Two-Thirds of the Way Done

            It is amazing that today is September 1^st and 2/3 of this year is done.  I am proud to accomplish a lot this year (promotion, move, PMP certification) because most people only do one or two of these things. I’ve managed to do all three but I am officially in grind mode after realizing that there are only four more months left.  I will earn my PMI-ACP certification, rededicate myself to fashion and creating my line, win Nanowrimo in November and keep saving for a house.  I know that by December 31^st, I will possess two project management certifications, know how to make a fashion pattern, sewn four clothes for my line, save over $3000 towards my house and have fun doing it.

Back to Where It All Started

            On the last day I’m 35, I am officially here in Cleveland and cannot be any happier because I’ll celebrate my 36^th birthday here. This past year I have received my GS-14 promotion, a new DuPont Circle apartment, and earned my PMP certification. These are major especially the GS-14 because not too many people get to this level at my age.

I will be with my father all day tomorrow but since my Mommy has moved our lunch to Sunday, I am free for my birthday dinner. This means that I will wear my Valentino dress. I bought it at Gilt City warehouse sale this past spring. I will pair it with Giuseppe Zanotti sandals that I broke in for an event but didn’t wear. I love them especially since I bought them 50% off. Speaking of fashion, I’ve bought the fashion Cleveland t-shirt from the Cleveland store off of Euclid & East 4^th. I will rock that with jeans on my birthday. It’s only right since I’ve promised myself that 6 months from now, I will showcase my collection for the 10^th Fashion Week Cleveland show. I refuse to let my housing situation deter me from success. I breathe creativity plus I possess the business acumen so I will always make a profit!

            I know what I will continue to do in my next year of life: stand on principle. Okay so people hate my drug free stance. They’ll get over it. I am an epileptic who has nerve problems and I’m not resorting to either marijuana, or any other type of drugs or alcohol to ‘cure’ myself. I work on myself and becoming better every single day. That’s all I can do and do it well I will!

Do It Yourself is Always in Fashion

Today I’ve met with the lady at Bits of Thread for my designer mentoring program informational session. I’ve registered after paying for my working with patterns class.  Since DC Fashion Foundation is in disarray (it has taken me over one month to receive my textile class refund) and showing my inaugural collection in next year’s Cleveland Fashion Week is my goal, why not sign up? Though I possess an MBA and 10 years’ business experience, I need to learn from someone already in the game.  I’ve told her that I’ve already taken beginners one, sewing two, copy your clothes, perfect your skirt and will take working with patterns this June so I’ve farther along than most newbies.  Moreover, I want to debut my collection next May in Cleveland, my hometown. She and I work on my 1-year goal dissecting it. I tell her that I watch All on the Line with Joe Zee, Rachel Zoe Project, Resale Royalty and Betsey Johnson to learn about the fashion business. I know that it’s more than clothes.  That’s the so-called creative get things all messed up. This is business and it’s how you make money and pay your rent.

            Returning from my session motivates me to work on it for the next 2 weeks that Jackie goes on vacation.  The one thing that I’m happy about is that I’m not waiting for DC Fashion Foundation to get its act together. I’m going for dolo! Why get mad when I can read the Business of Fashion blog, learn the fashion business and return to my July meeting ahead of the pack? I’ve already expressed my interest in taking the future perfect your pants class because I’ll add this item to my capsule collection.

Not Waiting on Forever

I’ve just learned that the DC Fashion Incubator has delayed its pattern making course from June 22^nd to July 6^th. Immediately I pay Bits of Thread $30 for its pattern making tutorial because I am not waiting around for the Incubator to learn as much as possible of the fashion industry. It’s bad enough that the organization has delayed the textile class two weeks because no one has any money during the middle of the month. I do and arrived there last Saturday on the 18^th. On top of this I receive an email saying that the June 1^st textile museum plan has been nixed and that we’ll meet back at the classroom. Correction: The newbies will be meeting in the classroom because I’ve already attended orientation.  Besides I live near DuPont Circle and the Textile Museum is right there. The museum has a free day and I will partake in all of the demonstrations to learn more about clothing. In addition, the X2 bus that I board will be full on the 1^st of the month.  While riding the bus back from the classroom home, someone says that the homeless man smells like ‘cold piss’ which is one for the record books! I refuse to subject myself to that tomfoolery until June 8^th. Moreover, until all of the other classmates, I have the book and will have at least ½ of it read by the eighth. Also I’ll get the textile kit this week since I’ve budgeted for it.  I’m not waiting for non-paying people and the DC Fashion Incubator to straighten themselves out, I am going for dolo! And it doesn’t stop with purchasing the materials and attending the pattern making tutorial.

