Run, Run, Runaround

I am loving this summer, but I would also love if it would slow down just a bit!  Does anyone else feel the same way?

One of the many things keeping my busy was a fantastic week-long Susan Khalje Couture Sewing Seminar in Chicago, IL.  It was so wonderful to see Susan again after taking her class two years ago! I was so excited to have to opportunity to benefit from her many years of couture and industry experience. She is a really wonderful person and teacher who manages to make the amazing attainable. I also enjoyed getting to know my fabulous classmates. The seminar consisted of about eight other women who came from all different walks of life and interest levels. There were other professional designers, hobbiests, and couture enthusiasts. One gal, Erin Young, is a positively delightful designer and dress-maker located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her project was a gorgeous champagne colored sheath dress covered in hand sewn taupe lace for the mother of a bride. It was stunning, but somehow, I think Erin might be done with lace for a little while after that project!

I also had the pleasure of sitting next to Rhonda Buss, whom I have deemed "The Woman Who Does Everything." After chatting with her for one week, I discovered that she is active in the Haute Couture Club in Chicago, she facilitates the adoption of rescue dogs, and owns and flies her own airplane. What the...what?  All I can say is 'Wow.' Of course, Rhonda, not being satisfied with the work load of a mere mortal, decided to work on two projects during the class: a haute couture Chanel Jacket and a magical strapless dress made out of a novelty fabric she found in Venice, Italy (There are pictures on her website!). Soooo fancy!

Rhonda also brought in some of her own hats made by Chicago Couture Milliner, John Koch. She was nice enough to let me model one of his creations, pictured below. You can clearly tell from the photos that I hate modeling couture hats and having my picture taken. Hate. On a side note, does anyone else think that there should be a "sarcastic" font? I digress.

What? I should actually say something about the project I worked on during the class? Well, okay. Since I had never tried my hand at one before, I decided to create an asymmetrical one-shoulder dress. I wanted to hone my draping and ruching skills on a dress-form since it is a technique so commonly used on bridal gowns. The result was this little sassy number. The fabric I had brought to the class for the skirt ended up not working out, so I purchased this vibrant watermelon colored silk dupioni.  It was so much fun to work with a color other than white! The bodice fabric is, of course, the same hemp silk blend that I've used in the rest of my line. I am still putting the finishing touches on this dress (the class was only one week, people!) but soon I will post better pictures so you can see the the pleats that fan from the side seam out across the bodice.  It really turned out quite lovely. And sassy.

Me and Linda, another super-cool class mate. 

I should be wearing heels for this picture. 

Hat by John Koch

Hat by John Koch

 PS. Rhonda and I share the same birthday. Must be a Sagittarius thing, right?  HA!

Photo Shoot!

I have just seen the first tantalizing photos from this weekend's shoot with Leah Dunbar and I am seriously freaking out! Both Melissa and Leah totally rocked these photos and I couldn't be happier with the results.  They were too good to keep to myself so I've posted a few here to give you a glimpse of what is to come! Look for my entire line on ETSY.com and USTrendy.com very soon! 

Pardon Fashion Show Video!

Sqee! I just saw the Pardon Fashion Show video! It's a great way to get a feel for how much energy was at the show. It aslo gives a nice glimpse of what beautiful movement hemp/silk lends to the dresses. My lovely ladies come on at about 3 min. 50 sec. 

Uh, sorry about the girl in the bikini.  She doesn't really make much sense here. 

The Pardon Fashion Show: A Feral Affair!

Wow!  It actually happened!

The Pardon Fashion Show: A Feral Affair turned out to be an amazing fête of fashion! It was an absolute pleasure to debut my line of ready to wear wedding dress at event with such a great energy and enthusiastic turnout!

Having my collection ready (well…almost) for the show proved to be a monumental task. I had not received my patterns from Chicago until the very end of December which means I had essentially one month to make five couture wedding dresses. Sure. No problem.

It certainly would not have been possible without the help and support from so many friends and family. My wonderful husband, Dan, and his mother, Karen, were instrumental in making sure I made it to the fashion show in once piece. My models were making sure I was eating enough (hilarious, right?). They would not have even had makeup for the show had it not been for my mother. My friend, Ricki, shown below in her fabulous neon pastel jumpsuit, not only coiffed my models to perfection, but she also proved to be extremely effective at coaching me out of a major melt-down. Let me just say, that is not an easy task.

Fie! 

Said breakdown occurred when I realized I was going to end up one dress short of presenting my entire collection. Of course I was sewing up until the last minute and I was simply unable to address a few snags to my satisfaction that I had run into on the Juliet Dress. I also learned a thing or two about how long it takes to sew a ruffle, which will be handy on future projects. Every obstacle is an opportunity to learn something for the future!  With one dress out of the running, I was distraught about letting down Sophia, my model, and Maria, my veil collaborator. Then my ingenious husband suggested that Sophia could just wear my wedding dress.

