Cozy Studio Space

Cozy Studio Space by brimalotke

One thing I can't wait to do is live in a house where I have my own space to decorate and make my own. I look forward to having my own studio where I can have enough room for a desk with space for my sewing machines and room to sketch and make designs. I need room for bookcases and a cozy spot to read. 

Textures and colors are necessary for me to be happy :) I love mixing patterns, textures, fabrics, just combining all the differences for a great sensory feeling. With all of this going on it will be a hub for creativity, but also provide room to relax and unwind. 

Right now I share a study with my fiance, which means half of the room is fabric and art supplies while the other side is computer parts and cables. When we find a place to own I'll definitely make sure I have a whole room to transform into a one of a kind studio. 

Costume Design for a Cast of 40+

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I have been very swamped the past few months with a huge costume design project. I was lucky enough to get to be the Costume Designer for "Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" for the Champaign-Urbana Theater Company. With a budget of $500, two months, and a cast of over 40, I needed to make this production come to life. 

I had a lot of fun working on the show, especially making the dancers' looks. I'm going to try to post some progress pictures for the pieces I made from scratch. I loved working with quick changes, multiple costume changes, and a cast this large. My first show as a designer I only had 2 actors (they played all of the characters of course) to work with, so this was quite a step up from that show. I look forward to working on more shows like this in the future. I was very thankful to have a few people help work on some pieces for the show and to have some help backstage for changes and costume needs.

Stay tuned for more pictures! You can always check out my portfolio for more pictures too!

Ensemble in motion.

Close up of the Pharaoh's cape while backstage.

  

During "One More Angel," we had a hoedown feel to the cast.

Pastel Spring Fashion

Pastel Spring Fashion by brimalotke 

Shoes & Flowers

Shoes and Flowers by brimalotke 

I love oxfords/brogues/

loafers/ and any form of these classic styles. When I was in London studying abroad at the London College of fashion I took a Shoe Design class where I focused on looking more into men's shoes and working between a balance of femininity and masculinity. I designed a line of men's shoes inspired by the story "The Princess & The Pea." I love the blending of structure (typically associated with masculinity) and flowing lines (in this case the floral details or touches or colors). I am loving these combinations in the shoes pictured above. I may be rambling, but these styles are just classic and perfect for any wardrobe. You could pair them with jeans, a button down, and a blazer for a more professional yet casual look. Or you could try a tailored dress, sweater, and fun jewelry for a more dressed up style. Really, to me, the limits are endless and could work for any different style.

Mannequins and Media

Close up of pattern
and necklace.

I haven't been taking as many pictures at work of mannequins I've dressed but here is one of my favorites. It's a simple little black dress paired with a lovely pink and black coat. If the coat was my size it would be hanging in my closet right now. I decided to keep the accessories minimal and go with a black and silver necklace (reminiscent of costume jewelry), a black and silver clutch, and pink heels. The outfit is elegant, simple, and easily molded into anyone's wardrobe. I like the pieces individually and think they could work well with other pieces in your everyday wardrobe. For example, the dress could be paired with boots and a sweater for a more casual vibe or the heels and other accessories could be worn with jeans and a tee to dress up a go to outfit. 

As for social media posting with the displays, I haven't quite done a blog piece with any type of "final" piece that I've posted to the work account. To the right is one of the posts I've done and uploaded to my work's Instagram (and other platforms). It features the outfit of the day and a few Parisian cafe and pastel images I drew inspiration from on Pinterest. It's a very "Me" post with the pastels and French inspiration, but the outfit is not really my typical style. I like working with pieces I would never wear (i.e. crop tops) because I think it helps me think outside of my comfort zone for styling. I can't really dress all the mannequins in black and white and lots of patterns. I try to work with more styles I'm not typically drawn to so that I can expand my ideas of the different fashion styles and what works together in my mind for future combinations. I will miss all of the access to different styles when I leave.

I will try to keep track of the displays I change in the next few weeks for a nice ending to this mini series. I will be leaving my current work place for a new adventure in the beginning of march and can't wait to see what happens! I'm still surprised with my success at expanding out of fashion into costumes and into marketing. Not 100% set on my "ideal career" but experience never hurts so I'm excited to see what plays out. If anything I'll have more time for my sewing projects and hopefully build my portfolio more.

For the Love of Stripes

Stripes by brimalotke

I'm never entirely sure what my so called style type is but I do know one thing, it includes a lot of stripes. I recently snagged an amazing job opportunity (YAY!) and it's a more professional setting than my current employment. It needs business casual attire and every now and then I'll need more business dress as well. While some may think "Oh man I have to give up jeans and a flannel for chiffon and khakis," I'm super excited. There is a whole section of my closet that never see the light of day and I can't wait to explore the way to pair my fashion sense with the typical business wear. As of now I have about 4 button down tops that are various combinations of black and white and would work perfectly with dress pants or a nice skirt. It's weird to think how easily and excitedly I am to give up super casual dress to dress up but I am really looking forward to it. 

