Beauty and the Bicycle - First Screenings

Thanks and tip of the bicycle helmet to LondonCyclist for helping to highlight this little gem!

A while back I discovered the Beauty and the Bike site with these wonderful documentry short videos. Now it's show time!! A new and longer 55 minute version will be premiered and featured....

"The first screenings will Thursday 3rd December, in Kino Atlantis, Bremen, Germany; and Wednesday 9th December in Darlington Arts centre. Contact dmg@bikebeauty.org for ticket details. There’s also to be book and an accompanying DVD."

Etsy Bicycle Gift Guide Revisited

Just checked my last year's Holiday Etsy Bicycle themed Gift Guide Part I and Part II. Item after item sold out! Some bicycle gift lovers and givers really gave some support to Etsy artisans and crafters!

I considered doing another bicycle themed gift guide. Voila...Here is a link you can use to start your own bicycle themed search. There are 5,468 items on Etsy to peruse. Last year when I made my list there were around 600 items to look through. Wow... 5,468 bicycle gift items on Etsy this year!!! AMAZING...

Don't you love how things 'catch on'. A good idea always get imitated and what better and sincere compliment can there be!

Surfer on a Bike with Surf Board -- Coming Soon in 3D

Surfer on Bike with Surf Board

Silly, now of course you can only see it in it's 2D version.

The above photo is my first 3D photo taken just yesterday. New camera excitement!
I'm loving learning how to use this new camera (finepix real3D). As far as I know it is not yet really being offered here in the US. I'm happy I get to borrow it from time to time because of the start up company I'm involved in. To appreciate the photo in 3D, there's viewing screen to see it on. Or if the shot turns out especially nice I can get a 3D print made. Should be fun playing with this camera ;)

*****
Historically speaking some of my favorite surfers on bikes with surf boards...

1971
(photocredit: via life by Bill Eppridge)

(surfer girl via getty images)

Laura Laine Editorial for Muse Magazine...

I'm loving this editorial! The illustrations are by Laura Laine for Muse magazine! Really inspiring for my own fashion illustrations and how I can make them just that little bit different. I'm particularly loving the first image! It really relates to my own work and my 'Make Do and Mend' theme with the needle and thread.

I found these images here.

Thanksgiving - Warm Beach Day - Thanks!

Warm, beach weather this Thanksgiving Day in Santa Cruz. This photo was taken after today's breakfast. Fun, already a good game of volley ball was in play.

Now I'm back inside my kitchen. Thankful for the bounty... my beautiful Farmer's Market produce purchased just yesterday.

Bye, have a wonderful Thanksgiving Everyone!
Now signing off...as I begin cooking today's feast!!

Tape Measure Rose

Ok well i'm trying so expand my research and come up with fresh new ideas that are completely out of the box! I would like to try and bring the 'Make Do and Mend' theme back into my work, because at the moment I feel that it has been referenced but i'm only really taking inspiration from the time of 'Make Do and Mend', the 1940's. I found this broach on this website and I think its a great idea for using household objects, especially those associated with sewing and using them in fashion.

Tutorial - Thursday 26th November

Had my tutorial today and it went ok, however there are things which need work. For instance my illustrations, I need to analyse garments through drawing and my garment flats need to be more informative. Drawing from real garments should help with this. I am going to start working with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator with my illustrations. I also need to define my market, and work out who it is that I am designing for.

So To Do By Next Thursday:

• 
  
  Start Print Ideas
  
• 
  
  Determine Market
  
• 
  
  Colour Palette
  
• 
  
  Analyse garments through drawing flats
  
• 
  
  Draw real garments
  
• 
  
  Develop Research
  
• 
  
  Source fabrics
  

Quite a lot to do then ... best get started :)

Three Tweed Riders - LA Tweed Ride

(Photocredit: kinamari )

This LA Tweed Ride photo was just too good! I knew I just had to share it with my readers. So I hunted it down. Lo and behold it was shot by kinamari aka Caryl... Caryl is one of four contributors over at Change your Life, Ride Your Bike. What a treat! So Enjoy!

