Its spring in New York. Not that really warm breezy spring that makes all young women and some silly older women strip to practically nuthin'. No, its the type of spring where coats have come off and women are wearing their spring gear in the form of dresses and skirt outfits.And some of the things that are being shown are just down right beautiful...today I walked to the post office behind a woman wearing the most awesome skirt. It was a black & white print that looked like it was made of petals encased in black bias binding. After walking behind her for several blocks, I had figured out how to make one for myself. Oh, how I love springtime in NY!
Then this morning as I was crossing the street and heading into McDonalds...I have a weakness for sausage mcmuffins...there was a woman walking her dog. She was wearing a shirtdress made from a silk border print. The back of the dress was made from a series of tucks and she wore it belted. I never saw the front of the dress close-up. But just the rear view made me want to go home and sew.
Any day walking to the subway station, headed to the post office or the bank, I can catch a glimpse of a woman wearing something that will turn my world upside down...it will start the inspiration wheels turning, make my creative heart salivate...and make me wish I could go home and sew.
So what inspires you? Do you have situations that inspire you to look at a garment in a different way? Do you sightsee at lunchtime or even at the market? And do you transfer the items you sightsee into actual garments?
I can tell you honestly that you will see that petal skirt come out of my sewing machine this summer...hopefully I will be able to see something that's inspired from your own sightseeing come out of yours!!!
Shhhhhhhh, don't tell anybody but I have been known to follow people just to get a better look. I love this type of sightseeing! Looking forward to seeing that petal skirt.
ReplyDeleteUmm, love me some sausage mcmuffin :) The shirtdress has me wondering. Occassionally I will throw tennies on with a skirt and walk the dogs :) g
ReplyDeleteI see things all the time in stores, magazines and on people and think to myself that I must try and incorporate that detail in a garment. Then by the time I come to sewing, something else entirely has filled my head (not much room up there these days!). I think I need to start keeping a little notebook or something.
ReplyDeleteUm, I live in the Sticks, better known as the Boontoolies, and I rarely see any look or garment I'd like to copy being worn. Sad, but true. Inspiration comes from other sources.
ReplyDeleteI don't live in the sticks but Cincy wouldn't be considered fashion forward by anyone's standards, my inspiration has to come from other sources.
ReplyDeleteWe are so lucky to live in NYC. I do most of my snoop shopping on my commute to/from work. I've seen some amazing clothes that I really want to replicate. Now if only my skill set would improve through osmosis...
ReplyDeleteReading this post reminded me of how much I enjoy Bill Cunningham's audio slide shows in the NY Times. He always has a theme and gets the most interesting pictures of New York fashion.
ReplyDeleteIn Albuquerque, hmm, not so much.
I frequently find myself walking behind a pair of giant polyester pants beneath a man's t-shirt beneath a shaved-neck short hairdo and grumpy face and yes, I'm inspired. Inspired to move away from here to the streets of NYC.
ReplyDeleteDonna, you are too funny! If plaid shirts and muffin tops are your thing, this is the place to be! However, in the winter I make occasional forays to Lake Placid (45 min away) and get to see some exquisite winter clothing and boots that do inspire me. In the summer I have to inspire myself.
ReplyDeleteLiving in "hot as hell" this time of year Florida we don't wear much clothing. I'm always looking to make lightweight tops, shorts.
ReplyDeleteMy inspiration comes from many places. Most of the time it comes from fabric - it tells me what it wants to be. Other times it what others are wearing or from others blogs. There's much that gets the creative juices flowing. If there were only more time to create :)
I am often inspired by people I see when I am out and on the streets, but unfortunately not the people I see on the streets where I live. When I was traveling or going into NYC frequently these sightings were like a gift. Now inspiration mostly comes from elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteYep I do it too. I mostly look at kid's clothes this way though. I do notice women, and think I will make what I see them wearing, but so far I haven't gotten around to it.
ReplyDeleteLast year when I visited NYC I saw a girl with a dress that I loved. I did a quick turn because the orange piping in the ivory dress really caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteHere in S.A. dressing is a lot more casual, the weather is too hot. I've seen the occasional girls in pretty clothes though. Not with dresses quite like the one with orange piping, but pretty nonetheless.
I've drawn inspiration from a lot of sources, but for a while it's been magazines and the hills. Yes, I love LC's fashion. She's a fashionable girl in a fashionable city, LA.
Hugs,
Lory
Ohhh yes! Those ideas started very early with me. Around the time I was a teenager, my Mother and I would be out shopping, for what I don't recall as we made our clothing. Anyway, we would spot an exceptional garment in a store window, seems like it was always a place we could not afford to shop. We would ohh and ahhh over the garment for a few minutes, then Mom would say, "you could make something like that". My Mother had an awesome fabric stash, and there was usually some fabric that would make up our latest "find". I would make the garment, if I had questions or needed help, Mom would coach me along, but she never took over my project.
ReplyDeleteWe spent 3 years in London and I loved snoop shopping in the stores there with a small sketchbook tucked in my bag. I also loved to visit the V&A Museum, especially to spend time in the garment exhibits. I did make some of what I saw, both while I was there and after I returned home. But all those fashions have come and gone here so I'm needing another source of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI was in the airport in Miami a few weeks ago and a woman several folks in line ahead of me had the haircut I've been trying to tell my stylist I want. I tried to snap a serendipitous photo of her with the camera on my phone - but they all ended up too blurry to be of any use.
Lois K
Because we have a "new" to use granddaughter (soon to be 2) I have found myself looking at more little kids clothes lately. I happened resently to see a "petal" type dress last month! It's made like a jumper with bodice that buttons in front and then the skirt is all over lapping petals... simple cute, there will be one made this Summer for our litte DGD! Isn't sewing fun!
ReplyDeleteI too find myself sightseeing while sitting in church! And it's not just the styles, it's the texture of the fabric's too that turn my head! I'm sure that they would lock me away, if I started reaching out and touching fabric's in the clothes that people are wearing! LoL.... oh well, it would be worth it!
(Catching up: you did a great job on your last two post, btw ;) )
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of snoop shopping and internet research, not to mention all the money spent on fashion magazines. I do notice what other people around me are wearing too and I often get inspired by someone whose style stands out from the rest