Launch My Line

Have any of you out there seen the new show on Bravo "Launch My Line?" It makes me think that Bravo is desperate to recover the viewers lost to Lifetime when "Project Runway" switched networks. Unfortunately for Bravo, most of us follow the Gunn. Tim Gunn, that is. "The Fashion Show" was stark in its presentation and the designers weren't all that talented. Now they have "Launch My Line" and it just reeks of desperation. The premise is this: professional business men and women ("designers") are paired with fashion industry professionals ("experts") and together they compete to launch a fashion line. The "designers" are choreographers, businessmen & women, fashion writers, critics, etc. They aren't necessarily designers at all. The whole idea just strikes me as a desperate attempt to create a drama-filled reality show that will bring in the ratings. The previews show the "designers" saying things like, "shut-up and sew" to their "experts." Degrading, yes? It seems like the kind of show that will only encourage crazies like the Real Housewives of Atlanta to "launch" their own line. I resent people without any design experience or expertise who call themselves "fashion designers" simply because they've hired a seamstress to sew some clothes for them. These people don't know the smallest thing about sewing or pattern making. They hardly even sketch. They don't know about textiles or garment construction. But they're fashion designers? It's more than a little revolting, if you ask me.

I watched the first episode. One "designer" looked around the workroom about halfway through the challenge and decided that the competition had better pieces. So she made her "expert" scrap ALL her work and completely start over. If Bravo referred to the respective participants as "master" and "indentured servant" it would be less insulting because at least then they'd be calling a spade a spade. Anyone else have an opinion on the new show? For me, I just miss Project Runway that much more.

Lady in Red... we're almost there!

A week from this coming Monday is the AMT Christmas party and I am finished sewing my fabulous new red dress:

As described in the previous "Lady in Red" post, I added a notched cuff to the sleeve, lowered and opened the neckline and added a sculptural pleating detail to the left side of the neckline as well as to the right side of the waistline, continuing on to the back. These are details that are nearly impossible to see in the picture above, but I'm very happy with the end result. Here's where you come in. I'm opening up the comments section of this post to anyone who would like to offer some styling advice. In the above picture, I've merely donned a pair of black satin & rhinestone pumps. I think the round toe is appropriate with the silhouette of the dress- they are both a throwback to the 40's. I also think the rhinestones on the shoe add a touch of glamour, appropriate to the event I'm attending. Other than that, I am completely open to the rest of the styling. I think that the rest of the outfit should be appropriately modern- I don't want to look like I've stepped out of the cast of MadMen or Pleasantville. The pleating detail helps modernize the overall look, but I'm not sure what to do with my hair and jewelry. Suggestions are welcome. Also, I'll try to post some better pictures of the dress at some point. I'm currently leaning towards the idea of a simple dangly earring, with hair up and curly. No necklace, simply because the neckline pleating is enough embellishment and anything other than a simple gold chain would compete too much. Anyway, I'll try to figure it out by next Monday! In the meantime, feel free to comment away!

Another warm day!

Yesterday was another unseasonably warm day- I wore this dress without tights! Cute, right?

Other than the shoes and the belt, these are all pieces you've seen before. The shoes came from one of the vendors ar Building Character, as did the scrabble ring, which is really hard to see in the photo.

Sorry for such a short post- it's been a long day, but I promise better for the weekend! Happy Friday, everyone!

Rate My Look- a day behind!

Top: Daffy's $4.99

Jeans: Old Navy, $19

Scarf: Wet Seal, FREE!

Hat: I have NO idea

Shoes: Nine West, $19.99

Ok, first of all, I am really not getting better at the whole self-portrait thing. Maybe my camera stinks. Maybe I need better lighting. I have no idea. If you have suggestions, they are welcome. In a perfect world, I'd be dating a handsome & rugged professional photographer who would snap my photo anytime I wanted. (Suggestions on meeting a handsome & rugged professional photographer are welcome, too!) Unfortunately for everyone involved, I do not have a handsome & rugged professional photographer at my beck and call, so I must make do with my el cheapo Kodak Easy Share camera and software. So tragic.

