Episodes
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How To DIY Style: Sewing, Pattern Drafting, Using Patterns, featuring a DIY Military Inspired Jumpsuit
Today’s episode is on DIY Style, sewing, drafting your own blocks and making your own patterns versus using store-bought patterns or printing patterns online, and will discuss design details and components of the jumpsuit I’m wearing; I've paired it with my Seed of Life Unisex Tanktop in Heather Grey, available in different colors and styles for men, women, children, youth, and babies at AuricWear.com and Etsy.com/shop/AuricWear. Feel free to listen, watch, or view the accompanying post at Subversive.Style.
Patterns:Patterns are like a blueprint and instruction manual for how to make something using fabric and sewing or serging to piece the different parts together.
Buying A Pattern:Although buying a pattern seems like it would be an effortless task, you still do have a lot of cutting-out, and it’s not necessarily easy and breezy by any means.
Printing A Pattern:I will say that I went through all the trouble of printing a pattern, taping it together, cutting it out, and finding that the resulting toile or muslin didn’t at all fit although I’d carefully made sure the size was according to my measurements… It can be quite disappointing to complete all those tasks only to find the pattern itself is a fail!
Pattern SymbolsFamiliarize yourself with different pattern symbols, or use the key on your pattern.
Pattern Drafting and Pattern Making:To begin drafting, you’ll want to make sure you have a tape measure, ruler or yardstick, hip curve, french curve, pattern wheels, scissors for paper, shears for fabric, interfacing appropriate for your project type, your main fabric, and muslin.
Taking a plethora of your body measurements is the first thing you’ll do, according to the guidelines of whatever system or book you’re using. You’ll then fill those measurements in on a sheet which should correspond to how those measurements are labeled. Afterward, you’ll begin drafting points and lines on dotted pattern paper.
After you’ve finished your block and are satisfied with the fit, you’ll want to add seam allowance and ease for the finished garment you want to create and note whether your fabric is non-stretch woven or stretch, as it will determine how you adjust ease.
Design DetailsIf you’ve gone the route of drafting your own block, consider all of the design details- from closures to pockets to seam types and seam finishing.
Don’t go all out on your first project! Make a tunic, a top, something simple!
Before you cutHave you added or accounted for seam allowance and ease? If you’ve created your own block, you must account for these yourself- some ease is included when drafting most measurements and it will be noted in the instructions...
Grainline: you want to be aware of your fabric’s grainline.
Closure: if you’re sewing a woven (non-stretch garment), you will most likely need a closure unless the neckline and waistline are large enough to allow for getting in and out of the garment.
Before You SewI recommend you write down the steps you need to take before constructing the garment.Test a scrap piece of your final fabric and make sure your sewing machine and bobbin’s tension are set for it.Decide what type of seams and seam finishing you want to use... You must finish the seam if you intend to machine wash it, and can choose whichever you prefer.
Here We Sew!It’s time to sew! Don’t be nervous!--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/subversivestyle/support
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Paris Fashion Week Spring 2023 was by far the best capital of fashion for the Spring 2023 season… The Paris collections are full of joie de vivre, embracing the fashion-forward, avant-garde, original, and innovative design. They are elegant, modern, wearable, and vivacious. Even the simplest gowns have a unique touch- a structured geometric bodice, are beautifully draped, or have a unique cut.Featured Wicca Totem T-shirt available at AuricWear.com
A farewell to the icon Issey Miyake, who will forever be remembered as a fashion innovator with his original pleating and knitting techniques which revolutionized the techniques and the industry beginning in the 80s. The collection featured unique knit designs which darted out from the figure to create interesting silhouettes, allowing different parts to contour to the body such as the sleeves at the wrists while adding volume to other areas such as the waist to create a peplum.
BotterBotter’s Spring 2023 collection is full of originality, featuring interesting takes on suiting: double-lapel and facing suit jackets tucked into pants, heart-shaped keyhole cutouts, zipper lapel jackets reveal a striped shirting or lining beneath for an all-in-one look…quite interesting and innovative...
