Outfit: Black and White

All photographs are self portraits taken by myself. 

I'm now in my 2nd week of classes and it feels so wonderful to be back on a school schedule and taking fashion classes!  So far I'm really enjoying my draping course.  We're currently learning how to drape a Basic Bodice Slopper, which is the foundation block for learning pattern drafting.

One day last week for homework we were assigned to pull a single cross grain thread from two separate panels of fabric.  This is done to find the correct grain for when we start draping.  Well pulling a single thread out of fabric is a very tedious job, and just one panel takes about two hours.  Halfway through my 2nd panel I thought, "I'm actually really enjoying this.  Oh my goodness - I'm pulling a thread and I'm having so much fun!"  Ha.  I'm curious for how I'll feel when I get further into the course, and I'm taught even more than just pulling thread.  Needless to say I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

Funny story by the way: my professor assigned my class a summer break assignment with only 10 days to complete it before it was due, which was the first week of class.  When I got the e-mail I automatically went into an intensely, focused, research mode.  I turned down a lot of opportunities to hang out with friends, and I spent over 70 hours trying to complete this project in time.  Well, my first day of class my professor went over her expectations for the summer assignment, and I realized that I mis-interpreted what was due at the first week.  It turns out that what I completed was actually half of my final project that's due at the end of the quarter.  So I finished half of my final project before the first day of class even started.  Ha.  I'm going to go back and start over/revise it a lot when the time comes, but at least I have a good start on the direction that I want my final project to go.

Outfit:

Jacket -  Sheinside (This is such a comfortable lightweight jacket!)

Shirt - H&M, sale section

Skirt - Thirfted

Belt - Thrifted

Shoes - Thirfted

Hat - Thrifted

It feels really great to be back in Savannah.  I didn't share this with you, but last year was a really hard time for me in my personal life.  I had a lot of new adjustments (first year of college/first time in a new state) and I was also still deeply grieving my brother's suicide that happened just the year before.  Emotionally, a lot hit me all at once when I wasn't expecting it, and it's taken most of last year to process and slowly walk through it.

Looking back, I can tell that I'm in so much of a better place coming into this school year than I was last year.  I'm still going to have moments where the grief hits, but I realized that I feel a lot better prepared since more time has passed.  I've learned how to take it slower on the days when I'm saddened, and I know how to be enjoy and appreciate the times when I'm at happy, and it's not on my mind.   Overall, I feel really settled about starting this year.  Thank you to everyone who showed such love and support to me last year.  It meant the world to me.

Outfit: Geometric Shapes

All photographs are self portraits taken by myself.  

I'm now currently in my first week of classes for my sophomore year at SCAD.  This shoot was taken in front of one of the walls in the school's library.  For one of my classes I was assigned a last minute summer project that's due this first week so I was at the library a lot this past week working on research.  The library has gone through a lot of renovations this summer so when I came back it was fun to see all of the new colors.  This cool houndstooth print caught my eye right away!

Outfit:  

Geometric print dress:  Sheinside

Shoes:  Sears, sale section

Necklace: Borrowed from my mom

The project that I was given this past week is to research and document the design process of a mini capsule collection (this is about 6 looks).  So all week I've been working on a process book for this assignment.  I've been playing around a lot with fabric manipulation, and new textures for embellishment detailing.  Here's an instagram preview for one of the design details that I've been exploring with.

You can follow me on Instagram here!

I'll share some pages from my process book once I get the time to photograph it!  I still have most of my summer sewing projects to show you as well!

Summer Sewing: Classic Plaid Jacket

All Photographs are self portraits taken by myself.

 

One of my favorite sewing pattern-makers is a discontinued Simplicity brand called Build by Wendy.  Her patterns were one of the first patterns that I ever worked with.  I have the whole collection and this summer I was going back and remaking a lot of her patterns.   I made this jacket from her 4109 pattern, which several variations to the design.  I made mine with a standing collar, and I decided to leave out the buttons and make it into a throw over coat.  I also took in the size a little bit to make it slightly better form fitting.