Plus... I just bought a new padfolio and while I was originally thinking pink, my boyfriend pointed out it wouldn't be me unless it was black and white striped. So of course I found and purchased a black and white striped padfolio. Just one way to incorporate how I like to express myself with fashion into this new realm of employment. I think I'm ready to conquer any business meeting or future business adventure. :)

Old Hollywood Glamour

Old Hollywood Glamour by brimalotke

Always Learning

Besides working as a shift manager I also handle social media and product description writing for a stationery company. One of the main things I do daily is organize content and post on the different platforms. This week I attended a webinar over how to use Pinterest for your business. While it was very helpful, I also learned about a website that provides images, templates, and more to create amazing visuals that you can then use for what ever you want. Some of the features cost money but there are a lot of great ones for free. 

I wanted to share one of the images I've created using Canva (the graphic design website) that incorporates stock images, great colors, and a product image from Lemon Tree. It's a simple website to use and it's very handy since it allows you to combine your own images with free (or paid) images and accents such as backgrounds, illustrations, templates, and more. I will definitely continue to create social media images using Canva and will explore the other types of images as well (think info graphics, ads, and cards). 

While I enjoy Photoshop and Illustrator, I think Canva has a slight advantage with the templates and provided inspiration. Stay tuned for more great images! I may try to start creating some for my own use with design and promoting my apparel design work.

Denim Jacket Update

Progress Picture.

Whenever I have some free time I try really hard to work on the many projects I've started and stopped. A while ago I had purchased some more patches for my jean jacket, however they've just been sitting around waiting to be ironed. Since I don't work until later today I decided why not add some more patches to my jacket?! So I put a Harley Quinn patch on the bottom left with a "KAPOW" patch right next to it that has a little Batman symbol inside the "O."

Front right pocket.

Then I added a "KABOOM!" patch on the right pocket flap. I had gotten a set of 6 little patches similar to these 2 so I plan on using at least a 3rd one for the jacket. I may save the others for future projects. When I had started this project I looked through all of my sewing stuff to see if I had an patches before going out to buy some. I only had a packet of 2 little green flowers. I figured since I've had them forever I might as well use 1 of them, so I placed it on the flap with the "KABOOM!" patch. I think it looks pretty neat for the front. I haven't decided on purchasing nay others as of now or where to put the other little ones I already have ready to go. I'm pretty excited about the progress so far and I look forward to coming up with new ways to alter this jean jacket. I am considering putting a lining in (minus the sleeves) for some more color/pattern. We'll see what happens!

Grown Up Accessories

Loving the new purse.

One of the things I decided I would try to stick to this year was only using what I get from the store for my own purchases. To elaborate, we have a points system that lets you earn stickers. Each sticker is a $1 of store credit, who ever gets the most is then employee of the month and if you win you get an additional $10 and a 40% bin which you can fill and hold for a week. I've won 4 times now, and I usually spend more than I should when I get to hold a bin. So for December I had received $31 in store credit from stickers, and since I had won the gift card sales I had a $25 gift card to the store as well as $42 cash from the store ($1 for every gift card sale). Being me I was definitely going to spend it all on clothes, because why not? :) 

However I decided to try and just get a few really nice items instead of getting a full bin. This is how I came about getting a lovely yellow Kate Spade purse basically for free. Our store priced it at $65 and we're not allowed to use any discount on designer items (you can use your employee one after 1 week though) so I decided to pay full price. I used all of my stickers, my gift card, and then used the cash they had given me. 

All in all I definitely think it was worth it. It's not everyday you get a designer purse for free. Also it's a very classic style and while I'm not a huge fan of yellow it goes pretty well with my wardrobe (which continues to surprise me). I had purchased a hot pink Kate Spade wallet a few weeks ago and it doesn't match but I love the two together.

Getting Funky with Displays

I figured I would add some more pictures of displays I've done at work. I'll add some of the walls I've decorated (which have multiple mannequins compared to just doing the outfit of the day one) when I get a chance to snag some neat pictures. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to just take the pictures off the Instagram account or not so I'm going to ask first and then I'll do some posts about the work I do for the shop's Instagram account & posting for them.
For the look on the left I wanted to do a larger size despite the mannequins being basically a size 0. So I pulled the printed long sleeve dress from the larger sizes, added an XL pink fur vest, and then focused on accessories. I wanted a little bit of shine with 2 simple necklaces and then another pattern & texture with the silver snakeskin clutch. The heels are plain black but lace up and have cool cut outs.

For the look on the right I really wanted to do something more "funky" than before. I chose a long sleeve maroon velvet leotard that has a deep v down the front with strips across. Then found a great pair of textured skinny leg trouser pants to go with the leotard. I decided on all black for accessories since the leotard is bright and the pants have many colors in them. I topped the look off with a loose blazer, black and gold purse, and platform oxfords. I'm probably going to end up buying the shoes because I am in love with them. I own a silver pair but these are too cool to miss out on owning and wearing.

A close up of the shoes!

New Year New Outfit Goals

One of the things I've decided to work on this year is dressing up a little bit more for work. Whether it's actually wearing the shoes I own (I tend to wear the same 2 pairs to work because I know they won't hurt my feet after 8 hours) or trying to add a little lipstick and jewelry to my "basic" look of jeans and a flannel. 

Pictured above is one of my more creative outfits. It's a long sleeve cotton black dress paired with very bold floral printed leggings and a pair of teal suede oxford flats. I also wore black/white striped earrings and bright pink lipstick. It was pretty dreary outside so this look helped me stay positive at work and feel pretty confident as well. Hopefully I'll start actually getting some decent photos of my own looks to post and write about.

New Year

New Year by brimalotke