A Cute Dress for a Cute Girl

I've decided to christen this week "Children's Clothing Week!" because when Gracie and I went up to the capitol to take her baptism dress pictures, we also took pictures of her in all the other clothes I made for her in my Sewing for Children class, so why not post them all in one week?!

I absolutely love this dress. It was my first project in class and definitely my most favorite one. It fits Gracie's style perfectly and I also see my design aesthetic in it as well. Favorite parts about this dress include the peter pan collar, the piping on the sash, and the little pocket on the skirt (I ended up putting pockets on 3 out the four projects I did, because we had to incorporate things we learned in class and pockets were always easy to add. Haha so there's the pocket disclaimer!).

Man, I totally love this dress, and Gracie looks just adorable in it. Kids clothes have been really fun to make! They are cute, and they also use less fabric and are easier to make because they don't require darts and such. Yay, so fun! I think I'll be making more children's clothing again in the near future. :)

Gracie's Baptism Dress

Gracie got baptized this past Saturday and it was a super special day for her and the rest of the family. Kinda crazy because being eight years old means she's not really a baby anymore! :(

I took a sewing for children class last semester and for one of my projects I decided to make Gracie's baptism dress. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I had the chance to do it for her. I think I would have redone a few things for sure, and it was really sad because the zipper in the back broke, so if she were to ever wear it again I'd have to put in a new zipper. Overall though, I think the dress turned out really beautiful, probably mostly because it was on a beautiful little girl! It was a simple white dress with tulle on the skirt, and then I sewed gold beads as though they were cascading on the dress. The beading took FOREVER, but I'm so glad I did it because it was really cute.

We went up to the capitol building in Salt Lake City to get some nice pictures with my new Canon camera. We had fun, though Gracie was definitely getting tired by the end. Anyway, enough talk! You can see the pictures for yourselves and decide what you think.

Isn't she such a cutie? Man, I love this little girl SO much! We had so much fun spending three whole weeks with together over the break and I'm so proud of her for making the decision to get baptized! I sure am lucky to have Gracie as my sister and best friend for eternity. :)

Fashion Friday: The Making of an Haute Couture Gown, and Other Thoughts on the Fashion Industry

I realize the phrase "Fashion Friday" is nothing too original and sounds like something you might use in a kindergarten class, but it works, so bear with me here.. But whenever I see a cool or funny video or something to that effect, I bookmark it so I can watch it later if I want, or just have a funny youtube video marathon one day! So I have a bunch of cool fashion videos saved and I figured I'd share one every Friday because that sounds fun, right? Okay maybe it only sounds fun to me, but we're gonna do it anyway.

Today's video shows the process of making an haute couture look. It's a Christian Dior from their Spring/Summer 2011 haute couture collection. I realize it's seven minutes, which is kind of long, but if you at least watch the first two or three you get the gist of things. I couldn't help but watch the whole thing but that's because I love to sew and design and it all mesmerized me so much!


After watching this, I realized one of the reasons why haute couture is so expensive, because holy cow, that look must have taken ages to make. I love their meticulousness, with all the white thread sewn to keep the pieces together, how carefully and precisely they cut each piece of fabric, and how they treat everything so delicately. Oh and those pleats! That was really cool. Also the tulle layering had such a beautiful effect on the runway. It's kind of funny how they all wear white coats, it reminded me of a lab or something. I guess that's so they don't get the clothes they're working on dirty? Though it seems a little excessive to me.

Oh also, I wish those people who made these things got credited somehow! It seems a little unfair that the designer gets credited for the garment when it really seems like these people do the brunt of the work. That would be an interesting thing to look at and go more into depth on.

Something I've been struggling with lately in fashion is wondering what the point of it all is. A part of me can't help but think they're just clothes. But another part of me wants to ooh and ahh at the sight of it all because it is really really beautiful.

