workshop part2

we had 4 workshops. we were the first with weaving, then pegs with fabric manipulation, then embellishment then tie dyeing.

for embellishment i added sequins to a plain white shawl. it adds texture to it and makes it a little more interesting.

for tie dye, i brought an extra large white shirt. I dyed it with pinks and blues for an interesting contrast. when i find the time, i might turn it into a summer dress that i could wear to the beach.

workshop

for ct11, we had workshops that were headed by each group. our group was assigned to construction techniques, but we focused on weaving. we used knit shirts as starting materials then cut them into strips. this is my product:

it's a multi-layered necklace that I might embellish with a brooch, depending on the occasion.

for the next workshop, we had fabric manipulation. I made a flower by cutting chiffon into squares and gathering them at the center to make it appear like they're petals. i burned the edges to keep it from fraying. i glued it into a hair clip.

make-up

it was my first time to have lessons on make-up. i realized that the make-up that i have is not adequate for the class. i needed stuff for color correction, highlights and contours. i don't think i will have any need for these things anytime in the future except for school related projects. i don't think it would be worth my money if i buy these things.
the class that we had was very informative. i learned a lot of things that i would not learn by trial and error simply because the only face i put make-up on is my own. because of the experience, i promised myself that i will not use liquid foundation if i had a choice. learning about make-up emphasized the fact that it's fake. it's like temporary plastic surgery. i don't mind light make-up -- powder, lip tint and a little eye shadow, but i don't find the need to do all out make-up on a daily basis.

the difference in the before and after photos are not obvious because the lighting is different. photography did not do justice to the make-up, but either way, the difference really wasn't that obvious because it's a day look. maybe more practice would make a difference.

ukay

i rarely buy from ukay-ukays. Previously owned clothes are not my thing. I normally buy stuff from ukay-ukays for the fabric and not for the garment. I don't like the idea of having clothing donations from the USA being sold in the Philippines for a price. It may cover the cost of transportation and the sales people's salary, but i do not feel like it's fair that clothes that should go to the needy (when they are in need) are being used for profit. I also think that the presence of ukay-ukays do not help the clothing industry in the philippines. Instead of buying from local garment producers, filipinos would resort to buying cheap imported clothes.

There's an issue with the fit of clothing of imported clothes. Their standards are based on western figures, which we are not. We are smaller and slimmer. The weather in USA is also different from the tropical Philippines. There are clothes that might not suit the needs of a filipino.

The class activity did not change my mind about ukay-ukays. I enjoyed it, it was fun, but i won't do it again if it's not required.

kolorete

i'm required to wear make up whenever we have performances. i get that. when faces are far away, they disappear. make up helps the audience see where we are. it helps exaggerate expressions, it helps emphasize emotions. performers are required to have faces on when they are on stage.
normal everyday make up does not make sense to me because i can't find the right motivation to do it myself. maybe it's because it requires a lot of physical scrutiny and analysis of one's face, and i can never successfully look at myself in the mirror and analyze my face in an objective way. it will always be personal. maybe that's why a lot of people hire make-up artists to fix their faces because it's always easier for us when strangers judge us and correct our facial imperfections.

clothing clusters

basic piece: black tank top

Activity: Chasing After Boys

Black tank top + gray sweater + purple jogging pants + pink rubber shoes
there's nothing more physically demanding than running after boys

Activity: Walking on Sunshine

Black tank top + white floral tiered maxi skirt + flip flops
Ohhh... I'm walking on sunshine.... Ohhhh....

Activity: Feeling Hot

Black tank top + denim short shorts + blue scarf + flip flops
it's summer time, I want to wear my scarf and you can't stop me

design

a few years ago, I didn't even know how to draw. My designs are very simple because I'm very limited by my skills. I want to be better at drawing, which is why I chose to draw and paint in order to practice the skill, and hopefully, by doing this, I'd improve.

