It Makes me Happy!

 When I was a young girl I dreamt of designing clothes. I would take small scraps of cloth and hand-stitch them into clothes for my dolls. But growing up in a conservative family I knew the only thing allowed was to be a wife, mother, or maybe a secretary. I kept my dream locked up tight. The high school counselor suggested I attend business school and become a secretary. My mother made the same suggestion. The only other acceptable family push was to attend a "Christian college" and find a husband, which I did. My secret remained and I worked in offices until I had children.

I would design and make clothes for myself and my two children.

As I was approaching 40 years I asked myself what do I still want to do. My children were more independent. I finally let the secret out and told my husband I wanted to go back to school. After much hard work I graduated with a degree in Apparel Design. The illustrations you see here were done during my time in design school. I hadn't looked at them in a very long time. 

Yes, that is me in those snap shots!

My mind has a bit of an engineering thought process and I ended up working for Jantzen, Inc. as a patternmaker. It was a good career choice and I loved it. When I retired I was working for Nike as a technical designer. A technical designer needed the patternmaking background and good writing skills. I worked with an amazing design team to develop street clothes, making sure the garment fit correctly and the quality was up to the standards of the company. I was the final approval before it went to production. My career makes me very proud of myself.

One of the 100's of sportswear outfits I worked on at Jantzen, Inc.

Now in writing this I was thinking we must acknowledge our dreams and gifts in every step through life, not just our careers. I have heard it said "what do you want to do with your one, beautiful life?" It is so important for our hearts to do the big things, but also the little things.

It's also important to encourage those around us to follow their dreams.

She doesn't look happy, but she shines. In shining and following her dreams, she is happy. She puts on her sparkle and shines, she dances.

I danced too, which is a story for another day.

The spirit of creativity still sits in the center of my heart. Each time I do something creative, even writing these posts, it satisfies my heart. It makes me happy. 

Just a little peak of my past dreams come true, living the dream.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Victorian Fashions on Display

 Before I get started, my pictures loaded with the reverse of the show. If you want to see it progress the way the show went, start at the bottom and work your way up. If you start at the top, this first dress is the finally.

The main reason I chose to venture north to Port Townsend last weekend was for the Victorian Festival that takes place each spring. A friend from San Diego is actively involved in the fashion show. She wrote all the dialogue and organized the show this year. What a beautiful show. In the audience background you will also see that many of the attendees even dress in costume. It is quite fun. If you ever get a chance to attend, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

There were two men in the show. This one was the mortician. He really was enjoying himself.

 

 

The hearse with all kinds of surprises.

The black dress was the only dress that was original from the Victorian era. All other dresses were made by the models.

The blue dress was the models first dress made for herself. She did a great job.

Many of the models also made their accessories. I was fascinated by the shape of this hat.

This model has been involved in all the shows I have attended. Each time I am impressed with her sewing talents. This particular dress had a fun three tiered bustle.

I loved that there was a variety of ages, shapes and sizes of models involved. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Here is my friend from San Diego. I remember many years ago she barely knew how to sew and now I am so impressed at what she does with her costumes. She even teaches classes at a costume conference.

Even the military was represented. He was carrying all his supplies from his bed roll to his dinnerware and pipe.

 The show took place in the local VA building and his costume fit right in with the surroundings.

 

 Here we are at the beginning of the show. I hope you enjoyed it. Several fabrics caught my attention and I quite loved this plaid.

 

Would you love living daily in one of these dresses? How comfortable are they? With all those layers and cinched in waist, I think I wouldn't be very comfortable. 

Have a terrific weekend, dear friends!

Sending love,

Marilyn

It's Beginning - Don Your Gay Apparel

"Traditionally, this word was used to indicated that someone is cheery, merry, jolly, or light-hearted. So, when you don your gay apparel, you get dressed in cheery clothes."

So for today, we will "don your gay apparel" and dance through the holiday season.

All the pictures were taken on a recent adventure to my favorite antique mall.

Which outfit will you wear?

Now put your dancing shoes on!

And let the sparkles of the season begin!

Even tiny snow men sparkle and shine.

Snowy trees and pretty, festive plates are worth the celebration.

Do you see me? I love the little bottle brush trees. They take me back to my childhood. And even an empty frame speaks to me of possibilities.

More sparkles for your eyes.

I loved the sparkly butterfly. It probably should have come home with me.

And that's a wrap! Don we gay apparel! Let's go out and celebrate the season with JOY, laughter, dancing and music!

Embrace the sparkle and shine!

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Night of Hanfu Fashion

 

"Hanfu are the pre-17th century traditional clothing of the Han Chinese. The Han people, or the Han Chinese, are the majority ethnic group in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and many Chinese communities oversea. Chinese hanfu influenced the trends of many Eastern Asian traditional fashions such as Japanese kimonos and Korean Hanbok. In recent years, a revitalization of traditional hanfu have become a viral trend that charms China and the rest of the world."

There was music played throughout the evening by a group from Taiwan. The weather was perfect for viewing of the garden and a fashion show on a summer's evening recently.

The young boy in this picture was doing everything possible to avoid getting his picture taken. And then the show began!

There were so many cameras snapping, it was difficult at times to snap pictures.

A final bow!

 

I think this model connected with me and stopped so I could take her picture before departing.

 

For this girl that loves a summer night and fashion, I was thrilled to be there. What beautiful clothing from the Hanfu tradition. Thanks Lan Su Chinese Gardens for hosting this lovely event.

 

Hoping you are all having a most delightful weekend, dear friends!