Project Runway

I've found out that the show, Project Runway, is actually pretty helpful with learning about the designing process. One of my friends told me that it's on Hulu, so now, instead of watching TV, I will be able to watch this show during my free time instead. It's a fashion competition, so there's lots of critiques on style and craftsmanship. It's not very detailed in terms of technique, or anything like that, but it's a fun show to watch and get inspired from.

Learning to Iron

Today, my mom showed me how to iron formal shirts. This might sound like it has nothing to do with sewing, but it does. Depending on how you iron a garment, it can look very different. For example, when ironing a sleeve, you can iron it along the shoulder seam, or in half, causing a crease in the middle of the sleave (like the way formal business shirts have it). Also, if you iron the inside seam along the body of the shirt, it can become uncomfortable. This knowledge will be very useful in creating pleats, creases, or even to make a seam flat when sewing. Before, I had only ironed flat, rectangular things, like curtains, but now I know that there is a little more to ironing than just pressing the iron from end to end.

Mentor Meeting 2/17

Today I had a short mentor meeting with Ms. Lasher. I finally found out why my invitations to read my blog were not working, and was able to successfully have her join my blog. I also told her that on Wednesday, I found out that I had been given an apprenticeship at Sew-Green! I will be starting Thursday, March 3rd, right after school. I'm very excited to start the apprenticeship. Sew-Green has a lot that it can teach me, and I want to absorb as much as I can! I also heard that the refashioning course is really cool. It's not really what my WISE project entails, but I'm hope to do it anyway.

Owl 2/5

This dress is something that is simple, but elegant, and that would be a lot of fun to wear! Although the design is for fur sleaves, it would probably be easier to use/more animal friendly/cheaper if I used fake fur and leather. Besides, I don't know if I'd be able to bring myself to use rabbit fur in my own design. I'm really excited about painting the coral. I could add some coral beads, or make the paint thick, like puffy paints, imitating the coral texture.

1/26

This dress isn't drawn very well, unfortunately, but hopefully you will be able to see what I see.

• Sleaves-yellow chiffon with red satin ribbing on shoulder slits, and ribbed red satin on the bottom
• Bodice- corset-style top with red satin and orangy-yellow body, with red sash at the bottom
• Skirt- black silk with orange, red and yellow chiffon underneath on the edge
• The skirt should be flowy, but hang straight like a sarong

And finally, to top it all off, a traditional Chinese hat (for which I might cheat, since I already have one identical to the one in this drawing. The design was inspired by a Bollywood movie, "Chandni Chowk to China," and combines Indian and Chinese design elements, much like the dresses in the movie.

Gold Finch 1/14

This is my favorite outfit so far. I definately want to be able to make this eventually. The jacket has some Chinese elements, with the yellow and red colors of royalty, and the red sash is like that of a bullfighter. The pants are supposed to be black, and will have some edgy seams.

First Sketch 1/10/11

I just got a huge sketchbook for Christmas from a friend (11"X14"). I was really excited, and immediately started sketching. My first sketch isn't that great, in that a pretty common design, that many people try to make, but I think that the shoes and the hair scarf are special. The shoes are probably my favorite, and I hope I will be able to transform some plain pale pink pumps into my design.

In Class 2/15

Today we talked a little bit about what's expected of our projects in terms of mentor meetings and citing our sources. For example, we should cite sources as we use them, so we don't forget, and at our mentor meetings, we need to share our proposal, our journal, and the journal guidlines packet.

Then in class, Tabea presented on the life of Tobias Wolff, and how it affected his writing. I found it very intruiging, and Tabea did a great job. I think it was interesting to see what he had become, and how his past hadn't really changed the "true" Tobias that much, in that he was trying to move forward, and had in fact over come his unstable childhood, becoming a father of two, and a successful writer. One could say he accomplished both his goals, not only to become a writer, but to be a better father than any he ever experienced as well.

2011 NY Fashion Week

The photographs for the 2011 New York Fashion Week were posted. They look awesome! Good inspiration.

Vivienne Tam has a really interesting dress that seems to incorporate elements of a kimono (first picture in the series). I don't know if I like the fabric, but the sleeves are definately something I might want to incorporate, as well as the slit in the dress, layered with a diferent fabric.


My favorite designer of the series would probably be Prabal Gurung. He uses a lot of chiffon, and fine fabrics, creating a flowing affect, and he's not afraid of color.

He also mixes fabrics that one wouldn't normally think of putting together, and although unrealated, they fit the body very well. (see below)

Lastly, not only did he use similar fabrics to create a flow, but all of his dresses were worn with crossed stockings, bringing the collection together. It seems that collections really are series that need something to group them as one. I guess for my super mini collection, I'll need a basic theme.

