burdastyle.com: still hitting it out of the (sewing pattern) park

many, many moons ago, i wrote about burdastyle. for those who weren't around the first time to hear me babble about it, i'll reinterate:
...burdastyle is a genius online sewing/fashion/DIY community that's centered around publishing open-source, easily downloadable sewing patterns.
in the past, burdastyle offered up all their patterns for free. recently, however, burdastyle has changed their business plan, and they have begun to charge for some of the patterns they offer, typically asking for a small fee for purchase (usually a few dollars, certainly less than some of the other pattern companies out there charge for their patterns, new). it should be mentioned, though, that plenty of freebee pretty pattern goodness is still to be had over there! win-win...burda can make money to keep producing patterns everyone can download, and those who like 'em free can have some too. yay!
i took a spin around the site again this past week, and spotted these super styles:

(images via burdastyle) (style names, from top to bottom: bella, jorinde, ute variation A, jennifer (the blouse i was fawning over long ago in the post i made about the burdastyle threadbanger episode!), kasia & ute variation B)

and look! a myriad of trendy vintage-influenced details abound!:
high-waists, pussy-bows, twee peter-pan style collars, and fun, bold yokes!
you can so totally make these your own by thinking stylishly. like, that little blazer? would be too perfect if brazenly made a size too small, methinks! or the high-waisted pant? you could totally make those legs skinnier, or straighter, or some other shape that suits you!...the sky is truly the limit if your imagination is big enough...
again, burdastyle is, in many ways, instant gratification city: the styles and cuts of the clothing patterns they offer are up to the minute trend-wise, they are almost begging for alteration, personal interpretation, and the application of inspired embellishment, and best of all, you can print those patterns out on your home printer right away!

designers: portraits by aaron lee fineman

(photos via aaron lee fineman)

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aaron lee fineman is a freelance professional photographer based in new york city. a graduate of NYU's tisch school of the arts, aaron's portfolio includes work for a long and impressive list of esteemed publications and major corporations, including but not limited to the new york times, forbes, newsweek, times, mother jones, coke, and IBM. aaron and his wife nicole (also a photographer and illustrator) are good friends of the husband and i...we met them during our time living in nyc in the mid-2000's.
over the past several years, aaron was working on an environmental portrait project featuring designers in their workspaces. a few of the portraits for said project are shown above (top to bottom): kayte terry, whitney mero, and linda permann. see the rest of aaron's designer portraits here.
a while back, i briefly interviewed aaron, asking about what inspired him to do this designer portrait series, how it came together, and so forth. some of the discussion we had about photography and this particular project is excerpted below.

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me: what was the inspiration for the [designer portraits] project?
aaron: a few things...i was sick of the lack of choices for [interesting] menswear options in "regular" stores, another was going to markets like the market and the edge (in NYC) and seeing all the amazing designs there. i wanted to show people that they can get great clothes and other goods without shopping at the mega marts. they can instead support small designers and in doing that, they can look great and avoid looking like anyone else in the process.
me: how did the project get started?
aaron: i found most of the designers through you and mia kim [a fashion designer friend of aaron's who sold her work at edge NYC, a designer's market/store located on bleeker street]. i also sourced some of the designers via the internet.
me: is the project completed, or do you plan to add to it over time?
aaron: the project is mostly completed...but if i can think of some way to expand on the designers project then i would really like to. if i could find a real cohesive group of designers...and not have to pay $ out of my pocket for travel to do the photos then i would like to expand on the project. possibly with video interviews and footage of them working.
me: what do you like about photographing people and their work? what do you find fascinating or interesting about these people you have shot?
aaron: i am facinated by photogrpahing humans in their own element. i did journalistic work for many years but now i think that environmental portraits are a great way of getting a larger story [within the confines of] photograph. but again, essentially...i am just curious about people. one thing that always bothered me about a lot of portrait photos is when they put people up against a studio wall and you miss out on the environment. the environment can say so much about a person.

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you can explore more of aaron lee fineman's work on his website, www.aaronleefineman.com.
thanks aaron!

wardrobe_remix(ers) o' the week

whoa, time is really getting away from me lately...sorry for the lack of postings. eek! :P hope to rectify that soon. simple explaination? trying to maximize my time in my studio! so it's all for a good cause...
anyhoo, at least i manage to get your wardrobe_remix(ers) o' the week post out semi-on-time, most of the time, right?!
on that note, here you go! enjoy!
love you, tricia

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this here is the ORIGINAL and OFFICIAL weekly wardrobe_remix recap of the latest and the greatest from the wardrobe_remix community, from yours truly, the creator of wardrobe_remix!
any wardrobe_remix photos that find themselves here showcase great style + great photography = the two meet and merrily marry to make a perfect expression of YOU and your singular personal style! and i've said it a million times before, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it...the ticket is the confidence and sureness you exude when you express yourself the way that makes YOU feel most comfortable. that confidence shines through and is captured on film. so whether you're wearing couture clothes from the finest designers, mass market threads, stuff you made yourself, thrifted finds, or even a shirt you stumbled across on the side of the road...rock it! it's ALL GOOD and it's ALL WELCOME in wardrobe_remix!

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jj@goodwiu:
whatkatiewore.com:
tina turnip:
bluesmonster:
allison the valiant:
SQvikSQvik:
Fräulein Piberger:

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thanks to everyone who's been posting about wardrobe_remix or featuring fashions and folks from the group in their own blogs or websites. thanks for getting the word out. i am glad that wardrobe_remix inspires you! remember to give credit to the people in the aforementioned photos (if you use them in your blog posts, etc.) and to wardrobe_remix itself. it's good internet/blogging karma! (plus it actually goes with flickr's terms of service and a little thing called copyright!)

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remember: you can click on the photo of any of these terrific wardrobe_remix(ers) to learn more about their photo or outfit, explore their flickr photostream, and beyond. all of the photos are owned by the awesome people who are depicted in them, of course!
join us over at wardrobe_remix and show off your awesome EVERYDAY trendbusting and trend-SETTING personal style!
spread the word!
and see you there!