Anya Caliendo

This blog is great. It has some really awesome images that I find pretty inspiring. Not to mention that Anya is from Russia and has that Slavic inspiration, which I LOVE!

Bobby Pin Blog

This is the blog of the woman who wrote Vintage Hairstyling

The Minneapoline

The Minnesotan version of the Satorialist.

Susi.A

She has a ton of vintage images. Loves it!

Fashion Under $100

I love this site. It has so many great links to places to get clothes for less. It's great to see their interpretations of celebrity looks.

The Jo-ann Fabrics in Roseville is moving, so they have a massive clear out sale. All patterns were on sale. 99 cents for Butterick and McCalls, $2 for Vogue, and $1.99 for Simplicity and Burda.

Here's my loot.

Take a look at this website. You can enter yourself into getting some House of Harlow jewelry. Nicole Richie's accessory line that they are giving away is super cute and you should go take a look at it.

http://blog.thefind.com/2010/02/house-of-harlow-1960-valentines-jewelry-...

I have several projects coming up, and I want to make the best dresses that I can. So what I've been doing is researching couture sewing techniques. I think that if I get in the habit of sewing in this kind of fashion, I will get a name for my quality and that is super important to me.

In reality I only have two projects, but they are HUGE! One is making the bridesmaid dresses for one of my friends and the other is making a wedding dress. The nice thing is that the wedding dress that I am going to be making doesn't have a date for the wedding yet. The wedding that the bridesmaid dresses are for isn't until May, but I would still like to get them done sooner than later and have time to make alterations if needed.

One of the most important tools for making a perfect dress, let alone a couture dress is a mock up. Only thing is I am WAY too cheap to buy enough Muslin to make anything. I think that for the wedding dress I will break down and get Muslin and make a mock up, but the bridesmaid dresses are simply being made from commercial patterns so it shouldn't be too hard to make changed.

That is what I need to do, but I really want to design just to design and make clothes. But now that I have a new full time job, that cuts my sewing time down a great deal. Although, it's not like I was sewing a ton before I got my full time job. It would be really great though, to get some dresses that I can sell, so that I have some extra cash laying around.

Something exciting that I was told the other day was that there is a woman who teaches Knitting classes for $20 a session, and she also teaches how to design knitting patterns. That is something that I have really wanted to learn how to do for a while. Mainly so that I can design sweaters and other things that I want to make.

I'm also planning on creating my own dress form that is an exact match to my body. I got really spoiled with dress forms when I worked in the costume shop and I feel like that might be part of the reason that I haven't been sewing so much the past few months. About a year ago, there was an article about how to make your own form in Threads, and it seemed pretty simple. Beside a regular dress form is at least $300!!

I am going to try and start posting something everyday.

I've been thinking about starting my fashion line for some time now. I would love to start making and selling clothes immediately. It would be a great source of income and a great way for me to get my name out there as both a fashion and costume designer. Only catch is the money. There is not way that I can start now because of the fact of student loans, and not really having a steady job. I would almost have to take out a loan to start-up.

Because of this I think that I might have to look at asking for some people to invest. But I don't really want to have to do that because I don't want to have to ask people for their help. To be honest, it's really something that I want to do myself. I want to be able to say that I did it on my own.

Right now I'm looking for somewhere that I can host for free, because there is obviously budget issues. But once I get it up, I think that I can start by putting up the designs and when/ if people start ordering I can make the clothes.

Who knows. I have to think about it some more, and save some more money.

I have had this conversation countless times, and every time we (those I am speaking to) come up with the same consensus. That is, fashion needs to go back to the way that it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I love today's fashion, and find it facinating, but I just think that there are somethings that should have never gone out of style.

I thought it best to show the products of what some of the conversations come up with. By doing so I think that many of you, it not all, will have to agree that we need the Way Way Back Machine.

We will start with Men's fashion. I won't lie, I pretty much hate what men today wear. I have to give designers props from trying so very hard to dress the male population of the world better, and there are some that they have had success with. But I digress.

Here are some looks that have been deemed worthy.

First we have a little bit from the Renaissance/Tudor England era, just because the flowy shirts are nice to looks at. ;)

Then we have the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I have decided that this look looks good on any man.

We of course have to go with something that the men folk would be far more willing to wear and fit in with. I have chosen Cary Grant to demonstrate this look. It's what basically what designers are trying to do today, only a lot more classy. Whatever happened to men wearing suits? I've never ever seen a man that didn't look bad in a suit. And the tie! What happened to the tie. No one wears a tie anymore. This saddens my heart greatly.

And the nice thing with this look is... you don't need jeans. What, blasphemy you say? If you are really having a hard time with this look at old pictures of you grandfather, or old hollywood movie stars. So much more put together! But I'll bend if you must wear denim, please make sure it is Dark  and Fitted. I don't want non of this saggy baggy butt, wide leg, too long crap going on. Guy it may surprise you but, girls like it when we can see you butt in a pair of pants.

Now I shall speak of hair. I'm not much fan of long hair on guys. But that is a personal thing for every one (girl) I prefer the Dandy look. You saw this above with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and his cast mates form Vanity Fair. On guy today has this look down to perfection, and it just so happened he was also in Vanity Fair (Uncredited, and his scenes cut) Who it s the mystery man I speak of? Robert Pattinson. Go ahead, through things at me. but it looks good to me, especially since I am kind of a costume history nerd.

Now for the Women. I'm not going to give nearly as many parimitares as I did the men, because though the look of what we wear has changed over the years, it's just the basics that we are concerned with.

What do we want? Dresses! When do we want them? Now! Yes, We want to go back to a time when women wore only dresses. No, we don't want to go back to that time, we just want it to be more acceptable to wear a dress again. How and when did that happen? We go to a store and all we can find most of the time are pants. Dresses, and Skirts please!

Not to mention that we would also like to take back hats, cute handbags and gloves.

For visual aids on this one I've given a smattering of time periods. (They are generally my favorite)

And after that I feel better.

I would like to thank JRMFansite for the photos of Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I do not own any of these pictures (except the ones of my family)

I found a website that will help me become exactly what I want to be. I know it's going to take some time and some elbow grease, but I found it. Most of what the stuff they had listed was a wardrobe intern and assistant, but that is were I have to start.

Scary thing is...I just sat there staring at the list, thinking "Okay, what am I suppose to do?" I know exactly what I'm suppose to do! Apply damn it! Send my resume! But there is some unknown force holding me back. Well, that force does have one name, and that is money. But it has a million other names too. I'm just too damn scared to leave my safe little world.

I'll never be as happy doing desk work as I would be doing wardrobe and costume work. I know that I just need to grow a pair!!