down the front are black and small and the sleeves are a white cream with more detailing. I've included a front shot, a close up of the sleeve, and the middle of the back of the kimono. I'm hoping this finds its way into the show. Stay tuned for more awesome finds!

 

Credited in "The Fantasticks"

Small, but meaningful!

 Yesterday afternoon I went and saw "The Fantasticks" at the Parkland Theater. It was great to see all the costumes I got to help with at CUTC. I enjoyed helping find items that became parts of costumes and I'm glad I got to see it performed. It's neat to see everything come together!

In the picture shown I'm credited as part of the "Other Friends," but credit is credit! :)

I'm helping my boss/mentor right now with her next production: "Hay Fever." I'm hoping to get credited a little more than for "The Fantasticks," but I'm really just happy to get experience and get to say I've done what I have for the productions. It'll be a nice touch to my work experiences for my resume and also my portfolio.

Summer Sunnies

Summer Sunnies by brimalotke

Fashion With a Bite!

Fashion With a Bite by brimalotke

Love Shark Week? Go to fashionamag to check out my latest piece I wrote all about shark themes apparel and accessories!

Costume Shop Find: Vogue Fashions

While going through some boxes marked unsorted I found this Vogue Career Wardrobe patterns. It contains patterns for a blazer, top (zipper down the back), pants, skirt, and dress (zipper down back). It's also for sizes 18, 20, and 22 which is good because commercial patterns tend to be a little smaller than store bought clothing. I'm hoping to make either a pair of pants or the blazer using these patterns with some funky printed fabric. I'm also going to be going through all the patterns at some point to reorganize and categorize them properly. I might be able to find some other really cool ones. 

At school we make our own patterns, but I don't have the proper space in my apartment right now to do that, so while I won't be practicing making patterns, I will be keeping up with my sewing and construction. On top of that I can do alterations with the patterns and their sizes.  On that note, I may be doing alterations for one of the shows run by CUTC, "Guys & Dolls," which starts July 30th. I will find out next week in the costume shop. It helps when the designers get overwhelmed and really busy because it means I have more opportunities to gain experience in the field. I helped with finding some of the costume pieces for "The Fantasticks" in which my boss is the costume designer, and I got to make the ruff because she had other pieces that needed sewn and I had made something similar last fall. 

I'm definitely looking forward to redoing my resume and portfolio and including all of my various costume related experiences. If I do decide to go on to graduate school having these experiences illustrated will aid me in my application process. When I have the time I will be working on my portfolio, the sections will be fashion related writing, costume work, & apparel work. I think the variety will really help me stand out, it shows I have different interests and I can handle a lot on my plate. When I make some progress I'll post on here!

Wire Mannequin

One of the awesome things in the costume shop we've come across is this wire mannequin. You're able to adjust the size of the figure. Then you can put padding on it until it's the correct size you need to work with and it's usable. I think this is a great addition to the front of the shop because it's intriguing and functional. The costume shop is coming together really well as we continue to organize the costumes and go through all of the boxes full of unknown items.  

Costume Shop Finds: Chic Beaded Dress

This is going to be a long post because of all the pictures, but today in the costume shop I found an amazing beaded dress. It looks like a 1920s dress and has a lot of nice details. It's a cream fabric with gold, silver, and white beading. It also has little pearls on the shoulders. Right now it's on the racks with the rest of the Guys and Dolls costumes so I am assuming it's going to be in the show. I wish I owned something like this, and that I could wear it out to fancy events. Definitely keeping an eye out for something similar.

Front

Back

Top Detail

Shoulder Detail

Waist/Middle Detail

Bottom Detail