Fashion Show + Milwaukee Summer

Long overdue post. I put some things in our fashion show at school this year. It wasn't as big a deal and I wasn't as excited. But the stuff turned out pretty neat:

Some of this you've seen before; the jacket and the sweater, specifically. I put in class projects because I was too busy to do both looks entirely outside of classes. At that, it was really a stretch to get any of this finished! This first look is an alpaca cowl, black sparkly knit top, raw silk skirt (dyed ombre, though it's hard to tell because it was light brown to cream) with horsehair braid in the hem, and cut & sew knit moto jacket.



 

Look #2 was my first sweater project from my knits class, and jeans with (faux) leather accents. The jeans were made from a gorgeous denim I ordered from Mood Fabrics. The faux leather was also ordered from Mood, but that's a whole 'nother story. I intended to make a jacket with it, but when it arrived in the mail, it seriously looked like a crumpled up plastic garbage bag. Can you believe it was $14/yd?! I was so disappointed. I scrapped the jacket idea, and instead put in the cut and sew jacket (which was from a class).

 

But I knew I wanted some accents on the jeans, so I was able to sort of salvage the faux leather by spraying it lightly with flat black and dusty gold spray paint. It worked well enough that I could use it for the chevrons on the left leg, and for two painstaking triangle welt pockets in back.

 



In all honesty, the pants are too tight. The fabric has some stretch in it, and I just didn't adjust them enough to fit like real jeans. But this denim is amazing, and I have tons left over, so maybe another pair is in my future!

 

 

Above photo by Claire Kiger, via Facebook.



So that was one adventure. The semester ended in a whirlwind, and after collapsing at home for about a week, I went on to my next adventure: my ten-week internship at Kohl's Corporation in Milwaukee, WI! I don't have a lot of photos to show, but I'll just say, it was magnificent. I was in technical design and I got to learn so many things, work with great people, and help produce REAL product for people to wear. I am so excited to have had the opportunity.

 

Toward the end of July, I did something I've always wanted to do: I ran the color run!

 





 

Before & After!

 

It was a blast! I had never ever been fond of running before this summer. But I signed up for the run five weeks in advance, and decided I had to get out of my couch-potato state and start training. Even if it is just a 5K, going from walking to running 3 miles in five weeks requires a little bit of work!

 

I found a trail in Milwaukee that went alongside the river, totally into the woods, and just fell in love with it. It felt like I wasn't even in the city once I got on that trail! And for the first time ever, I started training the right way. Rather than going all-out, I took baby-steps, trying to not get hurt or sore or anything that would cause me to be un-motivated. I walked a LOT at first because I wasn't used to working those muscles. But slowly I got better, and by the time the race came around, I was leaps and bounds beyond where I'd been at the start! It was so exciting to run my FIRST RACE... and it's not going to be the last. :)

 

The summer was wonderful, and even on its own, the internship was an incredible experience. I grew so much as a professional and learned more than I have in many sixteen-week classes. I am really stoked to share the news that they offered me a full-time position starting after I graduate next summer. I can't wait to work for such a great company!