Project Runway Ep 4

sorry this is late again :\ I've been really busy getting things ready for school.

Because it has been so long since the episode I can't really say too much about it. The one thing I will state is that just because a person likes classic, tailored things does not mean it has to be boring. I personally feel that was a down fall of a lot of people this challenge. And Nina doesn't necessarily hate patterns she just hates bold patterns. I think Nina's preference lies in the little details of the garment and so that is why I designed this for here. I would have used a deep plum color probably a silk and created this pattern by cutting strips and putting them together. I would have paired it with a trumpet skirt, and a tailored jacket that hit right at the top of the skirt and had a peplum that went a little longer in the back. During the day she could wear a tank top with the shirt.



And last but far from least the dress I made for my friend Laura as a graduation present :)





back



front! I didn't make the belt, the belt I originally planned to make was too thin and just didn't look right, so I wound up coming across this belt and I felt the leather looked really nice against the fabric of the dress.

I love your style...

I've never been a huge fan of J.C. Penney as it always seemed their clothes were more for older moms, grandmothers, and little kids. They just seemed to skip right over my age group. Over the past year though, either my tastes have gotten older, or they have totally re-vamped their store in the attempt to bring in a younger crowd. My vote is for the second as JCP has brought in new brands some which are celebrity endorsed.

Most excitedly they've collaberated with Mango to form an in-store brand called MNG. I have a friend who lives in Singapore and she always spoke of Mango , and when she showed me their stuff I fell in love. I'm a real time shopper though and I prefer to shop in store and try things on, rather then purchasing online. It's so much easier to say no to things online, lol. Mango is a trendy young professional woman's brand, that has brought a breath of fresh air and really opens the floor at JCP to a younger crowd.

Here is a link to the JCP collection, and here are some pictures from the ad campaign:







Another designer JCP teamed up with was Charlotte Ronson who has always been a personal favorite of mine. Her line for JCP also seems to bring an edge to the store with feminine touches. here is a look at her ad campaign:









Last but not least, their line called Olsenboye which was created in collab with the Olsen twins. This line was created to target Juniors, but I feel done the right way these pieces can take on a slightly older look and also we all need clothes for casual days don't we?





Moral of the day, if you haven't been to JCP lately you should check it out soon. For those of you in the Birmingham area they are currently constructing the MNG boutique!

always,

Leg's as High as the Skies

This season of PR has been like a roller coaster ride. Every week my mind changes on who I like. The only people I've continued liking are Anya, Anthony Ryan, and Laura. They seem like the only genuine people in this competition. Team challenges seem to really show everyone's true colors, and that fact seemed to ring loudly this week. Villains of the week Bryce and Victor. They just seemed to not want to work with their partners and Victor went into the challenge with a bad attitude. Instead of disrespecting Bert and saying he is going to be this way, why not recognize that Bert has a broad and vast knowledge of the industry and listen to what he has to say? Victor rushed in with his idea and never really gave Bert any say. I agree Bert made a bad fabric choice, but Victor's was not better by any means.

Far worse than Victor was Bryce, he just steam rollered over the sweetest girl in the competition. Its no wonder she messed up on the top with him breathing down her neck the whole time. Honestly though, I think her top that was a little off grain would have looked better then what he came up with. And I really think that bright turquoise around the waist would have been beautiful. He's lucky she searched for some kind of color because his all black on a tall stilts women would have looked so boring... oh wait it did :\

After all that, I feel the bottom 2 should have been Victor and Bryce, with Bryce going home not Fallene, I'm really going to miss her.

Anya and Olivier's actually turned our really nice and I felt they were a really good team working together, I was really worried their design wasn't going to turn out, but it did.

Laura and Anthony Ryan's was by far my favorite, it looked fresh from the runway and so chic! I would buy it in a heartbeat. they are my favorite personalities currently. Anthony Ryan being my absolute favorite. I love how his voice seems to have a slight southern drawl? Does anyone else here that? And he just seems like a fun person to be around.

