★ Announcing Our 2011 TEEN Fashion Show Designers!

Audrey Meyer- 17

Caroline Matthew- 18

Elizabeth Anderson- 16

Emily Briggs- 17

Mikayla Kadas-16

Yvette Zamora- 18

I would like to personally congratulate these ladies for taking on the challenge of designing their own collections from start to completion!  To read their bio's and get a sneak-peak into their collections check out the website at www.designandlounge.com.  The Fashion Show will be held the first week of August and we will be updating the blog and the website as we move forward with this exciting adventure.  In the mean time please join The Designer's Lounge in cheering on these SIX girls in their creative endeavors!!

Sincerely,

Teresa Romero ♥

✂ Designer's Tip of The Day- Add to the Library!

I  just added two GREAT books to my library and I highly recommend them to any fashion design enthusiast!

Fashion Drawing in Vogue by William Packer

"This is, above all else, a book of drawings, just drawings: and I think it is beautiful" - David Hockney

Indeed, it is... Prior to the "super model", fashion was presented by way of the illustrator.  Images in magazines and catalogues used fashion illustrations to share the latest designs with it's public.  Great illustrators such as Erte', Jean Patu', 'Eric', and even Salvador Dali graced the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.  These books are a tribute to the colorful lives of those artists and the designers!

Masters of Fashion Illustration by David Downtown

✂ Designer's Tip of The Day- The Anatomy of a Dress Form

Back to Basics!

This may seem elementary to some, but knowing the anatomy of a dress form is important, especially if you plan to venture into draping.  There are several types of dress forms on the market, the most commonly used dress form by designers is the muslin padded dress form.  This form, set on a movable, height-adjustable stand, duplicates the human body shape.  It is firm yet resilient, and does not resist pins. This diagram shows the seams and parts of a basic dress form.
Each seam, marking, and tape all have a specific purpose- to use as reference points in draping a garment, particularly the Center Front and Center Back, The Neckline, Shoulder Seam, Apex, Waistline, Side Seam and Hip Level.  But depending on the project all points can be very useful!

Source: The Art of Fashion Draping, by Connie Amaden-Crawford

✂ The Designer's Tip of the Day- Industrialism!

Fashion History "tid-bit"

While trying to find a useful by-product from the distillation of coal in 1856,
William Henry Perkin inadvertently created a brilliant-purple dye. It was
a craze in fashion for a number of years.

Until the turn of the 19th century, fashion had operated steadily, with political, social and religious upheavals operating as fashion "bellwethers".  The industrialisation of textile production, followed by developments in the retail and manufacturing of clothing, introduced new catalysts for the evolution of fashion: availability, affordability, social mobility and novelty on the part of the consumer, and profit on the part of the supplier.  I'm always fascinated by fashion it's reflection of the social and economic times...

Source: ...isms Understanding Fashion by Mairi Mackenzie (I LOVE this book)

✂ The Designer's Tip of The Day- French it Seams.

Next month we will be starting a class- Sewing with Silk in this class we will be learning ALL about Silk and how to clean finish a silk garment.  One of the best ways to clean finish a silk chiffon garment is by using French Seams.

Back to the basics!  

1. Place the wrong sides of the fabric together, with the edges matching. Sew with a
straight stitch 1/4" in form the edge.

2. Trim the raw edges to approximately half.

3. Fold the seam the opposite way, so that the right sides are now facing out and
the seam is pressed out to the edge.

4. Complete the seam with a final row of stitching 1/4" in from the edge.
This will enclose all the raw edges.

5. Press flat with inside toward the back of the garment. Voila!

Source: The Dressmaker's Technique Bible by Lorna Knight

✂ The Designer's Tip of the Day- Explore Your Imagination!

Okay, so I didn't start The Tip of the Day mid-January... However, I've been extremely inspired by my hiatus from the sewing machine!! I've been reading books, illustrating and venturing out into the world.  I was able to see the Broadway musical Wicked, I went to a ballet- Dracula, a love story, and was painted from head to toe in white paint for a Valentines photo shoot!
The last month and a half has been an exploration of creative outlets, now a feel refreshed and ready to start the design process again!

Seashell Inspiration

Sophi Kikasalaki S/S' 06 

By gathering different references and exploring many avenues of interest you can begin to explore a variety of creative possibilities before you channel and focus your imagination towards a concept, theme, or direction for a collection.  The two photos above demonstrate the use of an organic form translated into a garment.  This designer was inspired by the texture of the seashells and emulated that into her design.

Happy Friday!!

Source: Research and Design by Simon Seivewright