Wow, You Do That in Quilting

Elyse was by far the best speaker we had come in. At first when she said she worked with a quilting company I thought how does that apply to fashion. But it turned out there is more to the quilting industry than I thought.

Elyse was really inspirational for me personally because she also has a minor in Retail, Consumer, and Sales. She is living proof that just becasue you don't have the cars major you can still break into the industry. It was also cool to see the sketches the designers would send in and see how they transform the sketches into fabric. I never knew actual designers designed the patterns for fabrics, in fact I never really thought about it. I got really excited when she started using terms like strike off, becuase I knew what she was referring to. It was also neat to see her blog from this class. I am one of those people who did not understand why we needed to blogg. Now that I know there is a huge possiblity that I will end up blogging I will pay more attention to mine.

Seeing the pictures of her company at the show was awesome. I love Jay McCarrol and I love what he has done with fabric prints. My mom is a big quilter so now I am going to get her all kinds of patterns from Jay McCarrol. Elyse was really nice and I am definitely going to follow her advice about networking and working hard at getting an internship.

Sweatshops Are A No

I absolutely do not approve of sweatshops. I believe they take away basic freedom rights and are something that needs to be stopped. Unfortunately the situation is not justblack and white. I do not approve of sweatshops and in an ideal world sweatshops would not exist or at least people would speak out against them. But we live in reality, and in reality sweatshops are a neccessary evil. the only thing that is good about sweatshops, and when I say good I don't actually mean good, but the best of the situation is they keep a small percentage of children out of prostitution.
Before this class I never looked at sweatshops from the people working in it. I understand that sweatshops are the only jobs that provide them with money, but working in a sweatshop the worker has no rights.
Horrible events happen in sweatshops, in American and other places in the world. It is estimated that 4,500 of the 7,000 factories in New York are sweatshops (Hearts & Mind, 1).
I do thinkn it is possible to end sweatshops, but it is going to take consumers to make the first step. For me in the end it comes down to how much I value the lives of the people working in sweatshops. I think it is worth paying thirty , fourty, or any amount more for a pair of jeans or whatever in order that someones life is saved. I think there is something wrong when a worker gets paid 69 cents an hour and it locked in an apartment with razor wire (Heart & Mind, 1). IT IS WRONG!
I think that sweatshops are wrong, but i also understand why they are being used. I wish people would rise up and not only fight sweatshops, but find a solution to getting the people good jobs. There is nothing more precious than a life, to me it is the most sacred gift God can give a person other than salvation. But as it seems now, sweatshops are a "Catch 22" as a fellow student in my CSR 231 class said.

Fashion in Milan

While I was watching videos of designers collections during fashion week Dsquared particularly caught my attention. The shows in Milan had a totally different feel. The models did not just walk down the runway. With Dsquared they had a whole Charlie's Angels theme and they used a whole background. It looked like a set in a film production. The designers weemed to want to express more than a statement. It kind of reminded me of an art gallery because the models stopped longer than usual and struck a couple poses.
During class Ms. Minita talked about how the Milan designs are not necessarily created to be worn. While watching Alessandro Dell'Acqua Heidi Mount commented that the sheer pieces were not exactly wearable for everyday, but were perfect for the runway (Style.com). The New york designers created collection for women to wear on trips or for everyday. When the Milan designers were asked about their collection they never had a vision to create a look for a women on the go or a business women. The function of the clothes in everyday life did not seem to be emphasized as much in Milan as it was in New York.
I absolutely loved the Fendi collection. The first thing I noticed was the models hair. It looked like they had a sculpture on their head, but none the less I liked it. I noticed that on the pieces the belts has holes in them. In my own little mind this hinted at art. I am not sure why though. I also noticed that the color pallets were quite different from the New York Collection. Out of all the Milan collections the colors were grays and blacks and soft pastels. In New York there were quite a few loud colors and designers really wanted that WOW factor. It seems the Milan designers wanted to make a different Wow statement, a more subtle one.

My Style 101

I have never been artistic or creative enough to design clothes. so when I learned that our next blog would require us to create a design I flipped out. Luckily the class was also told that if you are not into the designing aspect of fashion you could describe what you would tell a designer if they were to create a look for yourself.
First of all I would tell my designer that I want to be comfortable and fashionable all in one. I do not like to feel constricted, so the deisgn has to be somewhat loose. Next I would express my desire for something that can go from day to night. Next I would specifiy that I want a dress. I love the 50's so an shift dress would be perfect. If not a shift dress and wrap dress. But I would let the designer look at my body and determine what shape would fit me. I think it is important for the designer to have some creative freedom. After all I would not ask them to design me somethng if I did not think they knew what looks good on a women's body.
I love staple colors so the designer would use fabric colors such as navy blues, greys, beiges, red, and blacks. My favorite color is white, but I am sure I would tell the designer to make a black dress, if not black then a navy blue.. For details on the dress, I love a ribbon or a bow. I love the preppy conservative look. So if it was a shift dress, maybe a plaid pattern or a piece of silk that wraps around my waist would make me very happy. The only part of my body that I absolutely love and would not change is my legs. So the designer would have to make the dress sexy, sophisticated, and conservative all in one.
I would also request a jacket. A tailored one that has a masculine influence. So that if i decided to wear the jacket with a pair of trousers I could.

