Well, we’re back into the swing of things at school, and this semester has already started out to be crazy (busy). I spent most of this past weekend working on my project for my Career Sportswear class. I present to a critic on Saturday all of my original designs for a pant/skirt suit and a dress and jacket outfit. I finished my collection mood board, worked on the fabric swatch board, and several fashion illustrations. I got lot of ideas together this weekend, but I still have a long way to go. It’s really hard creative work, and this will be a challenging semester to get through. I think I’m already going to start a count down to spring break!

I am also in a class called Fashion Show Production. This class plans and produces the Stephens College annual fashion show held at the end of the semester. The program is a showcase for all the Senior and Junior designers, so we pull out all the stops. We had a group meeting to come up with themes for the fashion show. Our group decided on a theme that incorporates silver and black with futuristic look garments for the show’s intro. We also thought that techno music was a natural fit for our theme. Melissa and I listened to some techno over the summer in Portland so she helped me find the perfect music to present our ideas to our class. We decide on the final theme of our fashion show tomorrow. I will let you know what the class comes up with…….it should be interesting!

Now off to more drawing. I have flats that are calling my name. Wish me luck with the critic!

Allyce

I have a lot of great memories wrapping up my winter break, and now am getting back into college mode. I worked a good part of my break for a store in Portland called The Mercantile. They sell high fashion women’s clothing and accessories. I always miss being in a retail environment until I start working again! It really is fun though (I get to see all the neat trends as they arrive in the store), and I have continued working there on weekends. I’m getting heavily into schoolwork and finishing our next McCall’s patterns, so I’m afraid I am going to have to put retail on hold for a while.

During the break I also had the great opportunity to fly to St. Louis and work on the next season of DIYStyle vodcasts. I finally got to see where Allyce grew up…..it’s quite different from Portland! The whole experience was fast paced, entertaining, and we accomplished a lot! The first day we had a professional photo shoot with Allyce and me, pics for the website and our sponsors. I have not had “model style” pictures taken of me and it was a really a fun girly day, with the help of a stylist doing our makeup and coordinating how we dressed up! It felt like our photographer, Lance Tilford, shot hundreds of pictures. Watch for some of them to show up soon.

For the rest of the week we filmed the episodes that I was hosting and we also got to go “on site” (as they say in the film industry) meaning we went to some really neat places in St. Louis to film. We went to the famous Gateway Arch, walked around downtown, and visited a really neat historic district in St. Charles! I stayed in this great hotel that had a shopping mall right across the street, so needless to say Ally and I fit in some quality shopping time together.

I flew back to Portland on New Year’s Eve and finished off the year with family and friends. It was a great end to one of the most exiting years of my life. SO much has happened in 2007 that will never be forgotten, and I have made friendships so amazing they will surely last a lifetime! Now I know Ally and I are back to the grind stone trekking towards graduation, and it certainly cannot come soon enough! I hope everyone is as exited as we are to see what is to come in this next season of DIYStyle vodcasts. We have some great projects for you all to make, and some fabulous designers and places to visit, so stay tuned to your creative side and we will see you soon!!

Melissa

Wow, I can’t believe it is mid-January already. I hope you all had wonderful holidays and your new year is off to a creative start! I was able to get a few days of R&R in Las Vegas with some friends. Ahhh, I needed that! People-watching in Las Vegas is SO interesting when you have friends around to share the ridiculous and absurd.

Now, school is back in session and (of course) a couple of days before classes started, I got sick with bronchitis. Arrrgh. I felt so miserable I had to miss the first day of classes and got behind before I even started. Thanks goodness I worked ahead a little on McCall’s and DIYStyle stuff over break so I can now focus on my homework. Never a dull moment!

One of my big projects for this semester is a “Career Wear” collection. This weekend I was absolutely knee-deep in hundreds of thumbnail sketches with variations and new ideas in every sketch. We have a critic coming February 1st and I have a lot more to do before she comes! I will let you know how everything goes…wish me lots of luck!

XXXX  Allyce

I was invited to a Nordstrom fashion show at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland where my family and I are members. It was really impressive…with a sit-down brunch…it was a really neat event. The fashion show was great! I hadn’t attended a fashion show in a long time, so it was cool to see the up and coming trends for winter and spring. They split the show up into several different themes, focusing on party dresses, coats and jackets, a safari theme, shawls, and a few others. Most of the clothes were very versatile so that a wide range of age groups could wear them, but as a whole they did lean towards a younger chic look. I really liked some of the twists on the classic look of the p-coat jackets, the wide leg pant, and the little black dress.

I went to the event with my mom and two of her friends/business associates, Linda Wizner and Ethel Harms. I admire all three of these ladies who are each fashionably chic. After the show, the organizers had shuttles to the downtown Nordstrom store so you could purchase things you liked. We chose not to participate, in an attempt to not burn holes in our pockets. But I loved all of this, the inspirations you can get from fashion shows, from how to put outfits together differently, to what colors are hot, and all the different ways to use your accessories. I’ll be looking forward to attending another one soon.

Melissa

Happy New Year! It has been a SUPER busy holiday season for DIYStyle. We taped several episodes of our Season #2 vodcasts, with Melissa flying from Portland to join Allyce and me for a few whirlwind weeks. We had a full day of photo shoots (upcoming Babylock Sewing Machine ads featuring A&M); decorated a great new set for our vodcast tapings, stopped into St. Louis shops for inspiration, and taped several how-to projects (we’ve taken your feedback to come up with some hot ideas).

She is a world traveler, but Melissa hadn’t yet visited the Midwest before this trip, so we felt inclined to show her the local color … the Gateway Arch, Laclede’s Landing, and the chic boutiques in the newly renovated Washington Avenue loft district in St. Louis were stops on our tour. Allyce and Melissa worked really hard, taping into the evenings, and most times straight thru lunch. Some vacation!

After a short break for New Year’s, our team was hard at it again, interviewing designers for upcoming vodcasts. I know right now I’m about ready to drop, but all our hard work will be worth it when you see what we’ve put together for Season #2. We have even more helpful sewing tips, and a few NEW surprises (we can’t divulge our secrets just yet!) in store for 2008.

We’ll be posting one more vodcast tonight to wrap up Season #1 of DIYStyle. It’s our grand finale with Chloe Dao, the winner of Project Runway’s second season. Stay tuned for OUR next season coming soon….we think you’ll like what we’ve been stitching together!

Cindy