Also, a big thanks to all the readers that have well… read what I have had to write. It has been a pleasure blogging about the ups and the scary downs of my journey through my senior year. With less than 3 weeks until my journey at FIT comes to a close, all I can really say for the prospective, future, and current Fashion Design students of FIT, hang in there, take risks, push boundaries, do what inspires you most and always trust in yourself but I’m sure you already know all of that. I look forward to the future talent that has yet to pass through the halls of FIT ^.^

I’m honestly not sure how to feel. Originally when I agreed to do this blog, I was told that, no matter what the results, I should ere on the side of caution after Judging happens. I don’t know, perhaps because I have always just been a really honest person, I think I’m just going to be throwing that caution to the wind.

I can’t pretend that everything is fine because it isn’t. I am crushed. For myself. For my friends that I stayed up late working with. For the people that were definitely without a doubt cheated (imeancomeonshebuiltbonesfromcottonferchristssake!!!).

Typically I’m not the type of person to be confident in what I do. In fact if anything, it is much safer to say I’ve got major self esteem issues, but to see so many garments that were absolutely breathtaking and amazing be denied, I’m completely shocked.  In the end, only about 60 some looks were chosen. I would have hoped that with Calvin Klein’s generous $2 million donation, our show would at least be extended to include more than 60 looks. That is already 30 less than the previous year.

Did I cry? Not at first, but when Prof. Scheetz came up to me to tell me how sorry she was, I started to crack. And try as the little boy might to hold his finger to the crack in the dam, by the time I got home I was bubbling mess. Thankfully it wasn’t anything a lot of candy, junk food and potty humor couldn’t fix.

The hardest was probably telling my mom and sister that worked so hard to help me get everything done. I think though, my mother put it best, she said “failing keeps you grounded, it is important to fail so you can gain the strength to pick yourself back up again.” Failing to make the Senior show isn’t quite the time I want to remember to stay grounded but she isn’t exactly wrong. Perhaps a little twisted, but it comes with the Tiger Mother territory.

As upsetting as the Judging went, in no way am I knocking at the garments that did get in. My wonderful, wonderful friend Mimi got the well deserved Critic’s Award with her black antique lace dress. She is without a doubt, the enduring inspiration that no matter what, you should always stay true to who you are. I am absolutely thrilled for her!!!

On the bright side, I have two weeks to kick back, relax and slowly start to put together my 3rd look. Not to mention the two kickin’ new additions I have to use for my portfolio. As for what I am going to do for my first free weekend in forever? Who am I kidding? I’m going to get totally wasted! Come join me why don’t you

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We finished! We finished!!!! OMG WE FINISHEDDDD!!!!!!! It is seriously breathtaking how impeccable and amazing how everyone’s finished garments in our class look!

I literally cannot believe that I was able to get everything done on time! A little over a week ago, I realized that the ~700 flowers I had hand sewn and dyed was nowhere near enough to cover the parts of my dress that needed to be covered. Quite the shock as seeing I was sure I definitely had more than enough. So, last Monday I frantically bought 20 yards of white silk chiffon (this is on top of the 15 yards I had already used) and cut it all up.

Thankfully everyone around me were so wonderfully supportive and more than willing to help. Sheryl, one of my internship supervisors at Paula Varsalona helped me cut out eight yards of flowers while I was at my internship. I overnight-ed about 400 cut up flowers for my mom and sister Tuesday morning and they sent them all back to me sewn and finished Saturday morning! While I made and sewed flowers at home, my boyfriend threaded and knotted all my needles. At one point even his mom and his friends sat down with me and helped me make flowers.

(New batch of flowers)

Although I was planning to be finished with the 1st look by Thursday, I didn’t end up finishing all my hand sewing until Saturday afternoon. After that, I went straight to dyeing my new batch of flowers, however because each group needed to be dyed for different times and had different dye concentrations, it was an extremely time consuming process. Seven hours of time-consuming-ness to be exact. A far cry from the two I had been hoping for..