I'm never going to be a designer. I don't find fulfillment in being a creative professional. I don't think I will be worthy of being paid for it. I don't even see myself as a stylist. I know the theories, I understand the logic behind optical illusions, but I don't see myself doing it for a long enough span of time. I'd rather sew 24 hours a day than work as a designer or a stylist for an hour a day.

what to wear

textures and prints have a tendency to be tacky. i've seen episodes of HowDoILook on the Lifestyle network where the victim has too much print or too much fur. i could not understand how stores still produce tacky clothing, and why consumers keep patronizing them, then i realized that clothes that are tacky for me, might not be tacky for others. it's always a matter of taste and style. we just have to be aware of the occasion and how people expect us to behave whenever we are faced with fashion dilemmas.

i'm not really a fan of the show How Do I Look because their approach is too personal. they have a tendency of attacking the person's taste, which is still part of their personality. they make it too dramatic. i like the show What Not To Wear on TLC because they criticize the clothes of the person. it doesn't hurt as much. they tell you how clothes affect the way you look and how it can be improved. they give you guidelines and let you think on your own. i like the show because they tell you what's wrong then teach you how it can become better.

i will never dream of becoming a style consultant. all that i'd tell them is wear whatever you want because i'd much rather be worrying about the future of the clothing industry than bother thinking about what to wear.

shapes and style

what's beautiful about clothes is that they're things that you could easily change and replace. they're external. they can be used to make you look a certain way only if you know what you're doing and if you have the resources to make it happen. vertical lines make you longer, horizontal lines make you wider. these are old rules. if no one who is a plus size wants to look fatter than they already are, why do we still have plus size clothes with horizontal cuts in their dresses? because there's more to to the rules than straight forward horizontal and vertical.

not everyone we design for will be model size. there will be horizontally challenged clients in our lifetime and we'd be forced to create something to make them look great. I don't understand how seasoned designers prioritize their creative point of view and create something that only looks great on a mannequin. not everyone who graduated from design school are successful as designers because not everything that looks good in books translate well in the real world.

color schemes

complementary

red-violet + yellow green

http://www.academichic.com/2011/06/01/1-june-2011-last-day-of-classes/

magenta + teal

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/powersearch/slideshow?loop=0&event=show2182&trend=trend22&iphoto=18&play=false&cnt=19

analogous

pink + orange + yellow

http://romanticjourneys.tumblr.com/

purple + lavender + pink

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/powersearch/slideshow?loop=0&event=show2182&trend=trend22&iphoto=39&play=false&cnt=44

triad

light blue + violet + orange

http://fabliz.wordpress.com/tag/achromatic/

light blue + violet + orange

http://www.academichic.com/tag/triads/

split complementary

violet + red + yellow

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/powersearch/slideshow?loop=0&event=show2182&trend=trend22&iphoto=54&play=false&cnt=67

tetrad

yellow green, green, purple, red

http://www.womens-styles.com/fantasy-maxi-print-flower-wedding-dress-2012-for-women.html

yellow, green, violet, red

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/powersearch/slideshow?loop=0&event=show2182&trend=trend22&iphoto=65&play=false&cnt=78

square

pink + lt. green + yellow orange + lt. blue

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/powersearch/slideshow?loop=0&event=show2182&trend=trend22&iphoto=38&play=false&cnt=39

monochromatic

white + red + pink

http://www.womens-styles.com/fantasy-maxi-print-flower-wedding-dress-2012-for-women.html

brown + yellow

http://fabliz.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/ms-match/

achromatic

black and gray

http://dress.ankletss.com/miss-sixty-black-dress/

Carolina Herrera - Resort 2013
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/fullscreen/2013RST-CHERRERA/

Colors were mostly monochromatic, which gives the whole collection a sense of sophistication, but there were some pieces where they explored with colors.

The scheme is a primary triad. The colors were evenly dispersed all through the dress, making it balanced and equally sophisticated as the rest of the pieces.

the color wheel

http://realcolorwheel.com/othercolorwheel.htm
RGB and CMYK are the colors that I'm more familiar with. check the link for the diagrams and all. the RGB color wheel makes more sense to me because it involves light and their wavelengths. mixing pigments is not always consistent. different coloring brands give different results. if you go make a website and edit the color, #000000 will always be black, #ffffff will always be white. and btw, i love hexadecimals.

if the color wheel really does work, why is it that we have to force ourselves to create colors take on a particular scheme? shouldn't it be a no brainer if color combinations work well? and why is it that colors that are supposed to clash look nice against each other?

