Quilting in the 21st Century

I love quilting effects on clothes, hence my investment in my leather biker jacket.  I love that jacket like I love my mama (hope she never reads this!).  The quilt effect gives the jacket an edge, and yet has the very practical function of keeping me warm due to the layering beneath.  Thumbs up to River Island on this beauty:

River Island Biker Jacket

I guess we like to think of quilting as abit of a hobby, but  its being incorporated into modern fashion successfully and is a current trend this season. Not to mention the rising popularity of the Barbour Jacket.  My favourite has to be this quilted coat in Chloe's Autumn/Wintern 2012 collection.

But my fascination is with creative and artistic quilters who push the boat on traditional quilting techniques. The first is a quilting artist Nina Paley's work is called Air/Nude based around the 4 elements.

Artist and quilter: Nina Paley: Air/Nude
 

Patricia Tina. Known as Pat. Inspired by:

• Trinny and Sussanah and their "Sex Bomb" episode - a glorious romp with mutton dressed as lamb;
• My friend, Vicki, describing blue or green eyeshadow as "mouldy eyelids";
• My husband's great aunt - a wild and wonderful woman who never stopped dying her hair an extraordinary and rather alarming shade of orange; and
• my first ever viewing of "Mame" last Sunday.
• Definitely NOT inspired by any of my red-headed friends, including our luscious ginger Twelves!



 

This colourful creation was made by quilting blogger Sew Kind of Wonderful. 

 

 

I am going to be sampling a few quilting techniques over the next few weeks and if they work, will incorporate them into some of my designs.  So watch this space for pictures of my quilting samples and ideas!

Its a family affair

In my final year of my degree, I decided to address the issue of diversity, or perhaps the increasing lack of diversity in the portrayal of beauty in the media in my dissertation.  This was a challenging subject.  The fashion industry is one that is still heavily controlled by leading brands and media,  which still focuses on a Euro-centric beauty.  Living in a seaside town with a very tiny ethnic minority population, our fashion shows were still showcased using white models, so I thought it best to inject some diversity into in the show in my final year.  Having limited recruits in my town, I called on my beautiful family members and friends to showcase my collection and they quickly became the most popular models of the show.  I have finally got my hands on some of the more elusive pictures that were taken by Photographers Jamie Sweetlove and Simon Rawling.  So I dedicate this post to my all my amazing models who brought my collection to life and showcased what a true cosmopolitan catwalk should really be like!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Models:

Theodora Costley-White

Laila Tisonoka

Topou Daulako

Isa Daulako

Male model: Samuel Costley-White

 

 



Embracing the animal print

So finally the fruits of my research, photo practice sessions and just plain determination to showcase this dress has reaped results.  Two pieces I designed for myself using stretch animal print and nude fabric for the dress and piping for the skirt.

 

 

Accessories:

Chunky necklace: New Look

Red belt: Asos

Nude and Black belt: Asos

Animal skin heels: Zara

 

Some of these accessories may be out of stock as they were bought a few months ago.  If you like this dress, please comment and follow my blog.  My Etsy store is being designed and the collections will go up in a few weeks time once complete.  Here's my skirt with centre piping.  I did not get a chance to model the skirt, but hopefully you get the picture!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Start out: going the DSLR route

I am not a photo-person.  I hate photos.  Not of other people.  Of myself.  Yes, I know, lots of people hate photos of themselves.  Weirdly, even my boyfriend, who is 6 feet tall, well built and as I have been informed 'good looking'.  So the first thing I did, being the analytical person I am, I googled why people hate photos of themselves.  I came across this very interesting blog post: 'Why do we hate seeing photos of ourselves?'.  This gave me some hope, so I dragged my self-esteem out of the garbage bin it had settled itself comfortably in, and gave it a good clean up.  I was going to learn to look at myself, and I mean REALLY look at myself in a photo.  No cringing, throwing up, swallowing my sick, squinting, crying or just plain ripping up the photo.  No, just look straight at the picture and accept myself.

The next leg of my journey required the mastering of the DSLR camera.  Indeed for all you DSLR experts, what I am about to spurt out of my mouth may offend you with its simplicity, but feel free to lend your depth of knowledge in this field in the comments section.  Lucky for me, working as a part-time Fashion lecturer, I was able to sign out a few Canon 600D cameras to test.  I think I have just about grasped the concept of Aperture, ISO and shutter speeds, although my preference has been to stay on Creative Mode or Automatic.  Even on these settings, picture quality in the right light setting is amazing!

Then my wonderful boyfriend sold our HD video camera and we invested in this beauty:

 

 

The Canon EOS 1100d.  It didn't come with a memory card, so we found an old one and staged the photo shoot in our back garden in sub-zero temperatures of the English countryside.  Feeling pretty pleased with my modelling performance, I attempted an upload of the images onto my laptop.  The card had died mid-shoot and no images were captured. 

