Claudia Kishi: Fashion Hero

This blog is BAD ASS.  Kim is bad ass.  

Who would’ve thought to do this: go through each Baby-sitter’s Club book, pick specific excerpts, and rip on the outfits?  Kim is both literary genius and fashion god.  

And who doesn’t love Claudia Kishi?  I was/am Claudia, but without the terrible spelling and obsession with junk food. Ann M. Martin/the ghostwriter(s)’ extremely detailed description of Claudia’s funky outfits was probably the only reason I stayed faithful to the series.  Yeah, yeah, she/the ghostwriters were painstakingly thorough about the others’ outfits too, but who cares about what Kristy or Mary Anne wore?  Oooh, a baseball cap because she’s a tomboy.  Wow, some weak-ass top and skirt because she’s sensitive and quiet.   

I’ve always been drawn to and admired those that take risks, and have fun with their outfits.  Just like I've always admired Batman or Ironman because they break the rules to do what they feel is right despite what others think.  Similar to my favorite comic book heroes, Claudia and her kind break fashion rules to wear what they want. They disregard current trends—they start the trends, biatch—and ignore all those raised eyebrows and weird glances, making them my "fashion heroes".

Therefore, as a tribute, I’ve compiled a list of my top five fashion “heroes.”

5. Harper from Wizards of Waverly Place 

A little restrained for her, but LOVE the 3D cotton candy and popcorn clutch.

Seriously, markers? You kill me!

I know we’ve all seen this before. Beezy isn't breaking new ground, but her outfits are hilarious. Whimsy is always fun.  Her obsession with Justin is a riot. 

4. Clarissa from Clarissa Explains It All

Savers, Goodwill, and Salvation Army all threw up on her! I love it!

 Exactly what they said. 

3. Will Smith from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air 

Kind of the black, male version of Clarissa.  Lots of color, prints, funky hats, and inside-out school blazer.  He wore whatever and even at his most ridiculous, he owned it.  Confidence and unlaced Doc Martens are always the best accessories. 

2. Claudia Kishi from the Baby-sitter's Club

She was thrifting it way before the hipsters, and making her own jewelry before all that DIY/Etsy stuff became big.  

1. Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus

The woman who started it all.  Claudia and Harper-approved.  Claudia's “the sea”outfit was Frizzle-inspired.  



Who do you think should've been number one?  Anyone I missed?

More goodies from the Career Closet

This is from last Friday's sale.  You guys missed out!  I think the next one's in April or May.  I'll keep you posted, maybe.  Until then, you can gawk at all uh dis goodness.

Also, one last thing, props to Clout for getting on ESPN!  http://instagram.com/p/Vj3xbQGJlH/

School Notes

Today was difficult.  I could barely wake up this morning.  Even though I managed to not sleep through my classes, I wasn’t getting any of “it.” Probably trying to recover from an entire weekend of arm-wrestling, pigging out, gambling, drinking, cooking—or, rather, helping my mom cook—, cleaning, visiting relatives and my grandpa at Oakhill, and whatever else you’re supposed to do for Vietnamese New Year.  No, I’m not complaining, especially since my old ass still gets red envelopes.  Don’t hate.

Anyway, I’m going to use today’s post to review some of the concepts I learned in Fabrics II and Draping.

Fabrics II

Evaluating Fabric

The purpose is to become adept at choosing the appropriate fabric for a specific garment.  To do this, we go through a mental checklist of the fabric’s appearance, hand, and drapability to evaluate suitability.  Since I am not yet a veteran designer, this checklist is less mental and more written.

I.                    Appearance (color, luster, pattern). 

A.      If woven, identify colors and yarn type in the warp¹ and weft¹.

II.                  Fabric’s hand

The fabric’s hand consists of many categories and terms used within those categories.  It gets confusing because some of the categories are very similar to each other or not as straightforward as you think.

A.      Flexibility: pliable to stiff

                                                 1.      In/ability to bend

                                                 2.      Pliable: bends easily

                                                 3.      Stiff: cannot bend

B.      Compressibility: soft to hard

                                                 1.      amount you can wad into a ball—the more fabric you can fit in your hand, the more compressible it is

                                                 2.       soft:  high compressibility (you can fit most/all in your hand)

                                                 3.      hard: low compressibility (you cannot fit in your hand)

C.      Extensibility: stretchy to stable

                                                 1.      In/ability to stretch and recover

                                                 2.      Stretchy: stretches to double its length/width and when unstretched, it goes back to its original shape/size.

a.       Important because you don’t want clothes to stretch out, get baggy, or lose shape.

                                                 3.      Stable: has little or no stretch.

D.      Resilience: springy to limp  

                                                 1.      how much it wrinkles

                                                 2.      how lofty it is or how much body it has

                                                             a.      when you wad into a ball and then let go, how it springs/doesn’t spring back into shape

                                                 3.      springy: more resilient because it doesn’t wrinkle or wrinkles less, lots of body/loft

                                                 4.      limp: very little or no resilience so it wrinkles easily, no body/loft

E.       Density: compact to open

                                                 1.      Thick or thinness

                                                 2.      Compact: dense and thick, air/light cannot pass through, isn’t sheer, transparent, or “see-through”

                                                 3.      Open: thin, sheer, air/light can pass through easily, “see-through”

F.       Surface friction: slippery to harsh

                                                 1.      Slippery: smooth surface, no texture

                                                 2.      Harsh: rough surface, has a texture

G.      Surface contour: smooth to rough

                                                 1.      Smooth: no texture, no bumpiness  

                                                 2.      Rough: has a texture, bumpiness  

**Surface friction and surface contour seem very similar. And they use synonyms! Slippery and smooth, rough and harsh. I’ll have to consult my teacher on these two.

