Dress Up

/  The 1960's Decade: Mine is the one in the center /

For today's Dress Up post, instead of a dress that I would love to own, we are featuring one that I actually made. The Junior fashion design class puts on a fashion show near the end of their fall semester and this year the theme was Fashion After Five: The Clothes and Culture of the Cocktail Hour. Each Junior was assigned a decade from 1920's-1990's and created a classic LBD inspired by that decade. As you can see in the caption above, my decade was the 1960's. The show was last Wednesday November 15th at the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, NY. Most exciting news of all? Each decade had two winning pieces that will get to be displayed in the museum until June. One of the winners from the 1960's decade? Yours truly. The same people in our class always win, so it was exciting to see some other fellow classmates get the chance, as well.  The other winner from the 60's is the dress second from the right in the image above. 

/ Original 1960's Inspiration Board /

My initial inspiration started with the board above. I knew I wanted to use wool and a heavier fabric and knew I wanted a high collar, and after my two rounds of 25 rough sketches, I knew what I wanted to make. Oddly enough, it turned out almost exactly as I had planned. 

/ Close-up of the collar that I beaded and earrings I made /

/ L: My dress the night before the show putting finishing touches on / R: My beautiful model, sorority sister, and friend, Brittany looking perfectly mod /

/ Lining up for the show /

/ Post-show with Brittany and my mom who surprised me with her visit /

Thanks again to everyone who came to see the show! It was really great to be able to share our hard work with people other than classmates and professors for once. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm back home in Texas for the week for the holiday soaking up some warm weather and family.

Dress Up

This week I have noticed that each post has been featured around either a black garment (or accessory) or home decor that includes black. I don' t know about you all, but I go through phases where I'm really into color and prints or I'll wear nothing but black for a couple of weeks. This week was one of those darker colored ones which was probably seen through the darker colored pieces featured. I realized this while pulling this week's Dress Up feature, Lulu*s 'Play it by Panier' black dress. When they say that little black dresses are a classic and a must-have in any woman's wardrobe, I love how I can always find a new style of them. This week's dress sold it for me with the side paniers. I had been familiar with paniers from seeing them featured in skirts and dresses in more recent collections and learning about them in fashion history, but seeing them at a reasonable price point and right now, got me excited for yet another little black dress, yet again. The wide-set paniers against the form-fitted bodice, lower neckline, and flirty length all work harmoniously to create a prefect LBD that is certainly unique and looks excuisitely crafted. For some reason all I want to do is put one on with matte red lipstick and stroll the streets of Paris. A girl can dream.

Also, I can't stop thinking how amazing it would look in a luxurious cream, as well.

What do you think about this week's LBD? Would you try paniers? I'd love to know.