Interview with Shonali: Jan 27, 2011

            At a party, I met for the first time Ms Sonalini Balakrishna, known as Shonali.   She was wearing a long cream coat with gold embroidery and black boots with jewels on the heels.   Her clothes were absolutely beautiful, and when she told me that she had made them, I was deeply impressed.   Later that year, on New Year’s Eve, I ran into her in Bangalore, India, but never got to talk much.   Finally I dug up her contact information from a friend of a friend, and arranged an interview.   Thursday morning was my only free day during the Reagents week, and as soon as I woke up, I called her over the phone (there’s a ten and a half hour difference between New York and India).   We did the preliminary formalities, and then started the interview.

How did you learn how to sew and start designing?

I didn’t start out doing design until quite late.   Honestly, my major was molecular biology, and I did it because I was good at it, you know, math and science.   But then, my family and I went on one little holiday when I was about 17 years old or 18 years old, to Paris, and I fell in love.   It was my first taste of fashion.   I enjoyed it and decided to pursue it.   So while I was studying science, I took design courses on the side, and the next year I went to the Parson’s School of Design, NY.   Three years late, I graduated from there, the Parson’s School of Design.

When you are a child of an Indian parent, you’re always expected to go into academics.   They always wanted me to stay in India, and pursue science, but I went into Parson’s School four-year school program, and graduated in 3 years, since I had been taking credits in India along with my biology courses.   I graduated with a double major in fashion design and marketing… Oh no, sorry, it was a double major in fashion design and art history.   They didn’t have marketing in fashion then.

So what was it like going to the Parson’s School of Design in the US? I understand it was you’re first time living in the US?

Yes… it was my first time living in America.   My parents said, well…You see, Tara, New York was a city that was so unfamiliar to everybody, and Parson’s school was right in the middle of Manhattan.   There was no campus; it was right on the street.   I had family in California, but there were no renowned art schools there.   So I went to the Haas School of Business in Berkeley for a semester to ease the transition to America.

I then came to Parson’s and I loved every moment of it, I really did.   I didn’t have a campus life there.   Berkeley has a campus, but Parson’s is right in the middle of the street.   There were people from all over the world at the school, and I loved New York.   Honestly, it’s my favorite city in the world.   We had wonderful teachers, teachers who were actually working in the field.   We had CEOs that had their own company and came to lecture to us.   It was amazing.

During the time that I studied in Parsons, I had two internships; one was at Christian Lacroix, and the other at Gucci.   After graduation, I got a full time job at Giorgio Armani, in the corporate office.   Now Tara, you’ve probably noticed that Georgia Armani has two different labels, the black label and the white label.   I worked for the white label, which is Collezioni.[1]

How did you get your internships? Did you get them through the school, or…? And what did you do during your internships?

Yes, yes.   The one at Christian Lacroix I got through the school.   There I worked during a market period.   A Market period is when...   Okay, say the market period is for spring.  If it was spring of let’s say, 2000, the time that I worked for Christian would be the summer of ‘99, trying to sell for Spring 2000.  Market time is when you’re assisting to sell the collection to the buyers in America.  There was a small office in Madison Avenue which helped see to customers.  Later LVMH bought the company, but at the time, it was an independent company.

So you pretty much sell for a year in advance?

Well, yes.  It was a summer internship, and I was selling for spring.

And Gucci?

Gucci was also through the school.  I responded to add on the bulletin board.

The following year, after Christian Lacroix, through my last semester… Jan 2000 to May 2000.  Interesting thing about Gucci was I that worked in the shop itself, on the floor.  That was invaluable.  Never in my life have I ever worked again in the stores, but that was one of the most invaluable experiences, because you can actually see the customers.

Were you talking to the customers? What do you mean “see” the customers?

Oh, I was just helping the sales associate.  The sales associate was a professional, but I just helped in the back, you know? But could see the customer, and I did a lot of observation, like what they liked, what they bought.  Especially in a store like Gucci, sales associates were like god.  No, no, I really observed, but I picked up a lot.

So, what about Giorgio Armani? What was it like working in the corporate sector?

Just to let you know… Okay, so because I could work in Christian Lacroix, which was acquired by LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey…

Wait…what is that?