++++
p.s. Speaking of contributors. Doing a blog and doing it with another contributor (or multi-contributors) sure makes a blog content rich, and easier to keep up! Lots of new stuff coming in each and everyday. hmmmm! Something to think about.....

A Romantic Homage - Girl on the Bicycle

(via shinelikechrome)

A photo that speaks to me on all sorts of levels.
If you look closely you will see pretty 'antique' dolls in her bicycle basket. I love her heart patterned leggings, the little fur shrug and of course the black balloons

I hope to be posting more this week...hmmm. Thanksgiving is such a busy and fun week with family and friends and travel. Holidays are upon us and it's just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.

S.O.P.H.I.E

On 11th August 2007, 20 year-old Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend Robert Maltby were kicked, stamped on and left unconscious - for nothing more than looking different. Sophie later died from her injuries.

It would have been Sophie's 23rd birthday on the 26th November.
ILLAMASQUA has funded an animated 4 minute video titled Sophie: A Dark Angel that will be premiered internationally on MTV this Thursday 26th November at 9pm [during a break of The Hills] it will then run after 9pm across all MTV channels.

Sylvia Lancaster, the Mother of Sophie has been quoted as saying “The film is a chilling and dramatic reminder of how prejudice, hatred and intolerance can destroy lives. It has been created as a reminder to all people to stop, and think twice, before judging, insulting, abusing or attacking someone – purely based on how they look.”

For more information on the charity visit http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com
The video will also be available to watch at www.youtube.com/sophiefoundation

Illustration Week 2 ...

I did this illustration today in my CAD Lab at uni using Adobe Photoshop. I am pleased with the outcome and I feel that it does reflect my current project however the style of the illustration isn't the style I was intending to use in my 'trendbook'. I did learn a lot from this session and I can only keep practicing to improve my illustration skills.

Illustration ...

I did this last week in CAD Lab at uni. It was basically a session aimed at learning how to draw fashion illustrations with Adobe Illustrator. I really like the result and I will deffinatly be doing more! It doesn't really fit in with the theme of my project which is a shame but im hoping to find a place for it in my trendbook somehwere.

Aquilano Rimondi Fall 2009 Ready To Wear Collection

I'm loving Aquilano Rimondi's Fall 2009 Collection! Again it is very 1940's silhouette inspired. It's so sophisticated and fabulous! 'Draped-shouldered dresses fit for an old-time movie star'. I love this a lot! A great source of inspiration! It's very overexaggertated which is something i'm looking at incorporating into my own designs when I start them.

Aquilano Said "On the runway, you sometimes have to exaggerate, but we also just want to make clothes women will want to wear. And not to keep changing every season for the sake of it. Continuity matters."

Images and quotes from here.

Anna Sui Spring 2008 Ready To Wear...

I'm gettin really inspired by Anna Sui's Spring 2008 Ready To Wear collection. I'm loving the silhouette which looks like it could be 1940's inspired with a mix of retro prints and bright colours. Perfect example of a classic 40's silhouette as a starting point for a collection.

Anna Sui Spring 2008 Ready-to-wear images are from here.

Lily Donaldson - Chocks Away

LOVE THIS!

Lily Donaldson is looking as beautiful as ever in this gorgeous shoot by Tim Walker for UK Vogue March 09. I'm really liking the colours even tho they are quite murky they still have a very romantic feel to them. The clothes are beautiful, very 1940's but still modern 21st Century Fashion and have given me a few great ideas for fabrics to use in my own work. I like the way he has used lighting in the photographs, it works really well!

Really Inspiring!

  

 

Photographs from UK Vogue March 09. You can see more of Tim Walkers beautiful photography here.

