Fashion Design Studio

It has been a very busy week. What a joy to have some quiet time late this afternoon, to dream and create and play. I returned to the creative activity I selected a couple of days ago:

Design and sketch a piece of clothing.

I am resisting the temptation to rush ahead and draw an outfit or an article of clothing. Instead, I am taking the time to learn the process of fashion design. Oh, it is simplified, compared to the classes one would take in a college course. However, I am learning from an excellent book geared toward teenage girls or young adults. It is perfect for me and part of a very enjoyable journey. I love that these words are printed on the cover of the book:

Creative girls draw.

Yes they do!

My creative studio this evening is my bedroom. My diffuser has Young Living peppermint essential oil in it, which seems to be a great mental stimulant. The setting sun is filtering through the blinds. I am barefoot and bare legged, wearing cool and comfy clothes, in deference to the heat outside. My bed with its lightweight summer linens and fluffy pillows is serving as my desk and my chair.

In such pleasant surrounding, my imagination is free to expand and take flight.

I have started at the beginning, which is always a great place to get underway, becoming comfortable with drawing fashion figures. Before I can draw a skirt or a top or a flowing wrap, I need a form to put it on. I appreciate that this book takes the time to introduce the human body as a series of shapes and connecting lines.

I have had fun tonight, sketching these simple basic figures. I learned about proportion as I drew, and how the body is divided into segments. As I practice different poses, I see how the bones give structure to the human form, how the shoulders and hips tilt in opposite directions, and how truly wonderfully we are made.

It has been very good to spend time this evening familiarizing myself with these basics. The act of drawing is searing these important details about form into my brain. My next lesson will be to flesh out the stick figures, giving them shape through the curve of muscles.

Then I will be ready to study aspects of clothing and style and design a piece.


Did you realize that the shoulders and hips don’t tilt at the same angle, ever? I had to stand up and strike some poses to see!


My next lesson…fleshing out the basic form.

I don’t know, exactly, where this journey will lead me. I hope to a finished article of clothing, that I designed, that I can wear. Beyond that, who knows? Fashion design has long been an interest of mine. I am excited to be taking action steps instead of just dreaming about it.

The Divine has noted my dreams and my actions. The morning after my post about designing a piece of clothing, one of my Facebook notifications was about a new frame I could select for my profile picture. I laughed when I saw what it was. And then tears filled my eyes. The frame makes my profile pic look like the cover of a fashion magazine.

How amazing is that? Yes, it means Facebook is tracking my posts. But more than that, it is a wink from the Divine. It is an invitation to keep playing in this creative area. It is a Divine promise to meet me on this path, if I will keep walking, and show me how far my intentions can take me.

I am willing to keep going. How could I refuse such a playful invitation? That fashion magazine cover looks good to me. I am inspired to make it a reality.

Have fun designing your own fashions with this cool book:

 

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Fashion Design

Inspiration led me to explore in an area I’ve been thinking about, but had not yet taken action in. A few weeks ago, an idea sparked, creating interest in developing a line of clothing especially geared toward women in their middle years. 

Fashion Design, Playing in a New Area of Creativity
There is a great deal of freedom that comes to women in their 50s and 60s. Often we’ve raised a family, and successfully helped them to establish lives of their own. We have grandchildren to dote on. Yet we are far from settling into sedentary lives. At this wonderful stage in the journey, we have the time to pursue our own interests again, the curiosity to develop our desire to travel and see new places, and the patience and ability to learn exciting new skills. 

I am in this age group, and I am experiencing all of these marvelous things. As a woman in my 50s, I’ve learned what I like and don’t like, fashion wise. And most importantly, I’ve learned that the person I dress to please…is me. I am envisioning clothing that is fun, playful without looking like I’ve shopped in the junior department, made from ultra comfortable and flattering materials, and is sensual more than sexy. I want to feel beautiful and feminine and at ease wearing these clothes. 

Fashion Design, Playing in a New Area of Creativity
At the library, I found two books to increase my knowledge about fashion basics. Online I located fashion design templates, intending to print out blank copies so that I could sketch my concepts on the female form. 

I left the office without doing that, and I currently don’t have a printer at home. Since one of the library books is subtitled A Guide to Sketching Stylish Fashions, I got the distinct impression that perhaps forgetting to print out templates was not an accident. It would seem I was being guided to create my own templates. 

Fashion Design, Playing in a New Area of Creativity
I have learned to not back down from a challenge. I’ve also learned to trust what is unfolding, and that if I am inspired to create something, I must possess the ability to carry the idea out. 

Grabbing my sketch book, I began with simple freehand figures, composed primarily of circles, ovals and rectangles. The more I sketched, the more fun I had, and the figures became more fluid. I believe with a bit more practice, I will be able to ink in my drawings, creating my own templates to copy. 

Fashion Design, Playing in a New Area of Creativity
This year is about being tender, and artistic. It is an invitation to offer compassion and love, to others and to myself, and to play as I discover new areas and new levels of creativity. 

Joseph Chilton Pearce wrote, “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”

I so agree. And I must lose my fear of not doing something perfectly. As I create, as I play, as I focus on making robust art, I am learning and growing and getting better at what I am doing. Inspiration may challenge me with an idea or project, but it will never tease me with something that is impossible for me to accomplish. 

I am excited to see where this newest adventure leads.