The end of the semester

Finals week is here and after this week the semester of spring 2010 will be over. I gotta say that this was a rather hard semester for me. I took a good amount of classes that really filled up my schedule. Also I got a job that gave me about thirty hours a week. I was pretty busy and sometimes I wonder how i ever got through this semester alive. I didnt fail any of my classes and actually I think I am getting good grades in them. If I had told myself that I was going to have a full load like the one I just had I would have predicted that I would have dropped out of a class or gotten horrible grades. In fact that's not the case. I actually did well and am pretty proud of myself. This goes to show you that anything is possible if you really want it and give it all your effort.

Swim Suit Flats

So here are the girls. these are the flats. I think these flats are beautiful. I also think they are complimentary to a womans figure unlike some swim suits we have today.

The Swim suit Project

My next major project is going to be one that I have been planning for some time now. I actually began to draft some designs in my other classes. This project is going to be swim suits, but they are going to be 50's inspired like the pin up models. These designs are going to be high waisted swim suits that are conservative but also on the sexy side. I have been wanting to do something like this since I was in high school. I know others have done similar things. I know of one website that is mybabyjoe.com or with an s. I can't really remember but they also have these adorable swim suits that are very similar to what I have in mind. What I would do differently is give them a modern twist that would open up to a larger target market. I also think I would market the items much more attractively than that website actually does. I will be posting up some of my sketches in a bit.

So here is my India Clothing line. This is the almost finished product. I did make some minor changes but this is overall what I was going for. It came out really nice. Nicer than I expected. I really want to try to make some of these items. Especially the skirt. I got really good feed back for this project. I know there is always room for improvement but this is my last and final project for FASH 111A. I think it will also be fun to add to this project and expand on it. It is very attractive and marketable, I think.

Taste of Alhambra

This Sunday I worked at this festival called "Taste of Alhambra". It is a festival that brings out all the restaurants and clubs in Alhambra. There is a price for the ticket and after that is paid everything is free. The drinks, food, entertainment, everything. It was a rather fun event and one thing I noticed is all the summer clothing that is being worn now. I saw all the ladies in their summer dresses and shorts. It was very apparent that summer is coming. A lot of what I saw were these peasant style dresses. They had these ethnic prints on them and were made of cotton to give it an even more peasant like look. They were beautiful and I have seen this trend before. I believe it is going to stick around for a while. I saw it a lot in my community which is very Latin based, but now I am seeing it everywhere, especially Sunday.

India in my head

India has always been in my interest as far as it comes to fashion. I just love the vibrant colors and how exotic they look. To me they are very unique and different. SO that is why I decided to focus my ethnic influenced project on India. I am going to make a clothing line that is centered around this theme.
At home my sister actually has some scarfs from India and some that are replicas. My sister is also very into the whole Indian style. Ever since I saw their scarves I have gained an interest into this sort of fashion and this is my first time actually researching it. The colors that are used are extremely vibrant and bright. They are beautiful. I love them and I had always been scared to use such crazy colors, but by seeing how they are used in some Indian clothing, I am more confident in using these colors. I just hope that I can pull this project off well.

Going Green

Today in the US we are more aware of pollution more than ever and it is the hip new thing to do. You actually look bad if you're not doing anything to help out. I think it is a super awesome time and I think it will only get better. I heard about this one girl that started using old clothing and revives it with alterations and making the item wearable. Now that I remember this lady was doing this for free. She was doing it for women who lost their jobs and wanted to help them get back into the work world. It was a philanthropic thing. So she is recycling and at the same time helping people. I loved what she was doing. I wish I had the article to give names, but this article is a couple weeks old. Either way this transition that is taking place is just what this world has needed.

Summer Bathing Suits

So Summer is almost here and that means that it is time for shorts and bikinis and lots of skin. I already see target having these very cute bikinis as well as many other stores. Its a very exciting time. The funniest part about all these bathing suits are that I dont see very many people that would look good in them. With the United States obesity rate you would think there would be bathing suits that are flattering for fuller figured women. Sorta like the fifties bathing suits. I see a lot of these string bikinis that are super low waisted. I think that very few people look good in this type of bathing suit, probably only my skinny tiny sister that looks good in everything. Im waiting till I see more figure flattering bathing suits for girls that are not models.