The Traditional 1940's Silhouette

I have started to look at the traditional 1940's garment and silhouette shape so I can start to design my own garments. I think that these photographs are a good representation of 1940's fashion. I like a lot about the 1940's silhouette. I like the strong shoulders and the way the garment comes in at the waist and ouffs out at the hips. I think it can be a good starting point my my garment shapes for my project.

'Most women wore skirts at or near knee-length, with simply-cut blouses or shirts and square-shouldered jackets. Popular magazines and pattern companies advised women on how to remake men's suits into smart outfits, since the men were in uniform and the cloth would otherwise sit unused. Eisenhower jackets became popular in this period. Influenced by the military, these jackets were bloused at the chest and fitted at the waist with a belt.'

Images and quote from flickr and a very interesting blog I came across.

Paper Bag Princess...

Looks like Vogue aren't the only ones to be looking at making garments out of anything but fabric! W Fashion Magazine have done it aswell but rather than use found household objects they have used discarded shopping bags from various designers such as Prada, Dior, and Jean Paul Gaultier. The concept here however is completely different and not related at all. Created by Alex White and photos shot by Craig McDean. You can see the rest of the shoot here.

  

           

                            

Images from W Magazine

1940's Vogue

Here are some pages from Vogue from the 1940's, some images are from 1940 and some 1943. I thought it would be a good idea to look at how Vogue handled the War and the 'Make Do and Mend' campaign. I found pages offering fashion tips on how to get the most out of a dress from instance and how to revamp those old boring suits! The adverts were for patterns and wools and various items the 1940's woman could use to revamp her wardrobe without buying new.

Make Do and Mend Vogue Style ....

I scanned these gorgeous image from last months Vogue. 'The ultimate money-saving fashion flash is to make your own clothes - using "objects domestiques". shona Heath, William Tempest and Peter Jensen turn recycling into DIY couture. So grab your stick tape, scissors and PVA glue, and begin with a surrealist thought.'

Its a great source of inspiration for my next project to see what other designers and photographers are doing to tackle to credit crunch and using 'Make Do and Mend' as inspiration. I really love this shoot and it will be good to compare how different my work will be since it has the same influence.

You can see the rest of the images here.

Photograhed by Tim Walker

Tutorial Thursday 19th November

I had my first tutorial for the current project today and I'd say it went really well! discussed my ideas with my tutor as well as my aims, my anticipated outcomes, my strategies, and my resources. My initial inspiration is still the credit crunch and 'fighting back when times are hard' and I have been looking at some ideas from the post-war era such as 'Make Do and Mend'. This has then led me on to a string of deas related to 'Make Do and Mend, and the war, military fashion and 1940's fashion. Although this seems a lot of ideas I am still going to keep them all in mind as I feel as my work proogresses the ideas will become stronger and interlink. We discussed my strenghts and how and could play on them and my weaknesses and I have decided to focus on print and illustration, and try and improve my presentation skills and pay work attention to fabric.

My plan for the week is:

• Work on my ideas and develop them into something stronger
• Look at colour, season, print, detail, market level, branding, garment shapes and fabric
• Find images of inspiration and images to back up my work
• Start Sketchbook
• Do some market Research
• Make a weekly timetable

DC Tweed Ride ..... a Charming Video

(Video by Piso Mojado)

This is a little memento gem to savour... kindly sharing a most nostalgic look at the recent Tweed Ride in Washington D.C.
Please enjoy!

"Presented by Dandies and Quaintrelles, the Washington DC First Semi-Annual Tweed Ride was held on November 15, 2009. We assembled in an alley (8th and H Streets NE), rode past the Capitol, the White House, and ended our tweed-clad, velocipedic journey at Marvin's on 14th Street NE where our thirsts were quenched with pints of beer and G&Ts."

Vintage Bicycle Pedicab - Dream Stuff

(photo: RidingPretty.com)

(photo: RidingPretty.com)

Oh, If I could just have one more bicycle!... dear 'bicycle goddess'...please let it be this vintage pedicab! I promise I would take my non bicycle riding friends for cafe excursions and peddle my heart out to get us all there in sweet style.