Castle Dress, NYC, and an Announcement

I'm back! 

I took a nearly week-long vacation to New York and Connecticut and I finished making a new dress 1am, the night before we left!

Me and Max wandered around on Tuesday, one of the stops being Belvedere Castle located in Central Park West. It's pretty much just a lookout point disguised as a castle but fun nonetheless.

 Many people might not know, but Connecticut is actually my homeland. My family all lives in a quaint, New England town in Southern Connecticut about an hour and 45 minutes outside of New York City. In 4th grade, we actually made a field trip to the Statue of Liberty. I remember forcing my mom to come to the top with me, as at that point you could go up to the crown (they might have reopened the crown by now.)

I think memories like that make me want to become a New Yorker, though only time will tell really. I know it's cliche for anyone to live in NYC, but as a fashion designer it's quite difficult to do anything in Chicago unless you are your own startup, are extremely lucky, etc. I hate to say it, but Chicago is hardly a "fashion city" and it breaks my heart as I've tried to make it work for almost a decade.

 I actually love Central Park. I know most people go to the city for the city but you can easily get lost in the feeling that you're not in the city. It's a really great retreat. 

View from Belvedere Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This dress was whipped up pretty quick - I think you can tell just a little bit. I wanted something extra to wear that would be easy to sew and would include using any fabric scraps I had leftover. Ta da! You get this dress.

Stairs at Belvedere Castle

 The lace ribbon was actually an afterthought while sewing it up, but I think I makes the entire dress.

 We also stopped for a visit on the High Line in Chelsea which consists of old rail tracks that were turned into a garden, more or less. It was a nice thing to enjoy in the city.

The High Line, Chelsea.

We accidentally also wandered by the Chelsea Hotel while we were there.

 Max made me laugh while we were in a train car in Lower Manhattan all by ourselves. I really enjoy the seats that are ALL facing inward. Chicago has seats that go either direction, some facing inward nearby the doors. A few years ago, Chicago tried to replace their train cars with seats like NYC's and everyone made this ridiculous stink about it. I thought Chicagoans were nuts. You can actually see and enjoy the ride on these train cars.

 We also accidentally ended up in Times Square on the way home. It's near 42nd Street which is right by Grand Central, where we had to catch the train back into Connecticut anyway. I think Max had been there already (as had I) yet it was a nice way to end our day in NYC.



Where am I Going in Life? 

I wanted to make an announcement that this coming week I start as an intern with a Chicago fashion designer! It was quite a happy accident - let's just say that social media is your best friend, creatives! This blog was also a big help as it's a rolling portfolio in a way. I'm excited to work with this designer because our styles are quite similar and we share many of the same loves.

I'm not sure what that means for Manic Pop as far as the next 3 months are concerned but I'm hoping to learn a lot. I'll be working 6 if not 7 days a week at times as I must keep my current job. I'll probably have  little time for my own projects with Manic Pop, but we'll see. I have a few ideas in mind I would like to test out.

Thanks to all my friends, family, and followers for support! Manic Pop is not over, just on (possible) hiatus for a bit! But it's all in the journey of being a fashion designer.