A Year of Pretty - February 18, 2014

Yesterday I chatted a little about pearls. Today, it's lace.

I love lace. Good, high quality lace. Which is strange, because growing up I was a no-frills-what-so-ever kind of girl.

In the midst to designing this Great Gatsby Challenge, I've done a bunch of research into where to get good lace; especially lace trim. Wide lace trim. In delicate colours. The local fabric stores don't seem to carry a great selection, and what they do carry is often quite garish (lime green lace? Um, no)

So I've found a couple sources on etsy. More than a couple actually. Most offer lace trim between three to five inches wide, with a soft mesh background so that you can apply the lace and cut away what you don't need.

Perfect for a hemline or at the shoulders of a 1920's style dress. And the ones shown (right) match my colour pallet.

And remember: I love you like vintage loves lace.

A Year of Pretty - February 08, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this very bohemian Great Gatsby inspired wedding dress. Simple silhouette with a frothy lace overlay. yards and yards of fine tulle netting held in place by a band of lace and some dusty rose flowers.

Sad to say, the original link leads me to a "page not found" and some obscure pictures of llamas and a doorway. Not very Gatsby-esque at all.

A Year of Pretty - February 06, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is from the March 19, 2012 cover of Ruche. Check out the entire article and many other beautiful photos by clicking on the picture above. The whole collection of images are Great Gatsby inspired, which is just what I'm after for the upcoming show.

A year of Pretty - January 31, 2104

Well here we are, end of January. One month into the year.

Today's Pretty Post is of this collection of GORGEOUS dresses. No credit was given on the photo, but I believe the collection is by Anna Campbell.

Not Anna Campbell the historical romance novelist. And not Anna Campbell the actress, but Anna Campbell the Australian designer of vintage-inspired evening gowns and bridal dresses.

I'm still working on my Great Gatsby Inspired collection, and the date has been set for the fashion show reveal. Actually, there will be two dates; and both are coming up pretty quick. The first is on February 22nd at Venue in Vancouver. The second will be on February 27th at Performance Works in Vancouver on Granville Island. Both events will be on the smaller side, but both will be a good way to start when it comes to presenting a collection. I'll be able to work out some of the snafus before moving on to a bigger audience.

Luckily, both events have the same theme, so I am able to show the same set of garments. The first show I have chosen my own model. The second show I will have to use the models the even host has chosen. This will be a bit more difficult, as the garments will have already been fitted to the one model in the first show.

In any event (see what I did there?), it should be fun and a great learning experience.

In the meantime, my fabrics and trims are selected, my sketches are near completed (will probably post a couple of these within the next few days), and the technical design wheels are moving around in my head. Building the patterns will begin next week. Super excited to see how it all turns out.

A Year of Pretty - January 23, 2014

I can't believe it's already only three months until my birthday. My big birthday. The big four-zero. Yikes!

Onto something more positive. Today's Pretty Post is the GORGEOUS Chanel dress, found via Pinterest, linked back to walkingthruafog. And there it ends.

This is stunning. This is glamorous. This is Chanel.

This reminds me of some lace I have that I will be using on my Great Gatsby Challenge, due in . . .a month. Yikes again!

While my design will be no where near this elaborate, it's still nice to think I haven't got it ALL wrong.

(the shoes are pretty awesome too)

Anyhow, enjoy today's post and wish me luck as I continue with designing (which right now is really just a bunch of ideas with editing and a good dose of compromises).