2.11.11. Lee Alexander McQueen, you will always be remembered. You will always be missed.
February 11th, 2011 § 3 Comments
One year to the day, and even with Lady Gaga’s tribute, it is still your day. You are still missed, your vision unparalleled.
In an effort to properly honor this day, I bustled and struggled all week to get this dress done in time to wear to a fundraiser gala that my sister invited me to, which was held in San Francisco last night. Despite my lack of confidence in my sewing ability regarding the completion of this specific garment, I actually got it done, and I thought I even got it done fairly well!
Not without serious struggles, after about 60 hours worth of work and paired with my new favorite, everyday winter boots
The original:
After making my final dress for my pattern-making class last December, I felt like I had made a good start, but discovered that I still had a long-long way to go. Three completed muslins later I felt that I was ready to start the final piece. I decided to use a short-pile velvet for the red fabric, as I appreciated the drape and the way that the color compliments the print. Though, I found that once I got actually sewing it, it has a tendency to move around when paired with fabrics of alternate fiber. None-the-less, and I can’t believe I can actually say this, I did not have to rip out one single seam for this project.
One of the most difficult things for me was figuring out the proper way to angle the princess seam in at the waist, and have the red, side draped panel, fall properly. I must have drawn about 15 pattern pieces for the center front and princess side panels before getting so something that actually seemed like it would work out right. Luckily, Thunder was an excellent assistant on this project, even keeping my Bernina 450 carrying bag warm, and my new ironing board, that I am absolutely in love with, company
The absolute hardest part was draping the velvet side panels. Not knowing exactly how to solve the problem, I made the entire dress with a huge, huge amount of extra fabric attached to the princess panels, that would just fall to the floor. I sewed them in, and then I got out my pins and sheers. Somehow or another I managed to get it onto my dress-form, which doesn’t have collapsible shoulders. I felt frustration mounting after working for over an hour at trying to figure out how to get the right shapes in the right places. Somehow still patient enough—really, I think it was fear—I didn’t cut anything. Eventually, I did the adult thing—who knew I could do that?— and decided to just leave it alone, and come back to it later.
Wednesday, the following day, withing 30 seconds of touching the panels, it came to me, I started pinning, and within one hour the panels were draped properly, and, get this, sewn!I then spent one final hour stitching the rest of the lining into the last place it needed to go, by hand. Sitting quietly doing the hand work, I have to admit, that I really felt quite proud.
The dress with the draping completed, pinned, and sewing in progress:
Many stares, and a number of “discrete” pictures later I am forced to realize, again, just how hard, weird and completely amazing it is to wear this sort of thing in public.
Lastly, also in honor and tribute to Alexander McQueen, I decided that yesterday was the day to bite the bullet and buy the pink, snake-skin printed leather I have been eying for Months (with a capital M) for this look, pattern already in progress:
Like this:
Monsters. Day 74.
November 11th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I just got a phone call from my mirror souled creative other-half who I haven’t heard from since the Great Departure of 2010. Such joy from hearing his voice over my little iphone, but so much anxiety talking about the incident that I actually started shaking. I thought I was over this. Well, OK, I knew I wasn’t over it, but I thought I’d at least started to move past it. Anger is a funny thing. I compared this incident to breaking up with a love, but it is different, seated deeper than that. Hanging up the phone, I realized that my old friends, depression and darkness had invited themselves in for the evening. I’ve had break-ups that were easier to cope with than this. The snake that you don’t even hear. Feeling his fangs pierce your skin, your world spins more slowly. It doesn’t happen instantly, this little guy has other plans. Meandering through your veins, taking it’s sweet-ass time, the venom seeps through your arm, then your leg. Time seems to stop, and then it finally reaches your chest. You feel the pulling, and tightening. It may not be enough to kill you once the when some of venom has been sucked out as if it were part of a great tormenting exorcism.
Months pass, the bruising finally heals, the scabs come off, and you start to exit the shadows, in the darkness that you have become. Still shaking and sweating, you realize you will make it through, but you may never look at the world quite the same way again, and the world will never see you in quite the same way either. No longer poisoned, but still tainted.
This event. This thing. It is sticking to me. I called another good friend from the same space, and realized while on the phone that I have closed off my world from what it was before, making it as small, and warm as possible to combat my inner anger. Was this healthy, was this really the right thing to do? I still get txts from people seeing me on Speed Channel or HDTV Theater, from before the year changed seasons, ironically letting in more light, which seemed to be the opposite of my life at the time. Now that the seasons are changing again, darkness seams oddly inappropriate, welcome, but not where I am moving.