the RYB color wheel was originally created because they realized that if you add red paint to yellow paint, we get orange. but who said that red and green would look great together? why does pink and blue look nice together when they have a weird relationship in the color wheel? just saying.

putokapi

It's only lately that I've acquainted myself to the vocabularies of the fashion world (through conscious effort, and not for pleasure), but it's been a long time since I've gotten to know Carolina Herrera. I was watching Lifestyle Network a couple of years ago when they played a feature about her. I loved how her gowns are so feminine. I love the volume and the flow. I was still working on becoming a chemist during that time, but I did sew as a leisurely hobby. I sewed pants for practical (and financial) reasons. I hated how expensive clothes were and how uncomfortable they were, so I made my own. Eventually I evolved and started sewing dresses. This is the first dress that I've completed. I developed the design myself. I guess I draped it because I was not aware of the benefits of using patterns. I wrapped the fabric on myself and pinned it where I wanted it to have seams. I think I was successful in this project. I've used this dress in the past already, but it was floor length back then. I cut it short because I wanted to use it in less formal events.

It doesn't look like a Carolina Herrera dress but she really was my inspiration for this dress. I guess it's because the quality of my sewing skills is negligible back then. I might try making a new dress some time in the near future. I just hope I find time.

designer

There are just people who were born with an inclination to art and fashion, and at the opposite end of the spectrum, you'll find me.

I am a firm supporter of art. I think that a world without art is extremely lame. But a world without empirical analysis is asking for chaos.

The difference between science and art is that science is mostly objective, art is mostly subjective. If i were to design an article of clothing somewhere in the world, at least one person will be complementing me, and at least one person will be thinking about throwing it out in the trash.

Fashion design is both an art and science, but mostly art. Designing clothes involves a lot of creativity, artistry and some knowledge in anatomy and the science of textiles. But we can always neglect the hard science portion and go for common sense. You can always hire someone to develop textiles for you, or tell you which fabric best suits your design. there are consultants for that. but the general aesthetics of the line should come from the designer. the image and the type of products must come from the creator of the products. this is why a fashion designer should know a thingnor two about branding, management and product development. even without the hard sciences, fashion design involves several branches. that's a lot of behind the scenes work for something that can be classified as luxury.

fashion

It's what's in. It's what sells. It's a million dollar industry. And the wonderful thing about fashion is it'll be here as long as people choose to express themselves through clothing. If you want to make a living out of clothing, it might not be a sure shot. History has proven that the poor will still be the ones clothing the rich, with a few exceptions. But if you insist, there's a way to hack the system. Learn how to predict the future. Learn the trends. Learn the factors that affect the needs of consumers, or create a need that they've never realized they needed. The good thing about fashion is that it's never totally different. The past will always have a role in the creation of the present.

I love the way fashion is like a window to the past. Things that are valuable during a period is shown in the way people dress. The ideal figure changes through time. Even the materials that they have invented is reflected on clothes.

Everything is connected. The easiest way to classify groups of people is by the way they look. Civilizations can sometimes be identified with their clothes. Uniforms are ways to identify members of an organization.

Fashion is everywhere. It haunts us. It's immortal.

nerdy tutor

nerdy tutor by laya-uichanco-canals featuring graphic t shirts

I'm a nerd at heart. I love science, and I'd rather spend time in the library than go boy hunting at the lobby. I know that not everyone could relate to my interests, but I can't help it if I'm weird.
 
This is what I normally wear whenever I have tutorial sessions with my beloved students. I don't really dress up, but I make sure that I'm wearing pants. Anyway, it's not the clothes that matter. It's what's in my head that counts.

top 10 fashion rules (for now)

I don't mind if I'm not fashionable at all. If I was in charge, I wish that I could wear anything anytime. There was one time that I went to class wearing the clothes that I wore to sleep. I just washed my face, took the jeepney, attended my hour-long class, went back to the dorm, then went back to sleep. Practical, right? That being said, here are my mandatory fashion rules for myself.

comfort over fashion
I wouldn't want mobility to be sacrificed just to look a certain way. If I have to change the way I move just to pull off a certain top, then I would have to alter the piece to adapt to my lifestyle.

