(not so) random links

before i launch into this most recent bunch o' links, i want to say thanks for the HUGE response to my why do we wear what we wear? post early last week. i guess i touched on something there! i am constantly floored at how intelligent and creative and diverse you all are. thanks for reading! and for sharing and discussing. i'm constantly humbled by the fact that you stop by and are in some way interested in what i blog about or...really, anything i post!
now, on with the show!

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-the bay area maker faire, put on by make: and craft: is this coming weekend, may 3rd and 4th, down in san mateo, california, at the san mateo fairgrounds. are any of you bay area denziens planning on going?
fun fact: i spoke about wardrobe_remix at last year's maker faire! it was a blast.
and looks like they have a TON of great craft demos and crafty happenings going down this year too, including the bizarre bazaar. my in-laws are due to visit this weekend...maybe we'll drag them down there for a look-see! *evil laugh*

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-reason # 7658934563 that fashion trend pronouncements are a steaming pile of stinking TRIPE: the fashion industry (well, really, idiotic fashion editors, designers, and their ilk) is now claiming that the dress is "OUT" (via the new york times). seriously?? like people are going to stop wearing dresses because some dolt like anne slowey claims they are "out"??? just thinking about this and how inane and non-sensical such a statement is makes me want to slam my head against the wall repeatedly in frustration. (via a dress a day) dresses make up a very broad and diverse category of clothing, so to say all dresses are "out" as of this coming fall (??) just sounds completely moronic. like, are all brides going to forgo the trad wedding DRESS in lieu of wedding PANTS, for starters??
now do you understand why i constantly say "trends" are just a bunch of garbage? this kind of thing TOTALLY proves my point...if nothing else i've ever written to this end hasn't worked in convincing you. :P

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and a big old stack of the quick and dirty!:
-i love love LOVE this how-to on hand-dying trims, by a little imagination and a pile of junk. bright, and happy...and could be used in so many ways. your imagination is probably the only limitation! (via craft:)
-this knitted food by artist ed bing lee looks scrumptious! (via fly)
-check out this inspiring sweater recon by one pearl button. i can think of a million stylish ways to riff off that idea...again, the possibilities seem endless!
-some super-duper pretty dahlias made from rick-rack, by made with love by hannah. would be lovely as a brooch, hair do-dad, or hat decoration, methinks!
-threadbanger's blog has a great round-up of ways to make handmade shoes...check it!
-the human ecology collection of the university of wisconsin-madison has an online archive of vintage dressmaking, fashion design, costume design, millinery (aka hatmaking), and sewing texts provided in full available for your perusal right here. an AMAZING resource for makers and designers, to say the least.
-check out this patchwork/collaged chair tutorial by dutch artist jane schouten on design*sponge. i'm literally drooling over it...so covetable, and so do-able!
-the coveted dishes out the deets on a slew of great ebay sellers who specialize in designer and vintage goodies. worth a peek!
-there's apparently a new (to me?) SF street fashion blog, called san francisco style (via design that kills). what makes it different from the pack? a huge amount of commentary by the authors on the stylish who were snapped on SF's streets.

(not so) random links

tons and tons and TONS to share today!
enjoy, my pets!

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-seems like (almost everything) one buys these days, especially clothing, has a tag bearing the words "made in china". for some time now, china has been a manufacturing powerhouse, making many products we in the west consume cheaply and plentifully. but such plenty and such cheapness, while it benefits corporations and manufacturers and their profit margins, comes at a cost...both for many of the chinese (particularly the chinese workers), and most certainly, for us, who are about to be paying more for those aforementioned chinese-made goods (via slate).
a chinese backlash seems to be blooming, in britain, and elsewhere. china's bad record on issues like the environment, labor issues, and so forth have some talking about and trying to personally boycott chinese products (via BBC.com).
but, are such boycotts bound to be successful? who do such boycotts REALLY affect? would trying to boycott chinese products ultimately prove to be a great and complex challenge, when so much of what surrounds us is made or made from materials sourced from that vast country? what are the alternatives to chinese made products, particularly when it comes to clothing? (via the telegraph) and another thing: are you REALLY willing to pay more and work harder to avoid that which is made in a manner that you find displeasing?

