Inspirations for The ModDame 2012 Collection

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"THE BLOG"

"Inspirations for The ModDame 2012 Collection and The Making of the first outfit"

It was all so sudden, that i decided to do this year's show. I participated last year but really had no time this year. My collection last year:

So, i needed an idea fast and thought all day and night about it, at the same time stressing about my Halloween costumes since in needed 3. One in LA on the 31st and 2 for Vegas. Last year i already had the concept of making a White Warrior Elf costume, to satisfy my dreams of actually meeting some sexy Elven from Lord of the Rings..LOL. And since the beginning of this year, i've been having a fetish for military men. My luck of course was great in meeting quite a few of these gorgeous men in uniform. So, while looking for costumes i relied on these two thoughts: a Elven and a military uniform. Here i was for Halloween this year:
 

I honestly had a weird dream of war, elves and men back in civil war times, and as i awoke, i started to stare at my old vintage suit case and had the thought: where have the years gone? From battling in the fields, coming back to live a civil life, and having to work in the city. That became my theme: "Where the Years Have Gone" --> the years from Elven days, to war, and to city life. The only way to make it is to keep moving forward. And yes, I decided to make a collection of Elven. Sketching out the concept:

 A couple of days before the shoot (i know i procrastinate a lot) but i had to make my Halloween costume too, as you saw in the previous blog. I decided the use of shag instead of fur, so it can be worn everywhere, even where snow doesn't fall. Military, double breasted designs along with tail coats and anything from that era, sexy, edgy, and vintage concepts will all be in the collection.

 I design a lot by deconstruction. I really didn't need this shirt, but i loved the knitted fabrication which you cannot buy at the fabric store. Most quality knits are machine knitted and as a small fashion designer like me, it's impossible to afford. So i picked this one at the thrift store.

The fabrications were shag fabrics, jacquard fabrics for structure and relation to the time era I'm aiming for, as well as chiffon, and other knits. I feel in love with these buttons which became the color theme for the collection. This year i went with soft mute hues of pinks, mints, tan, ivory, and the usually greys and browns and burgundy. My collection will always consist of vintage and edge. 

 I know, 4 hours past and i'm still working on the back of the shirt. Using chiffon on the top gives a sexy look to heavy sweaters, plus its a trend fabric these days. I designed an inverted pleat at center back, along with two tails to create a tail coat concept). Sewing with chiffon is a pain!

The final piece, though it changed from my sketch. I ended up cutting too much off the sweater so it was a little smaller than i'd have hoped. 

Thanks to Mainza my MUA and model Brandie, they drove from Fresno that day to shoot the collection. 

The Shoot

The image i had of this collection was that of the working world, coming from war in the early years and living a city life, as you will see in the full collection. In order to capture a gloomy mixture and a city, some what enchanted place, i thought of  the LACMA. LACMA stands for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. If you're in LA and love art, hit up their site to find out what's being featured: www.lacma.org

Anywas, in front of the LACMA, there's these unique light pole structures that create a "heavenly" and "enchanted" atmosphere. I always feel like i'm in another time when im here, so i decided to shoot the teaser piece at this location. The concept was to have her look like she's traveling through time. A warrior through war, and now adapting to city life. The collection "Where The Years Have Gone" is kind of a metaphor as to how quickly the years pass. We don't ever notice because we're always so busy. Before you know it, the years have gone and all you can do is look back and reminisce.Here are my amateur shots of the teaser piece.

 

 

 Big Thank You to:

Model: Brandie Vang 

MUA: Mainza Lor

And the professional Photographer: Aleksey Volchek

See Aleksey's shots that were submitted for the actual teaser piece to the Revived Fashion Show

http://volchekshot.me/volchek-shot-moddame-com/volchek-shot-me-moddame-1722-2/

Don't forget the REVIVED Fashion Show is December 30th 2012 in Fresno California.

Check out the website: http://revivedfashionshow.wix.com/rhyfs#!home/mainPage and see all the designer's teaser pieces as well as who's showing at this year's show.

Styling tips coming up on the next blog :)

And don't forget to shop the site!

"The White Warrior Elf"- in the making

 
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"The White Warrior Elf"- in the making

Before starting any costume or design, you should do your research! This costume idea was actually from last year. I love elves, and not just any kind. I was hoping to go with more of a white warrior elf look, but didnt have the time to go out and buy all the warrior stuff. So, with what i could find and buy, this is what the costume came out to be, some kind of princess elf LOL.. oh well, it had it's compliments all night. I decided to show how this was all put together.

Concept photos: Elves with warrior shoulder pads, armor built into their corsets, bustiers, sexiness, chain mill, and blonde hair and blue eyes.

So first night i had to review the concept photos and brain storm about how to make this thing and with what i had already bought, or had in my fabrics and trims. I started off with a $30 bustier and a pair of undies for $5.

Here were the trims i had bought for the costume. The gold mesh to recreate fake chain mill and some rope trimmings to create the royal feel from the elven medieval times.

 I wanted to create a dragon scale armor somewhere on this costume so decided to start on the bustier. I bought pleather fabric and just did some different sized cuts that would fit into each section.

Here, all the pieces have been sewn and put together. Now time to add the chain mill onto the bustier. Creating dragon scales or recreating bust cups out of the pleather would have taken too much time, as well as change the shape of the cups. Going with the chain mill sewn over was the easiest way into this.

 

And with the chain mill sewed in place, I decided to add the rope trim down each section to create dimensions in the scales. 

 

 Once those ropes were added, i then added a larger rope trim at bust line, to help cover the chain mill stitching at top and to add more dimensions from skin color and the white bustier. The more trim you add on, the richer the costume will look.

For the panties, i added the same chain mill and rop trim at areas that would not need as much stretch. 

And the completed top and bottom.

I now moved on to add more armor to the costume. I used elastic rolls of sequin to create the armor pads. The neck band is a vintage one i always wear and used temporally for this costume.

 

Finally, i found the necklace for $1.00 downtown and stitched it onto the bustier and attached it to the neck band. I envisioned the elf to be of high royalty and felt that the stones in gold trimmings would be the best thing for this look. At 2:41 am, the look was completed in 2 nights. I worked on it for a good 12 hours total, not including about 5 hours of putting the concept together via photos and imagination.

SO, this is the second year that i made or changed up a costume and missed the costume contest. Of course i know that i may have not won anyways lol, but heck it's worth a try. Last year was $500 and this year was an Apple Ipad (which i would've loved either prize) But for some reason, i have no idea where i was when the contest was going on! So, i better try again next year. Here are photos from the night. I switched out the bottom into a simple ruffle undie because the original need some more touch ups and we were out of time!

 

 

Ears were bought: http://www.aradanicostumes.com/elf_ears/small_anime_ears $12
Big was bought via ebay: $20

Next blog will feature the making of my first outfit for the MODDAME 2012 FALL/WINTER Collection!

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