The Guru Dress in Black and White

Photography by Victor Ciccarelli  for Erynz.com

CTW, Ready to Romp: Not-So-Juvenille Hipster

I hesitate to say, "Romper Room," because in the service industry, that is the term used when there are too many families with children in the restaurant.  So I'm just going to bundle any juvenile educational programming inspirations into "Children's Television Workshop."


I wanted to make a dress quick quick quick.  I have a record of making a lot of separate pieces.  Even the gown that I did most recently was a two-piece, and wanted to challenge myself to do something speedy and easily constructed without being too simple-looking or boring.

So sleeves and pants were out, and a halter neckline and a skirt was in.   I can't say that this romper dress is Simple.  I can't just put out a potato sack with a belt!  But the whole thing, including designing, drafting, and mocking, took less than 12 hours, which is really fast even considering I also re-drafted and mocked the skirt after a first failed attempt.

I have learned in the past that adding too many extras, like pockets and buttons, to a garment made with fabric that has a busy print on it, the details disappear, so I found a way to make this busy print work for me rather than against me.  See how the pleating has made the stripes look like they are changing direction?  That's because I used my new fascination with drafted pleating to give the printed pattern a new dynamic without having to cut and sew on a new piece of fabric.

Gilligan's Island: Profess This!

I was excited to make something for The Professor.  Along with the Skipper, he was always one of my favorites.  I used his white shirt and khaki pants combination as inspiration for this combo.

As I mentioned last post, I am doing an exercise in swimwear since finding a great site on how to draft patterns for stretch fabrics.  I'm quickly becoming a fan!

I knew I wanted to try to make a one-piece suit that looked like she was also wearing a very professorial vest.  The small problem was, how would I do that without making the waist look bulky with the extra layer of horizontal-laying fabric on it?  The answer was to do a twisty, high placed ditty withangular lines running through it.  I love the way it turned out!  

In addition to making the otherwise simple-ish suit look more interesting, notice how the placement of the bands on the side sections also add cleavage-creating bra-like support.

And of course, I couldn't simply make a one-piece and let it stand alone, so I made a flowy (yes, a flowy, unstructured top!  Can you believe my boldness to explore the unfamiliar?!) blouse as a cover-up.  While it doesn't really cover anything, it sure would look great billowing in the sea breeze.  I was not only taking from the Professor's white shirt, but also was inspired by coconut "fuzz" and the the palm frond thatched huts, which is why I added the detail of the frayed edge ribbon I created from the shirt fabric.

Dynasty: Nouveaux Alexis Carrington

I found this fabric tucked away in my "stretch" collection.  I usually don't do a lot of work with jersey material because I like making things that are a bit more structured as opposed to drapy.  I know it seems strange to not like fabric that by nature molds to the body shape, but I guess all my years of doing period costuming and corsets has made me preferential to fabrics that can stand up by themselves with a body underneath or not!

Anyway, my last many outfits have all been very darted and tailored and form-fitting, so I decided that I wanted to excercise my alternate skills and do a drapy outfit.  Once I discovered this long lost material, I knew I had my Alexis Carrington, and she was going to go on a trip on one of her yachts, and she was going to definitely look bitchy.  Oh, God.  Raine was almost jumping off of her mannequin stand to do this one...




My parents liked watching Dynasty when I was a kid.  I should ask them why, because I never really did. I get kind of jealous/disgusted when I see shows about rich people and their problems, even today.  Regardless, Alexis (as well as Crystal) Carrington still today remain rich-bitch icons and are so fun to recall fighting and slapping each other silly.

Surprisingly, this dress only took about five hours to make from start to finish, much less time than usual.  This is because I wanted to focus all the drapy attention to the just-this-close-to-being-nasty cowl draped back.  The sleeves are attatched to the main bodice, so I did't have to do much work there, and the hemline between the top and the skirt is simply pulled into a metal piece from an 80's belt that I got from a collection of old belts that I bought sight unseen from craigslist.

I ALMOST didn't finish this dress because it was looking a little bit sloppy until I did the finishing stitches!  I took a chance and didn't do a mockup of this garment before cutting into the main fabric because it's not fitted.  So when it was just in the stage of simply the main seams being sewn, it just looked like it was hainging there and messy.  I'm glad I finished and I like the way it turned out!

Dynasty: Hello, Krystle Carrington. I hate you!

Okay, people, don't expect to see this post up front for long.  I hate this one!

Combine creating an outfit for a Krystle Carrington, a character that I never really connected with, simply because I felt it necessary to create a pair for Alexis, and giving myself less than 12 hours to create it, plus making several stupid mistakes, equals Phail!

Okay, I like the skirt.  I'll probably use it again sometime with a different outfit.  But the top makes me so disgusted.  I thought about making something with immense shoulder pads, but then twisted it by instead creating volume in a collar instead.  It would have turned out better except I committed the ultimate cardinal sin when it comes to making ruffles.  I IRONED it.  The ruffles as well as the supporting collar stand underneath were leaning in instead of out, so stupidly, I ironed the base of the collar to make it lay outwardst, and in turn, irreversibly ruined a rich ruffle effect in exchange for a forever flat looking raggedy mess around her neck.  I know better, but I still did it!