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-speaking of britain and ethical clothing: the BBC has launched an online ethical fashion magazine, called thread (via the telegraph). hopefully it will prove to be a jolly good effort when it comes to covering all things ethical fashion.
a stellar feature from the thread mag that also relates to all the chinese/ manufacturing talk above: from factory to high street: the hidden cost of cut-price clothes

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-through a dress a day, i learned about a "kerfuffle" that occured at the recently commenced st. louis fashion week:
seems a gal named ashley dayley submitted a dress to the show made from an iconic vintage (and recently re-issued) butterick sewing pattern. at first glance, it seemed as if ashley dayley was merely a copycat, trying to pass off a garment made from a commercially made pattern as her own.
ashley later claimed that this information was well-known to those involved with the fashion show (in fact, the rules of the show allegedly allowed garments made from commercial patterns), and as such she did not see any issue with submitting a "design" made from a commercial sewing pattern to said show.
but the trouble was, this wasn't too clear from the PR surrounding the show that ashley (or anyone else, for that matter), wasn't just trying to pass off a dress made from a commercially made pattern as his/her own...until ashley herself tried to clear it all up (check the comments on the DOTD post).
regardless of what actually happened in this whole ashley dayley/st. louis fashion show thing, this story does bring up some issues regarding what constitutes 'original' design, and just what makes someone a 'designer'...
here's my take (coming from a fashion design educational background):
the mere act of making a garment from a commercial sewing pattern (even if you, say, add your own embellishment) DOES NOT make you the 'designer' of that garment, or a 'designer' period.
making a garment from a pattern may make you artistic and creative, a skilled dressmaker, crafty, and a myriad of other things. but it does not imply that you designed that sewing pattern...the fundamental basis of the/any garment.
to me, being the 'designer' of a garment implies that you created an garment from scratch (i.e. you DID NOT use a commercial pattern as the basis of your design). you drafted or draped the pattern yourself (or employed a patternmaker to do so as your explicit proxy), and in many (though not all) cases you are likely to be responsible for everything related to the design from the idea and pattern stage onwards...including but not limited to creating the initial sketch, the calculations and other technical skills employed to make that sketch come to life through said patternmaking/drafting or draping, the fabrication and embellishment decisions employed on/in said garment, and sometimes, also sewing/constructing said garment.
i sometimes sew, knit or crochet from a pattern that has been designed by another person or persons (for instance, a company who makes commercial patterns). certainly, i make choices concerning the materials i use, and occasionally make subtile tweaks to said patterns to have said patterns work better for me. i am, of course, proud of what i have done to fashion said garment and certainly consider work made from said patterns to be a creative endeavor and effort.
HOWEVER, i personally would NEVER deign to call myself the 'designer' of said patterns, i can only be the owner of the result of using those patterns...and nothing else. the original designer is the one who deserves the credit for the idea...i can only take credit for my version of THEIR DESIGN. i would never make something using someone else's blueprints and call it my own. i see it as wrong, period. all rightful acknowledgement for the original design, in my mind, can ONLY go to the person who came up with the original idea or pattern. to take another person or persons designs and call them my own, in any way, would be against my personal beliefs and ethics.
i believe that the selling of wares made from commercially available patterns is a copyright violation, not aboveboard at all...yet, people do it all the time, and it's somehow somewhat acceptable to some...
the issue is, of course, for some, very complicated, and i could probably discuss it it ad nauseam!...it's even a common issue in the fashion industry at large. opinions differ, of course. from mine, from yours.
some questions, as usual:
does just making a dress/sweater/anything from a commercial pattern make you a designer? what constitutes an 'original' clothing design? when do you believe that someone can rightfully call themselves a designer, and the work they make an original design? what is a completely 'original' idea, when it comes to clothing, or anything else?
what say you?