Christian DiorChristian Dior’s Spring 2023 collection features many of the techniques of fabric manipulation we saw in new york fashion week: smocking, pleating, ruching, and draw-string gathers. Beyond the ever-present cargo pants, the trending slip dress and nighty are also represented, but I doubt the hoop skirt will make a comeback. I love the cascade neckline of the trench coat with a drawstring waistline and sleeves. ...
Koché:Interwoven open-weave knit sweaters; burnout sheer sweaters, pants, and knit dresses reveal the models’ skin beneath varying shades of black, nude, and brown...
Roland Mouret:Roland Mouret’s simple yet elegant gowns feature just the right amount of draping and structure- not a single look appears to be over-designed, but rather evokes effortless elevated style...
Saint Laurent:Are we sure this is the correct collection? It looks more like a fall show given the color palette and fabric selection. Mustard, olive, pea, plum, raisin, currant, and black....
RodarteThe bold red and turquoise neon lights may be a bit overpowering for these garments, but they certainly are eye-catching. Slip dresses, spaghetti strap psychedelic prints and asymmetrical hemlines...
RochasA ruffle shirt-dress in blue and white stripes with black drop-waist cincher, another in white with a shirred bodice, windowpane suiting as well as hot shorts in black and white atop white sheer pants, a light blue skirt suit paired with cravat-evoking ruffle top, a deconstructed pagoda-sleeve mini-dress in black with white leaf pattern paired with matching tights in a smaller scale of the same print...
BalmainIs Balmain coming for Iris Van Herpen? If you had told me years ago that the little-known brand putting out simple American flag tops and pagoda sleeves would be transformed into this avant-garde house all due to a young creative director I hardly would’ve believed you. I simply live for the avant-garde, and adore the originality of the cage-shoulders,...
Rick OwensOne of my favorite collections from Paris Fashion Week, as well as the season as a whole, is that of Rick Owens: he’s one of the few designers who are pushing fashion forward, even if it began with models worn as backpacks and penis-revealing cut-outs… Dramatic pagoda sleeves, bomber jackets, sheer fabrics, draping and twisting, tonal monochromatic looks, unique paneling, and pleating...Full post at Subversive.Style--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/subversivestyle/support
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Welcome to the Subversive Style Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle Podcast. I’m Perry Uwanawich- the designer of Auric Wear. I'm wearing the witch-totem unisex muscle tee in black, available at AuricWear.com and Auric Wear's Etsy Shop.
Today's episode is on Milan Fashion Week Spring 2023, listen to or watch my previous episodes on London and New York Fashion Weeks- video is available on Spotify and youtube, and visit subversive.style blog for the full post with galleries.
Milan Fashion Week Spring 2023
Milan Fashion Week is more substantive than NYFW and LFW while covering the same trends and extending some from the Fall collections. With the exception of Bluemarine, I’d say it is still rather underwhelming and unremarkable.
Runway Trends from Milan Fashion Week for Spring 2023
Trends that continued from the runways of New York Fashion Week & London Fashion Week:
Sheer Pants and skirts Body Suits, Jumpsuits, Utilitarian, Peak lapels.
2000s Aesthetic: Color Blocking All Denim Everything Low-rise pants and jeans
90s Aesthetic: Undergarments as ready-to-wear: A modern twist on the slip dress and its layering atop t-shirts in the 90s styling as well as MSGM’s graphic tees featuring lingerie prints.
Antonio Marras: Floral prints and border prints, landscape painting photo-prints, color blocking and patchwork, jumpsuits, short sleeve button-ups, shorts, flannel shirts, wool sweaters, cut-out jackets of skirt suits, a hanbok and kimono, meggings… The color palette is made up of army green, green, grey-white-blue tartan, red, burgundy, camel, black, charcoal, greige, white, and tan. The fabric selection includes wool rib knit, jersey, silk satin, twills, embroidered silk wool suiting, nylon, dupioni, grey and black plaid suiting, lace used in menswear, and eyelet
DSquared^2: Lace blazers, pants, and skirts; scuba-inspired crop tops; spaghetti strap dresses layered atop pants; a playful take on the slip-dresses of the 90s; and capri pants. The color palette is rather bold, with highly saturated hues of neon orange and green stripes, venom, tangerine, light blue, raspberry and kiwi geometric print, kelly green snakeskin, banana and black windowpane, white, black, and grey.
