{Accessories} Earrings – Adia Kibur (similar, similar) // Necklace – Lele Sadoughi // Bracelet – Banana Republic (similar) // Rings – Maison Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen // Tights – Falke // Shoes – Michael Kors
For one of my classes this semester we had to make or alter a garment. I chose one of my favorite skirts. Why would I alter a favorite skirt, you might ask? Well, I bought it too small because I loved the textile (and because I was going to lose weight, duh), so it was actually the perfect candidate for an overhaul.
It took me an hour to take apart the waist band alone. That was in part because sometimes it was hard to distinguish the threads from the material, but mostly just because it was well made. I was already a fan, but now I’m very, very, impressed with J.Crew.
Shopping at Mood was fun, but also a bit stressful. I knew exactly what I wanted in my head, but for a while I had trouble finding it. What you want doesn’t necessarily exist! It was difficult to find something that complemented both the color scheme and the texture. I was about to settle on a a mildly nubby, hot pink textile when I spotted the fabric that I ultimately used. Guess what? It was designed by Alice & Olivia!
Now I can relate to the designers on Project Runway who get back to the workroom and discover that they don’t like their fabric, or that something is wrong with it. I spent HOURS at Mood. I can’t imagine only having 30 minutes to shop! Plus, their budgets are pretty small. My fabric was $30/yard, and luckily I only needed one yard! It would have been a huge bummer if I actually needed to make a full garment. Plus – and I could have seen this coming – my fabric unravels quite easily, so it required extra stitching. That’s something that could easily eat up designers’ precious time.
It was such a cool experience to make a mood board, come up with a vision, and execute it! Granted, my teacher helped a lot – she sewed all the seams on a machine, and I reinforced the edges with hand stitching. I don’t think I’ll ever be someone who creates a garment from scratch, but I love the idea of altering and customizing what I already have. Mood offers free sewing classes which I keep meaning to sign up for, but in the meantime I have a bunch of extra fabric, and I’m just itching to find something in my closet that I can (easily) add it to!
Check out the garment from start to finish:
Outfit photos by Veronica Maldonado. The rest by me.
What's your opinion?