she makes it easy

I've said before that I'm not really interested in making Halloween costumes, and so far S has really let me off easy in terms of her costume requirements. I'm pleased to report that she's still making it simple and sketched the following costume design the other day:



No elaborate suits or fantastical structures to be constructed, hooray! Just a simple black knit Hopscotch Dress, black tail, and black cat ears on a headband. I can do that.

The most challenging part will be finding the right black lace for the hem that she's clearly communicated is a crucial element of the costume. I love that she's thinking about the little details like that, and about what color her nose should be: black or pink?

That detail still needs to be decided.

spotted

There's a wonderful story in the Juillet/Aout (err, July/August) issue of Marie Claire Idees that features some of Denyse Schmidt's fabrics. Here are a few photos:

Don't they look great? I especially like the bottle carrier.

improvisational patchwork

I had such a great time at Denyse Schmidt's Improvisational Patchwork workshop last Saturday, I meant to take photos of her gorgeous studio. Instead, we got so busy making our blocks and discussing them and what we learned from the process that I forgot to use my camera. So I returned home mostly with photos of the quilt blocks we made.











If you get a chance to take the class, it's a great experience and very worthwhile. I'm still contemplating ways that I can incorporate some of what I learned into my own work.

Thanks for inviting me, Denyse!

flower market

Flower Market, a collection of photos by Laurie Frankel, the photographer for my book.



I like Laurie's eye. She didn't focus on the obvious beauty of the market but, instead, on the detritus and gritty aspect of it.

inspiration: other designers

I always love to see other people's sources for creative inspiration. It's interesting how each of us finds inspiration from different places and things.


New York magazine asked 100 fashion designers to share their inspiration for their spring 2010 collections. You'll find a huge variety of sources, from abstract concepts and ideas to very concrete objects and things. I love the beetle above, and this little dress detail.



I talked about my inspiration for City Weekend, our first fabric collection, over on the Oliver + S blog today. The fabrics are now shipping and will be available for purchase soon.

visual taste buds

Most people go to the New Amsterdam Market for great local and artisanal foods: raw cheese, wild mushrooms, designer ice cream, and unbelievable chocolate. I love all those wonderful items, but Todd and I are in agreement that we're not quite on board the food train. We have a CSA membership and we both love good food, but we're not quite down with the obsession.

So when we joined some friends at the market today, I spent more of my time dodging the downpour and watching what people were wearing than trying the foods. It's a bit dark under the FDR where the market it held, but I managed a few candid photos. New Yorkers have such style!

Once everyone had their fill, we dropped in at Pasanella and Son, across the street, to check out the wine selection. Once again, I wasn't looking at or tasting the wine so much as examining the surroundings. One of the owners is a former editor at Martha Stewart, and it shows.

We brought home a few bottles of fantastic wine. I like them not just because they tasted amazing at the shop, but also because the labels on the bottles are really beautiful.

Are you getting a trend here?

inspiration: Elegance

Of all the books on the shelves at the studio (pattern-making, sewing reference, grading techniques, etc.), this is the book I refer to most frequently. It's surprising, actually, since I don't think it's directly inspired anything I've designed. But I still come back to it regularly and will probably continue to refer to it over time.

The Seeberger brothers were among the world's very first fashion photographers, working from the early 1900's into the 1970's. They primarily photographed wealthy aristocrats at their places of leisure: the racecourse, beaches, and resorts. The photographs in this book were taken between 1909 and 1939, which was a spectacularly elegant era for fashion. Or at least I think so.

The personalities in the photos are almost as interesting as the fashions, and the photographs are exquisite. I finally dragged myself away from staring at the photos the other day and started reading the text, which is equally fascinating. But I love fashion history, so that's probably no great surprise.

Some of these fashions would look just as elegant today, I think.

inspiration: sartorialist

My schedule for the rest of the summer is going to be somewhat more relaxed, thank goodness! The fall Oliver + S patterns are headed to the printer on Monday, and then I'll have a little time to start preparing some other projects without looming deadlines. I'll be putting together some design ideas, sketching, assembling tear sheets, building some much-needed bulletin boards for the studio, sewing school uniforms for S, and maybe even relaxing a bit. Nice!