It can be pretty easy to get caught up in either extreme...hating the fashion industry because it can seem so pointless and shallow, or loving it all because of the beauty and thinking it's all perfect. It's not perfect. The fashion industry has flaws--many of them--that I'm trying to get past so that I can continue to do what I love. But it is a beautiful form of art as well and it has a right to be appreciated.

It definitely makes me feel something when I see a gorgeous garment and have to take a breath because it's just perfection. I love seeing that and I hope to one day create it. I'm working at it but I know I'm not even close to being there yet.

I guess it's just important to look at fashion with an eye from each perspective. It's good to be aware of the issues in the fashion industry and it's great to try and change those things for the better. And it's also still very much okay to love fashion in all its beauty and art. Right now I think I'm trying to figure out how to have a happy middle ground in between the two. It's kind of difficult, but I think it's very doable too.

Anyway, I think I'll probably talk more about that in the months to come...I'm giving a persuasive speech in my public speaking class on it and once it all comes together maybe I'll put a copy of the speech on here or just write a blog post on what I talked about. But for now, enjoy your Friday night and the rest of your weekend, I know I will! (And let's hope the Cougars can scrape out a win tonight against Boise State haha!)

Fall 2014 Provo Fashion Week: The Aftermath

Dannng it was such a long and amazing weekend! Provo Fashion Week was awesome and thank you SO MUCH to anyone that came!

Last week I was so incredibly stressed trying to get everything done in time and not feeling like I had any spare seconds to do anything. Yesterday at church I was pretty much falling asleep the whole time and when I got home, I crashed for three and a half hours. I'm a little sick too, I think all the stress and everything really got to me.

the cute bags are all by Anne B! They had a pop up shop at PFW so we did a collaboration and showed the bags on the runway. They're so cute, go check them out!

So yes, I'm kind of sad it's all over, but at the same time, I'm relieved because it means I finally get some down time to do what I want! I'm going to work on video-making, try and find a job, catch up on some tv shows, and obviously do stellar in school!

Despite all of that, Provo Fashion Week was so much fun! All of my eight models were spectacular and the event was wonderful. It was at the Provo Library ballroom, which made for a really cool and professional looking venue. Despite all the stress they cause, I absolutely love fashion shows and they always remind me how much I love designing clothes and doing what I do.

photo cred: Ryan Houston Photography

I will post more pictures soon but you can find a ton on my instagram or if you search the hashtag #ProvoFashionWeek on instagram you'll find a ton there too! Thanks for all the support and I'm excited for future endeavors!

Provo Fashion Week April 2014 Video

I finally got a free moment riding on the frontrunner to my parent's house this past weekend where I got to work on this video! I've been so busy with fashion stuff that movie making has definitely been put on the back burner. I have a bunch of videos to make and I'm hoping I'll be able to start working on them after everything from the fashion show dies down.

Of course, I'm still obsessed with everything fashion right now so it's no surprise I worked on this particular video haha. Watching it makes me soooo excited for Provo Fashion Week this Saturday! This upcoming show is going to be even bigger and better, and I absolutely ADORE my collection for it, so I'm really excited to show it to everyone.

Anyway, watch the video, and if you like what you see, get a ticket to either one of the Saturday shows and come to the show! And then come say hi to me afterward. :) I can't wait!

[PFW Spring 2014] Elephant Print Dress

I realized I never posted about this dress..oops! These days I'm so scatterbrained, but I'm trying so hard to post more, especially leading up to Provo Fashion Week!

This dress was one of my favorites. I got the cute elephant print fabric from LA in the fashion district last year and think it's such a great fabric! I had the idea for doing an asymmetrical drop-waist dress, and I think it worked out pretty well, though I wish it would have had a little more of a wow moment. I also would have made it a little longer, but that was just a mistake on my part. I'm short so I always make my dresses to fit me and then they end up being a little shorter on the models..oops! I do love the pretty-ness and simplicity of this look though.

Thanks to my sister Carina for modeling!