Ethnic Influence on Fashion

Its weird how in fashion every element seem to connect or come full cirle. On my last blog I commented on my favorite designer of all time Ralph Lauren and his African and Middle East theme in his collection. What do you know, this week the blog discussion is ethinic influences on fashion. One particluar example I see ethnic influence is with shoes, particulaly mocassins. Native Americans created moccasins and now celebrities are wearing them. I remember when I saw sienna Miller with the ankle one, the first thing I did was go get a pair.
Another area in fashion that I see ethnic influence in is jewelry. I see inspirations from the Indian cultures in the bold colors and lots of gold. Also bangles have become a very popular accessorie for women. When my mom's co-worker went to India, the first thing i told him was bring me back some bangles. the Indian culture is not just affecting jewelry, but clothing as well. Now bright and bold colors such as yellow, pink, orange are in. When I go to school I see girls who combine colors such as Yellow and bright green, two or three years ago I don't think that the color combination would fly.
Ethnic influence is also on the runway.In Ralph Luren's spring 2009 collection an African Safari theme was definitely present. He even used models from different nationalities. Versaces 2009 esort collection had influences from India and Africa (style.com). There were lots of brghts colors, but combined with a safari inspired outfit.

Fashion Week Reflection

Ralph Laurens Collection for Fashion Week was amazing. I absolutely loved his designs and wish I could afford them. I loved how his collection had a touch of maculinity. Everything was loose fitting, but you could still see the shape of the models. the white suite worn by model Bruna Tenorio was GORGEOUS! I would buy the entire suite if I was in the position. One obeservation I made was the African Safari theme. I loved how there were models of color on the runway. Not just black models, but other ethnicities as well(Nicole Phelps, style.com). I also adored the colors. I always expect to see great pieces in the classic colors of Blakc and White, but Lauren brought out some fantastic metallic gold and green pieces.
I thought Zac Posen's collection was ok. I did not love it like I did Ralph Lauren's, but I think it was very creative. Many of the designs had lace and frills on it. I saw a hint of the "Southern Bell" theme in the collection.Irina Kulikova's outfitt was beautiful,I would buy that if given the chance. Bernadette Peters comment on the hips being excentuated(Style.com) is exactly how I feel. Some of those designs really brought out the shape of hips and I did not like that so much. After watching the runway show on video i was relieved by Tim Blanks quote " Zac's future involves a broadway musical about a southern bell(style.com)." I am not the only one who saw a southern bell theme.
Vanessa Friedman described Derek Lam's collection as "the American sportswear" (style.com). I agree with her, his designs look comfortable and chic. some dresses had drawstrings in them, which I adored. I value comfort, so it is good to see that you can be comfrotable and stylish at the same time. Lahm said that he focused more on technique than theme with this collection (syle.com) and I could tell. When I saw his models come the runway with dresses, it literally looked like the dresses weighed nothing. to me the models walked like how they would walk naked.

Organic Clothing

To be completely honest I do not know much about organic clothing. I have never really been interested in the environment until my senior year in high school. I really do not enjoy mother nature much, so I just never looked into environmental friendly clothing. I do know that lately concern over the environment has started to become popular.
So for this weeks blog I looked up some clothing lines that use environmtal friendly fabrics. One line I found is called Preloved. This clothing line takes old sweaters and uses the fabric to make new ones. I also found another company called Scrapsbags. The designer Melanie makes bags out of old fabric scraps. I was suprised to see just how cute the bags were. I am kind of interested now in the fabrics of my clothes. I probably will be more aware of what i buy.I won't wear strictly organice clothing, but I will at least make an effort to buy some.
After reading the third chapter in my concumers and apparel's book I have found out that there is a way to create clothes and take care of the environment. I believe the book said that Nike is now using 2.5% of organic cotton in their products. What I really think is cool is how plastic bottles can be used to create polyester staple fibers. Who knew that plastic bottles can be made into fabric. That just boogles my mind.
Ok I just finished looking up some more clothing lines that are going organic and H&M are creating a whole collection. The stuff looks so cute can not wait for it to come out. Unfortunately there is no H&M in Greensboro, but hey thats what online shopping is for.

Ralph Lauren

Right now I would have to say Ralph Lauren is my favorite designer. As long as I could remember I have loved his work. I always thought his designs had a classic sophisticated look. There has never been an occasion where I looked at something from Ralph Lauren and said "that is out there". His designs are simple, but have a collegiate look to them, and I love preppy. A good portion of his clothes have plain bold colors, such as blacks, maroons, grays, and navy blues, and red. His designs are just classic bold looks.
I love his dresses! Even his basic "Little Black Dress" has a way of making a statement. When I wear a Ralph Lauren dress, I know that I will draw attention, but do it subtly. Also i just love the way his dresses give women an appealing sensual style. The final reason I have a love for Ralph Lauren is when I spend a whole paycheck on his clothes, I know I am buying a piece that will last for a while. His clothes are comfortable, durable, and appeal to all ages.