So while I'm sorting through masses of inspirational materials that have accumulated in the studio, in my sketchbooks, and on my laptop I thought it might be fun to share some of the things that have been inspiring me. I'll make a little series of posts out of it.

First up, the Sartorialist. I've been following Scott Schuman almost since the start of his blog, and I find endless inspiration in his work. Scott photographs style wherever he finds it, and he has a wonderful eye for detail and silhouette. I look at his blog frequently for inspiration in my own wardrobe as well as for design ideas.


This is a recent Sartorialist photo I keep coming back to. I love the layering of the long jacket over the dress, especially with the sleeves pushed up and with those gorgeous heels. The whole ensemble looks simultaneously effortless and chic. And while I'm not usually attracted to red in my own wardrobe, it's inspired me to re-think the color again as an accent. (I also love her hair, which is something I've been thinking about more as I struggle to grow out my super-short cut for something a little different. But I lost all the curl in my hair after Tsia was born and probably couldn't carry this off, unfortunately.)

This is an older Sartorialist photo that inspires me for its mood. I love the look these two dancers have assembled, but even more than that I love how focused and happy they appear. Her scarf and necklaces combined with sneakers are such a unique and playful but sophisticated look, and his dark hat, braces, bow-tie and shoes are a wonderful counterpoint to their summer whites. They look so glamorous.

I think this is what people mean when they refer to a woman as a gamine or an ingenue. She's so cute, and her close-fitting cropped jacket is a perfect contrast to her pleated high-waisted pants. What a great silhouette!

While sometimes I love everything about a look in these photos, other times I'm inspired by the way something is worn or by the colors or textures. One element might appeal or stand out to me. Like that red dress in the first photo, Scott's photos might cause me to think about a color differently or to combine two elements I wouldn't have thought to combine.

Scott himself gave a great presentation about his work that I encourage you to watch over at Art Babble if you're interested in the process of designing. I think he does an excellent job of explaining how his photographs are used by a many designers as inspiration. What he says certainly applies to me.

art day

We had a marathon museum-going trip last Saturday. I wanted to visit the Neue Gallery for inspiration on a project, and Todd needed to prep his tour for the Whitney Biennial so we decided to make an adventure of the day and throw the Metropolitan Museum into the mix as well. All three museums are near each other on the upper east side, so it is actually logical (but still exhausting) to visit them all in one go. We took some photos in case you wanted to come along.

First up: the Metropolitan. We went primarily to see a couple of new shows there, but Tsia took photos of the permanent galleries. Art from the eyes of a five-year-old is always interesting (and a little blurry):











Then a stop for lunch at my favorite restaurant in the neighborhood, Cafe Sabarsky, which just happens to be located in the Neue Gallery building. If you go, the pickled herring sandwich with apple slices is amazing. Really, I should order other things on the menu sometimes, but I just love this one too much.

We sketched while we waited for our orders to arrive. Can you guess what this is?


Well, the chandelier, of course!


The current exhibit, Otto Dix, wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but here are some posters in the basement that caught my eye:




Then on our way down Madison Avenue Tsia had trouble choosing her favorite giant doughnut from the windows at Gagosian. Pink or sprinkles? I think we decided on the sprinkles:


Once we arrived at the Whitney, Tsia and I left Todd to his business and escaped to the fifth floor, where we found one of our favorite pieces by Lee Bontecou. I don't think we're allowed to take photos inside the museum. I always forget to ask but seem to recall being scolded for trying to photograph Todd while he was giving a tour once. And it's too bad, because this photo is really awful and doesn't begin to do the piece justice. Here is a photo of another Bontecou (at MoMA) so you can at least get a sense of her work and the dimension it has. Her work is often simultaneously creepy and enticing, which we all seem to love in our family. Here are Tsia's sketchbook renditions. (The first one was amazing until she started coloring it, but I was proud of myself for not intervening!):



Then home for a rest. Shall we take you to MoMA next time?