(The aftermath of frantic flower dyeing and excessive hand sewing. It would have been safer to wear gloves, yet I can’t help but be slightly amused that the dye highlighted all the scraps, cuts and pin pricks all over my poor abused fingers.)

(Typical that my flowers would be mixed in with a bunch of empty candy wrappers…)
(My very own intern boyfriend )

Needless to say, I was far, far, far behind the schedule and deadlines I had drawn out for myself. To top it all off, I realized I STILL would not have enough flowers to cover everything. Thankfully at about 4:30am Monday morning while tacking flowers, I decided my solution to my problems would be to make a nude slip that would go underneath the dress. I had sewn a bias slip back in 7th semester and it had been relatively easy to put together, so it was definitely possible.

To my very good fortune, I even still had the patterns for the slip. Unfortunately, that is where my good fortune ended. I knew I had a working pattern since I had sewn the first slip without any kinks. However, half way through attempting to sew the bodice to the skirt, I realized I had somehow cut my center bias dress piece too small by 2 inches and even worse, I hadn’t bought enough fabric to redo it. A slip that had first taken me three hours to put together stretched to eight and still I was not done. I put the slip underneath the dress to test it and it was a hot mess. The slip was definitely out, as was eight precious hours down the drain.

(Unsuccessful bias slip)

With really no choice left, I concentrated on tacking the few hundred flowers I had left and left it at that. A little before noon, I knew I had done all I could and went upstairs to set up.

Although the days and hours leading up to pre-judging were complete misery, I couldn’t help but be giddy with my two looks standing side by side. I really couldn’t be happier. In my mind, I know I did the very best I could do and that is more than enough of a validation for me. Four years ago, I could barely sew a straight line and never in a million years would have imagined I had this in me.

Most of all, I have to extend a super special thanks to all the people that helped me with my 2nd look. I am so, so grateful! Without their help I never would have been able to have complete the 1500+ flowers that are on my 2nd look. Thank you so, so much!

(1st and 2nd look together on Presentation/Prejudging day)

(The wonderful senior sportswear designer, Ashley modeling my reference pictures for 1st look) (We’re so happy to be heading down to the Great Hall for Judging. I’m thrilled to say we survived the FIT freight elevator!)

Now the waiting begins. The exact method of how judging will go is still uncertain. To my understanding, the industry judges will come in and check the looks they like the most. To have a look to even be considered eligible for the show, three of the five judges have to deem the look fit for the runway. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

The Great Hall was full of beautiful and innovative garments today. We find out whether we are in the show some time between Thursday and Friday. Remember! If there is a will, there is definitely a way! Good luck everyone!!! Congratulations to all the 2012 fashion design seniors, we did it!!! ^.^

But anyway… off to the sewing of the zipper!!

I had quite a dilemma figuring out which zipper I wanted to use. Typically I default to using invisible zippers because first off, it is invisible and then second, the invisible zipper sewing foot makes putting in a zipper the easiest thing you’ve ever done. The only downside of an invisible zipper is the teeth of the zipper tend to falter when too much stress is put on it aka it isn’t that strong and the zipper can/will break.

Chris had this exact problem because of how heavy both of his looks were so he had to change to a lap zipper. The last time I did a lap zipper was the dicky in 1st semester… which I’m pretty sure I got a B- on so I’m sure you get the rest. Instead, I opted to look into using an exposed zipper that would be a visible fixture/element/detail/whatever on my dress.

Typically an exposed zipper is not at all ideal for an ”evening gown” but my dress is not exactly the most traditional of special occasion dresses, so luckily I can get away with it.

Pacific is my absolute favorite place to go to for zippers because they carry the biggest selection of RiRi zippers I have ever seen in NYC. The quality and craftsmanship of a RiRi zipper is to die for.  The price not so much, as one zipper can run you about $10 to $30, but seriously when you spend hundreds of dollars making a garment you mind as well go all out. I think I could go on all day about why RiRi zippers are so amazing, but you really just have to see for yourself to understand.