            This Tuesday evening I will attend the Nana clothing summer event at Bits of Thread.  Until seeing this announcement in the DC Scout newsletter, I didn’t know that Bits of Thread sewing fashion line clothes. Well, why am I learning how to sew if Bits of Thread can do it for me?!  I draw my stuff and throw them a couple of bucks and be done with it!  Next week I’ll attend a Georgetown fashion show accumulating more exposure plus ask Bits of Thread more questions about its rates because it they’re reasonable then I’ll have them sew my designs for 2014 Cleveland fashion week because this is business. My clothes will be at the tenth annual fashion show just you watch; and no one is getting in the way of that!

Fashionably Late to My Textile Class

Saturday all dressed in my new Juicy Couture waxed floral jeans for my textile class, I missed the bus there.  Rats!  I would be late for the very first class.  I boarded the 10am X2 bus headed down H street.  It was okay at the White House but once it hit Gallery Place, all kinds of characters started boarding.  There was this one woman who once had a shape but didn’t anymore. That didn’t stop her from wearing stretch pants. That was an embarrassing visuals because her butt wasn’t round but squished together and formless. Then there was this old man selling incense.  He was (probably still is a weedhead) talking about a song that he heard and an affair he had. He lied about earning a store 40 years but I seriously doubt it because it didn’t take much to keep an incense store going. Man just get off of the bus and give me peace of mind!

Thinking that things couldn’t get any worse, I exited the wrong stop forcing me to walk an extra four blocks. Now 25 minutes, I thought I was going to be the last one arriving and chewed out by the instructor.  I signed into Sherwood Recreation Center. Taking a deep breath as I climbed up the stairs awaiting my fate, I opened the classroom door where lo and behold there were two women there: the instructor and the organization’s president. Flabbergasted, I introduced myself breathing a sigh of relief.  That serenity lasted all of 10 minutes because I learned that there were a book and textile kit that I needed but weren’t told. That was more money already out of my pocket which was unfair to me because I just paid $499 for my online regression analysis course and budgeted another $199 for a six-month SAS license.  Now these things were added.  I purchased the book off of Amazon but the textile kit must wait until next pay because I wasn’t going into debt over fashion! I learned some very good tidbits:

·         My instructor was from Columbus, Ohio

·         I was one of two people who paid

·         The class would be delayed until June 1^st in observance of Memorial Day and held at the textile museum

·         The three of us had business backgrounds dealing with ‘creatives’ who were brilliant but mentally scrambled (and couldn’t come up with the money by the 15^th)

Since my textile class is delayed for 2 weeks, this delays the pattern making class meaning that once again I must go for dolo and register for Bits of Thread’s June 2^nd pattern making tutorial. DC Fashion Incubator isn’t putting me in limbo again with its inconsistent schedule and payers! I have my money by the deadline. I am going to be okay.  This missing the bus pattern continues because I miss the return X2 bus forcing me to wait at the bus stop for 10 extra minutes. It also starts raining.  I get back on the bus where this man in a winter coat boards smelling like ‘cold piss’ (a rider’s comment not mine because I don’t know what that smells like).  Once we hit the Gallery Place stop things calmed down allowing me to catch my breath a couple of minutes before exiting the bus. After this commute, I need the three-week break!

Returning home, I order my book via Amazon and start researching the websites that the instructor provides.  Next I go through my closet to see what I can wear for the June 1^st museum visit.  The Gilt Groupe’s Haute Hippie knit maxi dress is a winner because it incorporated the whole textile museum theme. This’ll be perfect!

