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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

HOW TO PACK FOR 5 DAYS


On my last trip to Florida I realized what I have known for years. I am an overpacker. I have no ability to minimize. I could have saved money on suitcase charges by just bringing a carry on and leaving what I never even take out of my suitcase at home. 
So how do you pack for a five day trip to a warmer place? Well here is what I actually ended up wearing, which ends up being less than half of what I packed. 
First rule of packing...always check a ten day weather report and plan for the lowest temps and the worst weather they try and throw at you. In my case that was low sixties for a day and two days of rain. Also, no matter how hot the weather is, there is also very cold air conditioning.  
For my five day trip I was able to wear, and should have only packed the following...
2 pairs of jeans, 1 sweater, 1 hooded sweatshirt, 2 bathing suits, 1 pair of sneakers, 2 pairs of sandels, 2 pairs of heels, 2 sundresses, 2 going out dresses, 2 pair of sleep shorts, 2 pairs of shorts, 1 skirt, 2 tops, and 2 long sleeve shirts. Even though this seems like a lot, it rolls very small and all fit into my carryon suitcase along with other things I needed. This includes my camera, ipod, makeup/toothbrush, and hair products. Because the plane regulations only allow very small sizes (you should always check what the oz. regulations are before packing) they take up very little room. 
I found this picture on flicker and thought that it was a good example of packing. Try it. You can avoid packing a large suitcase that you will have to pay for if you just think ahead and make good packing choices. 

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photo thanks to flicker.com

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Summer in Alaska Sketches

         Well here is page from my notebook of sketches. This is the original sketch page from the Rum&Couture Recycles show in the fall of '08. You can see how things change in just a few short weeks. I didn't even end up using fur in anything I did.
         I started with the idea that I could recycle some material that gets wasted a lot in our society. I thought of fur first because of the animals that get hurt by it. I wanted to make a summer line that incorporated fur in some ways. The best way I thought to do it was making bathing suits and short summer dresses and pairing them with books and heels that were accented with fur. 
What I ended up doing as most know was recycling T-Shirts. I know that there are so many T-shirt used for promotional events that they become disposable like trash. So I took T-shirts and made dresses and tops that were fit to go out to dinner in. 
Next post: I plan on showing you how to pack for a 5 day vacation to some place warm with just a carry on suit case! 

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Why I Love Shop Flick!


This dress is the Ric Rac Camdyn in Carnival Print. I love this dress for more than one reason. The dress is off of shopflick.com and they feature designers of all areas. They have really cool clothes to offer and you can see the designers talk about their lines. It makes the shopping really personal. This dress is a three tier skirt with a clinch top. It's a beautiful summer dress, not to mention the pattern is just perfect. The victorian ladies playing games is both reminicent of the dress itself as well as the summer feel of the entire piece.
Check out shopflick.com and look at what they have to offer. Check out "about the designer" portion of the stores and learn what the artists have to say. It's both interesting and enlightening.
photo credit: www.shopflick.com

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Girly Cheetah Part Two!


Here is the other fierce dress I promised you. Another mix of soft feminine and crisp cheetah. Next post. New fashion designer I love and a little info on the coming summer line. I also want to post some sketches. It's always fun to see where ideas come from.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A Little Bit of Fierce for the Spring Line

Well I would like to start out by saying thank you to my beautiful model Jessica. She rocks this dress in the most amazing way.

I just wanted to share some of the wilder pieces that I did for the show seeing that I have shown you mostly tame and pretty dresses. Not to say that this dress is not pretty, but it is in no way delicate. I paired a bold cheetah print with the soft silky floral that I used in two other dresses. You may recognize the print from the long floor length dress because it is the same one in pink.

I chose to do the halter piece and the bottom ruffles in that material to give the dress a flirty feel. The structure belt is there to balance it out and enhance to structure of the bodice/skirt of the dress. All together I feel like this was one of my favorite pieces even though I didn't even like it when I was first done with it.

I guess it just took a fierce lady to make this dress work.

Next post...The other dress with this bold large cheetah print in it. And to think...I never thought I could make cheetah print work.