I wasn’t sure how wide I wanted the teeth to be so I ended up buying two different widths of zippers. I didn’t want the exposed zipper to go past the bodice of my dress because the heaviness of the zipper would probably weight down the bobbinet dress in an unflattering manner so I got a separating zipper.

The winner ended up being the thinner zipper teeth and because I wasn’t terribly keen on shoving the entire dress under the sewing machine, I hand sewed the zipper in with a really close pick stitch.

I had also ordered and bought a bunch of Swarovski crystals that were originally suppose to be scatter all over my dress, but my friends all thinks it would take away from the design so sadly I had to let that aspect of my design go. At least on the bright side, I have one less thing to do on my already incredibly full plate. The little monster is 3 hand sewn seams away from being finished which means in about 5 – 8 hours, I should be done and then it is off to work on my second dress. Who knew the day would finally come.

We’re in the home stretch everybody. 4 DAYS UNTIL D-DAY!!!

A Few Zipper Resources

Pacific Trimming
218 W 38 St (7th ave & 38th Street)
New York, NY 10018
(212) 279-9310
http://www.pacifictrimming.com/ Huge supply of RiRi zippers.

Daytona Trimming
251 West 39th Street
New York, NY 10018
(212) 354-1713
http://www.daytonatrim.com/web/ Sells 22” invisible zippers in a large array of colors for $ .99.

Sil Thread
257 W 38th St (between 7th Ave & 8th Ave)
New York, NY 10018
http://silthreadinc.com/ Haven’t been here for zippers, but they sell another brand of luxury zippers by YYK called Excella  as well as plenty of regular YYK zippers. If you need a zipper cut down and didn’t buy it from them, they will do it for a $1.00. Edit: Went here this past week for zippers, they have the biggest selection of invisible zippers I have ever seen. Literally over 50 colors. All for $1 too! Sil has won me over, however I’m not very impressed with the quality of Excella. In my own opinion RiRi is still much, much nicer.

^.^

Apparently due to electrical rewiring needed to be done to complete the Haft Auditorium renovations which have been going on since last fall, all power in the C building has been shut of from 5pm Thursday evening until 8am Saturday morning. AKA We are not allowed in school to work on our projects.

Ughhh. Misery. Absolute misery. The worst timing possible.

For the time being, I guess I’ll stay at home and try to get some hand sewing done aka fall asleep/be unproductive *sigh*…

Little Red Monster,
You are the bane of my existence.

Ever since I bought and dyed my cotton bobbinet, I had already had the sneaking suspicion that I didn’t have enough fabric for my skirt. However, in an effort to save money aka avoid spending more money temporarily, I avoided the situation. Come yesterday, I couldn’t avoid it any longer. It became overwhelmingly apparent that I needed at least another 3 yards to have an acceptable dress length.

So today, I make my way to Mood and of course, the cotton bobbinet I had purchased was nowhere to be seen. If I had had anything in my stomach, I most definitely would have thrown it up.

I knew B&J and Rosen and Chaddick both had similar bobbinets from previous sourcing but both had been 3x the price which is why Mood had been such a steal. Being stubborn as usual, I first headed over to Lace Star with high hopes of them having something slightly similar. And hurray they did! The only thing was that it was $59.95 a yard.

This is when my day gets better. When the man rolled the fabric out to show me, I noticed it had huge water stains everywhere on it. He and the lady (I think she is the owner, don’t deal with her unless there is no one else in the store and you have to) got nervous and first offered it to me for $40 a yard instead. I ended up leaving the store with 2.75 yards for $40. Happiness!