Maybe it’s time to actually step back outside, back into my previous life. Maybe not.
I have made some good progress on the Sherpa skirt, but now feel so distracted that I have become sidelined to the rest of the day. My focus gone, elated to hear from my friend on the phone, anxious about the past, and now, again, the future, I leave you with my Lada Gaga Meat Dress Halloween Costume.
Inspiration from a Lady who keeps her personal life private in the fish-bowl that surrounds her, and lives through art both of her own creation and of others. She may seem like only an outlandish pop-star, but she is courage in physical form. My—somewhat silly—tribute to you.
And, depression and anxiety, a message to you: You can suck-it. I’m too good for you now. I don’t know why you can’t see that. Bitterness, you can suck-it, too.
As my D200 camera battery is dead, and I have conveniently lost its charger, these photos are courtesy of friends. Neither show the shoes well, which were the best part. You win some, you loose some. At least someone remembered to take pictures. The police hat is courtesy of my friend Sarah, who also dressed up as a stripper police officer. You can see my “steak” hat in the picture of Ramon Stan and me.
PS – I apologize for the cryptic nature of this post. It’s better this way.
No Time for the VMAs. Day 18
September 16th, 2010 § 1 Comment
It never ceases to amaze me just how busy I am, now that I am not working. There is an endless list of errands, projects, lunches, resume building, etc. that seems to occur, and I feel like I can’t ever seem to get anything done. That being said, I finished one custom tailored shirt this week. Well, one might be asking, “Why is Julie working on that? That’s not a McQueen project?” No, it is not, however, I have picked up a contract job in October. It is a two-week gig with some folks from my tiny, niche industry, so it is a great opportunity. The dress-code for the contract is business. Well, this is a problem. My closet is flamboyant. So, I need to alter that. I thought that making some tailored shirts would be a good idea because I know I stand to learn a lot from the cotton, as it is stiff and not very mailable, apparently, unlike my schedule, because I have only gotten one done in a week! This contract also gives me an opportunity to make some skirts that are all work and no play, but solves my dilemma from Sunday: What do I do next, bite the bullet and get the good fabric? Or make some less expensive versions first.
After finally receiving my yarn on Monday, Ramon and I headed up to the track on Tuesday afternoon. I was relieved from DMV duties, as I discovered that Ramon’s registration was actually still valid from last year. The time at the track was productive, and quite a work-out for Ramon as the car is a real handful at this time, as no tuning has been done. This car, however, was not made for the street. On our return from the track, passing over a bit of freeway near downtown Oakland where the concrete is in big blocks, the car bucked from front to back wildly more than Vern the 17.3 hand Dutch Warmblood that gave me such a concussion that kept me from working back in 2008. Note to self: do not knit in the dark in a race-car, on a shitty freeway.
So, in addition to the one shirt that I have finished, I received my yarn, and with help from Thunder, I have started Ramon’s sweater. I am only a few inches in, but I am very happy with the texture of the yarn.
Today, I have a media kit I really need to finish for a friend, and the next Tuesday I am launch Ramon and Nicole’s new work website that I have been plugging away on for weeks. So, when can I get to the McQueen? Perhaps my priorities are not in order here. Oh, no, no. I think that they are. I just feel frustrated that I have spent so much time running around in the past week, and so little time sewing.
Ramon finishing the race-car is a huge step though. I know that I mentioned before, but he’s been working on this project for a year-and-a-half. It seems easy to take on the big, overwhelming project, because at the beginning it is all optimism and hope. You think to yourself, “I can totally do this, it will be easy, I have a year!” But then, as they say, life happens, right? I think I am still in the honey-moon phase of the project, because I think I still have so much time to do all of this stuff, but do I? I am going to start posting the Day number in the title, as a reminder to myself of how much time I have left. Hopefully this will help keep me on track, and motivated, not frustrated. Time shall tell.
For further inspiration, while I may have missed watching the VMAs because of my busy schedule, I certainly did not miss my fashion hero—but please not that my hair has been platinum, and straight longer than hers—looking absolutely stunning in McQueen:
And of course later, looking absolutely shocking in meat:
Oh the lovely courage to pull this off. This is why I admire her. Regardless of your, or even her opinion of how it looks, she did it. Could you?