Victorian Influence Project

So the Victorian clothing line project got put behind a bit due to a change in the class schedule. It is still in progress and needs to be done by this Monday morning. What that means is I will be able to show my work by Monday at the earliest. I want you all to see what I am describing when I talk about my Inspiration. I think pictures are so much better than words. I'm not too good at describing, so I plan to post my board fairly soon. As a matter of fact, I believe I will start to work on it right this moment. Oh and let me put in a photo of my mood board just to give a little taste of what I plan to do.

Marcha Por Zapata Pictures

I know I had said I would post up the photos of the costumes that were worn for the march and here they are. Thay are all very colorful and awesome. It wasn't just the costumes that impressed me. It was the sense of community and culture that was given off through out the whole march. I recently moved from Rosemead to Los Angeles and I have never witnessed anything like this in Rosemead.

Victorian Influence

I have recently been looking into victorian fashion and it is a very fashionable time era. I've always seen victorian influence in many dresses and clothing, but after researching the actual era I've come to fall more in love with it. I noticed that there is a gothy look that comes with the whole victorian look. When i have seen victorian inspired clothing around streets it has always been with a goth look. I see blacks and greys and and dark tones. It is very consistent. This really inspired me for my next project which is a victorian style clothing line that has a goth feel to it. I plan to use blacks, dark greys and dark, faded reds. I am really digging this project and plan to actually make some of my designs come to life. I will post up my photos when i am done with the project. This will be hopefully within the next two weeks.

Marcha for Zapata

There was a march that took place On Sunday, April 11, 2010 which was a "marcha for Zapata. It had to do with immigrant rights and other similar issues. I attended the march and to my surprise there was a numerous amount of preople in modern costumes and historical costumes. It was amazing and I was blown away. There were aztec dancers in their dancing outfits that were in several bright colors and heavily embelished. There were also people in guerilla costumes and also more modern war time outfits. The different costumes and fashion statements were incredible. I have never seen anything like it. I have several photos of the event and will post them up very soon. Also i will find out more info on exactly what the march was for.

Military Influene

Military Influence is a big fashion trend happening at the moment. It's so big that it is even an assignment for Fash 111A. I think that this is a trend that is not about to leave any time soon. As a matter of fact I think some of the styles will become classics and pop up around in all eras. There is just something about this military influence that is so attractive. It's ironic how these styles would only be worn by men at war, but now women are putting it in their everyday styles. I also noticed that women's look is tending to lean more towards this casual, tomboy look. As time goes on I see a lot of the extremely feminine features going away. Of course this is not everywhere but I am seeing it a lot more often. We'll see what this trend evolves into.

There is this really cool website that I found while doing a Fashion 2 assignment. It is at www.ashadedviewonfashion.com. It has this gothy dark feel to it. The writer of the blog is Diane Pernet who is gothic looking herself. She writes about events, art exhibits, clothing stores and many other things involving this darker side of fashion. It's rather interesting and worth taking the time to check out.

About me

I never got to formally introduce myself and what I am all about. It's better late than never.
SO I am Patricia Perez and obviously I am part of the fashion program att PCC. Fashion has been something that I have always wanted to do since I was smaller. It all began with my grandma teaching me how to make a quilt with her sewing machine. It was a great honor for me and I fell in love with it after that one summer.
As the years went on fashion never really left my life no matter how busy I got. I've made many creations and amazed myself at how much I have learned and grown throughout the years. Being at PCC increased my passion and I couldn't be at a better place. I left Cal State Northridge for a year to attend PCC and get many of my fashion credits here.
Now that I am older Fashion is still something that I long to do. Now I am sure that I would like to design clothing that has a vintage yet modern look to it. Clothing that is inspired by the 20's to the 50's time era. Clothing of those years are just so classic and I know will never die. I have it all planned out and I have really big dreams for what I want to do.. I just hope this gives some insight on what type of person I am and what I have in mind for the future.

Reliving the Past

It seems to me that fashion very commonly repeats itself throughout the years. I know many people have noticed but WHY is the question I ask. Why do we keep going back. People now days want to be up to date and modern. Technology has made it possible for the almost everyone to be up to date with what is in with fashion. I find it quite funny that the past tends to repeat itself not just with society but also with fashion. This is the way I see it. There will always be a type of structure that will compliment a woman's or a man's body. There will always be fashions that make the majority of the population look good. The reason people come away from this is because of boredom or the need to be different and that is when other styles are created. Eventually people will come back to what is, for the majority of people, the most complementive. This is where classics are made.
Of course something new could be made that is totally different and if it is good enough then a classic has just been born. One look at the past will be all the proof you need.