Three's Company

Friday night we celebrated Julie's birthday! This was the first of hopefully many evenings where all three of us (best friends, and have known each other since preschool) are in my duds!

Tanya (right), in the "one shoulder love" lace top, Julie (middle) in one of the first dresses I made three or four years ago, and myself (left) in one of the newest editions~ a long comfy black and white striped dress in Model Citizen tomorrow... an essential for the upcoming long weekend!  

Great night! Great J30 Party!

Letting Go...

I'm happy to announce I have officially hired a patternmaker, named Keo.  Her family has one of the last manufacturing facilities right in the heart of what was the Fashion District of downtown Toronto.

We have met a few times over the past weeks, and have begun developing my first pattern for the upcoming season (won't give away too much, but we're starting with the essential LBD aka little black dress).

I am going back for a first fitting next Tuesday and am excited to share the experience with you. 

p.s. happy to be giving by neck and back a rest too... think I may have been developing a bit of an old lady hunch lately.

   

Who pulled a Winona on my duds?

Checking in with one of the stores today... we haven't touched base in a few weeks and what do I hear?

"Lady Tee, tremendous success... quite a bit has sold and even two pieces were stolen! Isn't that awesome!"

Is it awesome? My man suggested I consider it flattering that someone wanted a dress (or two) of mine so much that they could get in trouble for it.

I'm not so sure... what if I see him or (hopefully) her on the street? Do I confront or compliment?

I heart pretty Mannequins

Popped by Tabula Rasa today and was all smiles to see the mannequins all in my dresses!

I have always wanted one of these mannequins for home or my dream studio, an ever-changing platform for my artwork... just not sure if she would creep people out? Maybe not appropriate for the house... would probably scare me in the middle of the night.

SHOP SHOP SHOP!

Yesterday afternoon I delivered 15 new dresses (and a bouquet of wild roses from my garden) to Tabula Rasa. They are absolutely perfect for a summer wedding, cocktail party, special evening out, or lounging out on a yacht (I dream of them in Cannes).

I highly recommend this boutique for your next shopping day. Collections are featured in vignettes, St Tropez features corals, turquoise, and whitewashed looks, A Midsummer Night's Dream includes colourful florals, and An American in Paris is where my dresses hang, a mix of classic, lacy, and black and white pieces.

I will admit I delivered one week tardy, but better to be made patiently, with love, and given the attention to detail than to rush them through.

p.s. treated myself to a pair of shoes from the store, a mix between a penny loafer and deck shoes... if you like vintage shoes, Tabula Rasa is heaven for the soles!

Worth your viewing time...

Late last night, while trying to meet a deadline for a new store, we stumbled across an HBO documentary that premiered at TIFF last year, Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags.

A very worthy watch for all, the documentary details the incredible rise and subsequent destruction of New York's garment district, in less than 100 years. Old footage, photographs, and interviews remind us of a very different Seventh Avenue, where rolling racks made pedestrians watch their backs, delivery trucks crowded garment center streets, buyers perched themselves on showroom sofas as elegant models sauntered past, and tough-talking, cigar-smoking garmentos haggled for the best prices. Workers were known as knights of labor and they were proud. Today, those sidewalks are very different. Most of the prolific workshops inside the buildings have been dismantled, empty dress forms hovering like ghosts.

Recent documentaries such as Valentino: The Last Emperor and The September Issue have shown us life at the top of the fashion industry. In Schmatta, we see all the steps below. It is an eye opener to say the least...



p.s. schmatta = rag