Findings from Fashion Week Cleveland

            Last night I attended Fashion Week Cleveland’s fashion show. I wore my silver-sequined Vince cocktail dress at the behest of someone working for the organization.  Though the event said black-tie, I could get away with a cocktail dress.  Right after hearing that I shopped my closet wearing my Vince.  I switched out my boots for black flats because it was a fashion event and I should shiver for the greater good.  When I left the hotel, the weather wasn’t that bad.  Upon arriving there I was happy at my decision because none of the women wore boots.  I signed in receiving my VIP wristband then proceeded to have my photo taken against the fashion week ad.

Me at Cleveland Fashion Week

Next all of the VIP people were lined up in two directions awaiting for the Hyatt Regency staff to let us in.  Once they did, there was a mad dash for front row seats (I managed to get one!).  The Master of Ceremonies welcomed everyone and did housekeeping then the show began.  As an aspiring fashion designer, I watched with a more professional eye than others. I looked at garment construction and color themes.  My favorite was Sorjet because this clothing line was luxurious yet wearable. Below were all of the photos from each designer in order of appearance:

L.A. Gaitors Shoes

Bae Rae

Lindsay Marie

Art of Cloth

Sorjet

Sorjet

Sorjet

Modern Fashion

Jae Jarell Menswear

Lotty by Lotty Lewis

All Designers

I was impressed by these designers. I learned that the Sorjet designers hailed from Lexington, Kentucky.  That was when it hit me that Cleveland fashion week was a big deal!  My hometown inspired me to keep working at my craft because this time next year, I will be ready or at least further along than right now! Finally, I will be back front and center for the tenth anniversary.

Finally! My Skirt is Done!

Finally, after five classes (the three-session Perfect Your Skirt, the private session and today’s open session), I have finished sewing my skirt. I’m so happy to finish it that I run into the bathroom, take off my skinny jeans, and put it on for one of the instructors to photograph me.  I originally ended up at Bits of Thread because DC Fashion Incubator didn’t have instructors for its textiles and patternmaking courses. I refused to wait for the organization to get them else I’d still be waiting because it is 6 weeks after the Apparel design course ended on March 2^nd, DC Fashion Incubator still didn’t have any teachers. However, I’ve soldiered on creating my skirts and learning how to sew. Check it out!

Me in my new skirt that I've sewn myself!

CNN Features Fashion Week Cleveland

            This evening I check out the Business of Fashion and come across a CNN article highlighting the importance of other fashion weeks. I am very happy that CNN mentions Cleveland first because it is the third largest fashion week in the country.  As soon as I read it, I post it on my Facebook and Twitter accounts cc Fashionably Cleveland. Below is the article’s hyperlink: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/24/living/fashion-week-cities/index.html

Fashionably Late?...Never

            Initially I was against going to the final GWFCC fashion design 101 class but since I bought the Erin Fetherston lipstick jeans especially for the finale, I might as well sashay in there.  Though I made a pitstop at CVS for more posterboard and McDonalds for cinnabon for breakfast (who knew McDonald’s sold them at Union Station) and arrived at 11am (class started at 10am), I arrive.  Reading the fashion business book and cutting out more dresses have accelerated my progress because I am not that far behind the other classmates.  Though I haven’t carried a pencil due to my downsizing to one bag and leaving my purse at home, my instructor has mechanical ones.  When sketching, the instructor says that I should have multiple tops to a bottom.  I start sketching four different kinds of blouses and collars.  Next I ask her if I can replicate these collars on my dresses for my capsule collection and she says ‘absolutely’.  Though no one knows when patternmaking is happening, I have 6 sewing classes starting tomorrow.  I might not even be able to enroll in patternmaking due to my being booked the entire month for sewing.  I simply cannot wait for the organization to open classes when I have a vision and need to acquire the requisite skills to be bring it fruition.  Bits of Thread has a patternmaking class which I’ll enroll in April.  It all seems to be coming together.