But in addition to the iron travesty, there are also other flaws that I can't even bring myself to point out that I will NEVER do again.

So, enjoy the pictures while you can, because very soon, I am hiding Krystle away where she belongs!

Marcia Marcia Marcia! Her Hair is Perfect, and so are You.

I am not doing this week's challenge from ProJRun because I have a rule of not designing fashion clothing  for children (costuming is different) until they get boobs.  If I HAD to for a TV challenge, I would probably make pants like these, because I think the little girl would love to spin and twirl and play with the skirt part without worrying about anyone being able to see her undies.  Wearing it, they would look like either a princess or a super hero.  Every girl would want one.

So, here to brighten your day is Marcia Brady.

This outfit actually has a couple of hidden features.  Back in the 70's, these tight shirts were really in.  But did you ever wonder how it was that Marcia's top was always perfectly tucked in?  Because it was a body shirt, which meant it fastened under the crotch like a unitard.  Making this shirt in this method really made it easy keep the blouse from bunching.

But this outfit is really about the skirt in my opinion, since the blouse isn't at all complicated.  It's dangerously short and low-waisted.  What keeps it in place?  As Marcia would never wear something that ran the risk of being truly risque, this is actually a Skort.  So when she moves or sits, the skirt won't run the risk of showing anything.  It also won't ride up or rotate while she's walking.  So really it's a safety issue as well as a fashion one.

You might also notice that there are pockets and the pleats escape from under them, which is unusual to see in a pleated miniskirt.  In fact, I've never seen it before except when I did something similar for this hotpant kilt, so I'm totally taking ownership of this one until I see it all over the place in the near future, such as my short-sleeved jackets and one-side corner flappy flappys that other designers have totally stolen from me.

You know what the most challenging thing was with this photoshoot?  Marcia's hair.  Every time I reposed her, I had to brush her hair to make it look perfect.  I'm sure I went through the hundred-times technique that Marcia practiced on the show during the shoot!  It gave me a new respect for Christine Taylor, who played Marcia in the Brady Movies.  You can tell by the way that holds her head on screen that she was instructed to make sure her wig didn't become imperfect when she moved or walked!

Cover Girl: Green Acres of Floral Fabulousness

So the challenge this week was to create a look for a magazine cover to be modelled by Heidi.  The scary Editor in Chief (well, she was very intimidating, but for some reason, I wanted to be her friend...) of Maire Claire magazine gave some VERY useful advice for creating a cover look.  No black because you want a bright color to stand out.  Remember that there are going to be words printed over the image, so busy prints and too many details would make it hard to read the copy.  Since the image will most likely be from the thigh up or closer, the interesting detail work should be on the upper part of the body.  And most of all, you want the outfit to really catch the eye of someone walking by a newsstand and make them want to buy the magazine within 2 seconds.

So with this outfit, I was inspired by a Springtime basket of flowers and "Green Acres."  Eva Gabor's character was a city girl forced to live on a farm.  On the show, she tried to dress like she was still in the city, but I think that it would be a cool concept to see how she would try to still dress "upper class" while trying to fit in with the rest of the "country" townsfolk (all the while knowing inside that she was still better than them).













I know that orange is a "different" choice for Spring, with it being usually more of a Autumn color, but it's so bright and when paired with the floral print of the "flowers" on top, I think it's very Spring.  I put into practice my new theory of, "make a simple, well-made garment with one dramatic point of interest and one minor one" into play here with a no-frills pencil skirt and short-sleeved jacket.  Of course, the focal point it the collar with the fabric flowers spilling out, and the minor detail being the asymetrical button closure and it's ready for our cover girl!

I could have made the peplum a little more angled to reflect the shape of the collar, but all in all, I'm quite happy with this outfit.  Although it's tough to make things..."simple" after convincing myself that simple=potentially boring, I was very happy to find that taking the simpler route really saved a huge amount of time and makes the focal point detail stand out that much more!  Who woulda thunk it!?

Buy the magazine already!

Valentine's Day Special: Love, American Style

Happy Valentine's Day, peoples!

I swear, I've been wanting to make a "Love American Style" outfit for months now.  I can't remember a single thing about any episodes that I saw as a kid, (it ran from '69-'74, but my parents watched it in reruns), but that theme song has stuck in my head as one of my favorite TV openings of ALL TIME.  I remember getting so excited at seeing all the changing heads in the hearts, and I lived, LIVED for that moment in which the final heart flipped over and the background singers hit that crecendo, "aaaAAAAAAAA!"  That is why I posed Raine in this second picture to look like she's flipping around.

I found this Red White and Blue fabric from my last trip to LA, and decided that it was so hideous/gorgeous that I had to get it, despite the troubles that I have always had with satins.  I am sure glad I bought it!

Something that I also was reminded of while my friend Paula and I were walking through the fashion district was that the most pleasing of garments usually had only ONE main feature of interest.  Like a funky triple layer of sleeves on a basic coat, or a fancy gathered bustline paired with a modest collar.  It's something that I have to think about when I'm editing my designs.

