Meanwhile, he's invited me to his fall open house. The invitation strongly suggests wearing Adam Arnold. Unfortunately I haven't yet had the honor of owning anything Adam. I thought in order to get in the spirit of being a designer, that I would try to crank something out for myself.
So, I came up with a lined wool dress that is very coat-like. I sketched over a dozen designs an finally decided on one. I began by sketching them as flats, and created a sheet of progressives. I actually began drafting the pattern and began to second guess myself.
I love dolman sleeves, but because I have an unusually large bust circumference, they tend to look dumpy on me. It is visually confusing, because unless my waistline is defined, I look pregnant or overweight. And most dolman sleeves are baggy in general. As I was drafting the sleeve I began to wonder about how this would look, and lost some faith in my design.
In a completely natural search for reassurance, I was drawn to do what I've been taught, and drew my garment on this fashion figure! And I feel a million times better now! I drew this in less than ten minutes, and am so glad I did it.
The bodice should be very fitted aside from the dolman (it has an overarm seam), and has some combination of a built-up neckline and a mandarin collar. The bodice ends exactly where it needs to in order to accentuate the waist and has a true waistline seam where a slight amount of fullness is added, and increases to a somewhat fuller a-lined silhouette which is pulled in by a band at the hem. I added the band in order to balance out everything that is happening at the top, and feel it's a little over-accentuated in the drawing. I'm hoping that once it is made out of the medium-weight wool, the sleeve will droop a little and not be too stiff, and that the "coat feeling" doesn't take over too much. I would love to combine it with a satiny silky shirt with a "secretary" feel, black tights and boots.
7 comments:
Oh my god! I love it. I think that you're right about the bottom. It should be kind of bubble skirtish to balance out the top but the drawing makes it look a little too hobble skirt like. I can't wait to see it in action. I hope you post pictures as it goes along.
this looks amazing -- and i think that bringing down the sleeve into a tight waist like you've drawn will naturally accentuate your hourglass figure.
It sounds like a fun challenge to create a piece after the style of someone else -- and it strikes me as an odd circumstance where being inspired by a designer's style and to some extent copying it, doesn't fall into the much debated intellectual property category, and is intead condoned by the designer.
Also it'll be interesting to see a whole crowd of people wearing and interpretting his pieces.
I can't say that this was inspired by Adam's stuff per se. This is simply my solution for wanting something fall, warm, wooly, and comfy, and not having any money :) Ultimately the inspiration I have been running on lately is that of speed and efficiency. Having stopped in for the quick interview with him, I was above all impressed with the volume of items he's able to produce. This combined with the fact that I begin drafting my senior collection tomorrow, which is a dozen pieces, has instilled a newfound design parameter in me. I'm attempting to get in the swing of that by making a few quick pieces for myself.
As always, I appreciate the support and feedback!
I would love to hear how the quick pieces turn out -- one of my major setbacks is that i am really slow. Maybe both you and carly (who I already know is quick as hell) could write up something on not only the techniques, but also the mindset of efficiency.
I like the ease and fluidity in your illustration. I strive for a similar look in my own illustrations but I tend to start focusing on details and I don't like the look of it.
Your dress design is very pretty. It is feminine and modern. I hope you post pics when you make it.
The bottom reminds me of a dress I designed in school but never made. My main concern with making it was the band at the bottom. I new it would be to snug to walk in unless it was made of a stretchy knit and if I made it wide enough to walk in I was concerned it would lose it's design appeal.
You can see my illustration of it here:
http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr297/SpiderlilyPatterns/brochurefront800tall.jpg
I am not so proud of my illustration techniques in it though.
Anyways, I am happy to have found your blog (through FI). I will check in often to see what you are up to.
Good luck!
Amy
I really want to check out your illustration, but the address appears to have gotten cut off. I did find an Etsy page for Spiderlily Patterns, and can only assume that's you!
Oops!
Here is the link:
amy's illustration
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