Now I get to find out if the stains will dye out. I’m pretty sure it will, but you never know. Matching deep shades when dyeing are a major pain because somehow it never ends up being the exact shade you need it to be. After five hours of hovering over my stove, I called it quits. Didn’t really help to have that it was past 2am and there was no sunlight. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed for now…

Some Fabric Resources

Mood
225 W 37th St 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018

http://www.moodfabrics.com/

As Featured on Project Runway, Mood carries a wide selection of many different textiles. Only problem is they buy left over rolls and don’t replenish their sources. If you see a fabric you love, buy it right away because chances are, the next time you go it won’t be there anymore.

B&J Fabric
525 Fashion Avenue 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018
www.bandjfabrics.com/
Probably my favorite store to swatch from but my least favorite store to buy from. B&J Fabrics has some of the nicest and most beautiful fabrics in NYC, but beware of their prices. I always try to exhaust other resources before buying from them, they usually are just are not within my budget.

Rosen and Chaddick
561 7th Avenue 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018

http://www.rosenandchadickfabrics.com/

Fabric quality here is great, I typically do not come here because they carry the same stuff as everyone else.

Preview
225 West 37th Street 11th Floor
New York, NY 10018

http://www.previewtextile.com/

In the same building as Mood, Preview actually sells through Mood, but I find it much easier to go up in the elevator and see the fabrics for myself. Specializing in silks, they have over 100 colors in all sorts of different silks. Most of their silks are woven in Korea making their fabrics surprisingly affordable and they also have a super convenient swatch station.

Calamo
55 W 39th St 14th Floor
New York, NY 10018

http://calamosilk.com/

Calamo is another great vendor that specializes in different silks. A tad out of the way, but their prices make up for it. The sweet old lady in front is always kind and the staff is very helpful.

C&J Fabric
230 West 38th Street 7th Floor
New York, NY 10018

http://www.cjtextile.com/

Located in the same building as Mood but on the other end, they have a large variety of different fabrics and color cards to choose from. I find their silks are slightly more expensive than Preview, but they have other fabrics that Preview does not. Always worth checking out, especially if you’re already in the neighborhood.

Lace Star
215 W 40th St # 1
New York, NY 10018
www.lacestar.com
Primarily known for their laces, they do also carry a lot of other different fabrics. Get help from the man and if you are gutsy, you can leave with an amazing bargain.

Trumart Discount Fabrics
261 7th Ave
New York, NY 10001
Definitely a FIT student favorite, if you are willing to dig this place has many hidden gems. The man is very helpful to students and tries to get you the best deals. However, it is Jewish owned so be aware of their slightly obscure store hours.

FREEDOM!!!!! SOOOO HAPPY FOR SPRING BREAK!!!!!

Unfortunately my last spring break of my entire educational existence, much like my previous three at FIT, will be spent almost entirely on school grounds.

No, although I wish it was, this is not a sad April Fools joke.

On the bright side, at least I don’t have to spend it alone.

Elaine

Andrea

Sam

Eliza

Nicole

With some crazy shenanigans and silly mishaps to keep things interesting in C706, these kids may be the only thing keeping my sanity intact till the end of the week as well as till the end of the semester.

Paige

Ellie

Whitney

Yasenia

Hanah

Hopefully everyone will come back well rested and ready to power through until judgement day!

6th and 8th semester students were emailed with the opportunity to join Gordan Espinet and his MAC Cosmetic Team, the group behind the makeup of the BFA fashion show, for a limited opening intimate workshop to talk about the importance behind hair and makeup and how it relates to the world of Fashion.

For the workshop, we were asked to bring pictures and photos of our best work for critique and input. After his talk, he took time to look at each of our portfolios and senior collection looks before giving individual input on what he thought would best help visually enhance our looks.

For a man that has become so successful in life, he is definitely incredibly humble about it. He is funny, engaging and overall just extremely friendly. It was truly a wonderful experience and opportunity.

Seniors! Rumor is they will be doing a few more workshops so keep your eyes open for those emails. Definitely make the time for this, it really is an opportunity that should not be passed out on!