Roper Redux!

Remember this Mrs. Roper inspired swimsuit cover-up?  I recently provided this as a wardrobe piece at a photo shoot, with the model wearing jeans.  I think it works quite nicely!

Private Benjamin: Judy's Military Glam Punk

Okay, I will admit this outfit is on the VERGE of being trampy, and the hotpants are very dangerous, and there is a LOT of skin showing, but there is something about this outfit that I totally love!

I wanted to try out a new technique of twisting a pattern to create a starburst.  Now, you know what a problem I have morally with people who take stretch fabric and gather it here and there and call it a dress, but my  gathering and draping on this hooded halter is completely drafted and intentional, meaning all the gathers and all the lines are exactly where I told them to be.

After choosing the fabric, I thought who better to bring out the dangerous curves than Private Benjamin.  She grew up in couture and would be the first to take a military uniform and turn it into something inappropriate.

The shorts are actually made out of an old pair of my jeans.  I loved those jeans so much that I literally wore holes into them, but didn't want to throw them away.  I think the distressed edges really make the piece.

Tonight on a very Special "Blossom"

Hipster Raine says, "Wearing red on Valentine's day is SO mainstream..."

This outfit was not originally designed to look this tailored.  I first made a very blousy off the shoulder peasant blouse and a pink lace bubble skirt.  It looked wrong.  With those two pieces being very Summer/Spring and the vest's wool fabric being Fall/Winter, I once again was reminded the hard way that mixing seasons is a no-no!

So I went the colder route and tried a very cool elastic technique on the cuffs and collar of the long-sleeved tee underneath the vest and added some very bohemian handicraft touches to the edge of the collar to make it look more whimsical and less brown-wool stuffy.

I would like to say that this outfit is one that looks much better in person than in pictures for some reason, and I really like it!

Thanksgiving special: Earthtone Warmness!

Okay, so I know it's been FOR EVA since I posted something new.  It hasn't been that I haven't been sewing anything.  It's just been that I haven't been sewing anything that I LIKE.  (To see my recent Phails, click here and here.  It's not that they are without merit, they are just not worthy of being on the front page of my blog.)

This interesting half-pilgrim/half-Indian combination is a simple tube dress with a demi-corset attached to a gauzey sleeved top.  It's just matchy enough for the three textiles to work together harmoniously and not be so obvious that they are so different in nature.

And this also goes to support my previous thought that Raine is the most racially ambiguous of my girls.  One day, she can look American Indian, but just a while ago, she was the All American Girl, and then before that. she looked Japanese.  That's taLENT...

Taxi: Rocking Dirty Downtown Urban Glam

I've been wanting to do character ever since I bought this wig for Leonora.  It's her new "signature hair", and in addition, it makes her a dead ringer for Marilu Henner!

There is a lot to be inspired by in the show "Taxi."  The cab drivers (all but one) have dreams and aspirations that just seem within reach, and they consider working at Sunshine Cab a temporary job that they can leave behind after they succeed in their real careers.  Sound familiar?  Elaine Nardo (this character) wants to be in the field of fine art.

I had the shape of this garment in mind before finding the fabric.  I originally wanted to do a yellow/b-w checker combination thing to give her "taxi-colors", but I ended up using an aqua crepe for the undershirt and this cool patterned jersey material for the jacket instead.  The color brings out her eyes much better than yellow. compare/contrast.  (By the way, I found the picture of Elaine in that shade of blue AFTER I made the garment.  The fact that they are the same is just a wonderful coincidence that affirms I made the right color choice).

Since Elaine wants to be an Artist, and also Sunshine Cab is based in Lower Manhattan, I wanted to combine the two looks.  I wanted the whole thing to look a little dirty and wrinkled.  The under vest has permanent wrinkles ironed-in.  The grey trim on the jacket is made out of one of my old tank tops with paint stains.  I rubbed sidewalk chalk on the jeans to make them look dusty and worn.  But I also wanted her to look artistic and glamourous.  The vest is shiny.  The jacket is meant to resemble one of those oversized dramatic ponchos that a stereotypical New York female artist wore in the 70's.  The pants are super fitted and not sloppy.  I think I did a good job at mixing the two looks.

The Patty Duke Show: The Challenges Begin Again, The Kitty Returns

The theme of this premiere episode was to make a garment that shows "who you are as a designer."  Once again, I understood the directions better than most (haha, I'm so very humble, I know!) and designed a dress that actually means something to me.

The Patty Duke Show is one of my all time favorite vintage TV shows.  Not only was it cutting edge for it's time (the split screen effect they used to show Patty playing two different characters on screen at the same time was nothing short of magical), but the storyline and characters and all-over fun kept the show interesting.

