11 April 2009

128. Style 1002

Moving right along in the 302Designs project... I had started a muslin on Clementine a few weeks back, using one of my husband's shirts. The simple sleeveless shell had ruched shoulders, was fitted around the bust and flared into a slight a-line, and truthfully it looked fine. Uneventful.

After my exercise last week, laying out shirts in a variety of combinations to see what jumped out at me, I decided to tackle the lavender and navy shirts next. I semi-draped all over Carmen for a while and didn't feel anything coming together. The thought of "the illusion of layers" kept surfacing, and when I looked at Clementine, she still had that white shell on her. I can't explain how, or why, but the thought came to me to cut another white shirt from the underarm seam down, and attach that tube to the back of the shell. I was taken aback by how much I liked the result:


It's just this versatile garment. It can be worn like a capelet, like a hoodie, like a front or back neck cowl, doubled over into a bunchy turtleneck... It felt like divine inspiration for a few minutes, and then this fear came over me, "Where have I seen this before? Whose design is so ingrained in my subconscious that I am re-creating what has probably been done before?" I sent it to Shauna to see if she knew. She agreed that it does look inspired by someone else, but couldn't put a finger on who.

Part two of Style 1002 is, then, taking the concept from muslin stage to the "fashion fabric" -- namely, the lavender and navy shirts. The two white muslin shirts were a size Large on Clementine, which left some room to cut and play. The two 302 shirts were also a size Large, but on Carmen there was very little room to cut and play. In fact, by the time I got to the navy shirt, I had to do some very creative piecing so that it was long and wide enough to do the same things on Carmen that the muslin did on Clementine. Plus, the design on the navy shirt was sooooo big....

Anyway, the goal was to let the design on the navy shirt show when the design on the lavender was covered up, as below, shown front and back, when worn as a capelet:


When worn as a reverse cowl, the front looks well-draped and the back looks like a hoodie:

And below shows, from L-R, hooded, doubled over turtleneck, grecian or roman, you decide (or you tell me, Lopi, if you are reading this LOL), and high-necked front cowl.


And on to the next look...

6 comments:

  1. Great results, Antoinette!

    I haven't forgotten the images from that book. Will try to set aside some time tonight...

    ReplyDelete
  2. been thinking on these designs....what about adding layers to the bottom of the skirt/shirt? You could tack them to the existing seam. Not with this look, obviously, but something for later.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really love this, Antoinette. A lot. You really have an amazing creative vision.

    ReplyDelete
  4. wow - I really admire your creativity .. I can't believe your subconscious is copying all those different looks.. it's really coming together as something quite unique.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have to try your "grecian" style out with my baby carrying pouch made from a t-shirt. Instead of packing it away in the bag, I can wear it!
    Your blog is so fun to read and very inspiring. I am becomign more inventive and willing to try things out because of your blog entries. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Hi! I'm so glad you stopped by. If you have a specific question, be sure to leave your email address or check the box to receive email follow-up comments so I can answer your question! Thanks for commenting!