Oh, sorry.  LVMH is a large parent company, and pretty much world’s biggest fashion conglomerate.  During this time, it was expanding, and Christian le Croix was one of the labels acquired at the time.  I had just graduated when Christian Lacroix was being acquired, and they asked me to join them again that summer.  Everyone told me to join because then I would be acquired by LVMH.  I wanted to work for Christian Lacroix, I really did, but you see Tara, when a company goes through reorganization, a lot of people are let go of.  Because of sentimental reasons, and the person I’d worked with the summer before wasn’t going to be there that year, it just didn’t make sense to go with the corporate big dogs.[2]

So I saw another interview conducted at the school with Giorgio Armani.  Armani is one of my favorite companies, and it’s a strong company.  I really admire Armani.  As a designer, Armani is a sole share holder, and that makes a difference.  It was such a stable, strong company, that I got the job, and it was one of the most amazing years of my life.  I was starting at the bottom of the totem pole, but people were really nice.  They really were.

Anyway, my main job responsibility, was to be a liaison between the stores in America and the Armani factories in Milan; basically dealing with stores in America.  The entire corporate office was trying to sell to the stores.  The stores are our customers.  The factories were really quite small.  Small production.  It was basically like working during the market period.  Stores come to the collection show room, and order pieces from the collection that they think will work for the area that they come from.  For example, a buyer in Florida wouldn’t necessarily buy winter stuff, but in Chicago they would buy more clothes for bad weather.  There were about four marketing periods, pre-fall, pre-spring, and summer and winter.  Summer was the busiest.  There was the account executive.  She had Bal Harbor, and Las Vegas, and other such large accounts.  Each store was an account.  I assisted her.  I loved working, waking up, going to work, etc.

But in 2001 after September 11^th, my family back in India, they were very wary of me being away, so I decided to leave and come back to India.  I came back in Feb 2002.

If you don’t mind my asking, where were you on September 11^th?

You know, in the US, in the entire year, you get only two weeks of vacation.  I was here (in India)! I had finished with the market period in August, the busiest period, and left on the 1^st and returned on the 14^th.  My parents didn’t want me to go back, but I stayed for about six months in New York City, and then went back.

So what did you do once you had returned?

Honestly, Tara, after I returned to Indian in 2002, February, it had been a while, and I didn’t know what to do with my life, and I decided to interview with companies in India, you know, fashion companies.  You probably don’t know any of the names, as they weren’t well known then.  I wanted to continue in corporate.  I was about 26 years old, and it’s really hard to explain to people in India that I would be working for a long time.  They’d always say “Oh, you’re going to get married, you’re going to have a child,” so I found it very, very difficult to interview for a corporate job in one of these really big Indian companies.

I wanted to target a niche market.  Ready to wear had monopolized the market.  At the time, it was not completely fashion oriented.  Because I was in India, I had decided to do yoga lessons, and I realized that people don’t have anything to wear anything for yoga.  You know, the women would wear their salwar kamis, and such, but they didn’t have good clothes for yoga.  I decided to start with drawstring pants and tunic shirts.  My first client was a lady in Spain with a yoga retreat.  I know her from my San Francisco days.  She didn’t have clothes to sell in the studio, so she bought a lot from me.  So that’s how I started the yoga wear line.  I returned to New York for six months, and every weekend I had an exhibition at shared town house.  I would throw these spa yoga parties.

I had some customers in New York, but I soon realized that a lot of my clients were French.  After brief sojourn in NY, I lived in Paris from November 2005 to March 2008.  It was really nice to sink into a different culture, learn a different language.  Except that the entire time, I’m dealing with only yoga clothing!  What was agonizing was that I was in a country that sold beautiful ready wear clothing, with fabrics you can’t even imagine.  There was a part of me that wanted a workshop of my own.  I knew the easiest place to do it was India, where one could easily get fabric, labor and space, which is a commodity in Europe.

In March 2008, I moved back to Bangalore, and hired tailors, pattern makers, etc.  It was a ready to wear line.  The yoga wear line, called Sutra, which means string, but not just string.  It's a very important yoga term, and it means an aphorism.  Do you know what an aphorism is? It’s hard to explain, look it up.  It’s like a statement[3].  Anyway, the yoga line was continuing on its one.  The ready to wear line was called Devyani, which is actually my birth name.  My parents named me Devyani before Shonali, but no one calls me Devyani, and just over time it changed it back to Shonali, but I always wanted to use the name Devyani.

What were some challenges that you faced?

Many! I launched in ‘09 and had a trunk show, but the biggest challenge was finding the retail space of a store, but in Bangalore I started to sell to a multi branch store.  I didn’t participate in a fashion week[4], but I intend to do that in the coming months, in order to give me national exposure

But you know, Tara, at the end of the day, it has to sell.  Having lived in NY, having lived in France, it (the brand) also has to live for the local market.  The biggest challenge was that they’re (Indians) very used to having things tailored and custom made.  People would call you and ask to come to your shop, or your house to have it tailored and custom made.  Here it’s a lot about having it customized.  The way to have a business is to have a steady customer and customize everything for them.