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-body image issues are up for debate, both in the culture at large, and now even in the lower house of france's parliament, who've approved a bill that would "make it illegal for anyone — including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites — to publicly incite extreme thinness". the target here, of course, is the fashion industry, and violating this proposed law could land said stylish perps of emaciatedness in court, or sock them with hefty fines. the point, say french lawmakers, is to affect a change in the way that body image is perceived in the fashion industry, and by extension, the culture at large. of course, the french federation of couture takes issue with this proposed bill, not wanting to have to bow to any outside controls...(via the new york times)

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-why can't a woman shop more like a man? (via the telegraph) indeed! perhaps we can learn a thing or two from the fellows when it comes to smart shopping...for starters: employing a little forethought and strategy into the purchases we do actually make, forgoing the trendy-trendy-of-the-moment pieces for the savvy, more long-lasting purchases, and saving those occasional extravagant buys for the sales only.

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and of course....the quick and dir-tay!:

-nylon recently posted a mini-interview with eley kishimoto, one of my all time favorite designers (design TEAM, i should say)!

-quilts and patchwork are cool and rule! emily and i are on the same page, as evidenced by a recent post on her blog, go go distro, called quilted appreciation.

-and more quilty goodness: if only i could go see these fabulous art quilts at the wayne art center that fly gives us a peep at...i'd be a happy camper!

-a polka dot stitch pattern, from vogue knitting! i am itching to bust out the knitting needles RIGHT NOW and use this for something, anything, maybe EVERYTHING! YESSSSS! :D

-how to drape a bodice, a video from domestic haven (via craft:)

-from the threadbanger blog: how to remake old sweaters into spring cardigans!

-jennifer perkins of naughty secretary club shows you how to make your own take on tom binns 'no time watch'. sweet!

(not so) random links

-a reminder for you san franciscans/bay area denziens: the 2008 discarded to divine fashion show and auction is coming up soon! it's on april 26th, at 7 pm, at the academy of art's building over at 601 brannan street, in the soma district here in san francisco.

i posted about the upcoming event way back at the end of february...i was planning on going, but oops, turns out i'll be resting and relaxing on a beach in hawaii that weekend! so, i beg of you, GO! and report back!

get a peep at select, stunning garments that will be featured at the show by checking out sf indie fashion's fabulous discarded to divine sneak preview!

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according to the telegraph, fashion mags are now photoshopping curves onto skinny models and celebs in an attempt to deflect criticism concerning possible objectification of said skinny models in the recent past. wait, first these models aren't skinny enough...now they are TOO skinny? seriously, WTF? i think this quote nails the ridiculousness of all this:

...Susan Ringwood, the chief executive of the eating disorder charity Beat, condemned the practice. "Altering models' bodies to appear fuller-figured proves that the industry acknowledges there is a serious issue with projecting images of very thin models, but [it is] missing the point," she said. "They should be using naturally healthy models in the first instance, instead of having to make them look that way."

indeed. EMBRACE REALITY, fashion industry, it's the latest trend!

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-has the sartorialist has overstepped his boundaries as a street fashion photographer? not wanting to limit himself to merely concentrating on documenting stylish folks, he's now moving on to 'making over' those who allegedly just don't make the cut as fodder for his site. seems he's wanting to make such folks conform to the sartorialist "look", or make them look "better"...implying there's a standard to conform to, stylewise. over 500 comments show that at least a few folks are questioning (and also supporting) this move of his...

for me, the post in question in turn begs these questions:

...should street fashion photographers dispense style advice? what is a street fashion photographer's intention or job? to merely document, or dictate? should a street fashion blog be about celebration, or about dissection (of a person's style)?

...and what about the issue of personal style? are the personal style statements of some superior to those of others?

...do some street fashion photogs document a more true or "better" version of street style?

...can any one street fashion photographer be truly diverse in what they show or choose to show, given their own tastes and inclinations?

what say you?

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and the quick and dirty (the all-sock edition!):

-these prep-tastic pom-pom socks featured on the purl bee are so deliciously cute. the pom-poms are completely reminiscent of bunny tails...and who doesn't like bunnies? *grin* anyway, i think said socks could be super suave and more than a little subversive done in a really riotous color combo, like neon yellow paired with gray, or mint green paired with red-orange. natch.

-metapostmodernknitting is running a sock design challenge. the aim? to create an artsy and/or fashionable knitted sock for women. think you've got the knit wits and style sense to come up with something suitable? go to this blog post on MPMK for more details! (via craft:)