I also made the shirt that I'm wearing.  It's just a basic button down made from my leftover prom dress fabric.  I love the texture of this fabric - you may not be able to tell through the photos, but the gold dots are slightly raised giving a really fun texture! 

 Outfit:  

Sunglasses:  ZeroUV

Hat:  Red Clover Boutique

Jacket:  Esther Boller

Shirt:  Esther Boller

Pants:  Forever21

Shoes:  Le Bunny Blue
Animal Ring Set:   Style Moi

More projects and a few new sewing tutorials are coming up soon!

Intro to Fashion Design: Class Final

Photography:  Esther Boller (myself).

Model: Carly Starnes

I had my first fashion class during my spring quarter at school, and the class was Intro to Fashion Design.  For our final project we had to design and make a garment inspired by an abstract painting.  The goal was to create a garment that reflected the shape, color percentage, and overall mood of the painting that we chose.  I chose the below painting by Clive Watts.

 Once we had decided on a painting we had to draw 10 croquis designs of the front, side, and back view.  We were encouraged to think and draw like a sculptural artist, because our professor wanted the class to think about volume and each angel of the design.  We were given the option to make our garment out of non-conventional materials, but after going through the whole school year without any sewing assignments I was longing to get back on a sewing machine so I chose to work with fabric.

Once my design and materials were chosen, I started the construction.   This was the hardest part of the project, because I had never sewn anything like this before.  Drafting this garment took quite a bit of problem solving.  At first it was going to be one dress, but after thinking about how I was going to line it, I decided that it would be easier to make it into two separate pieces.  So it became a skirt and a blouse which made drafting a lot simpler!

In my class for The Sewing Party I will be teaching how to draft and sew these circular panels.  If it's something that you'd like to learn you can sign up here!

To get the volume that I needed in the circular panels of the skirt, I used a really cool material called Pellon!   It's basically an incredibly stiff iron-on-interfacing.   It keeps its shape so well, and was exactly what I needed to create the volume of the circular panels in the skirt.

The last part of our project was to do a photo shoot of someone wearing our garment to add to our portfolio book.  I took these photos and my lovely friend Carly modeled for me.  Overall this was such a refreshing and fun project for me!  I'm not sure how many hours went into this project from start to finish, but I basically lived in the Fashion Building for the last two-three weeks of school. 

I have about another week before my sophomore year starts.  I'll be taking Apparel 1, Fashion Sketching, and Art History 2.  The Apparel class will be my first sewing class so I'm really looking forward to this upcoming quarter!  I'll try to keep up with sharing my projects with you as they're assigned to me.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Exploring: Crestwoods Frame Shop and Gallery

All photographs are self portraits taken by myself.

One of my favorite spots to explore is Crestwoods Frame Shop and Gallery which is located near my home town in Indiana.  It's such a cool space!  It's one big open room with a wall dividing it down the center.  On one side is a gallery and there are new artists showing every month.  On the other side is their frame shop.  

I've always enjoyed looking at frames, because it reminds me of when I was little and I would run errands to various frame shops with my mom when she would go to get her work framed.  I came here a to check out the gallery a few days before I left for school, and I was reminded of what wonderful natural light this space has! My inner photographer loved the light so I asked to do a photo shoot, which Ann, the owner was so sweet to let me do.  

This mixed media artist, Larry Agnello, was my favorite showing in the gallery this past month.  His work is really playful and fun!  Looking at his work, brings me back to my steam punk obsession days in middle school when that was all I looked at.  Here's a link to his showcase if you'd like to check out more of his work!

Outfit: 

Top:  JollyChic

Skirt:  Style Moi

Shoes: JC Pennies

My sketchbook journal
 

My next post is going to be my final project for my fashion class with past year!  I'm so excited to finally share it with you!