glam.spoon: fashion blog

Suede at the Sew Expo

No, I'm not talking about suede fabric, I'm talking about Suede, from Project Runway Season 5!

 

Jennifer and I got the chance to chat with Suede at the Simplicity booth during the Sew Expo earlier this month. He was super friendly and even agreed to sign the sewing patterns that I bought. He designs patterns - and fabric coming this spring - for Simplicity under the name "Suede Says!"

There is an abundance of fabric, trim and tool booths at the Sew Expo, but this year there was one booth absoltuely overflowing with gorgeous trims at very reasonable prices. I bought yards of lace for $1-$3 per yard, as well as a few beaded appliques 5/$20 at Trims on Wheels.

It only happens once a year, but this is the only sewing expo in the country, so save the date for next year. How lucky are we to live in the Pacific Northwest?

The Good Exchange for Change Fashion Show and Clothing Swap

If you were watching After the Runway last Thursday, you probably also felt the absence of Mondo in the room. Turns out he had a great reason for missing the taping. 

Project Runway All-Star Mondo Guerra Judges Goodwill Fashion Show!

In case you're not familiar, Mondo Guerra is a 32-year-old Denver native, who got his start in fashion by transforming thrift-store clothing into his own designs. He rose to national fame competing on season 8 of Project Runway and he is in the final 4 of this season’s Project Runway All-Stars. He is so creative and I am really surprised that he was only runner up of his season. 

On February 8, he joined Goodwill Industries of Denver for an evening of fashion, food and fabulous finds at the second annual Good Exchange for Change Fashion Show & Clothing Swap. Such a cool event that I wish we had here in the Pacific Northwest. I would have been first in line to purchase a VIP ticket to get the opportunity to mingle with Mondo before the event.

The fashion show featured original designs using repurposed Goodwill clothing by students from Goodwill’s youth programs at Denver School of the Arts and CEC Middle College in Denver. All of the students designs are made from materials they found at Goodwill and then repurposed with mentoring from Mondo. Fellow Colorado Project Runway alumni Fallene Wells and Julie Tierney helped Mondo with the judging.

Uriel modeled his own winning design on the runway. (he looks like Mondo's little brother!)

More exciting than that, Mondo auctioned off an original outfit from his collection! The other two judges, Julie and Fallene, created high-fashion looks repurposed from Goodwill clothing and auctioned them off as well. All the proceeds went to benefit Goodwill’s youth services programs in 28 metro area and Northern Colorado high schools. Goodwill Industries of Denver seeks to reverse the cycle of poverty for at-risk youth, struggling families and individuals with disabilities. Discover the good at www.goodwilldenver.org.

 Above photo from left to right: Uriel, Fallene, Julie and Mondo. All photos by Kevin & Betty Becker from Allée Photography

design your own fabric

After two weeks off from Project Runway challenges, I'm hooked again.  Mostly because I think designing my own fabric might be the coolest thing ever, if only it weren't so expensive.  But in small quantities, it will delight, without breaking the bank.  I've just uploaded a design and ordered an 8x8" swatch in organic cotton sateen from Spoonflower.  If it works, this will not only be fabric that I designed, but an image of a photograph that I took, of a rose that I grew in the back yard!  Whoa, I just got dizzy.

Once I see the swatch I'll make any necessary adjustments to the design, then order a yard of the fabric and start making the garment... I don't have the magic of Television Producers to make it happen!  

Project Runway Challenge #7

I really had no idea what a vast assortment of gadgets and widgets could be found at the hardware store.  I searched on my iPhone for the nearest Ace Hardware and timed my shopping to the requisite 35 minutes (although I could have stayed much longer!).  This particular store happened to sell jeans and sweatshirts, so technically, I could have bought clothes to refashion, but I thought that would be way too easy.  I wasn't looking to really challenge myself with innovative materials (such as paint tray liners or sheets of metal like the actual contestants), since I'm not actually going to win anything here, and I wanted to end up with something wearable.

I was in love with that gray braided cord (bottom left photo above) and thought about using it as a statement necklace, but the clerk told me it had fiberglass in it so that was not a good idea.  Then I imagined using the neon duct tape to create a bustier but neon is so outside of my color scheme, I couldn't do it.  I'd probably end up trying to paint it and that would be a disaster.  My ultimate choice of using the flour sacks was pretty safe, but technically I followed the rules.  And I "hardened" it up with my ring accessory made from a hose clamp and large bolt with copper washers.

Starting with 3 white flour sacks, I dyed them gray, then draped and pleated them around the dress form.  I added a metal zipper on the outside to give a little hardware nod, some elastic on the sides, and then dip dyed the bottom in a medium blue dye bath.  The neck strap is also from the flour sacks, and I think I used 95% of the material.  The mop head didn't dye well and the yarn was too soft to tie into knots, it kept ripping (see below, bottom right), so I pulled the dark thin thread from the bunch and sewed it to the bodice as a trim detail.  Not to mention that roll of red stuff?  Called tape, but not tape - just strips of plastic...

The ring is very steampunk and fun, but it weighs a quarter of a pound! The challenges are still, well, challenging, but I'm finding it difficult to keep up with my real life responsibilities!  I might just skip tonight's episode... unless it proves too tempting.

