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I don't follow the fashion industry and I don't really know any designers... Well, except for Michael Kors, and I only know him because of Project Runway. ;)
Some of the bloggers I read always seem to be on top of current fashion trends - they post pictures from New York City's Fashion Week and talk about so-and-so's new collection, etc. Those clothes seem so far away from anything that I would ever wear (at least, not until my weight decreases and my height increases - each by a factor of 2!) - but still, maybe I should be looking to see the details and get ideas for my own sewing?
How about you? Do you watch the fashion industry? Do you keep up with trends? Do you know the work of different designers? Do these things inspire and influence your own sewing?
Designer: Anna Sui (2008)
Photo from: Punky Penny'z Fashion Corner
10 comments:
This is my first time commenting here although I've been subbed a while now, but I don't keep up with trends like that. I sew and shop for what I like...my particular tastes, which is for number of things (some it includes a little goth and a little dom). I more importantly shop for what I think will work on my body. I've just never been the type to be a follower so it's not my thing to keep up with trends like that.
I think a person should do what they feel, if that happens to include a current trend then so be it but breaking your neck to be trended down to the socks I think is a no.
Hi there, I do, but I choose magazines as my source. I look at magazines like VOGUE and Style. I also look at Bloomingdales, Macys, and Nordstroms catalogs for inspiration. The fashion shows are a bit too "out there" for me. I'm more of a "classics" kind of gal. Every now and then I get a little trendy. Love your Friday Conession feature!
My answer is "no" to all of the above. I am so out of touch with designers and so called "fashion trends". But when I do get a glimpse of these trends/designers on other blogs, I don't normally like what I see. They dress too bizarre for my tastes. The runways are too far "out there". No one I know dresses like that. I prefer to see what others are sewing.
If you can't tell already, I love your interesting questions... Here's my 2 cents:
I read fashion magazines, and some style blogs, for the fresh visual inspiration. I don't usually look through whole collections, too tedious and time-consuming.
In the end, the things I find beautiful always belong in the same categories, though in "this season's" incarnation. E.g. I love Brit chic, unusual colors, folkloristic elements, new editions of "classic" garments, which turn up as "new trends" again and again. I certainly don't aspire to look trendy, but since fashion repeats itself, there's always a trend I can pick up and stay true to my style.
I haven't yet copied a high fashion garment, but love to see others do it!
I do keep up with the fashion industry - I like looking somewhat current, despite my great love of vintage 50's fashion. I tend mostly to keep up with designer/houses that I really like, because their work seems to resonate with me season after season. I also study the old fashion designer's work of the 40's/50's to get a feel for those fashions as well.
I think that not everything sent down the runway is wearable, but I do think that there might be something you could take away from even the most unwearable fashions. It might be a color, a pocket detail, a shape, or accesory, but once you recognize those things, then you can make that fashion your own by incorporating those details in your own sewing and dressing.
I think a great example of one person who loves fashion and makes it her own is Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. She is not a 6ft. tall 110lb. woman - she is shorter and plus sized but studies fashions and really does make them her own. She just made herself a dress, inspired by Michael Kors, but in her own colors and from her own TNT pattern. Just amazing!
I like to see what other people sew, and even look at the fashion pictures they post. My main concern is comfort, fit, and does the garment go with anything else I already have?
I like to "snoop shop" online. I go to high-end websites to see current fashions, and their designers. But as far as being fashion forward--I am not. My age, shape and lifestyle does not lend itself to high fashion. I do like my garments to reflect the current decade though! and try not to outdate myself.
I kind of got known as a "vintage" sewer with people that read my blog, but the truth is, I can carry on a conversation with a fashion professional and hold my own.
I know several designers personally (not particularly "known" unless you're really into fashion), and I know an awful lot about current, and past, designers. I also have an uncanny ability to be ahead of the curve in fashion forecasting, some of which is based on a working knowledge of the industry. So yes, I keep up with it, if nothing else to know how un-trendy I really am. As to keeping up with it on my blog: I don't dress that way and have no one to impress but myself, so it's useless to make it a focal point on there. Most of my information is considered "insider" sources: periodicals and networking sites for people currently in the industry/attending school for fashion. I rarely read mainstream magazines since it's all somewhat outdated by the time it gets to my door, and I've read it/discussed it previously to that anyway.
Does it influence my sewing? Sometimes. I take certain elements I like and redesign it to fit into what I want to wear. Some of it I admire and it's good eye candy and then I go on. I seldom (I never say never, because I have) knock of current fashion, although I have done what the industry does and taken something off the runway and made it for myself that was more mainstream (which means I make it wearable, instead of art), which I'm more prone on doing.
Usually, I wear what I want to wear, and don't care what someone else tells me I should wear. Style is much different then fashion, and I follow my own style, not what someone else tells me is fashionable.
Does watching Project Runway count? No? Ok. I'm only an occasional trend-watcher--sometimes on a whim I'll pick up a fashion magazine just to get some sewing ideas (this happened on Saturday, before I read your post). But generally I stick more with making what I want to make-- I think I have a fairly good idea of what is flattering on me, and my taste is a little eclectic. (I tend to draw a lot more influence from hippie clothes, the Renaissance, fantasy movie costumes, etc. than runways.) And a lot of times I frankly don't like what the trend is-- it seems like for the last couple of years, things have been either too classic for my artsy taste, meant for girls with a far more boyish figure than mine and therefore totally unflattering on me, or too 80s to resemble anything close to stuff I would actually like!
Hi! It's been forver since I "talked back".
I do try to keep up with the industry, if only through a blog, Project Rungay. I will find a proper link for you if you like.
Like the good little gay men they are, they blog about all of the runway shows, many of the fashion spreads, and all kinds of lovely gowns from events like the Oscars or other such red carpet 'dos.
However, I do not necessarily dress to suit the trends. The maxi dresses and skinny jeans that seem to have attracted a following did not attract me. Good fit and good lines for your body transcend the trends- and accesories are easy ways to jazz up timeless basics. That doesn't mean I won't buy fun trendy things every once in a while!
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