11/23/2018
I want to talk to you about the process for making a custom garment for a second, but I also want to talk about dreams.
Ever have a long, fascinating dream where you're exploring through a lush environment, full of sensory detail? Flowers you've never seen before, a house that's familiar and impossible all at once? A really specific quality of light? And you're moving, but you're not walking. Are you flying? Floating? Something like that. You tell your lover, or your roommate who interprets dreams for money, in an attempt to nail down the feeling. The sensation of that sublime something stays with you for the rest of the day, maybe even months.
What does this have to do with clothes? It's pretty simple. The best custom garment projects start out as really cool dreams. You can ask me things like, "I really like this dress that I saw on the internet can you make it for me?" or "I want this shirt, but in white and without sleeves" or "I just want something really simple..." but the truth is neither of us will end up satisfied.
Custom projects are a collaboration between you, wisher and dreamer, and me, skilled interpreter. You saw this really cool picture of a cityscape and it makes you feel impossible and limitless and when you go to the fantasy ball in three months that's how you want everyone to see it. You have a favorite soft fabric that you inherited from your grandmother, and you can't stop thinking about how nice it would be to put your hand in a pocket made out of it, and maybe that's also an entire dress you wear to work that doesn't do that weird thing at the armholes, making it a standout from every other dress you wear to work. Maybe you're just completely fixated on pleats.
I've been speaking in generalities, so here's an opportunity to show to you about something specific.
My client wanted to both be little red riding hood for Halloween (to accompany her boyfriend, the Big Bad Wolf) and to have a piece that would also last her through the colder months. I couldn't bear to just make her an ordinary cloak, and she wanted something that was both durable and beautiful. The end result is this gorgeous coat, that feels smooth to put on because the hood is lined as well as the body. The entire thing is faced all the way around, which helps hold its shape, grounding the edges in a sense of safety. It's a full circle of 100% wool, which swings when she moves and twirls around her body like a fairy tale. The wool is weighty in a way that feels serious and warm. It's a costume, and it's also solid and real.
Whatever it is that's burning a hole in your brain, you that's it's never JUST about clothes, and you know that you want your custom piece to feel special, every time you pick it up. You want to look at it's features and details, and be reminded that it was made just for you. That's what makes a beautiful collaboration. So tell me, what are you dreaming of?