The other challenge was you hire all these people, right? The embroiderers are so talented; they’re Muslim, right? And managing people was very challenging.  You need to sink into another culture to communicate with them.  It’s such a delicate fine balance.  You don’t want to alienate yourself, but you’re their boss, and you’re a team and you have stick together.  You need them.  You have to connect with them, and make them feel like the best buddy, but also be above it all.  Also, another thing is that they’re all Muslim, and speak Hindi, and Hindi isn’t even my native language.[5] My mother tongue is Kannada.

But it’s also very fulfilling to have your own label, and it’s lot’s of investment.

What are your future plans for your line?

Honestly, because… ok… I would like to participate in a national tradeshow like a fashion week.  It’s the surest way to get out there.  My operation is fairly small, but I should think outside Bangalore a bit more, and expand a bit more.  It takes a lot of time to prepare, and it’s also a lot of investment.  It might have to wait until I have a full year, so maybe next year.

I’m trying to learn how to sew.  Where do you think I should start?

It’s so funny you ask me this question.  When I started in here, and I hired all these local people, they’d always go to second hand machines.  Go for a machine that has already been running.

I have a machine.  I was more wondering what would be the best way to get an introduction to sewing and fashion and such.

Honestly I don’t use the class at all today, I don’t sew at all.  There’s nothing like having a class in that, in having the basics.  First learn how to sew the basics.  The pattern making is not… That’s another thing, you know in India, I just use the talent, and all the pattern masters are there.  You know the classes helped me know what’s good and bad (when hiring).  I don’t make the patterns myself, but knowing the basics is key.

You are so lucky that you are so close to New York City.  It’s so accessible to you, only a four hour bus ride[6].  If you ever get a chance to do a summer in NYC, education is something that you’ll always value.  It’ll come back to you, even if you don’t use it.  You could take a few classes at Parson’s, even FIT (the Fashion Institute of Technology, in NYC), which may be more affordable.

So, please tell me a little bit about WISE, and what you will be doing.

WISE is an English class where for the second semester, you design and then execute your own project.  Then at the end of the semester, you do a report and a thirty minute presentation on what you accomplished.  It can be anything you want.  I decided that I would like to learn how to sew, and then design and make about five outfits.  I’m really excited to start my project.  I hope to start designing a few outfits, and then create them once I learn how to sew.

I think that’s wonderful, because that would teach you a completely new trade.  Just the fact that you’ll be learning an entire new skill compared to your main focus, that’s great.

Please let me know if you need any help

Definitely.  If you wouldn’t mind, I would love it if you could look at a few of my designs, and give me feedback.  And if there are any people you know who I would be able to contact as well for guidance or information about the industry, that would be extremely useful.

Yes, I believe I have two contacts for you.  I’ll email them to you in a few weeks.

 Great! The reason why I chose to interview you first was that I’m very interested in the fusion of Eastern and Western fashion, which is something you truly excel in.  I saw what you were wearing at the party, and it was amazing.  Perhaps you could send me some pictures of your designs and workshop?

What I do is that in the ready to wear, I use a lot of Indian embroidery, but all of my styling is Western.  If I do an entirely Indian outfit, I’ll make it with a completely western design.

Do you have a website?

One big, big plan is to get that website up and running.  Now I realize the magnitude, it’s so important.

Well, that’s it.  Thank you so much for your time.  And I hope I will be able to talk to you more as my project progresses.

Of course! It was so nice to talk to you, and I will definitely send you those two references soon.

---

[1] I actually had no clue about this, so I looked it up, and got a full description about the two labels and how to distinguish them, as well as the difference between the two brands.  See Bibliography, “How to Spot Fake Armani Clothes.”

[2] I looked into the fate of Christian Lacroix, and unfortunately, after being let go in 2005 from LVMH, he ended up going bankrupt! Good thing Shonali didn’t go back.  See Bibliography, Colchester.

[3] Aphorism: noun- a concise statement of a principle.

[4] “A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers to take a look at the latest trends.  Most importantly, it lets the industry know what's "in" and what's "out" for the season.” (From Wikipedia).  Shonali was talking about the fashion week in India.

[5] In India, there a hundreds of languages, all as different from each other as Swahili is from French.  The most common languages are English and Hindi, and most likely, Hindi is not the native language of Shonali’s workers either!

[6] In India, traveling anywhere takes about an hour.  Four hours in India will get you about the same distance as Syracuse from here.