Also Provo Fashion Week tickets are on sale so you should probably go buy a ticket to the show now!

Provo Fashion Week tix on sale NOW!

Yep, that's right. Provo Fashion Week is in less than two weeks! It's Saturday, October 11, and I'm soooo excited! It's pretty much all I can think about these days, with obvious good reasons. It's going to be great!

Here's what you need to know:

WHEN: Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 3:00 and 7:00 PM (I will be showing my collection at both of these shows

WHERE: Provo Library Ballroom in Provo, UT

WHO: 25+ local fashion designers (including me!) and over 150+ models!

WHY: Because fashion is awesome, fun, beautiful.. and what you should really be asking yourself is why not???

HOW: Got to this link and buy tickets. It's that easy and it will be great money spent, I guarantee it!

Really though, I'm so excited about my collection! I personally think it's pretty cute (in all my non-biased opinion) and it's my best collection yet. I'm going to start posting a lot of previews for it on my instagram up until the show so be sure to stay tuned there.

Also, the other designers doing this are AMAZING. I have been following some of them for a while, like Nephi Garcia (his designs inspire me SO much, he's really good), Lily Bride Designs, and Haunted Head Fashion, and am kind of in awe that I get to show a collection at the same event. Not sure how I got so lucky! It's going to be really cool, and afterward you can go and meet these people and socialize with all your favorite fashion designers and see their absolutely beautiful collections. And of course, don't forget to come say hi to me!

Please come! Even if you barely know me or don't know me, it will make my day to see you there. If you're reading this, it's your personal invitation from me to attend. You have no idea how much I'd love it :)

Oh, and I got featured on the Utah Fashion Insider blog where you can read my bio on how and why I got into fashion!

Current State of the Union

If I had to give one simple word for how life is going right now, it'd be "great!"

No lies, life is so SO good, and it makes me really happy to say that I've never ever been in a better place in my life. College especially has been rocky, but I'm doing so well. I'm so happy!

When I took a break from school a year and a half ago, it was really really hard. I honestly didn't want to, but I knew it was ultimately the best thing for me. I hadn't been doing well in school and I was dealing with a lot of anxiety around that as well. So getting out of that was good, but I was in limbo for a while with a job at JC Penney that didn't last long until I kind of got some steadiness with my job at the daycare.

Before all that, I'd been dealing with an eating disorder for some time, though I had recovered from that by the time the break from school happened. I was maybe going to start taking classes again last January, a year after I'd stopped, but in the end it didn't feel right, and I'm glad I didn't, because not too long after that I relapsed back into my eating disorder and it was pretty bad. I'm not gonna go into details about that right now, but I was able to get back into therapy and pull myself out of that relapse a few months later.

The point I'm trying to make is not that my life is horrible, because it's not! I love it so much and I've had so much good happen to me to that I'm just not mentioning right now, like fashion shows, great friends, fun activities, an amazing job, etc. I'm just trying to say that it's been such a long time since I have felt normal. With an eating disorder, depression, and anxiety coming in and out of my life, after a while, it feels like that's the way things are supposed to be, and you just deal with it because that's all you can do.

But right now, I feel none of that, and it's amazing and also really weird haha.

Sometimes I keep thinking that something must be wrong, because something has always been wrong, but alas, life is just good right now, and I'm beginning to realize that a good, and normal life is a real possibility. A happy one! Bad things will happen again, and I will hopefully be ready when they do, but for now, I'm enjoying just being happy and me. It's taken years of difficulties, and months of therapy and bajillion amounts of faith, but if that's what I had to do to get here, then I'm pretty good with that.

So yes, school is really good. I'm doing pretty well in my classes and going to all of them and enjoying them thoroughly. I'm just face painting for work right now, which is really fun and chill. I'm making good money but I only have to work a few hours a week. I'm dating no one right now and going on no dates, but I legitimately do not care, and I'm happy with that attitude. I have a fashion show coming up in less than TWO WEEKS and I'm so psyched. Things are going soooo well for it (and you should COME!).

