spandex is a privilege, not a right

i have recently (now finished) been interning at a fashion production warehouse for a local womenswear label that exclusively stocks at its own stores in most major shopping malls and districts around Brisbane and the Gold Coast. the clothes had a market that was significantly older than me (in my opinion), and so a lot of the pieces and accessories i wouldn't have worn myself, but that seemed irrelevant. to be able to experience that sort of environment (half of all of their pieces are made on-site in Brisbane, the other half in China) in Brisbane is wildly rare, and i really loved it.


+ i've been working on a shirt at uni for this semester's assignment. we had to construct it out of a combination of the same / different basic geometric shapes, rather than regular pattern making. this is to find out whether or not a more hands-on approach may suit our learning styles instead of designing and then making a toile. it also removes any subconscious design inspiration in which you can rip-off other designers through your own work without really realising it when sketching, or that when designing on a drawn figure, you tend to stick to more conventional garments / pieces that cling more to the body. i have found it really difficult, but i can appreciate the process in those respects.
i found that shapes like rectangles / triangles just did not work for me. i either came to dead ends or created repulsive things. circles were also difficult and somewhat restrictive, but i found semi-circles worked for me because they also had the straight edge to play with.
we had to include a collar, some sort of button / fastenings, and sleeves with cuffs that were finished appropriately.
most people used regular sleeves from a pattern block but i decided to make my sleeves from semi-circles.
i don't like the collar as it is at the moment, i think it seems to be competing with the front draped sections, but that's something i can work toward fixing for the final pieces.
we have to make two shirts of the same style - one in a structured fabric, and one in a more soft and flowing fabric, to see how they sit differently.



i went out on an unsuccessful resume drop in West End a week ago, and took some of my would-be Fleet Store (now closed - how quick does it feel like that happened?!) pieces for a spin. i've been wearing the bloomers to uni every now and then on a hot day, and i'm pretty thankful that i decided not to put fastenings on the bottom of the leg openings at the side. they're borderline unflattering as it is, so i think i made a good decision there, ha. the top can be unzipped or fully zipped, and i'm still trying to decide which i prefer..

+ i won tickets to go to BigSound Live last night and Wednesday as well with a friend. so much fun ! the fact that v well-known bands just walk around or can be seen hanging out at local bars felt really homely. last night was a little less fun walking around because there were the usual student night enthusiasts in all of their high-heeled, short-skirted glory. i missed my train home because we were speaking to an American tourist from Texas and giggling at some of the clothing we were seeing. especially on a night when all of the indie kids were out to see local bands.. he thinks that Australia, or at least Brisbane, is stuck in an 80s time warp. he said, 'spandex is a privilege, not a right'. phun-knee.
we saw some of the most magnificent artists though..44th Sunset, Ball Park Music, The Falls, Flume, The Trouble with Templeton, Tin Sparrow, Oliver Tank, Voltaire Twins, Hayden Calnin, Club Scouts..