Becky and Kimberly were a very odd match up. Becky came off as aloof to me, Kimberly seemed like she would have been open towards friendship but Becky was very stand off. This puts Becky on my not a fan list. I did like their design though and I think it worked so well because they really took their client into consideration. Although they didn't actually work together their design turned out great and didn't display their distance from each other.

As for Cecilia and Danielle, their work with chiffon was amazing, however if that had been a normal judging day I'm sure they would have been told it was matronly and been on the chopping block. Up next to all the other designs though I can see how it easily made the top 3. But that hair... my goodness..

I'm really nervous for the designers next week, Nina will not be an easy client at all.

As for my look, when I thought about stilt walkers this image of aphrodite rising from the sea popped in my head and became my inspiration. I wanted the top to look like waves crashing around her and my goal with the pants would be to make them look as if they were a dress, so a sort of palazzo style. And here it is:

How Unconventional!

I'm sorry for the belated post this week. It just so happens that the unconventional challenge was during an unconventional week for me. Last week was finals week, and one of my finals really wore me down. I pulled off A's in both of those classes, so I'm pretty stoked! Now onto PR!

This week on Project runway it was my favorite challenge! The unconventional challenge! This year the designers had to use resources from a pet supply store. I have to admit I was really creeped out when Bert looked at Tim Gunn and asked if the pets were off-limits :o I'm gonna hope he was just joking about that, haha. I can't really remember much of the happenings on the show right now so I can't give a full summary of my thoughts, but I will do my best.

Anthony Ryan - I think his dress was fabulous and definitely feel he should have been the winner. The neckline of his dress made me think of the Alexander McQueen dress pictured below. What I really liked about him is that he really challenged himself from the beginning to think outside of the box. His dress I agree was a little to short, but at least it fit his model perfectly.



Anya - She really just keeps surprising me. I have no clue how she keeps pulling all her outfits off, but each time she produces something really trendy and different. I remember 2 hours before the runway I believe all she had was the crossing ropes on her mannequin nothing else. I think the only thing I would have changed about her outfit is making her top just a little bit longer.

Becky - I was really surprised that Becky's dress didn't make it into the top 3, I felt hers turned out really great and would wear it given the chance.

Bert - I think he would have gone home this week without his immunity and I agree with the comment that his model looked like a hooker.

Bryce - I don't know how he is still here, but come on! If you are one PR I'm sure you have been watching PR and the judges were right, we see this dress every year. Every year this dress is on the bottom, and I also agree with whichever contestant it was that said it looked like a bunch of wee wee pads and it would serve its purpose if there were any dogs around.

Cecilia - I liked her design this week, but I still don't think I'm going to be a huge fan of her in the end.

Danielle - her design really shocked me this week. She seems like such a conservative person and then she sent this outfit down the runway, I felt her outfit could be a part of a fashion show and was very trendy. I'm really surprised her outfit didn't make the top either.

Fallene - I actually liked her outfit, but I have taken note that if I'm ever on PR don't put Orange and brown together. The judges hate that color palette. I felt bad for her because Tim praised the outfit and never said anything to her about it.

Josh - I think if this outfit had walked the runway during another challenge he would have been safe, but this is the unconventional challenge and at least the other 2 in the bottom tried to use different materials to create their pieces.

Other Josh- I loved his outfit, I didn't like him adding the mirror. I'm hoping this isn't a sign that in the future he might have a problem with editting down. I loved the pattern he made with the rocks and how the rocks reflected the light so well. He also created a very different silhouette and risky one at that. If he'd done any proportion just a little off it could have turned into a disaster.

Julie - I have high hopes for her, but I felt she deserved to be in the bottom this week. the dress was just all wrong, ill proportioned and despite the weaving it looks like she'd wrapped a dogfood bag around herself.

Kimberly - I liked her design as well, I wish we would have heard more from her during the show.

Laura- I think she is another one of my favorites on the show, and I loved her idea with the dog collars, and also how when it didn't work out she didn't beat herself over it she just said oh well and moved on to plan B. I think she really has a great attitude and some great ideas to go along with it.

