Art Deco Preservation Ball and The HIGH STYLE exhibit at The SF Legion of Honor

In May, Mark and I were able to attend the Art Deco Preservation Ball at the Scottish Rite Center in downtown Oakland.  It was a magical evening, and the experience rivaled that of making my gown for the event, which took a little over a month. I absolutely love designing and making historical dresses for art deco events. 

And, I LOVE to go to fashion exhibits SO the High Style exhibit at the San Francisco Legion of Honor was quite the treat.  Of course the two dresses pictured above were my favorite and a total inspiration for next year's event.

Here are some photos of my dress in progress:

I started by draping the gold brocade on the dress form front.

I hand smocked the side panels on silk charmuse, as I wanted to have some soft drape in the skirt but a fitted bodice. Smocking was a great way to reduce the fullness on a large part of the fabric.  It's also an older technique and seemed an appropriate accent for a 1920's style dress.

I wanted the lace edge to be curved from front to back, so I cut out the scallop design on both borders and shaped the full width of the lace so that it was curved on both sides to the center of the panel.  You can see the finished effect in the photo below.

Front View

side view

Back View

 I also decided to make a corset to wear under my dress.  I really wanted the silhouette to be authentic.  It was fun to make, however, I needed to add a stretch panel in the back as the original design was a little (ahem) small.

Here are some more photos from the event:

The Chanel Jacket - The Little Details

 

 This year, my pet project is the Chanel Jacket.  You see, I want one for myself.  The Little Black Jacket, akin to the Little Black Dress, is a classic staple in a well dressed wardrobe.  At just over $4,000, the real thing is out of my range.   My couture teacher Susan Khalje, teaches a course on how to make one.  Her class is about $1,000.  Fabric invested is about $200+.   Not sure I can afford to take her class this year,  so I plan to try my hand at doing it on my own, using past Thread's Magazine Articles and the Claire Shaeffer book, Couture Sewing.  The beauty is all in the little details.

Note the quilted lining and chain on the bottom edge.

Here is another photo of the chain.

 There are lots of details to consider like fabric, trims, lining, buttons etc.  I picked a nice black tweed from the Mill End Store in Portland, Oregon, while I was visiting a friend.  Solid black with a large basket weave.  The lining, a black crepe back satin from C&J Textiles in NYC.  I also purchased buttons from M&J trims in NYC but will likely alter them by inserting them into a fabric covered washer, just to change the look.  Still searching for fancy braid.  A trip to Britex in San Francisco ought to solve that problem.

Nice contrasting braid on this model

I really love the Georgette trim and large braid on the sleeve hem. It's really an stunning effect.

Not a little black jacket but the details are very nice on this one.  Love all the contrasting trim and gold buttons.

 

Sometimes the classic double C buttons can be found on Ebay.

The Chanel Jacket - by guest blogger Maya Young

  By Maya Young - Age 12

           Coco Chanel is a name people have come to know, and wear. Her simplistic and sophisticated designs have cast a spell on us and changed the world. One of her most iconic design is the Chanel jacket, an impeccably tailored, collarless, tweed jacket. Little did Coco Chanel know that this would be just one of her timeless trends that can be worn forever. 

 

           What indeed may you find in the Chanel jacket? Versatility. The beauty of the style is how easily you can dress it up, and dress it down, while still creating an effortless look. The jacket can make a woman look refined, cultured, and yet mysterious as well. It can also transform into a more soft and romantic style as well. However the jacket also brings a slouchy suave appeal to it.  Above all it can say “ I won’t bother you so don’t bother me.”

What may seem like a regular article of clothing for us, was a daringly different and unique for the time period it was originally created. Society wasn’t quite used to women balancing the masculine and feminine look, as the designer advocates the jacket as, “ a way of dressing that was masculine in its unruffled dignity, while remaining true to its creator’s idea of femininity.” In those days nobody would have thought that this sporty look in women could ever be perceived as elegant. But this was all part of Coco’s brilliance, this jacket became a powerhouse of modern fashion.