Project Runway Challenge #6

Full disclaimer: If I were actually a contestant on the show, I would have one focus... I wouldn't also have to go to work, clean the house, maintain my blogs, produce inventory, sing with the jazz band or feed the dog, and I definitely wouldn't have to do all of those things with a nasty cough which turned into laryngitis! [end of disclaimer] But I'm not on the show, I'm just a crazy girl who self-imposed a weekly challenge onto herself despite her already full schedule and then got sick...

For challenge #6, "A Little Bit of Fashion," I at least accomplished the hard part (for me anyway) and I made a little girl's dress.  I used my friend's 8-year-old daughter, Ruby for measurements, and I can't wait to put the dress on her to see if my methods actually produced the intended result.

I started with a Large men's button down (a nod to my girl, Antoinette) and pleated the front and back within an inch of its life to reduce the size of the top, leaving lots of volume for the skirt.  I removed the sleeves completely and used a contrast corduroy to make a short sleeve and coordinating pocket, and kept the buttons down the front.

 

Although I wasn't able to make the corresponding adult dress for this challenge (even though I actually had an extra week because last week there was no new challenge!) I was able to make a ton of sweet new inventory items and nurse myself back to relative health.  Which is going to be necessary considering this week's Project Runway Challenge involves the hardware store!

Project Runway Challenge #5

Let me just start by stating for the record, I have never been afraid to fail. I entered into this self-imposed challenge for a real challenge and so far, I've gotten one! 

For Challenge #5, the goal was to make a garment for Heidi Klum to wear on the April cover of Marie Claire.  The guidelines were simple.  Absolutely no black, prints are difficult, and the shot will either be from the thigh up or the waist up, so focus the detail on the upper half.  Well, the garment in my head has not yet been realized and I fear it never will be!  For this challenge anyway, I think I have to just say "time's up!"  I will continue to figure out how to complete this dress, but for the judges, this is what you get folks.

My vision was of this fabulous pink satin halter dress with billowing ribbons of contrasting silk cascading asymmetrically down to the hem.  My first obstacle was the stretch bias cut top that I chose to work with.  It has totally lost its original shape and it's really small so I can't drape it on my dress form to figure out what went wrong.  Right now it's a pink dress with a very darkly accented breast, which is not what I intended.  I used an upside down cotton/rayon cap sleeve top for the skirt, and I'm happy with the draping, love the sleeves ballooning out at the hem, but that waistline is still mocking me!

I'm afraid the worst is yet to come with tomorrow night's challenge... brace yourselves: I'll be making a mini-outfit to go with the model's.  I might have to borrow an 8 year old for measurements! 

Project Runway Challenge #4

My approach to the Project Runway Red Dress challenge was all about refashioning... I found a beautiful fabric in the form of a boxy, red silk sheath dress.  I tossed it on the form and just started pinning and draping and tacking and pinching until it developed the curves, form and shape of a cocktail dress! 

I didn't have any Campbell Soup fabric, but I didn't just want to add another color to the dress.  Some of the designers added way too much black or white for their dress to still be a Go Red piece (in my opinion anyway).  You probably can't see from the photos, but I used a burgundy thread to add a bit of tonal detail. Challenge wise, I didn't have a real life model to work with either, but my dress form, Clarisse, is no Kate Moss.  She's actually a bit bigger than I am, and I'm a real woman! 

  

The end result is a much more commercial version of any glam.spoon design I've ever made, so that makes me happy... but maybe its too plain to get me into the top 3.  Safe in the middle?  

Project Runway Challenge #1

Parameters of the challenge: 3 minutes to gather all the fabric you can carry; a few minutes to edit down to 5 pieces; 12+ hours to construct a garment that expresses your design point of view.

I finally understand how difficult it is to express yourself as a designer with one garment!  Not only that, but having to do so using fabric you may not have chosen had you been given more time for thought and planning.  Here are some before photos of the dresses/fabrics I chose as raw materials.

Cindi helped me with the fabric selection portion on Friday.  (Although I'm following Project Runway's rules, I will still use recycled fabrics rather than new, because that's what I do.)  We went to Value Village on Capitol Hill and she gave me 3 minutes to gather.  I headed to the fancy dress section with a cocktail garment in mind; I then edited down to 4 pieces (and eventually only used 3 of the 4).  I spent 6 hours on Sunday creating my glam.spoon cocktail dress and have 2 versions to show you (although the garment doesn't fit Clarisse that well).

Inspired by the fabrics themselves, I had ideas swirling in my head even before I got home with my materials.  Cindi mentioned the fabric combination was very Parisian, which was right up my alley.  I used the long strapless gown as the base of my garment, and had a really fun, creative time embellishing the top with bits of fabric from all three dresses... but when it came to the skirt, the fabric didn't cooperate.  I loved the gray pinstriped acetate, but it was so stiff I didn't like the end result of the skirt (above left).  So I cut it off and used the bottom of dress number 3 to add a softer line with depth of texture and a sleeker silhouette (above right).  After all that work, I'm even contemplating dyeing the whole thing gray!  I still haven't spent more than 7 hours on the challenge, but you gotta quit sometime! 

As far as expressing my point of view, this dress does incorporate several of my trademarks: reused fabrics, raw edges, multiple textures, soft pink color palette.  I'm pretty happy with it overall, but the minute I finish one garment, I have new ideas for the next, so there is no way to pinpoint the quintessential item.  I guess that's a good thing, otherwise I'd be "done" with designing, right? 

I welcome your comments... there are more process photos on my Flickr site.