flats over heels, open never closed
I never wear closed shoes unless I can wear socks with it. Because of that, I only wear rubber shoes when I'm jogging. Heels are reserved for formal events and for dates with my boyfriend.

shorter than longer
Shorts were meant to be short. I wear pants only when I have work to look semi professional.

bifurcated for the better
It's always easier to move around in shorts or pants than in skirts.

circles over pencils
It's easier for me to move around in circle skirts than pencil skirts. And I love the way it flies up then I twirl.

don't show your panties. don't show your bra
Undies were meant for support and protection, not meant to be seen.

don't show your midriff
An exposed bellybutton is just not me. I don't like feeling cold.

flaunt it if you have it, hide it if you don't
I'm talking about cleavage here. I don't have it so I hide it.

don't have a signature look
I love mixing up stuff. I don't like being known for having a certain look but I can't avoid it when work has some sort of uniform. Even with restrictions, there are still ways to make clothes look different everytime. My favorite are my shawls.

6 month rule
Clothes have feelings too. If they're not formal wear or key pieces, and I have not used them in the last 6 months, they have to be worn or else they have to be given away.

So there. These are not really rules. More like guidelines. I made them, so I can break them. And I encourage myself to brake them every once in a while, just for fun :)

pink by laya-uichanco-canals featuring a lace dress

identity

I got the love for sewing from my grandmother, maybe. I'm not sure because she never taught us how, and I rarely saw he sew, but I remember a couple of years ago, she would take our measurements (all female grand kids) and in a week, we would have the same style of pajamas, then the same style of jacket. I rarely used them, and didn't really appreciate them. They were not my style, plus I've never been great at following orders from authority. I wanted to be an individual who had her own voice. I didn't want to be caged by what society dictates as who I should be. Thank goodness for my mom, she wanted to expose me and my sisters to all sorts of things. She bought us a sewing machine with 15 styles of stitches. It was ok. Again, didn't bother using it because I didn't want to feel compeled to do whatever my mom wanted me to do. But eventually, things changed. I started to embrace the fact that I do not belong to an ordinary household and I am not an ordinary person. Now, I realized that I don't have to tell the world that I am unique, and that I do not wish to conform to norms. It's very obvious from my actions and from how I look.

I still mind if people judge me and assume that they know me just by looking at me, but a certain point, I get why they assume these things. My social skin is different from the popular skin and I can't help it. And if people have eyes, they can't help it either. I just wish they realize that this is not all that I am.

clothing: my definition

From what I understood in class, clothing is anything that alters the physical appearance of a person. It could be something that's so tiny that it may not be immediately noticable, like a toe ring, or it might also be something obvious like garments or even hair color. Clothing, in the most general sense includes accessories and body modifications, and not just the shirt and pants you're wearing.

The definition of clothing according to the dictionaries that I've consulted does not explicitly indicate that clothing is not limited to articles that are sewn and then used to cover up, but if you ask an ordinary person what they are wearing, they wouldn't include their earrings or tattoos. It's a little confusing. Language may be to blame for confusions regarding definitions that are generally accepted by the public but does not coincide with technical definitions or the accepted definition of the industry.

This issue is not the same for the filipino language. /damit/ is anything that we wear to cover up. /burloloy/ can describe jewelry and embelishments. just saying.

I don't know how this could be resolved, or if there is a need for a resolution, but we can't change the fact that whatever we wear is the first thing that the public can see. Our clothes are our social skins. It takes some people a great deal of effort to choose what to wear. Image can be big business. For people who constantly face harsh public scrutiny, tiny details matter. This is where image consultants and fashion stylists make their living. It's a fabulous job to be rubbing elbows with the elite. I bet there would be lots of people who dream of becoming this, but i would rather be part of the public, screaming at the television during fashion disasters than be the one to be blamed.

sophomore-ish

Clothing Technology. So much ahead! It's a little overwhelming, especially with my throat threatening me with the possibility of tonsillitis. I don't have fever yet, but I do find it difficult to swallow.

I have three classes for this semester:

CT 11 - Introduction to design
CT 117 - Pattern making
CT 124 - Apparel accessories

I'm looking forward to exploring new horizons and creating new things this semester ^_^