The jacket itself has a boxy shape, cinched waist, silk lining, pockets, and a chain to weight it down. This isn’t just a chic and stylish jacket, but a sequence of events, that requires continuous fitting, to reveal a flawlessly tailored product. Coco Chanel herself was a perfectionist, willing to rework fit, armholes, and even going as far as putting chains on the hemlines of her jackets so that they would hang correctly. Those making the jacket included only the finest materials, and the craftsmanship that you can only find with the most skilled seamstresses.

 

The Chanel jacket will remain a forever classic. It’s as if Coco Chanel wasn’t just designing for her time period, but as if she were predicting into the future. Even after years of Karl Lagerfeld reinventing the jacket, is it still a trendy look for our generation? Yes! If this can look absolutely stunning on Joan Smalls by tieing the sleeves together to create a bustier and skirt, then this is definitely a piece of clothing that every woman should want in their closet.

 note: This is first in a series of blog posts on the Chanel Jacket.  We'll be making one as well and showing the progress along the way.....

Exploring Fashion - Interview With Colleen Quen

Yesterday we met with San Francisco Fashion Designer Colleen Quen in her Soma Atelier.  True to form, Colleen was everything one would want to meet in a designer - Poised, kind, generous and SO inspiring!  She was naturally engaged with our guest bloggers - Emilie, Maya, Cate, Jocelyn, Emma & Lucy.  I'm sure you are excited to hear the interview so here goes -


Emilie -What is your favorite fabric to work with?
Colleen - Definitely my favorite fabrics are French Lace and more structural fabrics like Matte Satin.
Emilie- Do you design anything other than gowns?
Colleen- A full range of things. I love doing costumes for the Ballet, and travel/casual wear with multiple shapes and patterns of fabrics.

Emma -Where did you go to school?
Colleen -  I studied Fashion Design at FIDM in San Francisco and then I studied Couture Pattern Making with Simone Setha.
Emma - When did you start sewing?  How Old were you?+
Colleen - I learned from my mom, mostly, when I was about 6. 

Jocelyn - Tell us about your process.
Colleen -  A client will call me and I'll set up an appointment.   She'll come in and have an event to go like the opera opening and there will be a theme like Madame Butterfly or Turandot. She'll have an idea about color or theme.  I'll get to know the client, really well and understand what kind of style she really likes.  The next step is that I'll create some concepts for her.  I'll make some fashion illustrations - some designs for her.  Maybe  4 or 5 concepts and suggest some fabrics. It's almost like a little mini-program - each person.  It's kind of a long process. 
And then she comes back again and decides on the design.  Then I'll start doing the pattern work.  I have to measure her body. There are about 36 measurements to take and we'll map her body.  Then I'll make the pattern and do the pattern work.  Afterwards, I hand it to my seamstress who sews it in muslin.  We always do one muslin fit.  It's really important to do a muslin sample because sometimes the fabric is so expensive, we don't want to cut into the fabric.  Once we get the initial fitting done and then we can sew it up in fabric.
Jennifer - How many times do you fit it in the Real Fabric?
Colleen - about 2 or 3 times -  because sometimes they loose weight or forget their shoes. 
Jocelyn - How long have you been designing?
Colleen - I started with skating costumes when I was 25.  I've been creating for 25 years. I stopped Ice skating, but I do understand the body in that form.  It's really important to do other things.  Everything is incorporated into one.  It helps make you a richer designer. 

Cate - How much does the customer influence the design?
Colleen  - I do want to make sure to listen to my client to what they like and what they love.  It's almost like a doctor experience when they come into the office.  Since Ive been doing this for such a long time I've studied the body so much that I kind of know already what I can help them with.  They ARE an influence, but hopefully I'm an influence to them. And as a designer, we are  here to actually hem them, to complement them, and to take care of them.  It's our job to guide them. To help them to look beautiful.


