On to the next project

After the corset comes the jacket. I've finished the design and I'm liking it. Kind of. If I manage to make it good, I'd probably even enter it into the wool awards. Must look for red wool and red cashmere. 

For the lingerie project, I'm feeling a bit frustrated since I don't think I'm making headways in my bra pattern. Such a tiny thing but it just makes me scream. I've revised the patterns 6 times already and it's still nowhere near fitting as I want it to be. sigh.

Corsets! Corsets! Corsets!

We handed in our corsets today. I was glad to finish my mine, just the binding actually, at 12.45 in the morning. That gave me 5 hours of shut eye. My classmates weren't so fortunate. Due to the intricate designs they've made, some had to keep working at their corsets until past the due time which was at 2 in the afternoon. T, our lecturer, wasn't bothered by it. He was happy at the work done by the class and he was even complimented by M, the principal of the school. She said the works this year was much better than last year. Yey!

So here are the corsets. Forgot to bring my camera so had to do with my mobile phone.

My corset inner layer

My corset with outer layer

Eileen's corset. She stitched all those designs herself, to get the effect she saw at Clegs.

I think this is Kirsty's

Viviana's corset

In class

Thought I might sneek in a bit of blogging since we're not doing much in CAD class. I've done my marking (placing the patterns on fabric via StyleCAD to get the best possible yield) and still thinking about what borders to use on my fashion design research journal.

Corset is coming along nicely, fingers crossed. Still haven't posted the photos though I promised I would. It was a bit of a learning curve though. First, I learned the hard way not to use patterned fabrics if I don't have the patience to match them, second, using silk satin is haaaard, unless you use backing paper (or baking paper as a classmate suggested) to hold the fabric in place, third, there are always solutions to the problems especially when your lecturer is keeping a close tab on your progress. Solution for the first? Change the fabric to silk dupion. Expensive but less time consuming.

For fashion design, we need to do production notes for 12 designs so I'll be doing that over the weekend.

Lunch time now so logging off. =)

Feeling the Fool

Not really though 3 weeks into the new school year and I'm having a bit of a self-reflection of what I've gotten myself into. So far, I've learned how to weave (wafting as a classmate calls it. From weft to right) then I've learned how to knit (repeat after me: plain and purl, plain and purl). Seriously, my fingers became stiff after a whole day of knitting. It didn't help that I was knitting the wrong way when I've finished a square piece. =P

I've also learned how easy it is to do lingerie. We've done 2 kinds already, one is a g-string which was really fun to do. The other was a normal pair of undies. Next week, we're finishing the boylet (or was it boyleg) cut. Yep, we're using lace. Amazing how you can do those itsy-bitsy little thingies and how much they charge for them at the department stores.

For styling and couture, we're doing a corset. And we've done it by draping calico over the mannequin, unlike the flat patternmaking we were doing in first year. Unfortunately, I had to redrape because after I took the calico off the mannequin and traced it on cardboard, I made all the curved lines straight. Then after I corrected my pattern, cut out the calico for fitting, sewn the panels together, I thought I might fiddle with my patterns because the panels didn't match perfectly (there were teensy weensy excesses). Of course, once I did that and re-cut the calico, the panels definitely didn't matched so I had to retrace the draped panels onto cardboard. But it's good. I'm learning what I shouldn't do. =P

Will post photos later. =)

Golden Age of Couture at Bendigo

Our styling and couture class went on an excursion to Bendigo to view the exhibit entitled the Golden Age of Couture. The exhibit were made up of exquisite clothes and magnificent photos from 1940s to 1950s from London and Paris.
The clothes apparently were donated by the clienteles of Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, Fath and others. The entire collection were on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Unfortunately, photo taking was not allowed. Pity.
There were many magnificent dresses there. I was impresses by most of them. Some I didn't really like. There were miniature dolls showing the clothes and it was just amazing looking at the details. the beading on the dresses were also awe inspiring. It's sad that these kinds of high quality work is no longer as prevalent as before.

Missing Japan Already

What can I say about the trip? It was a cold, wacky, and totally inspiring experience. I knew there was a reason why I've always wanted to go to Japan, not just because it was the land of manga and animes although that's a very good reason, too.

It was strange seeing temples and shrines in the middle of the concrete jungle. It was fun watching people hurry along dressed in their business, preppy, and out-of-this-world outfits. I loved lookinga at the architectures at Omotesando and Ginza, Omotesando has edgier buildings from my point of view. Pity I wasn't able to see all the other designer buildings.



I smile as I remember the high-pitched greetings whether it was at Takashimaya or at Yoshinoya. I grimace a bit while recalling being pushed quashed inside the monorail while a polite white-gloved wearing staff pushed the crowd in. I laugh as I remember the horrified look of V when I explained to him the concept of the maid cafe. How he tried not to look embarrassed while we were being served by a very cute girl dressed in a french maid who could not speak a word of english but tried to entertain us, anyway. Maybe I was channeling my inner child, but I was so happy surrounded by cuteness. Even their commercials are cute.

I went there to be inspired, and, boy, was I inspired. Yes, the Japanese are known to have a cattle-mentality, follow the pack, so to speak, and yet, inspite of this or maybe because of this, they also have the ability to break away from the pack and do something marvelous. I'm not a fan of Rei Kawakubo's clothes but I can admire the genius behind the deconstructive clothes she makes. Neatness and cleanliness also seem to be one of the hallmarks of the culture. Whether it be in Tokyo Central or downtown Ueno or nearby Mitaka, things seem to be in order. Houses and buildings are neatly separated or stand neatly together.

That wasn't my first impression though, when we were riding the Skyliner and seeing parts of Narita. My first impmression was that it looked like Hong Kong without the haze. It was reinforced when we arrived at Ueno. Again, it looked like Hong Kong, albeit with wider streets and cleaner surroundings. When we started checking out the tourist sites, I thought, "Now it looks like Beijing but with more stylish people following the traffic/pedestrian lights."

Then we ate at tiny shops and went into department stores and finally it hit me, this is Japan. There maybe similarities but Japan, I should say Tokyo since I haven't seen the rest of Japan, has its own qualities. Its own quirks. But what I love the most is seeing beautiful people. By beautiful, I mean people who look like they like dressing up, who look great in what they're wearing and who are confident as they giggle and walk down the streets. I can also stare endlessly at the perfectly trimmed / pruned bushes, as well as at the elegant buildings.

And the food? Love their miso. Sounds weird but I seem to have developed a love for miso. =)

Can't wait till next time when we go to Kyoto and Osaka. Fingers crossed.

I wonder if they also have cute greetings like this?

Updates to continue

Sorry, peeps. Will have to postpone uploading and updating as I'm on travel again.

Blogging and posting of photos will resume when I come back.

Ta-ta

**Groggy ***