Mess Up, Modify

Just got an image back from Corwin of the colorful '80s-style leotards I made at the beginning of the year! Model is the lovely and epic-ly wonderful Sophie King.


The back part of the neckline gaped a bit so I had to put in a dart and some extra detailing. (The bottoms also needed to be cut slightly higher.) That’s the secret to good design though: WHEN YOU MESS UP, MODIFY.
I had pretty huge scare along those lines at work last week. I was trying to take apart some seams on a custom dress, which was A. a couple years old and B. had already been worn, so they were really fragile. Try as I might to be careful, I succeeded in ripping not once twice but three times before I had to hand it to Laura and admit my defeat…sometimes you just have to know your limits. The wonderful part was we did some reworking and managed to both make the adjustments needed and keep it looking awesome. Thank fucking god or I probably would have cried. I’m bad with failure, what can I say. I’m kind of an Type-A like that.

So I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned I’m kind of obsessed with sex. Not sure why, but have been since I was little, sneaking looks at Playboy and telling BDSM stories at slumber parties(no joke). Because of this, and because they are awesome, my friends sometimes send me these kinds of things:


In case you can’t tell from the lousy cell phone pic, it says “Forbidden Frankenstein” and the plot is straight up b&w drawn porn, HUGE franken-dick included. It's pretty magical. Yet another thing to love about the early '90s!

Random note: I am continuing my discovery and love of “M” named bands. This week it is Murder by Death & (the) Mars Volta. My music obsessed ex would have a heart attack at the fact that I’m expanding my musical boundaries.

And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:


Damn you Viktor & Rolf, for stealing all the neat ideas before anyone else can think of it/get the funds and labor needed to do so.
The first questions that came to my head when I saw this were: was the petticoat dyed before or after the cutting? And what machine did the cutting? I’m pretty sure it was done after, and with a laser cutter, but who knows.


I’ve always loved this piece by Beth Church. I must analyze and find a way to do something similar, but with my own twist of course. I love the layer-ing, the chunky-ness, and the ornate-ness of it all.