I remember one episode in particular that has stayed with me.  Short story is: Cathy made a cute little jumper dress with a kitty on the front.  All the girls at school wanted one after they saw it, and Cathy, wanting to please people, started making dresses for everybody and soon realized that not only was she overwhelmed and underpaid, but no one understood how much work went into making the dresses.

So here's my psychology lesson, but bear with me, it has a promising ending.  Cathy's Kitty dress dilemma somewhat parallels my ongoing journey as a designer/stitcher (which is what you call a male seamstress).  I know the most people don't understand that clothing isn't something that you effortlessly "whip up."  And listen, I still am not above paying my dues.  I've hemmed pants, sewn pillow cases, altered curtains, upholstered cushions, etc.  So, to me, this kitty dress represents my ongoing desire for people to regard me as a good designer and clothing maker, and not just someone who simply knows how to use a sewing machine.

But you know something that I realized?  People are starting to respect me as a designer more and more, which makes me SO happy!  For example, this year I made some garments for friends and family as gifts, and for one, I offered to go with his idea for a canvas bag to hold a floormat, and he told me that he would rather like me to make him a pair of pants.  I don't think he has any idea how much that meant to me!  To know that people have confidence that I will produce good clothing makes me gain twice as much confidence in my own work!  So, thank you, Easter Bunny!

So, what can I say about this particular dress as it comes to the particular challenge for which it was intended?  Backstory aside, this dress says that as a designer, I am a little retro, a little urban, a little punk, a little whimsical.  And most importantly, I want to say that my style is super-cute and well-made and super well-fitted!

Would this design win me the challenge?  Maybe, maybe not.  They would probably say that it is a little "costumey side," although I can totally see a girl going to a underground European dance club wearing this.  If I made this dress again, I would not add the buttons on the collar and I wouldn't angle of the bodice/skirt connection like that.  Straight across would probably be less "interesting" but more flattering, after all.  The dress ain't bad, though.  It would keep me in and that is what is important in the first rounds!

In closing, this dress's theme may look familiar to my long time fans as I have made a slightly less-edgy version of the kitty jumper (OMG, two years ago!) for the Kidney.  Compare and contrast.

Knight Rider Mechanic Chick. April, not Bonnie...

On Knight Rider, there was the "eye candy" auto mechanic chick who was always there in the back of the big tuck to do maintenance on KITT when Micheal came back from whatever heroic ordeal he had juct performed. The first was named "Bonnie," who was rather... handsome. I always preferred her replacement, April, played by the more estrogen-featured Rebecca Holden.

I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking when I decided to make a pair of coveralls as a fashion statement. I mean, they aren't really meant to look nice or fashionable, they are used to protect the clothing underneath. It is quite arguable, however, since there IS something incredibly sexy about what coveralls may or may not be hiding, and you are usually doing something dirty while wearing them.

So I did envision this outfit as a "racer pit crew" chick who works on cars, zips off the top of the coveralls, and then goes and waves the checkered flag in all her greasy sexiness. This is, I suppose, an excercise in making something that looks more gritty and less meticulous than I am used to. It took just as long, however, to make something that looked thrown together, just like, and I have said this before, spending hours on your hair to make it look like you just rolled ot of bed.

There are a few details on this outfit that serve a purpose. The fabric is heavy-ish, but has a good stretch on them so my girl can bend and squat to change tires with ease. The lower part of the pants have zippers on each side so she doesn't have to take her shoes off when she changes out of her outfit. each shoulder has a gathered shoulder "pad" covering to mimic the shoulder safety pads the drivers wear. The top and bottom front are all attached to one zipper, although I did my "boobie" treatment on top so that the front isn't meant to close at the bust. After all, in fashion, Sexiness>Functionality.

The thing that started this whole concept was the fabric that I used for the yellow tank top. Well over a year ago, the Shell station near my house was having a promotion for racing. They lined the lawn with flags of #29, Kevin Harvick, the driver of the car they were sponsoring, and when the promotion was over, I took one of the flags. I wish that I had remembered to take a picture of what it looked like before I cut it up! Nonetheless, it looked a lot like this.

Personally, I like the way this looks with the top down!

Hogan's Heroes: Ruteno Kinchu, Communication's Expert

Okay, so it was actually "Sergeant (Kinch) Kinchloe" but I couldn't resist changing it because "Ruteno Kinchu" sounds cooler than "Sajenta Kinchu."