 

Who said blogging was easy?  Oh yeah, it might have been me.  BEFORE I started one.  To all you bloggers out there, I take my hat off to you, and as I prepare for my next shoot in our back garden/arctic paradise I remind myself 'if you don't succeed the first time, try and try again..'



Was I the last to know?

The first time I heard about them was on an episode of Oprah years ago.  I dismissed the idea.  I saw them again on episodes of Gok's Fashion Fix, and it began to dawn on me as something that could really benefit me.  So I decided to them a try.  I ordered my first shapewear from Amazon in the summer this year.

 

It was tight and the torso length was too long. The boning made it difficult to move naturally and the rubber built up heat very quickly.  Oh, and the rubber smelt of, well, rubber.  No amounts of perfume and deodorant could mask the smell.  Quite frankly, it was very uncomfortable.  But it certainly made a difference to my posture and overall appearance.  So I thought I would look into other more flexible shapewear options.  My aim was get a smoother transition from waistline to thigh, that is, an elimination the tyre roll between them.

 

As it was experimental, I decided to try out Primark's range.  If they didn't work, at least it would have a smaller impact on my bank balance than the more 'upmarket' brands. I bought the full body shapewear (like a swimming costume) and the thigh buster (extends from below the bust to the top of the thighs).  They smoothed out lumps and bumps, but did not povide the support I was looking for around the lower tummy section.  So I sampled the Tesco's magic knickers. Without boning, or something a little stronger, it doe'snt pull in the tummy to create a lovely flat look. I realise that it would depend on your shape, size and what you want to achieve.  As I am now a size 12 (UK), and most of my weight is around my hips, the lower pooch just needed a little sucking in.

 



 

I needed a lighter combination of girdle and magic knickers.  I also still wanted to wear my own bra.  So I hit Ebay with a vengeance.  I certainly did not want to break the bank looking for shapewear!  And then this beauty popped up on my search.  It was relatively cheap and did the trick!  Although I had to return the L for an XXL, it fitted like a dream, and cinched in my waist in without squeezing the life out me.  It also magically gave my bum a pert look and smoothed out any visible panty line.  In fact I am so in love them them I am ordering a couple more for laundry rotation, if you know what I mean..wink wink. Here's the link to the seller.  Although this one is a UK based seller, no doubt the product is being sold by a Chinese based seller too on Ebay.

 

 

Shapewear is definitely becoming more popular, and vary from different levels of support you're looking for and at a wide range of prices, so you can get some on a budget.  Although it will be a process of trial and error, I think the improvement to the way clothes flatter your shape will be well worth the effort.  And to think feminists fought so hard to get rid of the corset!!



 









After happily ever after, what next?

In the afterglow of showcasing my final collection and graduating my Fashion degree, the stark reality of what do with my life was a little too scary to contemplate, so I hibernated for a few months in the summer under the pretext of 'recovery'.



 As Autumn leaves hit the ground, there was no alternative but to bite the bullet and face the question, "What next?".  Living in a bustling seaside town, close to the wild and beautiful Dartmoor in England, Fashion was hardly the life blood of the city.

 

As luck would have it, just before I began to pull my hair out with worry, word of a lecturing position came my way and a few weeks later I began lecturing fashion and textiles at the Art College I graduated from.  I was over the moon, but still had to consider what I REALLY wanted to do with my life! 

 

My collection was much more than the manifestation of my fantastical world in 'Romy' land. It was the culmination of years of change and self-development.  It was the manifestation of how much I had achieved, and an attestation of the happiness and fulfilment I had finally found in my life.

 

Reptile eyes digital print design on silk chiffon

 

Archaic Medusa digital print design on silk jersey

 

For me personally, fashion has been an evolution from following trends to developing my own style.  What I really design everyday, is what I want to wear.  The reality of fashion and style for me is more than the flashing lights and catwalk shows, its about the average woman standing before her bulging closet of ill-fitting clothes and yet this season's trend must haves, sighing, "I have nothing to wear!".

 

As a curvy thirty-something year old, I am beginning to realise that trends have nothing to do with style, and certainly almost never suit every shape and size.  What do I want to design?  Clothes that I want to wear.  Clothes that fit me.  Clothes that flatter a shape that closer to a cocoa cola bottle than a chopstick, and thighs that make a chicken's look like gazelle's. That's what I want to design.  Real- woman clothes.

 

So what's this blog about?  Its a fashion blog showcasing my design inspiration, my production journey and when complete a styling blog to show you how I would style my garment. Lets get started..