But enough about my picture problems. I wore this outfit on Wednesday (I'm a couple of days behind posting my outfits). I wanted to put together a fun outfit for the top because I was so excited to wear it. It's not exactly a groundbreaking top, but I got it while in the city on Monday at Daffy's, one of my all-time favorite stores for a mere $4.99! Bargain! I, of course, went on to the garment district and dropped nearly $100 on fabric, thus ruining my plan to be thrifty that day! The best laid plans, right? I guess I was in a colorful mood because I paired the bright teal top with an equally bright pink scarf. The hat I wore mainly because I didn't feel like doing my hair! Shameful, I know.

But all in all, I think it's a fine outfit. I'm sure all of you fashionable ladies out there feel much the same way I do when you get dressed for work. You feel a certain amount of pressure to always deliver a stellar outfit. I find that when I dressed casually at work (which is completely the norm at AMT), I almost got more comments than when I made sure to put together and "outfit." I feel like this "outfit" is less so than what I typically wear, but you can't be totally glamorous every single day of your life, right?

Lady in Red... continued... again....

I just wanted to share with all of you that I finished my red dress today and I am DYING to wear it! I want to save it for the AMT company Christmas party, though. I think it's got a bit of a "wow" factor, especially for this town. In case you were wondering I did end up making the following adjustments:

1.) Lowered/opened the neckline (va-va-voom!)
2.) Added a notched cuff to the sleeve, but kept the sleeve length the same as the photo
3.) Added a sort- of- sculptural- pleated- detail to the left side of the bustline and along the waistline to the back

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures once I figure out how I want to accessorize it. Any ideas? I'm pretty much open to anything right now. Maybe I'll do a side-by-side comparison for you all at some point. Right now I'm just excited for it to be finished. The pleating detail is what took a while to finish, but overall the entire dress only took about 3-4 hours to make from start to finish. Sometimes I really love that I know how to sew. It sure does come in handy!

Have a great night, everyone!

Rate My Look

You've seen these pants, shoes and sweater before, but the top is new. It's from Anna Sui's collection for Target- the one inspired by the TV show Gossip Girl. I know absolutely nothing about Gossip Girl, so maybe one of you can tell me what about this top is Gossip Girl inspired? Is there a particular character who might wear something like it? Did I pair it like she would?

Here's a better view of the blouse:

It's primarily orange & brown with a bit of gold metallic thread woven in patches. I'll be honest- it's a little bit itchy as a result of the metallic thread. I tucked the top into my high waist sailor pants that I love so much, then slipped on my bargain Kenneth Cole black heels, added my favorite black cardigan and finally a pair of gold earrings given to me last year as a birthday present and my cameo ring:

(I can't figure out why the last two pictures won't center on the page for me. It's a little annoying.... )

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the blouse actually has a cool ruffle detail on the front, similar to a Victorian cravat or jabot. I guess that's why I felt inspired to wear the cameo ring- more old fashioned details! I got the ring at a big multi-neighborhood yard sale and I've been looking for an opportunity to wear it ever since. It only cost $2.50, but I think it's so cool! You know how I love my cameos! 

Perhaps the best thing about my Anna Sui top is the fact that it originally sold for $39.99 but I paid only $9.98! Bargain! Have a fabulous day everyone!  

Shoesday Tuesday

Today is the start of our annual Secret Santa game at AMT. It's a big deal for a lot of the performers simply because due to the crazy schedule (11 shows per week), it's hard to get away to see family at Christmas. So everyone becomes family at AMT and we play Secret Santa to bring us all together. It's a lot of fun, particularly because whenever someone finds something left for them, they'll shout, "Thank you, Secret Santa!" To which the entire cast & crew will respond, "You're welcome!" That's my favorite part of Secret Santa- everyone shouting "You're welcome!" My office is upstairs and today my Secret Santa left me a fabulous gift- the December issue of Elle magazine. I could have used the intercom, (or "squawk box" as we call it), but instead I went downstairs to the backstage area to say "Thank you," mostly so I could hear everyone respond "You're welcome!"

Anyway, while flipping through my FABULOUS gift, I saw these shoes by Mai Lamore:

Are they amazing or what? I can't even tell you what they cost- "price upon request." It would be hard for me to wear these shoes simply because I'd constantly be afraid of ruining them. To me, they are a piece of art and as much as I'd love to don them with the perfect LBD, if I had the bucks to buy them, I would have to be SO careful. What do you think? Am I crazy for loving these? Leave a comment and tell me what you think!