Prada: That’s neither a jumpsuit nor a catsuit- it’s a button-up onesie and needs to be burned. Silky slip dresses, oversized coats sheer skirts and dresses, and an interesting melding of menswear and womenswear characterize the Prada Spring 2023 collection. The fabric of the coats and hoodies, which either wrinkles easily but more likely appears to have intentional whiskers pressed in at the elbow, works best in the draped mini dress. The color palette includes fifty shades of grey, black, gold dijon, light blue, cobalt, red, chartreuse, tangerine, pomegranate, brown, camel, and white. The fabric selection is made up of cotton shirting, poplin, georgette, silk charmeuse, wool knit, and black leather.
Bluemarine: All denim everything: the Canadian tuxedo is oh so 2000s, and Bluemarine made it its bitch with cross-shaped tops, full-length sweetheart neckline dresses, floor-length skirts, studded button-ups, corsets, low-rise jeans, skirts, and deconstructed tops and dresses made entirely of the yarns of this iconic drill that shaped the world of casual iconic fashion. The lettuce hemlines and eyelet straps evoke the nineties.
Ports 1961: Cording braided and knit into chunky-knit dresses and sweaters with a fringe effect. The 2000s are evoked in the tear-away waistline of the long coat, as well as in the color blocking. The 90s are given an updated homage with the new take on the slip dress- a rather modern nod to the styling trends of the decade we all reminisce on so fondly.
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London Fashion Week Spring 2023 LFW SS23
Shop Auric Wear at AuricWear.com and on Auric Wear's Etsy Shop.
Today's episode is on London Fashion Week Spring 2023, listen to or watch my previous episode on New York Fashion Week- video is available on spotify and youtube, and visit Subversive.Style Fashon Beauty and Lifestyle Blog for the full post with galleries.Admittedly, London Fashion Week (LFW) has always been my least favorite of the fashion capitals- I have always felt like the silhouettes are often a bit grotesque and the proportions are far out. For London Fashion Week Spring 2023, it seems nothing’s changed in that regard- I have saved but twenty-nine photos from eight collections: to put that into perspective, I recall having to re-name and tag hundreds of photos in seasons past…and 3 of them ended up being from a New York Fashion Week Spring 2023 collection taking being posted during London Fashion Week of course. While there are collections with exquisite fabrics, beading, and embroidery, for example, I find them to be out of place, dated- and not in a cool way- uninspired, boring, run-of-the-mill… Perhaps that’s the problem with commercialized ready-to-wear, it’s become more about costers and buyers, investors and shares, and what sells (aka boring mall clothes) versus true fashion-forward fashion design. That’s what happened with Anne Demeulemeester– this really androgynous futuristic creative designer’s house had its aesthetic diluted- the spirit of the designer was sucked dry and the result was lackluster apparel… Alas, as I write this in the early hours of the morning, I thought I’d seen hope as I found myself thinking a particular show meant there was hope in the last moment for London Fashion Week…but it was the mirage of the beginning of Milan Fashion Week, you see.Chet Lo Spring 20233D Shibori (think popcorn fabric), layering, low-rise trousers, sheer fabrics…there’s a continuation of the 90s and 2000s aesthetics from New York Fashion Week. The color palette includes kelly green, powder blue, salmon, scarlet, baby and bubblegum pink, fuchsia, off-white, light teal, pumpkin, white, cyan, magenta, and chartreuse. Seamless knits with subtle yet gorgeously ergonomic prints hug the body in an organic fashion, used on halter neckline dresses with shrugs in kelly green and periwinkle. This isn’t your auntie’s popcorn top…it has a full mask attached and sleeve-stirrups, a matching bag, and is paired with low-rise single-welt front pocket boot-cut polished cotton trousers with curved sideseams and curved knee darts…all in a monochrome baby blue. Linear halftone floral prints graced not only the dresses, drill jean boatneck jackets and pants…but also the models’ skin, which is such a modern and playful touch it makes one do a double take. Cutouts with sheer inlays, shrugs, tube tops, pencil skirts, freyed unfinished edges of sheer fabric, a pink overdress in sheer synthetic gauze, and matching stiletto nails…this collection served up some eye candy to be sure.
