Prom Progress

Happy Monday ladies and gentlemen.

It was a very productive weekend over at the Munzing house.  All sorts of excitement happening!  We got some new windows, Lady's litterbox is officially in the basement, and Caroline's prom dress is halfway done!

As a little reminder, here's the sketch:

Cutting out the lace / basting it to the silk:

This is always a very time-consuming task but always well worth it.

Draping the one-shoulder detail:

Loving the way the trim on the lace works for this part...

Looks almost done?:

Well its only about halfway finished.  I still need to construct all the support boning on the interior, cut & sew the lining and insert the zipper (always a hoot, especially with beaded fabric).

Hopefully we'll have a fitting next weekend :)

Caroline in Blue

I started sketching for Caroline's prom dress a few weeks (months?) ago and we finally decided on a design:

Can't wait to get started!

*In sketching news, I've decided to try my hand at watercoloring my sketches....fun weekend project? Or disaster waiting to happen?

Bitsy's Prom: Phase 1

I can't believe my baby sister is having her senior prom.

But you better believe she's going to be the most stunning gal there!

She was pretty specific about what she wanted to wear, but it was still a collaborative process to get down to these two options.  Ultimately, she chose the strapless... and she's going to look dynamite!   I just feel bad for all those other girls....

*personal goal met: drawing back views.  I'm just as bad at drawing back views as I am at feet and hands.

And The Crowd (me) Goes Wild!

There are more images coming, but here is the always-lovely Jenna wearing the (finally) completed Black & White Striped gown.  I will admit, there were some fit challenges with this one, but we were able to work through it and as you can see, she looks dynamite.

I love the way she styled the gown with bold jewelry - It's always interesting to see how people accessories the dresses I make.  I may make myself a shorter version for a summer wedding this year, and I may go with a sock bun, red lipstick and some gold cluster earrings.  How would you style this gown? 

 earrings | Robin McCormick, shoes | GoJane

I will post new pictures as I get them!

Sewer's Block.

I completely understand that it sounds like we have plumbing issues, but the unfortunate homograph of sewer ('one who does sewing') is sewer ('a system of pipes used to transport human waste').  I'm trying to say I have that I have something like a writers block, only for sewing.  I had a three day weekend, finished the black & white gown [will get pictures from Jenna this weekend!], flipped a so-so vintage find, and then got stuck.  I had so much time, but no great fabric and a severe lack of creative flow.  I decided to get sketching.  I also decided to try a different approach and color them up in Photoshop instead of markers & pencils - my art supplies are in serious need of updating.  It definitely helped with the creative rut I was feeling.  What do you think?

The next idea for Caroline's prom dress.  A lot of light layers, a lot of draping, and a heck of a lot of awesome.

This is another idea for Caroline that is slightly out of the box from the ideas she's sent me - just throwin' her a curveball.

This is something I want to make for the spring.  Maybe for me, maybe not for me (clearly this one's a little more willowy than my 5'2" self), but I really love doing the hand-detailing featured on the bottom and the sleeve cap.  We'll see.  

Prom Night

My senior prom was the best.  I had (and still have) the best group of friends anyone has ever had.  My dress (my 18th birthday present) was an absolute dream.  We ended the night running around the Long Beach boardwalk like a bunch of lunatics.  I can still remember my stomach aching from laughing so hard the whole night (It may have been the Mike's Hard Lemonade, but we'll go with the G-rated version).  I hope there are plans to rebuild the boardwalk that was decimated by that big fat jerk Sandy - so many memories for so many people.

Anyway, enough about me...Prom!  I have been asked by Chris's cousin Caroline to make her senior prom dress - what an honor!  She is one of the most awesome human beings I have ever met.  She's extremely smart and talented - a literal track star of Long Island - not to mention funny, generous, pretty, blablabla.  She sent me some inspiration images,  and last night I started sketching away to start the process.  Let's see what she thinks, eh?

(a grecian-esque column dress with sheer top/overlay)

(this one is actual very similar to my own senior prom dress - tons of tulle!)

(toga-style with cascading beading)

What's on my sewing table?

A whole lot of awesome, that's what.

I was so excited/nervous to start this gown.  Its a lot of dress, its a lot of fabric, and its a lot of stripes.  But I've mapped out the cutting and planned out the logistics so now we're full speed ahead!  I need to go buy the lining today and then we'll be good to go (It's extremely convenient that my office is in the garment district).