So with that in mind, I scaled down the focal points of this ensemble by making a simple blouse (the print would have eaten up any embellishments I put on, anyway) and making the yoke of the tight pants the point of interest.  See how there are heart shapes hidden all over it?  They are there.

Originally, I had even more pieces that I was going to incorporate heart patterns, like around the knees and such, but I didn't put them on. I'm glad I didn't, not just because they would have been unnecessary, but because each embellishment would have meant an extra hour of work, and I already had a hard enough time making this as a one-day project.  Actually, it was a half-day project come to think of it!  I started at 3PM and finished taking pictures at 3AM.  Wow!

Anyway, I think that even the piping that I did was unnecessary.  If I had just left that plain and only done the heart "embroidery" around the pockets, that would have been enough.  It's tough to really know the line of going too far and not pushing hard enough.  Jeez!

But I really to like this outfit, especially the blouse.  I think it rocks, and so does Raine!  At one point, I lifted her to move her and the steel rod attached to her leg fell out and she stayed standing ALL BY HERSELF, without Any assistance.  She likes it THAT MUCH.

And you know what else?  I'm so glad I finally was able to make this outfit, so now that it's done, maybe I can get the theme song out of my head!

Bewitched: Samantha Stevens' Pebble Magic

Look! It's a one-piece! I've been doing a lot of separates lately, so I wanted to make something less complicated (and less time consuming!) while still hopefully keeping it interesting and beautiful.

You know, Samantha Stevens may not be as dear to my heart as a character as, say, Jeannie, but I sure liked the way she dressed and she had good hair.

I remember Samantha often wore shirt dresses on Bewitched. And, it being the 60's, there was usually some kind of loud and/or psychadelic print on it. A well-made shirt dress can not only be beautiful, but also very functional as well, as it is very convenient by fastening in the front, and also looks masculine/feminine, dressy/casual all at the same time. Every woman should have one.

Granted, this print is quite busy, but I like it. I found this fabric (and the shoes!) at a hospital garage sale. It's super retro plus plus, don't you think? From what I realized about working with busy prints from my last outfit, adding a lot of details is pretty much a waste of energy because you won't be able to see them. So, because of this, I refrained from adding any pockets and employed only the simplest of darting techniques to nip the shirt in at the waist.

There ARE, however, details that you may be able to see when you click on the pictures for larger views. I could not just present a completely plainly-made garment, otherwise, it would not be "designer." You can see on the front and back, there is an assymetical diagonal seam across the shoulder with a change of pattern direction from vertical to horizontal on the upper panel. It makes a little bit of a "sunburst" effect at the shoulder at the front.

Also, the skirt section is finely pleated in four different sections and completely flat in others. This took a lot of mathematics skillz, thank you very much.

Lesson at the end of the day? With black material, you can get away with murder/mistakes all day long. The same goes with busy patterns as long as you keep it simple. And far those of you who think that prints make you look fat, no. Only big prints make you look fat. There, I said it!

Space Cadet - Not Lost Anymore!

I'm finally (hopefully!) coming out of my slump with a "Lost In Space" outfit that was for the first time, not inspired by a human character!

No it's not Robot B9, but the spaceship itself. Back in the early days of sci-fi TV shows there very often seemed to be these curved beams in the hallways of the ship's interior, usually painted orange, with holes cut out of them.

So you can see in the detail of the top, I did subtle cutouts on the curved bands around the armholes.

And... Well, other than that, it's just a nice little urban dress that would be comfortable to wear. It's made out of stretch cotton jersey with faux suede trim. This was originally just supposed to be a simple underdress with a jacket being the main focus, but the jacket turned out a little too cartoony and costumey since it was bright blue and heavier on the suede to the point it looked a little cowboy-ish. I liked the dress by itself, so here it is!

Burnett Week Part II: Trina is a Tramp. What?!

I had fun with this one because the skit that this one-day dress was inspired by still makes me smile like an idiot no matter what I'm doing or where I am!

Carol once did a musical number for "The Lady is a Tramp" on her show, dressed like a nerd. For no reason! I remember laughing hysterically the whole song the first time I watched it, I couldn't even hear that she actually did a great job singing.

Check out this video to see the original scene!








So, obviously, I did not do a nerd outfit, but I took the stripes from the TV outfit and changed it to a long skirt and the old brown skirt was made into the top. This type of dress is what I would imagine Carol's character was thinking she was wearing. If I had given myself more time than one day to create a multi-peice look, I would have made a coat to echo the shapes of the sweater that she was wearing in the skit. Maybe some time in the future!










You might have to look a little close at the detail, but the turtleneck has an interesting gather pattern. I didn't want to do something plain, since I have used turtlenecks a few times before. So I did a little dart manipulation technique to make an asymmetrical gathering that travels diagonally across Trina's bust.



The skirt is make from a funky 70's pattern stretchy fabric that is VERY see-through. I had to make a slip underneath to keep the outfit decent which you can see a little in the pictures. I'm so glad that I got to finally use that fabric and I wish there was a way to show how it swings and bounces when it gets moved around. Trina refuses to let anyone see her walk, though. She's shy.