A Year of Pretty - January 14, 2014

I should be designing today. But I'm getting over this cold. My second cold in a month's time. I caught my first one about a week or so before Christmas. I was finally getting back to my usual self by New Year's Day. Then round two came along and now I am heading into the final stages of this one.

It's hard to be creative when you aren't feeling well. The problem is I have scads of ideas running through my brain . . .especially late at night when I am trying to fall asleep. (Never TRY to fall asleep. It does not work. The harder you try, the more futile the result). But setting those ideas in motion and actually getting them down on paper is the difficult part right now because of this head cold. I usually end up walking away to go blow my nose.

Case in point. It's currently 2:10am and I am nowhere near being ready to fall asleep.

I'm also up against a deadline. First fittings for the Great Gatsby themed fashion show are on January 22nd. That's in eight days. I'm only one pattern into my designs and haven't cut the muslin for it yet. Am I worried? Not really, because I'm pretty used to pulling a rabbit out of a hat in the eleventh hour while behind the 8 ball, so to speak. Should I be worried? Probably.

But it will all work out. I have faith. Just not enough sleep.

So. Today's Pretty Post, designed to inspire me to be more creative and actually get stuff done is this AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS beaded dress. The designer is Anna Sui for BHLDN. Photo source is a flickr post by Herkkupeppu. On the BHLDN website, the Aiguille Gown dress is still available in a number of different sizes, and shows some styling options such as jewelry and head pieces. There are several studio shots of the dress, as well as "real weddings" photos of the dress on different body types, which I think is pretty great because we all know that how a dress looks on an industry model and how it looks on the average female frame can be quite different.

I like how the rows of sequins above and below the waist form a chevron pattern, and how the waistband reflects this chevron design in its center. Very art deco. The button detail down the front is interesting, though I'm not certain they are functioning buttons. The silver chain and necklace also mimic the sequin patterns and provide a great contrast to the softness of the garment.

It's Great Gatsby, but with a modern silhouette.

A Year of Pretty - January 13, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this collection of silver cutlery handles. Originally a flickr photo post by queenofheartsart. I find the Keats Poems background a nice addition, as well as the antique looking fabric rose. These silver handles would make for interesting silver jewelry, such as rings or bracelets. A while back I did a post about turning silver spoon handles into rings, one of which I now wear quite regularly. 

A Year of Pretty - January 12, 2014

Hmmm, if only I could wake up looking like this . . . .

A Year of Pretty - January 11, 2014

Today's Pretty Post comes from a collection of images at le jardindelildelle. I could look at this site everyday and be happy . . . . .

A Year of Pretty - January 10, 2014

A Year of Pretty - January 09, 2014

It's January. I have a cold. It's cold outside (though being in Vancouver, BC . . .decidedly not as cold as Eastern Canada or the United States.) It's dreary. Some candles will add some glowing warmth to the room. I love candles

Today's Pretty Post is this lovely winter white arrangement, the original source from Lovenordic Design Blog.

This sort of arrangement would look nice on the mantle of a fireplace. What I like about it is that it can be displayed both before Christmas and afterwards. I would put this out maybe in mid-November, and then around the beginning of December add some sprigs of holly with red berries or a couple of red and gold balls. After Christmas, I'd remove the festive decorations.

Mom and I made a bunch of these pillar candles using leftover taper candle stubs, melting them down and pouring the wax into empty frozen juice tins and rinsed out milk cartons. Once the wax had hardened, we simply peeled off the cardboard.

I have two of these large wooden letters, each for the initials of my first and last name. I'm sure if I talk to my dad sweetly; maybe bring him some peanut butter cookies....that he and I could use his jigsaw to cut out these letters to spell this otherwise chilly time of year.

A Year of Pretty - January 08, 2014

In a little over six weeks time, I will be participating in two design showcases; one on February 22nd, the other on February 27th. Luckily, the theme for both showcases is the same: The Great Gatsby.

Which brings me to today's Pretty Post. The photo is from a tumblr post which no longer exists, so I have no original source. Sorry.

So what does chosen theme represent to me? Besides the obvious beading and fringe and feathers and dropped waist lines, Gatsby is a state of mind. It is elegance, it is decadence. It is the beginnings of women cutting their hair into short bobs, of forgoing the previous decades (centuries) of corsets and hip paniers and other foundation garments meant to alter the female torso into the "ideal" shape. 

It's the start of a more free time, a looser time (both in dress and in morals). It's fun, it's flirty, it's here to drink champagne and dance the night away.

I am striving for six looks. I'm very excited about this challenge simply because I get excited about beading and trims and lace and whispy dresses like those shown in the picture. Although, the front beaded one probably weighs a few pounds.

I'm going to stay with a lighter colour palette; pinks and gold and champagne wishes and caviar dreams. Basically, if you took the black garments out of this picture, you'd have my colour palette. This means these six new pieces will mix well with the five looks I created for my first collection back in September. Ah ha! smart thinking !

So get out your feather boa and stay tuned while my creative process begins, my late night struggles to get things done endures and I try to recreate the fabulousness that is The Great Gatsby.