What the…what?

The man with the plan. 

Trust me, dear reader, that I do not understand the physics that allow Sophia and me to fit into the same dress.  We are, without exaggeration, at least three sizes apart.  The only possible explanation is that the universe cut me some slack that day. Not only did the dress fit her, it looked fantastic!  It was the exact right style for her body type! Sophia, along with Stephie, Chelon, Alicia, and Karli all looked radiant as they did their little turn on the catwalk.

By the way, how lovely are those veils?? One of the best parts about doing a show like this is collaborating with other artists.  I was super lucky to snap up Maria, an amazing art metal’s student at UW – Stout. She made the beautiful veils pictured below out of a super cool plastic mesh, feathers, hopes, dreams, unicorn hair, and I don’t even know what else. They were the perfect touch for a Feral Fashion Show!

Next up is the Menomonie Wedding Fair on Sunday, February 20^th from 12:00 – 4:00pm. Come by, say Hi, and find out more about Something New, LLC!

Last minute substitution: my actual wedding dress. It's a long story. 

Does she look familiar?

Awww!  They're so pretty!

Photographer: Jeremy Nelson and Leah Dunbar / Venue: The Raw Deal  

Beth and Craig

Talk about a picture perfect could not have asked for better weather day for a wedding!  Mid eighties, sunny and with a light breeze. Spectacular! It had rained almost continuously for two weeks previous to Beth and Craig’s wedding, but they kept their fingers crossed that the weather would break. Their risk paid off and they were rewarded with the most beautiful day, possibly ever.  There was a slight issue with the bridesmaids’ high heel shoes unintentionally aerating the lawn due to all the rain.  But in the grand scheme of things, who really cares?  We make a lot bigger sacrifices than that for fashion, right?

Speaking of picture perfect, how lovely are the bride and groom?  Beth is seriously one of the most beautiful people I know, both inside and out.  She is funny, generous, and extremely gracious. She was an absolute pleasure to work with, and as you can see, it would not have taken a lot of work on my part to make her look incredible!  Beth and I worked very closely on the design of her dress.  She loves fashion and had a very good idea of what type of silhouette would be most flattering on her figure. Honestly, I’m hard pressed to think of anything wouldn't look amazing on her. So over the course of a few months and a lot of e-mails, we came up with the final design constructed in a Hemp/Silk blend with a silk organza underlining and spun silk lining. Très belle, non?

I hope you enjoy the photos from Beth’s and Craig’s beautiful wedding!

 

 

One of the bride's lovely sisters, and my good friend, Stephie. Seriously, how ridiculously cute is she?

My dear friend, Arthur, sporting his unique style of Dr. Who meets AC/DC. 

All but the last four photos in these series were taken by the lovely Avesha Michael. 

Joe and Sarah

Welcome to my first post!  This blog represents my little corner of the internet where I’ll be posting updates on my fledgling bridal business, passing along inspirational gems, and sharing my thoughts on any number of fashionable topics.

 

Something New, LLC is my attempt to interject levity into the sometimes intimidating world of the wedding gown. I have created several custom bridal gowns over the past two years, including my own, and am now in the process of finalizing a line of ready-to-wear wedding dresses.  Party dresses that you can get married in.  Dresses for brides who want to go to the bathroom by themselves. These are ideas that I try to keep in my mind at all times while designing a dress. 

In honor of my first post, I thought I would share pictures of my first custom dress that I created in the summer of 2009.  It also happens to be from the wedding of my two excellent friends, Joe and Sarah.  I had the pleasure of designing Sarah’s dress after she learned about the business I was starting. Being my very first client, Sarah knew that she was taking a bit of a chance.

“So, how many gowns have you made?”

“Well, one. My own.”

That conversation could make any bride-to-be a little nervous. But Sarah had the faith in my ability to be my first client. Together, Sarah and I designed this beautiful empire waist 100% silk satin crepe bias gown.  After a lot of sweat and a few tears (no blood, luckily.  It doesn't go very well with white) I delivered Sarah’s dress for her wedding day. She loved it and the silhouette was simply stunning.

At the reception, Sarah said she felt like she “was walking on a cloud.” Yay! 

As you can see from the pictures below, they had some very interesting weather for their big day.  They had it all: clouds, rain, lightning, thunder, sun, and wind!  Oh, man, the wind! After being friends with these two for ten years, this was absolutely appropriate.  In fact, I think it made their day even more amazing.

I hope you enjoy the pictures below!

"What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable wall?
They get married."  -Kyle  

Photographer: Leah Dunbar / Venue: Phoenix Park