Monday, October 6, 2008

Dang, Dolman.

I don't think I've mentioned yet that I will be starting my internship with Adam Arnold next Monday. Yay! I'm very excited!

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:

Carly said...

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.

hannah said...

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.

Jessie said...

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!

hannah said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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

Jessie said...

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!

Anonymous said...

Oops!
Here is the link:
amy's illustration