Monday Morning Inspiration/Bryan K. Osburn

This past Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to reconnect with the incredibly talented Bryan K. Osburn. He was our featured speaker at this month's Haute Couture meeting. 

We both studied at Ray College of Design more years ago than either of us can believe. He has not lost his charm. I came up to reintroduce myself after so many years, and before I could say anything, he asked, "How have you done it? You look exactly the same." So sweet :) 

When I first met Bryan, he was an 18 year old kid that oozed talent. What initially impressed me was his incredible artistic ability. The man could draw and design the most beautiful clothes! When we graduated, he was named Designer of the Year, and with that title, he went on to New York and continued his studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology. From there he has traveled the world and created beautiful clothes for many famous names including Diana Ross. 

He is now back in Chicago, designing incredible pieces that impart an escape to a world of fantasy. I thought that you too might enjoy seeing some of his incredible work.

Bryan brought this gown with him. He loves fabric and mixing unexpected trims that create drama.  

Here's the gown in color.

The following pieces are from the same collection.

We also had the opportunity to see the jacket below. It's gorgeous. Lined in pink. Look closely and you'll see the broach at center front. Bryan loves to comb through resale shops and antique stores for incredible pieces. What so many of us marveled at was how he has the talent to strategically place a piece so that it truly accents the garment rather than over power or take away from the design.

The jacket above shown in progress below.

Incredible drama!

He also brought the gown pictured below with him. I had the opportunity to try on the coat. An amazing piece.

A ruched sleeve in detail.

Love this gown.

He enjoys mixing unexpected fabrics. Love the plaid taffeta with the lace gown!

For a number of years, Bryan worked for many of the top bridal firms in New York, ultimately venturing out on his own. 

During Bryan's talk, he showed how his garments are just as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. He's a true artist. 

What a wonderful opportunity it was for me to reconnect with Bryan. I hope that you too have enjoyed seeing some of his amazing work. If you would like to see more, you can find his webpage HERE. You can also find him on Facebook, just search for Bryan K. Osburn.

Have a wonderful week!
Rhonda

Vogue 1250 Pictures

I received so many wonderful compliments on the gown I made last week using Vogue 1250. What I didn't tell you was that it was one of those hot off the press numbers, you know, make it in the morning and wear it that night!!!! Sadly, I was very busy that evening, so I didn't get pictures taken, but I did put the dress back on this morning and took a few pictures so you can see how it looks on the body.

In the pictures below, you get just a glimpse of the shoes.

 And now for a little preview, I was asked about adding sleeves to the pattern, and I did!!!

It really isn't difficult to do, just a bit tricky. Our next post will be a tutorial on adding the sleeves. YEA!!! So if you haven't purchased the pattern yet, you'll really need to now :)

By the way, I made a mistake last week when I said that the pattern is out of print. The good news is that it is very much available. If you would like to order one for yourself, you can find it HERE.

For a Dress That's Fast To Make and Looks Great, Vogue 1250

A few years back, almost everyone in the internet sewing world was making Vogue 1250. This pattern must have been the hit that a pattern company dreams of having as so many were sold. The dress is made up of just 2 pattern pieces. The front, which is 1 piece, but it also wraps around for the back skirt. The second piece of the pattern is the back bodice. That's it. So it's a very fast make and I might add, a very forgiving design as well. Because of all the front drapes, you really don't need a perfect figure, and to be honest, who has a perfect figure? 

I needed(wanted) a new dress for a function that I will be attending and I really didn't have a lot of time to put something together. Vogue 1250 wasn't actually my first choice, but I ended up choosing the pattern because of the amount of fabric that I had. 

I found this pair of shoes, purely by accident, as I wasn't looking for a new pair of glitzy evening shoes. But when I saw them, I immediately thought of the fabric that I've had for quite some time and thought that the 2 might work well together, and too, the shoes were marked down to only $15.00!!! For some reason, the shoes photographed lighter than they are and the fabric darker. The fabric is a navy blue knit with gold lurex threads.

The bodice of this dress drapes beautifully.

The full length. As you can see from the pattern, I had to add to the length of the pattern in order to have a long dress. Not an issue of course.

 I added a slight fishtail to the center back seam of the dress to give it plenty of room for walking.

I'm super happy with the dress. If you like a front drape, get this pattern. Like I said, it is so very easy to make, and it's great for everything, from a casual summer dress to an evening gown.
Once I finished the dress, I remembered that Liana of Sew Intriguing made the dress up as an evening gown. You can see her post HERE.
This is one pattern that truly has the Rhonda seal of approval....as if it needed it!!!!
As soon as I wear the dress, I'll get pictures of me in it and post them. If I may say so myself, it really looks great on.

The Susan Khalje Couture Cocktail Dress/Gown

A few weeks ago, I told you about the Susan Khalje cocktail dress pattern and video that I would be making. 

At the moment, I am under the gun t o get this dress finished, so a much more detailed post will follow.

This is the fabric that I am using for the dress. You may remember that I am not making a cocktail dress, but a gown. My ideas have gone through a number of tweaks as I didn't have as much fabric as I thought. 

The process is fairly labor intensive. A muslin is traced from the pattern. The pattern does not include seam allowances. The pattern is traced and then all the seams are stitched. The stitching allows for the seams to be visible on both sides and also helps to keep the muslin from stretching. This is my center back panel. You can see that at this point I have done my fitting and made changes, not many though.

My fashion fabric has been cut as well as the underlining. The gown is underlined in silk. It seems extravagant, but it will make a huge difference in how the dress hangs and wears. Besides that, I got it on sale for an incredible price, so I just couldn't resist!!! The underlining is marked with seam allowances and then basted to the fashion fabric.

 The dress is then basted together and another fitting will be done.

 Seam allowances are quite generous in the couture world, 1".

My gown is much further along than what I'm showing you now, but at least it is a sneak peek!
I will finish it today, fingers crossed :) So off I go to work.
I hope you and I both have a wonderfully productive day!!!!!
Rhonda