Let’s start off my first blog by simply saying, being a fashion designer is hard. It is in very many ways, confetti of the heart. I am a junior fashion design student in the south, and I want to design clothes that everyone wants to wear, with the exception of the girls who are convinced that turtle necks were invented to choke them, that everyone wants to see their cleavage, and thereby, their under wear. (I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR BRA! Do you all understand that???? You are a mole on the face of the fashion industry!) I design for modest people. I design for people who want to make a statement, but also not look like a crazy person. What gets me, is most designers see my future as an “Old Navy designer” : Designing for the masses, using the cheapest, trashiest material possible.
Let’s get this straight: People like to feel good about themselves. People like to wear nice things, but this industry is so twisted that the only things that the masses can afford are trash. I want to design anti-trash (I’m not sure that means anything). I want people to afford what is in my store, and be proud to wear it.
Here is the issue with my mission (that while I type this I am getting riled up over) I. have. to. graduate. At the moment, that is seemingly impossible. I am in a flat pattern making class, and it seems like fate is out to get me at every turn. I have spent the whole weekend up to this point redrafting patterns that I messed up the first time around (even though I have no idea how I did). It wouldn’t be so bad if my teacher was not a psycho. She can be an understanding psycho if the stars align and the wind is blowing in a certain direction upon the walls of our sewing lab. Alas, if I am going to work to get women everywhere proud of who they are (Helen Reddy is roaring somewhere) I have to get through it.
As I leave you with this first installment. My fashion tip for the week: go back to the basics. Every wardrobe needs a basic white t-shirt. Invest in a nice one so it will last you a while. American Apparel sells awesome basic shirts (organic ones too!). Once you are armed with a basic white t-shirt wear it with a voluminous a-line skirt in the summer (fun color! Be brave! Go orange!) or you could wear it with jeans and a chunky cardigan in the fall or winter. Go crazy- get a black one while you’re at it.