Bibliography

Books

The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing: 1200 Full-color How-to Photos. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Pub. International, 2009. Print. Rev. + Expanded Ed.

This source has detailed instructions and tips with corresponding photographs on each page on how to use a sewing machine. Unlike most sewing books, this one is primarily composed of photographs to show you exactly how to do certain steps.

Matthews, Elizabeth. Different Like Coco. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2007. Print.

This book is a short, illustrated biography of Coco Chanel. It gives a good overview of her life.

Reid, Alison. Learn to Sew. New York: Sterling Pub., 2008. Print.

A good beginners book, with lots of illustrations and project ideas, this would probably be one of the books that I would start with to learn sewing basics.

Sewing Tips & Trade Secrets. Newtown, CT: Taunton, 1996. Print.

This book has few pictures, and is very dense, however, it has many tips and tricks on creating and correcting a pattern, sewing techniques, and other guidance. The book is at an intermediate level, so it would be more useful after I have learned basic sewing.

Shaeffer, Claire B., High-fashion sewing secrets from the world's best designers: a step-by-step guide to sewing stylish seams, buttonholes, pockets, collars, hems, and more. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1997. Print.

Although dated, this source provides descriptions on how to sew a variety of "high-fashion" seems, frills, pleats, and more. It is written for those with more experience, and I will have to buy it from Amazon, but it would be an excellent source for learning more about clothing design.

Periodicals

Colchester, Max. “The Fall of Christian Lacroix.” The Wall Street Journal. 7 Aug 2009. 29 Jan 2011. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574318400611353392.html
 

After my interview with Shonali, I wanted to learn more about the fate of Christian Lacroix. This article not only fed my curiosity, but also provided information on the workings of the fashion industry; how designers are picked up by larger corporations, and the struggles they face.

“Flash: Political Ties.” Vogue: 424. Sept 2010.

This short excerpt gives three examples of fusion wedding dresses, taking elements from Eastern designs.

Gilday, Erin. “Vintage in Detail: Cording.” Sewing Blog. Burda Style. 5 Jan 2011. 29 Jan 2011. http://www.burdastyle.com/blog/vintage-in-detail-cording

This article talks about how to use cording in the vintage style, giving lots of photographs as examples. It gives me some interesting ideas as to how to use this kind of decoration.

“How to Spot Fake Armani Clothes.” eHow.com. 29 Jan 2011. http://www.ehow.com/how_4478649_spot-fake-armani-clothes.html

Despite having the topic of teaching you how to spot fake Armani clothes, this article was actually very useful in providing a summary of the different black versus white brands that Armani has, and an insight on Armani’s style, and reason for fame (which is in the article because it helps the buyer distinguish between what Armani would and would not do). This was mentioned during my interview with Shonali.

Milligan, Lauren. “Alexander McQueen.” Vogue.com. 12 April, 2010. 26 Jan 2011.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/biographies/080422-alexander-mcqueen-biography.aspx

A short biography, in light of Alexander McQueen’s recent death, about how he came to be a designer, and what he achieved.

Mower, Sarah. "Mr. Ford Returns." Vogue: 256-63. Dec 2010.

This article provides a timeline of Tom Ford's career as a designer, and how he is returning to the fashion world.

“Learning Sewing: Perfect Curved Seems.” Burda Style. 25 Nov 2010. 29 Jan 2011. http://www.burdastyle.com/techniques/perfect-curved-seams

Knowing how to sew curved seems is essential in Western clothing, and something that not easy.  This article goes through each step with a corresponding photograph. Although its process is very painstaking, it would be useful for thicker, more difficult materials.

Martin, Richard. “Gianni Versace. Combines Eastern and Western Influences in Fashion Design.” Artforum International Magazine. 1 Oct 1995. 29 Jan 2011. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Gianni+Versace.-a017520466

This article discusses the psychological and cultural impact when designer Gianni Versace fused the traditional Indian sari with radical British punk fashion. It ties in historical meaning from colonial times, as well as both criticism and admiration for the daring act. This provides insight to the different views and reactions to fusing traditional garments and modern fashion.

Talukdar, Taniya. “A Taste of the International at Bangalore Fashion Week.” Daily News & Analysis. 30 Jan 2011. 30 Jan 2011. http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_a-taste-of-the-international-at-bangalore-fashion-week_1500810

Videos

Coco Avant Chanel. Dir. Anne Fontaine. Perf. Audrey Tautou and Benoît Poelvoorde. Screen Media Films, 2009. DVD.

This French film shows Coco Chanel's life before she became a famous designer. It provides many personal details of her life, as well as how she learned how to sew and designed her own clothing.

