Sketch that, proportionally!- Fashion Illustration #1

Hello everybody!

So now that I am blogging for two classes, I'll get to talk to you guys about not only the fashion world from a clothing/ fit standpoint, but from a drawing/ 2D standpoint as well. Maybe you guys will get as interested in this as I am! As you probably guessed, I'm totally excited to be in a class in which we get to talk about fashion AND draw it too. My head is kind of exploding with happiness lol. But enough about me, I'm going to give you the quick nitty gritty for all you up-and-coming-fashion-sketchers, or maybe those who want to draw the human figure a little more realistically.

So the biggest thing in art and fashion both is proportion. You know the key to buying real estate is location, location, location? Well the key to fashion sketching is proportion, proportion, proportion. Lol. If your croquis, or flat fashion sketch, is way bigger on one side than the other, it will definitely confuse the viewer, and your idea- no matter how cool it might look, if the girl isn't proportionate, it won't be conveyed. Notice the picture on the left- imagine if your croquis was drawn like this! Ahh! You can't tell where her waist is, because it looks like her entire torso is her waist; and that's just not how women are built lol. Her neck is... creepily elongated, nobody's thighs and arms are that small, and her head looks huge. It's super creepy, because it is so disproportionate!

Now looking at the good example on the right, see how their waists are defined at one point only, and their hips are in line with their bust and the shoulders look the correct size in relation to everything else. And the neck is a normal length lol.

So the way we talked about keeping everything looking proportionally correct in class is by using a standard measure in which we can relate to every part of the body. Similar to inches, we use "heads". I'll explain that in a second. And so how we start, is we draw a line vertically down our paper, and then draw a normal oval for the head. It should be around an inch tall. And then draw 9 horizontal lines every inch down from the top of that vertical line and number them from 0 to 8. These lines will keep your sketch in proportion. Just remember what every line stands for: 

Good

Bad

0- top of head

1- bottom of head (the space between these two measurements is how the industry came up with "heads" as a measurement)

2- middle of bust

3- waist

4- where the thigh and pelvis connect

5- middle of thigh

6- knees

7- middle of shins

8- ankles

8.5- where your feet should end generally

I hope y'all see what I mean by "heads" now. They literally took the size of a head and measured it against every part of the body. And they did the numbering a little differently than I did, but I figured just a general representation would help those visual learners out there :) This is actually kind of an awesome picture.

If you stay in the ballpark of these numbers, your body should come out looking pretty proportionate. And just as a general rule of thumb, whatever you do to the left side, you do to the right side. That pretty much ensures a good sketch. Granted you probably want to use a ruler first to make sure everything is symmetrical, but once you get going you can do without it.

So I hope these general guidelines help y'all just starting out! For any who enjoy drawing but are a little wary of the human figure, these tips will help you too hopefully! 

As always, vivre la mode tout le monde!

New classes, new blog posts! -Tailoring #1

Bonjour!

Can y'all believe it is 2013 already? Gosh I can't. So here's the deal, I am in two fashion classes that allow us to have blogs now! Woo! So you'll be reading my stuff twice as much :) But don't worry, it's beneficial I promise!

So this class that I am in, Tailoring, is all about the fit of garments. Which is SUCH an important factor when buying or even making something. Because if it doesn't look good on the body, then why buy it? You want to look good, right? Then find clothes that fit. Pants specifically are something that a lot of people find difficult to fit. Hopefully this blog will point you in the right direction next time you are pants shopping!

This picture came out of our textbook Easy Guide To Sewing Pants by Lynn MacIntyre. This is such a great picture! Because I bet you, most Americans don't know that all pants aren't supposed to be as tight as skinny jeans. All pants aren't created equal, y'all! So first rule when pants shopping: Know the occasion. Let's say I'm looking for a new pair of work pants. I like a little more fit to my pants personally, so I would probably go with slacks. As you can see, they fit a little more under the bottom and in through the legs compared to trousers.

Now it's time for fitting. The part that you want to fit first is the waist. When you put on those pants, can you grab a whole bunch of fabric at the waistband? If so, those are too big. Get a smaller size! When you sit, does it gap in the back? If so, you probably should take it to a tailor and get the excess removed in the waistband only, if they fit in the hips.

The second part you look at is the hips. Make sure there are no wrinkles- those indicate a fit problem. In slacks, they are going to rest on your hips, but they aren't going to be snug like jeans, and they aren't going to be loose like trousers.