But most importantly, I'm just in a good place in my life, and that's the best thing of all. :)

Getting Really Excited for Provo Fashion Week...

I worked on this dress yesterday and today, and I swear I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I cannot stop gushing over how much in love with it I am! The layering of the sheer stripes over the floral really works well for it. :)

If you wanna see this picture on instagram, it's here! Also, if you wanna follow me on instagram, you can go here.

In other news, I've just finished the first season of Gilmore Girls today and I can say I'm officially hooked! Haha :) Mostly I just watch it while I'm sewing, so it still feels productive. Man, it's so funny and cute though. I love love love it.

Have a good rest of your weekend, folks!

[PFW Spring 2014] Look #4: Elephant Shirt + Black Pencil Skirt

This is a pretty simple look, but I really like it. The skirt is really fun with the detailing on the side (it's some snakeskin looking fabric on the side) and the shirt has a pattern of little elephants on it! I got the shirt fabric in LA last year on my trip to California. I think it's just like the cutest thing ever and I used it on another dress too! It's a more business-y outfit but I like the look and especially love the way it looks on my sister, Sidney (the model).

Pop over here if you'd like to see runway photos or here to see other looks from this show.

[PFW Spring 2014] Look #3: Green Dress

So usually when I buy fabric, I try to find it for a good price because "starving college student," "poor," "all that cool stuff." But with this dress, I wanted needed this exact color of green... the color of a traffic light. Isn't it soooo pretty? I think so too. I basically search far and wide for this color, which really isn't saying much considering Utah County's lack of good fabric stores. I ended up getting it at the Joann's in American Fork for like $10/yd (which for me is definitely quite pricey, considering I don't normally buy fabrics over $3/yd). It was the perfect green so I consented.

I'm really happy with how it turned out too, so I'm glad I got it. It's actually kind of a soft denim-ish fabric, and the black pieces are an almost suede (not quite there) that I got from Walmart. You'd love the texture if you could touch it up close. Also in the back, there's kind of a cutout at the top of the zipper. You can't really tell so I figured it was worth mentioning.

Thanks to my sisters for modeling all of my looks! Sidney is pictured here. Leave a comment with your thoughts! This one was definitely one of my favorites in this collection :) For runway photos go here!

[PFW Spring 2014] Look #2: Pink Dress

I love the simplicity and brightness of this dress. It was really flowy (for lack of a better word ha) too which gave it a great look on the runway. I had fun using this tutorial to make the bodice of the dress and then layered the bottom as well. I'd wanted to use tulle for the top and layer some of the bottom with tulle as well, but it's a pretty unique color and didn't even come close to finding a tulle that matched in the slightest. Luckily though, I found this fabric at Walmart for like a dollar/yd., so super huge score there! I really am happy with how it turned out. 

If you want to see photos of it on the runway, you can go here. Let me know what you think!

[PFW Spring 2014] Look #1: Maxi Skirt

So I kind of love this look, especially the skirt, because it was honestly made on such a whim (a really good whim though!). It was less than a week to the show and I still had like two half looks to complete (this skirt and another one) so I was a little freaked out. I bought this fabric forever ago from Joann's for like $3 a yard and it caught my eye one night when I was struggling to feel inspired.

So I played around with draping a little, realized it would make a beautiful maxi skirt, and whipped it up in one night! Haha sometimes I really surprise myself. I'm insanely happy with how it turned out though. I think that fabric was clearly meant to be made into a maxi skirt.

This shirt is one of my new favorites. It's pretty simple but really cute. I did a little thing called reverse applique on the green triangles and was very pleased with the result. :)

Thanks to my sister Carina for modeling! I think I'm pretty ready to wear this look sometime, I just have to hem the skirt first because my sister is about four or so more inches taller than me and she's wearing heels in these photos haha. Let me know what you think!

For pictures of this look on the runway, go here.