Olivier- I did not like his outfit at all. I felt the top was ill-fitted, the colors didn't go well together and could have been a little boring, the eyebrows were overkill, and for an unconventional challenge I would like to see the winner as someone who only used unconventional materials. all in all didn't like his work this challenge, but I do like him as a person. I really wish the judges would listen more to Heidi it seems like nina always gets her way.

Viktor - While I did like Viktors design and can't believe his dress was wee wee pads, I feel that I could walk into any fad store and by this dress on the racks, I think that's why he didn't make the top, his design wasn't out of the box enough.

Now for my design, I can't guarantee that this would have been my design if I were on the show, but I've been so excited this past week about football season that when I sat down to design my thoughts kept coming back to Alabama. Therefore here is my design...

I would have bought plants and rocks in red white and black colors. Plan A would be to do the top in a crimson fern, the belt in a really shiny black rock, and the bottom dress I would create a houndstooth pattern hopefully with the rocks if that didn't work out I'd attempt to do it with the plants.




I know this is already a long post, but on the thoughts of unconventional I read this link today and its wedding dressed made completely out of balloons. I thought it was really interesting and that you guys and girls would enjoy it :D

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/summertimefun/awesome-crazy-wedding-gowns-made-of-balloons-2519854/#photoViewer=1

Project Runway!

Need I say more? I have been waiting for this show ever sense the tragic ending of last season, and the first episode was everything I hoped for. Contestant wise...

Anya - really shocked me, I thought they should have told her practice for a year and we will have you on the show next year. I mean if I were going to go on this show I would personally want to know that I was at my best and not just starting to sew. Needless to say, with only 4 months under her belt, her clothes were a knock out.

Bert- I loved what he did last night and I'm so glad that he won. I agree with my cousin Amber though, I wouldn't have wanted to be the model who had to wear his old boxers lol.

the color blind guy - I forgot his name sorry. But I love him as well he's another one that's a shocker for me. He's definitely a fighter and everyone should see him as competition. I loved his outfit and the way he used the trimmings.

The only person I'm not really fond of at this moment is Cecilia, I honestly think Amanda should have had her place.

As for the other members of the cast none of them stood out to me hugely last night and I will talk more of them next week. I think the problem this week is that a lot of them were overly ambitious. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but you don't want to send something down the runway that will embarrass you later on, aka the jacket tank and shorts dude, I thought he would be the one going home.

I really think its funny that the top 3 this week were the 3 people with handicaps in the competition, the other competitors better not underestimate these three.

Now for the fun part... Here is my solution for this weeks challenge!

Since they were allowed to design in their bedsheets and pajamas. I chose to use the PJs I wore last night and a white sheet as my materials. I was wearing my anchor and whales tank top. So I would have taken that tank top and attempted to dye it a navy color first. After finding a color that worked, I would have dyed my sheet to match that blue. I would have made the bottom skirt in diagonal ruffle tiers, then I would have looked for a lime or pale green ribbon to stitch onto my clothes in this design:


My friend at kelseyscollection.blogspot.com also will be creating a response! Check her out, I really love reading her blog :)

I've been practicing more with my chalk pastels, and I think I almost have it down to an art! I created some fabulous designs today, 2 of which will appear in my Fall RTR show!

xoxo,

Stocking up!

I was watching the news today, and they were discussing the royals. Turns out, over the course of this recent tour William and Kate have made sells in pantyhose and stockings have grown! Here is a link to an article on it, if you want to hear about it for yourself.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/kate-middleton-brings-back-pantyhose-bare-legs-are-so-2010-2510160/#photoViewer=1

I'm personally excited about this new trend. As a young girl I always loved wearing pantyhose, especially the pairs like Kate's with the iridescent slight sparkle to them. Nothing makes a leg look better than a nice pair of stockings. Not to mention the embarrassment they can save you if you forgot to shave your legs, or if your like me and have a hard time tanning the slight tint of tan they can give your legs.

I loved wearing my black pantyhose when they trended back and allowed me to wear dresses and skirts in the winter without freezing to death. While I admired the colored legging trends I never quite hopped in with both feet into the bright colors, I preferred the darker more subtle colors like deep red or eggplant. When the colored trend was done right though I really enjoyed the fantastic resulting outfits.