Jennifer - Yesterday, when we were watching The Secret World of Haute Couture, Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano were talking about the relationship between the designer and client were really sacred.  They didn't really want to say who their client were.  Do you keep your clients a secret as well?
Colleen - I do keep a lot clients very private especially the more high profile ones. I just want to keep it very private because It's a very personal experience when you are working with them. We do start discussing things so I do keep it very private out of respect.   I only do that if someone wants to promote me or themselves.  Otherwise it's a very personal private affair.

Cate - How do you choose the colors?
Colleen - Actually I look at the person, the client, their coloring, their hair color, their skin color and also their personality.  For some reason, I can extract out - like I can see people in colors.  Sometimes I'll just start talking to you and I can feel the people's energy and I see colors in them and can start recommending colors to them.  I'm not really into trends. So, It's not like "the hot color is green", so you've gotta wear green, because someone with a certain skin color doesn't looks good in green.   I just try to understand who they are and how I can take them to the next level in there own personal way.

Maya - What inspires your designs?
Colleen -  In the beginning it used to be nature. Butterflies, birds and anything I was walking around looking at - a lady bug.  It could be a dandelion. 
Maya - we saw the Lady Bug Dress!
Colleen - Yes, the Lady Bug Dress.  Exactly.   It could be an owl or flowers.  I can  see something wonderful in it and apply it to a garment.  It's usually just things around me.  Really, I like to just enjoy what's around me in the present moment and really not take anything for granted that inspires me. I don't like to limit what inspires me.  It's really just what makes you feel beautiful.  it's important that you just listen to your heart and go through it artistically too.
Maya - Who is your favorite Designer besides your self ?
Colleen  - I love Christian Lacroix.  Have you heard of Victor and Rolf?  They are kind of more Surrealistic an Avant Guarde  I like looking for artists that think out of the box.  Because it pushes you further than just being safe. 

Interviewing Colleen

Colleen showing the girls around the Studio

Lucy - How long does it take you to make a garment?
Colleen - The beginning process takes usually a couple of weeks.  When it's the sewing and the fitting  - If it's a rush then it can take a month.   Usually it takes two or three months. I've had wedding gowns that take up to 6 or 8 months.  You get to meet their whole family. 
Lucy - Do you hire anybody?
Colleen - I have a very small company, but I do hire interns. When I have a collection, I hire 4 or 5 interns coming from school.   They're with me through the whole collection until we have a fashion show.  Sometimes we have a pretty big group.  We may travel to Palm Springs together for a fashion show or we do an exhibit in a museum. I enjoy young energy coming into help because you can help me to be inspired.

Jennifer - So, one of the things we saw in the movie yesterday was that a lot of couture garments is sewn by hand.  We are wondering how much of your collection is sewn by hand?
Colleen - Well, you know, I studied with Simone, and she studied in the 70's and it was getting to be less and less hand sewing.  The hand sewing would be in the hems, as well as the waistbands inside, and sometimes closing up the linings.  A  lot of it is just straight stitching but with lots of very small stitches. It also depends on the thread quality, top stitching and the stretching.  There is a little bit of dimension when it comes to sewing.  What we actually do is steam and mold and stretch. You stretch and shape things with the iron.  Have you ever seen hat blocks and how the fabric is stretched over the block?  In French Couture Sewing we do a lot of stretching and molding the fabric.   There is a lot of technique that comes with it and that's why you can't do mass production.  There's those little details.  And sometimes when I'm doing the sewing it's almost like a baby.  Your fabric is like life.  You're really molding and shaping it on the body. 

Emma with Li Bi

Cate - Which design are you most proud of?
Colleen - My favorite one and it's a classic one, it's called Madame Butterfly. 

Lantern Coat

Li Bi

Travel Coat

Waterfall Dress

 Thank you Colleen for such an amazing and inspiring day!

Colleen Quen can be reached via her website at www.colleenquencouture.com.  She lives and works in her SF Studio with her Dog Li Bi.