*Teach Yourself to Sew: Notions 101. Ed. May, Deana Tierney. Dist. Threads Magazine. YouTube. 3 Mar 2010. 26 Jan 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=pfYMe66i4DE&playnext=1&list=PLB9A65FEEB9589790&index=8.

This is the first of a video series of 36 videos, available on YouTube, is extremely useful,

showing you step by step how to sew both garments and accessories. I plan to use most of these videos, and will probably start with the following: Patterns 101, Fabric 101, Sewing and Pattern Making Basics, How to Sew a Buttonhole, How to Sew a Sleeve, and others. Once I am more advanced, I will use the video, How to Make a Corset (for a dress design I would like to make), How to Make a Jacket, How to Make a Skirt, and other such videos. Although it uses some sewing terms, since it is visual, one can easily determine what is being said. This will be an invaluable source.

*Understanding & Making Sewing Patterns. YouTube. 21 Jan 2008. 26 Jan 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=0vs9RsJVMVY&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP913B0E0B756B3B24

This is the first of a video series of 10 videos gives tips and instruction on how to understand and

create your own sewing patterns. It is very difficult to understand a pattern without some sewing experience, so this will help me decipher the sewing patterns, and learn how to make my own once I start designing. I will start with the first videos, Introduction to Sewing Patterns, How to Read a Sewing Pattern, and later How to Make and Finish a Sewing Pattern.

Websites

"About Sew Green - Ithaca, NY." Welcome to Sew Green! Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.sew-green.org/sew_about.html

This is Sew Green’s website. I hope to get an internship there, and at the very least take lessons. This website provides the contact information of the organizers of Sew Green, and information about the non-profit organization.

Free Sewing Projects, Free Learn to Sew Articles, Charitable Sewing, My Sewing Room , Bridal  and More. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.sewing.org/index.html

Although much of this website is pretty useless, it has some sewing tips and patterns that could be useful. It has a “sew-lutions blog,” and most importantly, a sewing teacher search base. Currently there are two sewing teachers listed in their database under Ithaca.

FUSION FASHION SHOW 2011 - NYC. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.fusionfashionshow.com/

This is the website for the FIT versus Parson’s School of Design fashion competition. It has information and photographs of past and the upcoming show. Shonali went to Parson’s, and it will also be fun to see the photographs and what they are coming up with.

New York Fashion. Web. 30 Jan 2011. http://nymag.com/fashion

This is the main page for the fashion section of New York Magazine. This site provides photographs of fashion shows, biographies of designers, and up and coming new styles in New York City. It will be a good source of inspiration.

Paris Runway Fashion Show Photography. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.parisfashionshows.net/

This website has an archive of runway photographs of Paris shows from 2001 to 2008. It also has links to archives of shows in most of the major fashion cities (New York, Milan, Madrid, London, Barcelona, etc.) Many of the styles are very radical, combining different cultures and traditions.

"Sewing - How-To Help and Videos - For Dummies." How-To Help and Videos - For Dummies. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/crafts-hobbies/Sewing.html

This website is from Dummies.com (i.e. Sewing for Dummies). It has simple projects, tips, and advice for those new to sewing. For example, it has a section on how to read a sewing pattern, and making inseam pockets.

"Sewing Lessons for Teens - A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling." A to Z Homeschool Curriculum, Laws, Programs, Social Networks. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/explore/sewing.htm

This site has a collection of links for homeschooled kids to learn how to sew. It has a whole sewing book online for free. All of the sources are free, and many of them are available directly on the site. This will be a very useful and readily available source for learning how to sew.

Sewing Pattern. Butterick Patterns. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://butterick.mccall.com/

This is the Butterick Patterns’ website. Butterick is one of the largest pattern making companies, and sells their patterns online as well as at Jo-Ann Fabrics. If there is a pattern I cannot find at Jo-Ann’s, I’ll definitely be able to find it on the website.

Sewing Patterns, Projects, Skills, Tutorials – For People Who Sew. BurdaStyle.com. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.burdastyle.com/

Burda Style has many resources, including sewing blogs, free patterns (as well as patterns for purchase), project ideas, etc. It will be an excellent source for getting pointers, ideas, and cuts for basic clothes.

"Sewing Projects for Teens: Make Your Own Prom Dress." Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/sewingprojectt_szym.htm

Although this webpage discusses making one’s own prom dress, it has many tips on following a pattern, using cheap fabric to make the dress first and double check the cut, and other tricks to making a dress. I will undoubtedly be making a dress as one of my five outfits, and this will definitely come in handy.