Sgt. Kinch was argualbly a less "adorable" character on Hogan's Heroes, being more of a subdued personality rather than childlike and cartoony like the others. He often tended to blend into the background (so much that his character was replaced in later seasons without explanation).

So this outfit is obviously not "All American." I just received this awesome wig and it screamed Harajuku Girl, much to Raine's delight. Can you tell she is SO much happier dressed like this than she was when she was portraying Mary Ann?

Meet Ruteno Kinchu. She is an undercover communications expert that poses as a DJ at a popular nightclub in Japantown. While most people think she is spinning hot tracks, she is actually monitoring conversations through her headphones and sending messages via her costumized turntables. Very sneaky, indeed.

I'll start with what I LOVE about this outfit. I love the shorts. It was the first thing that I constucted for this ensemble and I think it's unusual and gorgeous. The cross-between hotpants and a pleated miniskirt was inspired by Japanese Samurai armor, with it's geometrical side panels hanging against the hips. I've never seen this combination done this way before in a skirt and I think it's very sexy.

The hot green undershirt was made from remnants of bedsheets that I hemmed for a client last year and is meant to have an Air Force look. In a way, I think that the outfit looks completely fine with just the blouse and skirt.

The jacket is meant to look a little ridiculous, such as many Harajuku girls do. I really wanted to use my strange "flourescent green snails against polka dots" fabric that I don't even remember buying. I like that it looks unusual, but also wish that I didn't put the time into adding so many of the details into the garment that I did. With the loud print on the fabric, you simply can't tell that there are two pleated pockets with diagonal flaps on top, circular epaulettes on each shoulder, and a mini "belt" on each sleeve held on by little belt loops, all trimmed with rusty stars as buttons. The jacket took an entire day to make!

Yay for brightness!

Wild Wild West: Bridal Punk

So, I settled the argument between the two models by letting Raine play Angie, but making a dress for Leonora first.

I remember in the opening of "The Wild Wild West," the part where the cartoon saloon girl gets punched out by the cowboy.  Punching a woman?!  That's so wrong!  But for some reason it also tickled me seeing her fall on her ass each time.

The concept of this dress is crossing an Old West look with Punk.  Leonora was engaged to a cowboy, but he left her, so she cut up a pair of his jeans and one of his shirts and turned it into a brothel jacket, took his underwear and made a top out of it, and used the white bedsheets that she got as a shower gift and turned it into a billowy skirt.  Then, she went out drinking all night.

I kind of hoped I would end up liking this one a lot.  I'm not used to making dresses made out of huge amounts of draped and folded fabric, but I figured, what the hell, I'm up for trying something unfamiliar.  For the mock up, I ingeniously used a miniature dressform to figure out how to create a bustle skirt with a curved drape front out of one piece of material with a straight hem like they did back in the 1870's.  Once I figured it out, (it ends up looking kind of like a speed bump with spikes on the side) it was actually not as complicated as I thought it would be, but I sure am glad that I was able to make a few miniature versions first while perfecting the technique!

The jacket, I think it's a cool concept, but I could have made it look more, "dirty."  It's far too clean and finished to be punk.  Not finishing seams and being sloppy may sound easier to do in theory, but I guess not for me!  It was a good exercise in playing with sleeve cap volume, though.  I already have an idea on how to improve in this technique for a future avant garde outfit.




In the end, I think that this turned out to be a great excuse to discover a few new techniques in photoshop.  And my sexy-tough girl Nora plays a Fierce jilted bride, doesn't she?

Taxi - Tony Toni

Alright, finally a completion to my Taxi Trilogy!  Raine gets to play the boy this time, and she's okay with it because I let her use her real hair.

Tony's "other" job on the show was an amateur boxer, so I wanted to add some boxer elements to this outfit.  The dark demin shorts were originally supposed to be baggy and more "ghetto," but I chickened out at the last minute.  I don't really do baggy... Besides, did you ever see Tony Danza wear anything but tight jeans?  I decided instead to use a cool piece of fabric to make "boxer stripes" as an accent.  I didn't have very much of it, so using it as trim worked out very well, EXCEPT for the fact that RIGHT there in the front, at the most visible area, the word, "Safari," looks like, "Fart."  How unfortunate and unchangeable...

Moving on, notice the cool hightop shoes that look like boxer boots.

For the upper part, I wanted to bring in the Taxi Driver element.  Under the red jacket, another piece made out of scrap fabric.  I had just enough to strategically cut out the front of a yellow and black print vest.

The jacket, I like.  It's a little on the simple side, but the fabric is a nice faux suede with a stiff body.  It behaved a lot like leather, i.e. it can't be ironed, which is why all the seams are topstitched as well for more than decorative purposes.