H.      Thermal character: cool to warm

                                                 1.      immediate temperature when held in hand. Don’t hold too long because, eventually, your hand will warm up the fabric.

                                                 2.      Cool: feels cool on skin

                                                             a.      example: satin

                                                 3.      Warm: feels warm on the skin  

                                                            b.      Example: wool or flannel

III.                Drapbility

A.      How does it gather?

1.  Soft folds

2.  bulky and hard to control

B.      How does it drape over the body?

1.  Hang softly and cling
2.  form stiff folds

C.      Does the fabric appear stable or flimsy?

1.  stable: structured, holds shape

     a. example: wool

2.  flimsy: doesn’t hold shape

     a. example: silk or chiffon     

3.  How does it react when hung from the bias³?

Arughhh! The formatting won't change. I'm too exhausted for the notes on draping.  I'll save that for tomorrow.

¹Warp are the yarns that go in the lengthwise, vertical direction and weft yarns run in the horizontal direction.  The way you can tell is to locate the selvage (the finished part of the fabric that does not fray) and the warp yarns will run the along the selvage direction and the weft yarns run perpendicular to the selvage. 

If there is no selvage or you cannot locate it, you can hold the fabric with both hands (each hand on opposite sides—left and right sides) and pull.  Then, place each hand on the top and bottom of the fabric and pull.  The direction that is stretchier or has more give will be the weft yarns.

² Fabric hand is the tactile sensations we get when we touch the fabric.

³Bias is the diagonal direction of the fabric.  This is where there is the most stretch.  When fabric is hung or cut on the bias, the warp and weft threads placed/cut in a diagonal direction instead of vertically and horizontally.

Fitted #3

Happy Vietnamese New year!

Jacket: BCBG, dress: Collective Clothing, stockings: friend's, shoes: Kelsi Dagger, jewelry: F21, H&M

Career Closet's 2-Day Sale!

Come shop with me tomorrow at the Career Closet for their huge sale, 10am-6pm! You can also visit their Facebook page for more info.  There's a very valuable coupon posted. 

They have EVERYTHING, well for woman. Obviously there's career oriented and business casual type clothing, hence the name Career Closet.  But you can also find vintage and retro styles as well popular brands like Zara, Free People, BCBG, Max Mara, Ferragamo, etc.  Like a Crossroads (without the selling and trading) and Moon Zoom all rolled into one, but wayyyy better times a million.  The clothes are practically in pristine condition, if not new with tags, and even better you don't have to hold your breath or take anti-claustrophobic medication while shopping.


Here's what I found on my most recent shopping trip:

You can never have too many polyester shirts!

Very '70s. I LOVE IT!

Bill Blass scarf

white scalloped edged gloves

Pinstriped suspender pants!

Need to replace clip thingys on straps. Diamonds are cheesey!

Summer, here I come! 

See you guys tomorrow!

Chhheeeap!

Oh yeah! Got these bad boys in the mail a few days ago. Only $10 from Ebay.

Fornarina

Remember the Fornarina outlet at Great Mall? If you didn't go to Milpitas High, then probably not.  Before H&M, Forever 21, and Love Culture, this was the place to shop at the Great Mall. Actually, it was the only place to shop (besides Marshalls...LOVE Marshalls). I don't know when it closed, but it was so sudden like...I don't know, when Michael Jackson died?  Yes, the store was that good.

First, you're in disbelief.  "Really?"  Then denial.  "He's the King of Pop. He can't be gone." Then regret. "Man, I should've went to at least one of his concerts." Then acceptance and gratitude.  "I'm glad I at least grew up with his music."

It was the same thing with the demise of the Fornarina outlet.
"Really? Are you sure?"
"It's a popular store. It can't just go out of business. No way.  You're totally messing with me."
"Man! All those times I walked out of their store empty handed. Damnit! What was wrong with me?????!!! That's what I get for trying to save money! NEVER AGAIN. Because every store will eventually go out of business, I HAVE TO buy everything I want before it's too late."
"At least I have some funky, high quality--made in Italy, suckah--stuff in my wardrobe." 

Now, the only hope for me is Ebay, maybe Etsy, and Las Vegas Fornarina--if it's still there--but good luck cuz it ain't no outlet. Shits 'spensive.

Balmain, watch out!

I did my first drape today, and I’m totally loving my asymmetrical, structured collar. Sally, my teacher, just let us have at it. Her only instructions were “one yard of fabric” and “you must use it all.”  I saw this shiny, herringbone fabric and immediately thought of doing something steampunk-y, futuristic, and sleek.  Here is what I finished with:

Ignore that amazing dress in the background that my classmate is draping.

Besides my way cool collar, everything else was a disaster. The yard of fabric was too long, but not wide enough to go around my dressform.  If I turned it horizontally, there wasn’t enough fabric vertically to make a super chic collar. So, I haphazardly cut my fabric into three pieces.

The first piece was somewhat of an adequate amount because it covered the entire front and three-quarters of the back—sorry! I should’ve took some pictures of the process.  It looked pretty cool. The shoulder and part of the back was left bare. The piece of fabric was connected together at the hip. Then, I made little folds on the other shoulder to create a petal cap sleeve. That red circle is where the sleeve hole is supposed to be. 

 

I was going to leave it, but damnit!, I still had two pieces that I had to use.  I was thinking of draping a skirt, but I didn't want to ruin the top with a lame skirt. So, I used the one piece to cover the bare parts.  Uckkk...looks terrible!

Then I rolled up the last piece of fabric and tied it at the back to make a belt do-hickey. I hate it.  If it looks like an afterthought, it's because IT WAS.  Although, I do love how the back hem look! It's like a shortened tuxedo tail.

Anyone have any ahhhhh-mayyyyy-zing draped garments you'd like to share?