Individuals/Organizations

Arora, Suman Gandhi (my aunt), Designer

Aunt in Dera Dhun, India, who makes traditional and more modern Indian clothes. All of my outfits for my cousins’ weddings have been designed by her.

On Facebook

suman.ddn@gmail.com

Balakrishna, Sonalini (Shonali), professional fashion designer, runs Devyani and Sutra

Cell: 91-953-529-3797

Home: sonalinibalakrishna@hotmail.com

Designer in Bangalore, India, working with fusion and modern fashion

Bernabini, Diletta, employee of a fashion company in Russia as an Italian translator

Contact through Facebook

diletta864@hotmail.com

Moscow, Russia / Forli, Italy

Cornell Fiber Science and Apparel Design

Student organization: Cornell Design League

Having a fashion show April 6^th, could observe and learn

Anita Racine and Van Dyk Lewis are the faculty advisors (arr5 and vdl4@cornell.edu)

Jaclyn Foster is the president (jlf236@cornell.edu)

Elena, Chesna

Learned to sew from her Grandmother

Contact through Facebook/ in class

Ithaca, NY

Hangar Theater Costume Dept

Provides internships and apprenticeships

Adam Zonder

adam@hangartheater.org

Sew Green

Holds sewing lessons for the community, Basic Sewing I, II, and III (three classes) for $55.

http://www.sew-green.org/sew_event.html

***Also holds free apprenticeships for teens in sewing and fashion design

http://www.sew-green.org/doc/Apprenticeship_Brochure_for_web.pdf

Newell, Autumn, Sewing-Green’s Youth Program Director

youthcoord@sew-green.org

607-319-4106 (leave a message with your name and contact information)

Skinner, Wendy, Coordinator

coord@sew-green.org

Ithaca, NY

Viking Sewing Gallery, holds sewing lessons for the community

http://www.vikingithaca.com/classes.html

Jessie Emerson, Manager

I talked to her on 1/30, and left my contact info. She says there is a lady in Elmira who could help me with learning how to sew garments

607-266-0751

Vikithaca192@earthlink.net

Inside Jo-Ann Fabrics

2255 N. Triphammer Rd.

Ithaca, NY

The Interview

Yesterday I was interviewed by Ms. Autumn Newell for an apprenticeship at Sew Green. They seemed to really be what I was looking for, offering lessons in clothing construction and design. Apprentices work at Sew Green, and then get one-on-one lessons when they aren't helping out with the store and school. I'm really excited about both parts of the apprenticeship, since there's a possibility that I can work with kids, as a teaching assistant.
I found out a bit more about Sew Green's goals of environmentally friendly fashion, and got to know Ms. Newell. It turns out that she went to the Fashion Institute of Technology, which is the rival of Shonali's school, which was Parson's (see My Interview with Shonali). She seemed really interested in what she was doing, and made me excited about it as well.
I really hope that I will get the apprenticeship. If not, I will probably take classes at Sew-Green in any case, or try and learn from my friend's mom (she made her own prom dress!), and some of the other people on my list (see Bibliography). Perhaps I can teach myself, though I'd need someone to guide me and help me out when I get stuck...
Anyway, seeing my constraints in schedule, and a shortage of slots, it seems that I will only be going there once or twice a week, and more as I finish my Mock Trial competition and more people finish their apprenticeship. In the mean time, I plan to take apart an old tee-shirt (the jeans were a little too intimidating), and see how the pieces fit together. However, I'm so excited that I'll probably take apart the jeans as well. I'm starting to see the creation of clothing as something more scientific than I had initially imagined. You have to measure each section so that it fits and falls correctly, measuring how large you want your seems to be, making adjustments, and calculating how the proportions will change because of it. Maybe I'm making this a bit too mathmatical, but since I love math, it will be fun to weave in some calculations into my sewing while I'm at it. Who knows, it might be really helpful.

Mentor Meeting

Today I met with Ms. Lasher. I talked about my upcoming interview (which is tomorrow!), and what I had done so far (set up the interview, start my blog, and make a few sketches). It was a pretty short mentor meeting, because I have just started, and there was little to talk about, but I discussed upcoming goals, plans, and Ms. Lasher told me that one of her friends is a costume designer, so I might be able to work with her too! I would love to do a project designing and making a costume. It would be really fun. She comes down from Rochester on the weekends, so maybe we could meet then.
My interview is scheduled for 6:15 tomorrow, at Sew-Green. I'm a little nervous, but I've done interviews before, and I should be fine. I had emailed Autumn Newell, the Youth Program Director, and left a message on their phone. Soon after (like five minutes later, actually) I got a response requesting an interview on Thursday. I replied that it would work, and I got emailed a form that I have to fill out. The form's pretty straight forward and simple, but it has the following question, which will need more thought:

Please tell us a little about yourself. What are some of your interests?

