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. 

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.

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!

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!

Adding Patterns!

Cutting triangles.

My denim jacket has 1 patch and a little extra stitching around it, but since I don't have any other patches at the moment, I decided to add something else to it. Being me I thought a little bit of a pattern would make this denim jacket really stand out. I went through my scrap bin to see if I had any that would work for the under collar of the jacket. Of course the piece that ended up working is a piece from my Senior Collection. The red, black, and white plaid fabric has the perfect amount of stretch to work with the denim (72% Cotton and 18% Polyester). Being me I didn't measure anything out, I just lined up the selvage with the collar, pinned it, and sewed along from the inside of the jacket. 

Pinning the remaining 3 edges.

After attaching the plaid to the jacket I cut a few triangles to give the fabric ease along the neckline. Adding an under collar to an already made piece isn't as easy as doing it in the proper order while making a jacket. Next I pinned the plaid to the collar so I could hand stitch it around the 3 edges. Surprisingly it didn't take very long and it turned out pretty well. You can't see the plaid unless the collar is up or turned wrong but I know it's there and I think it's a pretty great detail to my jacket. 

Finished Collar.

I'm considering adding a different plaid (because I have SO MUCH SCRAP FABRIC) to the cuffs so if I roll the sleeves up and button them you'll get some more pattern and color. Overall I'm pretty happy with the progress of my jacket. Hopefully I'll get some more patches within the next couple of weeks and i can continue adding to the jacket.

Denim Jacket: First Patch Down!

Ironed on, about to start stitching.

First patch on my denim jacket is complete! I started off my denim jacket project with just a vague idea of what I wanted the end result to be but it's already changed multiple times since I've begun this project. After purchasing the denim jacket from work I went to check out the iron on patch selection at Jo-Ann Fabric Store. I was slightly disappointed but ended up purchasing a Wonder Woman patch for my jacket. 

My project has just been in that state until today. That's the funny thing about Christmas time for me, I always get these bursts of energy to finish projects and start new things. So after our Christmas celebrations I figured why not work on the jacket. I ironed on the patch and then, wary of the corners, decided to hand stitch the corners down so it will survive being in the washer. 

Final picture of the patch
with stitching around it.

Originally I was thinking of using thick embroidery thread and stitching a few onomatopoeia words like "POW!" and "BAM!" around it but decided on a simple outline to highlight the patch. I'm putting the comic book references on the back burner until I get more patches for my jacket. I don't think it will be an entirely superhero themed jacket, but it may turn out that way depending on the patch selection when I go shopping. I have found a few online I think I'm going to buy and they're all movie references so it could turn out pretty neat (at least to me).

Denim and Patches

Denim and Patches by brimalotke featuring a denim jacket

I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a theme for my own personal denim jacket & patches project or if I should just whatever patches I like and end up buying. Currently I just have the 1 Wonder Woman patch and I want to do embroidery around each patch. I may just have to roll with it and get any patches I'm able to that I like.

Project Costs so far:
Denim Jacket from 2nd hand store= $7
Wonder Woman Patch from Jo-Ann= $4

A lot of patches I've seen that I've liked are around $8/patch so this may get a little expensive. However, if I get them one at a time over a few months and gradually just keep adding them on it won't feel like I'm spending so much on the project. Plus there will always be coupons, discounts, and hopefully some great end of the year sales!

Ghost Adventures Look 4

The fourth look int his ghostly series of posts is inspired by the Lady in White character that is in quite a few haunted stories and episodes. Typically the Lady in White is a woman who was in love and died because of some sort of heart ache. 

For example in one episode of Ghost Hunters there is a Lady in White who haunts these tunnels because she was murdered in them. She had been on her way to meet up with a man she was in love with, but was met instead by laughter from these guys who had actually written the letter to her to trick her. She got angry, threw some pebbles, and they returned by throwing pebbles and rocks. One of the guys threw a rock and hit her head, killing the Lady in White. 

Ghost Adventures Look 4 by brimalotke

This look is a flowy silver dress, metallic heels, and lots of silver jewelry. Long silver earrings, bangles, a moon ring, and a pendant necklace. All of these would make me feel like a modern day ghostly lady in white.

Ghost Adventures Look 3

This 3rd look is a little more funky and features a pair of black overalls and black and white striped tee. With a black and gold watch, red nails, metallic lips, and grey and white doc martins, this look sums up one of the more spookier feelings I've had watching Ghost Adventures.

Ghost Adventures Look 3 by brimalotke 

The overalls and striped tee remind me of a child's ensemble while the metallic lips give a ghastly touch and the dark red nails are like blood dripping down the fingers. Even with all this in mind I'd wear this look. It's comfortable with ease and movement and still stylish and ready to wear out beyond the graveyard or haunted mansion.

Ghost Adventures Look 2

For my second Ghost Adventures look I decided to do a more dark look. During one of the episodes the team visits an asylum (just 1 of the ones they visit) and it's definitely a little creepy to watch. You don't have to believe in ghosts or spirits to get spooked. 

Ghost Adventures Look 2 

by brimalotke

I paired a red and black plaid dress that has a high-low skirt effect with a pair of black leggings that have side zippers. Black doc martins, a "violet goth peony" colored watch, and a red leather backpack complete the look. It's punk yet polished and, to me at least, represents the spooky factor from the episode. 

Ghost Adventures Look 1

Ghost Adventure Look 1 by brimalotke

So I've been really into watching the TV show Ghost Adventures during my days off work and I've decided to do a mini outfit series type section for my blog. It'll be Ghost Adventures looks that are inspired by episodes from the show. They're not necessarily goth looks or looks you might actually wear while hunting ghosts, but they're inspired by the show- the locations, the people who are interviewed or thought to be haunting locations, and more.

This first look is a pair of grey skinny pants, a sheer top, and black lace up pointed toe flats. To finish off the look I chose a red lip for a pop of color, a funky apple watch that has skulls, and a great pair of black sunglasses. It's functional and comfy. I drew inspiration from one of the episodes where there is a "lady in red" haunting a hotel and decided to do the pop of color in red while keeping the rest of the look dim and not too intense (for example I could have made it an all black ensemble). 

I'm hoping to do more of these looks. They'll all be short little posts but I like the idea of doing show or book inspired looks and I think I'll continue to do this sort of thing. Stay tuned!