Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale by brimalotke

So this whole post came about because of the "femme fatale" bit I saw on the polyvore website. I have this shade of red lipstick that is named femme fatale and it's one of my favorites, but I liked the idea of making it a more dark post with the sharp contrast of black and white. It's very much one of those, everyone can pull it off because all it takes is a nice tailored little black dress and confidence (maybe some really awesome shoes too!). Confidence is basically the best accessory anyone can use to pull off an outfit and I really think that's what is key to the femme fatale aspect.

Tweed Fever

Tweed Fever by brimalotke

Paris Memories

Paris Memories by brimalotke

One of my September posts for Fashion A all about me taking a lovely memory and translating it to a room style. I chose to take a memory of my time in Paris and used that to create the colorful room pictured above. It's worth checking out to read about the reasoning behind each piece in the room. 

Leaves Change, Fashions Change

Leaves Change, Fashions Change by brimalotke 

Check out my article on Fashion A about being inspired leaves changing colors!

Some of My Senior Collection Designs

Shown above are 5/10 designs I created for my senior collection presentation. I am still up in the air on the ratio of men to women for my collection, but these are my favorites out of what I've designed so far. We will be making 3-5 in class this semester, but I'm really hoping that I can make like 4/5 men's looks so that next semester I can focus on the women. Right now I have 4 models: 2 guys and 2 girls. I will post some updates when I get the chance! We pick the 5 we're making this coming Monday and then go to Chicago for fabrics on Wednesday! 

Turning Leggings Into Thigh Highs

Earlier this week in the costume shop I got tasked with the project of turning leggings into thigh highs for an actress that will be wearing a pregnancy pad attached to a leotard (it's pretty cool!).

I started off marking and cutting the waist portion off so that I had just the 2 legs. Then I practiced a few ways to serge the end and we decided to serge elastic to the edge of the leg hole. But first I needed to take the actress’s measurements, cut the elastic, and sew it together (with an inch overlap) so that it was a circle and could be sewn onto the opening of the leg hole. Then I divided the elastic and the leg hole into fourths and marked it. 

Next I pinned the elastic to the fourths and serged them together. Finally I folded the elastic on the inside and sewed around the bottom, attaching it to the legging again. The bottom two pictures show the inside (L) and the outside (R) of the finished product.

Adding a Ruffle to a Petticoat

For my second task in the costume shop I got to make a ruffle for a petticoat that goes with the corset I had previously worked on. To start off I sewed 9 panels together, pressed the seams open, and then I serged both sides (think of a very long rectangle). Then I ironed both sides up and stitched them down. Next I stitched 2 rows of gathering stitches down one side (but only one panel at a time). After this I went to the petticoat itself and marked a line 8 & 1/2" up from the bottom. Next I divided the petticoat in fourths and marked it, as well as the ruffle. Then slowly but surely I gathered and pinned the ruffle to the petticoat, one fourth at a time, to the line I had marked. Finally I got to sew the ruffle onto the petticoat in between the gathering stitches. After attaching the ruffle I started in on the alterations to the waistband.

Life Drawing Progress

So I'm finally taking Life Drawing at school and so far I'm doing pretty okay in it. I'm definitely on the slower side speed wise for drawing but that shouldn't be a problem, just means a little extra time spent outside of class. Our first assignment is to draw a skeleton and then a muscle man (as seen on the papers next to the drawings). Outside of this assignment we will be taking a piece of art, such as a painting by Degas, and drawing the skeleton that would be in the figure. I'm pretty excited about the project, I'm a little worried about time and the end result, but I am looking forward to working on it.

Corsetry Eyelets

For my first task in the costume shop I got to hand sew eyelets for a corset. It was pretty easy, though it took a lot of concentration to make sure they were the same size and that they looked good. It was a nice task to get back into the flow of things. 

I didn't get to stitch all of them, but it was still really neat to start off with something familiar and something not super challenging.

Inspired by Wine

Inspired by Wine by brimalotke 

Article for Fashion A about being inspired by the colors of wines.

Suede Fashion for Fall

Suede Fashion for Fall by brimalotke 

Check out my piece on FashionA to read all about suede pieces for your wardrobe that don't have fringe!