The only thing I hope is that girls don't view pantyhose like leggings and start wearing them around as pants as well. yuck! Leggings are NOT pants and neither are pantyhose. I leave you with a couple lovely pictures of Kate from her North America tour thanks to hollywoodlife.com. I'm sure these dresses have already sold out, I just hope when I get on my feet as a designer I can catch her eye with one of mine.



Duchess Kate's style is very classic and clean. I feel some of her outfits related back to her wedding day. These pieces with their touches of lace made me thing of the lace on Kate's gown. The blue piece especially does this, and also my favorite from the tour. the first lace gown is one of the few dresses she wore that didn't have a cinched waist.



I would call this set of garments this set of garments Duchess Kate's signature style. I feel this style became her signature with her wedding dress and reception dress. All of the garments have the same silhouette with variations in whether the garment is cinched at the waist or a belt cinches her waist. Kate also seems to prefer a high neckline with particular preference to the bateau neckline. The only thing in these photos that varies from Kate's signature style is the small glimpse we get of Kate's toe in her formal gown photo.



These photos show a different side of Kate's style. What I love about the first photo is the split from the matchy matchy style that can be seen on royals. A style where every piece of the outfit is the exact same color right down to the shoes and purses. The second shows her casual more laid back style in a miltary styled shirt, I bought one that's an exact match at express last year. And lastly her sailor dress, I had to post it because I've always been a fan of nautical style.

That's all I have for now, don't forget to take a look and see how fantastic her legs look in her stockings in these pictures. If that doesn't make you rush to the store to buy a pair I don't know what will :)
xoxo,

Unexpected Inspiration

One of my favorite times in life, is when inspiration takes me by surprise. Instead of me having to search for it, it hits me by a surprise WHAM-in-the-face. This morning was one of the moments. I was chilling on the couch watching ANTM cycle 10 reruns sipping my coffee, when this shot of the bus they were traveling in popped-up on screen. Even now looking at this image I've had a few more ideas pop in my head, not all formal wear I'm seeing a couple menswear pieces now. I think I feel a 6 outfit line coming on again from it! Stay tuned.


When I saw this image an evening gown popped in my head. In this moment, I felt like it lasted for hours. I saw how the gown would twirl and move and the way the colors would pop off of one another. I could see my girl walking down the streets of New York and the long train trailing behind her being gently whipped by the wind. I immediately grabbed one of my sketchbooks and started drawing, and here are my drawings.

I decided to use my chalk pastels to render it, as you can tell my skills with them are still a little rough. I discovered chalk pastels in my second art class, and although we had a hate relationship at first I've actually grown rather fond of them. If you are looking for a new medium to play with I 100% recommend them. I think the benefits of using them are the limitless colors and effects you can create. One thing to be careful of is putting to many layers on them as they can start looking like mud, and of course you have got to be careful with your fingers. Finger prints get me every time.

As for the dress, I didn't realize at first that the top of the bus was dark green I thought it was black. Therefore I saw the dress with a black top. I'm not sure how I'd want the one arm to be yet I've though about it covering part of the shoulder as well. I'm not sure whether it would be a black and white crackled looking top, shiney silk top, or a black chiffon top with black beading in a crackled pattern. A gold sash to seperate the colors depending on the top choise there might be some embellishment on the back. The bottom would either be chiffon or silk depending on the top part and 3 tiers of a deep crimson red or bright red. Now that I know the image was actually green now, I'm thinking when I render the other 5 I might do them with the dark green.

At the moment however, I am working on a beautiful dress for one of my close friends Laura. Here is the pattern and dress. The pattern is fairly simple and I'm hoping to alter it some to fit my vision for it more. The fabric is a cream cotton/poly blend jacquard in a houndstooth pattern that I found at JoAnn's fabric in Hoover. I felt this was appropriate as she's an Alabama fan :) Ad for the belt in the middle I'm hoping to create a one of a kind black belt embellished with some crystals by me to add some sparkle :).


<3

Samantha