Christopher Kane Spring 2023Christopher Kane has continued to elevate his collections, and this appears to be his most high-fashion and well-edited yet. Monochrome mint or baby pink skirt suits made with georgette jackets and charmeuse slip skirts with white lace scalloped edge appliqué; charcoal heather jersey tees and sweater jackets with clear vinyl buckle or dog-leash clip closures; accordion pleated crepe de chine skirts; a rib-knit body suit was given the straight jacket treatment in lieu o snaps; vinyl and buckle harnesses paired with stick-on lacy bralette cups; buckle up side seam pants of a charcoal silk wool suit; cut-outs; clear vinyl overdresses… there’s a hard-edged modernity to this collection. I do like the way the cold-shoulder lace dress is constructed in panels of lace with bia--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/subversivestyle/support
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New York Fashion Week Spring 2023 starts off with a reflection on the styles and crafts that dominated the pandemic- crochet and knitting, quilting, smocking, and all those awful Target cottage-core dresses which can only serve as The Handmaid’s Tale‘s preparatory wardrobe. I do believe we should move away from fast fashion and toward handmade, bespoke, slow fashion, made-to-order, DIY; and support those who actually own the IP “brands” steal from.
Runway Trends for New York Fashion Week Spring 2023There are a lot of criss-cross wrap tops weaving in and out of jackets, deconstructed open seam sleeves, hip cut outs, lace-up details, and loads of sheer pants. Slimline puffers, layering, chiffon and open-weave knits, contrasting textures. Although this was my least favorite season for New York Fashion Week since 2008, I have hope we’ll shift away from boring mall clothes and fast fashion that dominate the runways and stores to closet curation, something original, new, and inspired.
Sea wants to embrace craftsmanship for NYFW and utilizes crochet, quilting, broderie anglais, and smocking in its Spring 2023collection, which is honestly not as elevated as it could have been or would be if edited down (no one should look like a granny quilt personified), but let’s give ‘em credit for all the hard work that went into it. The color palette is composed of eggshell, navy and Yale blue floral prints which appear to be appliqué with embroidered borders, grey and yellow native tribal print, caramel and Yale blue floral on cream fabric, bold multicolored crochet in varying geometric shapes, burnt golden rod drawstring pants, indigo denim, multicolor multi-pattern granny quilt realness, red mint and blue patchwork quilting… The fabric selection included rickrack and scalloped trims, with everything seemingly being of plain-weave fabrics in natural fibers- I’d assume cottons, linens, cotton or wool yarns, seersucker, eyelet, broderie anglais, denim, chambray, calico…
Monse’s use of sheer crepe and tulle, lace-up pant legs, and deconstructed sleeves are interesting design details. Look at those seam lines- impeccable! The color palette includes black, bubblegum pink, camouflage, literal jaguar leopard print, banana and radish graphic knit sweaters, floral prints in white and black with either caramel or jade green, white, just a touch of olive on a shirred waistband and a lace-up dress, blue (denim), red and blue gingham, caramel and white stripes, khaki, creamsicle, tangerine, navy (including a pinstripe), teal, and army green. The fabric selection appears to be cotton twill and drill, horsehair, plain weave cotton fabrics, rayon, square stitch and rib knits, sheer silk chiffon in black, nylon, denim, wool suiting, pale blue cotton shirting, gabardine or poplin… The styling is simple: bucket hats and geometric earrings, rectangular branded nylon bags with oversized webbing straps and buckles, open-toe sandals being used on both sexes.
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