Now look at the booty. If it looks like you have a wedgie, those pants are too tight in the seat! We call that part the "shelf" in class. You need some more "seat" room. Easily fixable at a tailor or perhaps just see what the next size up looks like. And if you have a saggy grandpa hiney, then those are too big in the back and also the shelf.

I think it is time for some pictures of what I am talking about :)

Saggy under the booty? Bad fit

... He obviously didn't fit the waistband before purchasing

Well that's all for me, hopefully this will help you on your quest on finding the perfect pair of pants! Vivre la mode, tout le monde!

Oh, and let me instill one final piece of advice... plaids must match! At the crotch and at the sides. These pants here clearly don't match at the front crotch. Any print really should match, stripes or dots or flowers- depends on the size for the last two however. It really cheapens a garment if your prints don't match. I know that doesn't have anything to do with fit, but I saw this picture and I knew I just had to tell you anyway :)

Sleeves- Apparel design 1

Hello blog readers,

I feel like talking about sleeves today. Not the tattoos! No no lol. I mean sleeves on garments. When I was around 15 or 16, starting to become more fashionably aware, I thought that sleeves were for old people who wanted to cover up their arms. And because I was just starting to discover how clothes looked on the body, I thought that sleeves weren't for younger people, unless it was cold outside. Even then, I would want to wear something short sleeved under a jacket, because that is what everyone did. (Young teenager fashion doesn't really make any sense lol, that explains why I stood out in high school- I dressed better than most :p) But now that I am older and wiser (in regards to fashion at least, in life- definitely not.) I see that sleeves are just another dimension to a garment. Short, cap, 3 quarter length, long, raglan, puff, kimono, mutton leg, bell, and that's just the tip of the iceberg for the many different varieties of sleeves there are out there. Picture time, then I'll talk about other materials being used in the sleeves on the runway.

Flutter sleeves

Bell

On the runway recently, what's trending now is lace sleeves and even mesh. They are a way of creating a design on the garment but still having skin show through, so you can see the design better. Also, it is an interesting concept for spring or summer looks- having sleeves but they don't add much weight. 

I hope this inspires you to think of sleeves as a design element as opposed to just something functional!

Vivre la mode, tout le monde!

Collars and such- Apparel design I

Hello people of the Internet!

Let me just start off by saying, wow this year is going by fast! It's already November! I bet everyone is starting to wear their winter clothes :) except for Texas, because Texas is stupid and still thinks it's supposed to be hot outside. Anyway, today I am talking about collars. Collars on shirts, dresses, as necklaces, you name it! Collars are really coming back into style. They have a really cool ability to add sophistication to an outfit, while making it still feminine. I saw in my Teen Vogue magazine that collar necklaces are big now (although I was wearing them a few years ago, these are a little different).

I think these are super awesome! The next time I go shopping, I will be sure to buy some! I love the vintage one on the left. It is just enough to give a little wink to a bygone era, but not enough to make you look frumpy. Just be sure to make it modern, either with a nice red lip or a funky shoe or clutch. Don't look like a grandma! See, on the right they put a super bright shirt balanced with the darker collar necklace which is great for fall. No drab, dark outfits just because it is cold!


Now, collars on dresses are also very in, and very cute. Whether you have a mandarin collar, full roll, or Peter Pan, it's sure to look feminine and fashion forward.

So cute :) the middle dress paired with some black lace tights and red boots and a red coat would be awesome for autumn/ winter :) collared shirts don't have to look like the traditional prep school, starched white, uptight shirt. They can look cute and feminine in nice colors, prints and styles as seen below.

Okay, all of these shirts are crazy cute. They are all very classy yet they are not stuffy or uptight.

So that's for this post, I just wanted to share with you my new love of the modern collared shirt, and the bling collar necklaces :) Vivre la mode, tout le monde!

Fit for a princess- Apparel design I

Hey there!

So princesses have been on my mind as of late... Maybe I just need to watch a Disney movie or something. But the person isn't quite what I'm meaning, it's the seam! A princess seam. These have been coming in and out of style during the past few decades, and they're at a lull as of this season. However, they have many great qualities, and I think they should be worn more often! For one thing, they are super stylish! Bordering on asymmetrical, they add some cool visual interest that not many garments nowadays have- because we are focusing on clean silhouettes. These seams go down the middle of the shoulder into the waist seam or all the way down the dress, depending on what kind of garment you are looking at. They can be put in shirts or dresses, any kind of tops really. Another great thing about them, is they're great for fitting! Because they pull in right over the bust and through the midsection and the hips at the same time, they have the ability to be altered to one's body shape just by adjusting that one seam- which will give you a better fitting garment :) so let me show you some cool princess seam garments!

