Manic Pop

These are over a week late, but this is the 2nd installment of likely 3 mini computer design "collections" I have promised myself over this winter. (The next ones are "due" April 20th if you're curious.) This mini collection I'm calling my Ultimate Manic Pop collection - basically the epitome of my aesthetic at this point - stripes, mod, vintage inspiration, minimalist but strong usage of color, fun seaming. I have fun playing around in Photoshop, and it's nice to have new boards to add to your portfolio! This always feels like I'm creating the characters in another world.

I know someone who will be jealous of this skirt - my sister! I accidentally drifted into a thrift store on my way back from a grocery store I don't normally go to and of course, I end up finding way more things than I would at any normal clothing store.    Bonus - this skirt has inside pockets! The tag on the inside looks like it's perhaps 70s even 80s, but who knows for sure.  Then I found this sort-of oddball pair of shorts. I can't decide if I want to keep them longer or hem them up to a more reasonable length. (See photo below.) Faux roll-up where I might hem them to. This might make them more wearable. They need some extra work as there is a minor hole in the crotch seam but it's a super-easy fix. Hemmed might be better. I just couldn't not get them! These are definitely 100% polyester, probably dating early/mid 70s. I think hemming them is the best option after looking at the photos.   And then....! This is the house that just keeps...

So for some reason, I thought that it was a good idea to subject myself to the mall today. Why go to a mall just north of Chicago on Saturday? I do not know. I was looking for shoes and all the teenagers were looking for... people to look at them. I felt like I had stepped into the movie Mean Girls and everyone was staring at me because I was wearing the "wrong clothes". Whoops. Seriously, girls were upset at me for walking faster than them, a child laughed and pointed at me before the elevator doors closed at Target (me being the only one in the elevator!)  People looked at me like I was a Mennonite who happened to wander into a mall. I wondered what kind of hell I had actually walked into. None of them staring at me would have ever guessed I am a fashion designer.  Absolutely everything in this outfit is from my favorite thrift store: skirt, turtleneck sweater, belt. At one point, I thought I needed to hem this skirt just a little higher but I actually like where i...

So this is the fastest I have EVER made a dress - from concept to creation - EVER!  January 27th, my friend Zoe "liked" a photo on my Facebook page - it was an old 45 cover to the Beatles' "Hello Goodbye/I Am the Walrus" single and BOOM this dress came into my head. Perhaps I also had been looking at too many Pierre Cardin designs from the 60s as well. See up there in the corner? I do this sort of thing all the time - get an idea from something completely unexpected. I've always liked that little swirly part. Never did I ever expect it to turn into this dress! Cliche, I know... but fun.  Photo from my Instagram of me putting together all the seaming on the top. Also of note: I think my dressform has broader shoulders than I do. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to make my dressform less broad! I used stretch knit for the first time since... maybe college? I can't remember. I typically use polyester non...