Why do you think you would be a good fit for the apprenticeship program?

This is similar to almost any interview, but I need to really consider exactly how I will fit in the program. I know that it will benefit me a lot, but I need to carefully consider how I will benefit the program, seeing as I have no sewing experience.
All in all though, I'm very excited about the apprenticeship. I know that I will work hard, and learn a lot.

Starting My Blog

I had gotten really excited about blogs after Mr. Heurich's convincing presentation, and immediately went home and asked my mom about it. She was worried about the security of a blog, but I set it up, and went for the max-security, and now, although it's not as nice as writing (when I write, I can draw arrows, make diagrams, and all that right in my text without having to first take a picture and pasting), but I want to be able to save trees and have everything in one place.
I get really annoyed with technology, and figuring out the blog was a struggle of a full hour, transfering all of the stuff from my previous paper entries (that's why I already have four entries), and formating my blog to work the way I wanted it to. But it's sort of nice, because now I can just type up my journal entries, it's perfectly legible, without smudging, and I can type a little faster than I can write (my hands don't get tired). Best of all, no eraser marks!
I feel like an old granny trying out word processing for the first time!
Anyway, now what I need to figure out is how to get people to realize that I am the one inviting them to read my blog, since I'm anonymous on my page. I guess I'll just send them a separate email with my invitation, warning them that it's not junk.
Thanks for reading my ramblings! Hope you don't get bored!

Why Blog? Notes on Mr Heurich's Presentation

• Blogging is social media- share info of community or even world
• get unfiltered info- immersed in the crowd- get info of the moment
• mentor check blog- respond- mentor commenting every day
• great way for mentor to track progress
• motivational- go back and see that you did what you wanted to do- use as a check list to makes sure you have done something
• can journal on cell phone
• can integrate media content (audio, video, photos)
• something to show, if things didn't go right
• never lose journal- online archive of accomplishments
• nothing gets lost from old high school days
• Blog 2 Print- formats blog into chronological order and organizes it in .pdf
• blogging websites- blogger under google

Second Week (or more)

1. Start with apprenticeship (1.5 hr/day, more or less)
• OR: watch one tutorial movie and make what it directs per day (at least 1 hr each)
• Can have combination of both
2. Start making a pair of pants (if time, may continue to next week)
• Take pics along the way
• undo seams on jeans (1 hr, really!)
• LABEL beforehand!
• lay out pieces and make a pattern (.5 hr)
• adjust/change if necessary or want to
• research adjustments for materials! (stretch/fall), experiment
• make dud with cheap cloth & glue it in order to test pattern

PREVIEW: next make collared shirt!

First Week

1. Call and email Sew Green & Jo-Ann contact, as well as any other contacts on list (1 hr)
• Schedule apprenticeship interview (1 hr)
2. Take inventory of each fabric/amount that I already have, as well as colors and thread types, and old clothing that I can take apart (1.5 hr)
3. Do check up/ set up of machine
• Read whole manual back to front (1 hr)
4. Meet with mentor! (.75 hr)
• Talk about what I have so far, possible interview
5. Make a list of necessary materials based on inventory, searching online for lists/tips on materials, and listing where to find them (1 hr)
6. Design two complete outfits (1 hr)

Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

For my project, I decided that I would like to learn how to sew, and then start designing and making my own clothes. I have always been interested in fashion, and I have frequently drawn designs for dresses and outfits, however I have never known how to create them. As of yet, I haven't been able to learn how to sew due to a shortage of time and patience, but now that I'm older, and I have this golden opportunity of actually having time, I decided that learning this new skill would be a good way to spend the last semester this year.
I became interested in sewing and design mainly because of my aunt. My aunt makes traditional Indian clothes (with a modern flair) as a hobby, and for my cousin's weddings, or when she'd visit, she's always make me something. Once, when she was visiting, she even had a fashion show with pieces that she had brought over from India. They were gorgeous; I kept every piece. Now I want to learn more about sewing and experiment with Eastern and Western designs, traditional and modern garments, fusing cultures and time periods. I want to be able to make what I design.
Currently, my plan is structured as such; first, I must find a place to teach me to sew. My best option is an apprenticeship at Sew Green, which would be free (and possibly with pay, which would help me buy supplies), and would teach me not only sewing, but garment design, and business skills associated with fashion design. I will be learning intensively for a month, and then start designing clothes, and making the clothes I have already designed. At the end of the project, I hope to have five full outfits, with all the necessary accessories.