A MOMENT OF INSPIRATION...AN IMPROMPTU MOODBOARD

Inspiration

I am always fascinated about the way inspiration can suddenly strike out of random moments and situations which aren't inspiring to begin with...This is what happened to me this morning as I set to rummage through one of my fabric boxes looking for something...Suddenly, the polka dot fabric sprung to my attention as well as the lace...As I randomly lay them on top of each other the familiar feeling of gathering objects, textures and images together in order to find design inspiration started to come over me...The two fabrics meant only one source of inspiration for me...Vintage! So I suddenly remembered about a shoe box full of vintage buttons and lace borders and as I excitedly dug them out of their forgotten place, I started to experiment with different angles and ways of laying them on top of each other...Inspiration started pouring in as I realized I was in the process of creating a mood board, one of the staring points of the fashion design process.. As I looked at it with excitement, I was aware that something was still missing and that it didn't feel quite right yet, it needed just one more thing to be completed...What could it be? I turned and gazed around my tiny studio with a definite feeling that there must be something there that would be the perfect finishing touch for it and then... Bingo! The lovely postcard of the fabulous Coco Chanel (one of my fashion heroines and biggest inspirations) my boyfriend brought me back when he went to see a Man Ray exhibition in town, called my attention and seemed to say "Here I am"! That was it! Exactly what I needed for this mood board to be completed! Needless to say that I've now got a thousand new designs in my head inspired by this, and very little time to realize them, but sooner or later I shall find the time to get sewing and dressmaking to bring some of this inspiration alive! Have a wonderful day :-) Elena x

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CHANGING THE FACE OF FASHION. ETHICAL LABELS AND LEARNING TO MAKE YOUR OWN CLOTHES

Fruit Check Shirt Dress- Cream

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time working at LOWIE's, an up and coming, designer boutique in Herne Hill, SE London. Shop owner and designer Bronwyn Lowenthal sells her ethically manufactured , vintage inspired collection in the affluent neighbourhood of SE24 alongside some accessories from other talented London based designers. The collection includes an array of feminine and flattering pieces, including some vintage inspired 1940s shirt dresses and handmade organic cotton knitted tea dresses, gorgeous nautical  and summer fruits  printed pieces , embroidered details on sundresses, beautiful handmade sweaters and cardigans all made of organic or recycled cotton and some gorgeous leather accessories including the embroidered leather bum bags and the stunning quilted waist obi belts.

Summer Cotton Tea Dress- Blue

During the time I spent working there I was struck by the lack of appreciation towards the connection between ethically manufactured goods and their subsequently slightly higher prices, if comparing the shop's merchandise to other labels offering garments of equal craftsmanship. Customers who walked into the shop and browsed through the collection, all seemed to love what was on offer, but often complained prices were too high.

Personally, if you think about it, paying £168 for a beautiful handmade, organic cotton knitted tea dress, or £145 for a unique summer fruit print shirt dress ,is not too much at all, when you consider these garments have been ethically produced, which means all those involved in the design and manufacturing process have been paid fair wages and worked in clean and safe conditions.

Pintelle Cardi (recycled cotton)

As a designer and dressmaker I perfectly know the amount of time and hard work that goes into designing and constructing each single garment and accessory that makes up a collection and people in the past knew this full well too and where therefore willing to pay more for what they bought and maybe buy less, but they certainly knew and appreciated the real value of their clothes and accessories.

The same cannot be said about today's fast foods/fast disposable fashion society. Nowadays, we can go to a high street retailer and pick up a garment that's taken hours to design and make for a ridiculously cheap price without really questioning the reason why we are paying so little for our purchase, without really making the connection between the cheap price and the wages the people involved in the manufacturing chain have been paid, nor their working conditions. We've lost touch with the reality and real value of clothing manufacturing and not many people these days get to make their own clothes like our grandmothers used to. Ethical fashion labels such as LOWIE  are contributing to a revolution that's slowly but surely taking place in the world of fashion as more and more labels start to go down the ethical route. Together with the growing popularity of and interest in sewing classes and dressmaking workshops  they are slowly changing the fashion world. The two go hand in hand and complement each other, as the more people learn about the process, time and effort involved in sewing and dressmaking the more willing they will be to pay a slightly higher price for their clothes. So here is some food for thought lovely people..learn to make your own, buy ethical and help to make the world a better place!

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A CLASSIC AUDREY HEPBURN STYLE PENCIL DRESS IN ROLAND MOURET FABRIC

Not long ago I found this gorgeous end of roll Roland Mouret brocade/devore fabric in  my local fabric shop in Brixton (SW London) for a mere £6 per meter. I know! What a great bargain! Its vintage brocade look lent itself perfectly to the classic, timeless pencil dress I wanted to make as an example for my sewing classes and dressmaking workshops.

I am proud to say that I am thrilled with the final, absolutely gorgeous Audrey Hepburn meets the current blue trend result!

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UPCYCLING THROUGH DRESSMAKING. FROM 1970S DRESS TO 1940S TEA DRESS IN 15 STEPS!