  

I think that white bridal gown is just gorgeous, and see how much more of a fitted look you can get with these really cool seams? And I love the leather jacket, the seam gives you a cool texture and it makes the garment more interesting without distracting from it's simplicity.

I hope this has shed some light on a not so well known type of seam, and I hope it encourages you to look for a garment with these and perhaps try it on and see how well it fits ;) Vivre la mode, tout le monde!

Noteworthy necklines-Apparel design 1

Hola! Oh wait I speak French not Spanish... Salut! ;)

I hope everyone is having an amazing week so far. Today I am going to talk about necklines and how different they can make one look. First I shall list all the different necklines that are out there that I can think of:

• The classic lowered neckline, or scoop
• The V-neck
• The boat neck
• off the shoulder or close to the shoulder edge
• Boat neck's best friend, the bateau
• this one doesn't go off the shoulder, it stops where the bra straps are or the shoulder joint
• The built up neckline, which can include lots of things
• like the kimono neckline, or a small turtle neck, or anything of the sort. 
• The cowl neckline
• This can be draped a little or a lot, can be big or small
• Can be formal or casual depending on what material it is made of
• The sweetheart neckline
• The turtleneck
• Mid-height or can be super tall
• The square neckline
• Traditional jewel neckline, or t-shirt neck

That is all I can think of at the moment, but there are technically many more, because each can be varied in size or width. And depending on what kind of look you are going for, the neckline is very important. If you want something for the office, but buy something low-cut, that is very conflicting. So hopefully this post will help you un-conflict your outfits and convey the meaning that you want to your audience (which is the people that will see your outfit all day) to see. There are more kinds of necklines in the following pictures, my little pea brain couldn't remember all of them off the top of my head.

Now that we know what we are looking at, I'll categorize the necklines based on occasion.

• For business wear, it would be best to keep the neckline straight, high or a small bateau. And if you do a scoop neck, probably 2 inches at the most would be the most you can scoop it without implying something else besides work.

• For casual wear, you can pretty much do any of these; it depends on how comfortable you feel in these. You can do strapless, turtle, spaghetti straps, or just to the traditional jewel neck or v neck. 

• For semi-formal wear, you can go a little more funky. I classify semi formal wear as not as formal as a gown, but not t-shirts and shorts either. The occasion would probably be like a sunday brunch or a nice dinner with friends or even an evening outing with a special someone.

• For formal wear, you have more free reign. Try not to do the simple ones like jewel necks, unless you have another visual point of interest like a big necklace, or a cool back. I love looking at the Queen Ann neck, it is really interesting. I would probably put that one here. I would put asymmetrical under this category as well.

Queen Ann neckline

Some super cool necks

I hope this post has helped you determine the differences between occasions in which you can wear a certain neckline! I hope this helps you in your search for... Whatever you are looking for lol. 

Vivre la mode, tout le monde!

If pirates had peg legs, did they wear peg skirts? -Apparel design 1

Argggh! I mean... Hi everyone :) 

Seems like I have pirates on the brain tonight. I also have peg skirts on my mind. Pirates... pegs... Oooh I have a joke.Where does the Pirate get his coffee? Starrrrrrrrrrrbucks! Haha :) I just had to. Anyway, we talked about peg skirts one day in my fashion class, and I had never heard of them, except for the pictures of patterns in the book. So I figured I'd do some research and report my findings to you.
 So let's teleport back into the early 1900's when the styles of clothing were on the cusp of changing drastically. This look was popular from 1908-1914 and at various points throughout the century. A peg skirt or peg top was modeled after men's peg trousers, which were wide at the hip and tapered off towards the ankle. The peg top was most striking with women's clothes, and it was used in skirts, tops, and suits. "The  look could be subtle, with soft billows at the hips narrowing to a close fitting, but not restrictive, hemline. But the peg top look that got the most attention was anything but subtle". The peg top is a great way to change the shape of garments and the silhouette of the body, giving any outfit some cool visual intrigue. 

Picture time!

I am kind of in love with this yellow dress on the bottom. The silhouette is so visually interesting! And I know that gray skirt on the left side is really crazy and over exaggerated, but it's a super awesome representation of a peg skirt.

Thanks to this fashion encyclopedia for the information! Check out the website! Click here

So I hope y'all found this as interesting as I did! Vivre la mode, tout le monde!