I loved my 70s dress and used to get lots of compliments every time I wore it, but it had been sittingin in my wardrobe unworn for the past 3 years, so I decided it was time to give it a re-fashioning and turn it into a more flattering, waist hugging, cleavege showing 1940s tea dress! So here is a little guide to how I did it so that you can try your hand at a different dressmaking project too!

Step 1

STEP 1. Unpick the collar and using some fashion tape or tailor chalk draw a v-neck shape making sure you mark the centre line as a reference. Mark 2cm seam allowance (left img) above the v-neckine line.

Step 2

STEP 2. Cut along the neckline marking starting by making a slit on the shoulder line and continue all the way down both sides of the neckline. Remove the button plackets.

Steps 3&4

STEPS 3 & 4. Measure approx. 4cm from the edge of the original back neck opening and mark the new neckline making sure it meets the front neckline at a nicely shaped angle (right pic.) Proceed to pinning the front of the bodice and stitch leaving 1cm seam allowance.

Steps 5&6

STEPS 5 &6. Cut along the new back neckline opening (left pic). Fold the edge of the neckline by approx. 7mm and stich close to the folded edge (right pic) Press the new seam flat and fold over itself topstitching on the right side of the neckline.

Steps 6&7

STEPS 6&7. Mark the new waistband shape at the front and back of the bodice, making the centre front aprrox. 4-5cms higher than the side front, and the centre back just 1cm higher than the sides. Cut out the top bodice and start marking dart lines putting one dart on each side of the front and back centre lines deciding on the distance you would like them to be from your centre lines. In my case darts were necessary to obtain a fitted waistline as the original dress did not have any bodice shaping. Proceed to forming approx 1cm wide darts (or whatever measurement fits you better). Press the darts towards the sides.

STEP 8&9. Once you have your waistband nicely shaped proceed to stitch a gathering line approx 3-4mm from the bottom edge of the top section of the bodice and gather so that it fits the waistband. Attach the upper bodice to the wistband stitching only just above the gathering line. Press the seam.

Steps 10&11

STEPS 10&11. Decide the length of your sleeve (without the cuffs) and mark a straight cutting line measuring from the the wrist line up to your desired length. Cut off the lower section of the original sleeve and use this to cut out the sleeve cuffs. Decide how deep you'd like these to be and double that measurement adding an extra 2cms seam allowance. Mark your cuffs and cut them out unpicking the side seams of the original sleeve to obtain a single layer strip. Measure around your arm were your newly cut sleeve ends to determine the width of the cuffs. Transfer the measurements onto your cuffs and cut out to the desired length (remember to add 2cms seam allowance on the sides too) You can now proceed to folding your cuffs in half legthwise (with right sides of fabric together), pin them and stitch 1cm from the edge.

Steps12&13

STEPS 12&13. Cut off about 5mm off cuffs' seam allowance. and press the seam. Stitch a gathering line about 5mm from the edge of the sleeve and gather to the same measurement as the cuffs.

Steps 14&15

STEPS 14&15. With the cuffs inside out, put them over the sleeves making sure these are on the right side and the edge of the sleeves matches those of the cuffs. Pin and stitch 1cm from the edge. Press the seams downwards. Fold the cuffs over and press. Turn the top edge of the folded cuff in by about 5mm and hand stitch around the sleeve edge just above the stitch line between the sleeve and the cuff and voilà... your 1970s to 1940s frock dressmaking project is now complete!

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MY EARLY BLOGGING DAYS...

Hi everyone and welcome to my sewing, dressmaking and vintage fashion blog! This blog is my latest and newest project and I only launched it yesterday after much labour to get the design right and getting to grips with how things work on blogger! So this is like my blank canvas upon which I will create an exciting and informative picture that I will be proud to share with everyone...So bear with me and with the empty pages, and keep checking in as they will be slowly, but surely be filled with all sorts of lovely stuff! In the meantime I leave you with this beautiful and quirky 1950s dress. I absolutely love those stripes and the way the full skirt seems to have been created out of panels with a pettycoat underneath to hold the full shape, rather than the usual full circle pattern. To die for! I wish you all a wonderful, creative and inspiring day :-) Elena x


                        
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Vintage inspired dressmaking. The 50s full circle dress

Being a lover of vintage fashion, I could not have left this gorgeous 50s dress out of my teaching schedule. Glamorous, feminine and playful, this dress is a favourite with my clients. Whether you are an intermediate sewer or a beginner who has mastered straight stitching and made some basic items, you can successfully complete this project in the three 3 hour sessions course I offer. I have chosen to make a summer version of it in this beautiful printed cotton fabric I stumbled upon while rummaging through the shelves of my local fabric shop, but this dress lends itself to a wider variety of light to medium weight fabrics, depending on the season or occasion you'd like it for. I am feeling inspired to make another one in a dark medium weight denim to achieve a more dramatic bold effect. I'll make sure to keep you posted on the final results! Click here for details about this dressmaking course. Xx

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