Fashion show aftermath and lessons learned

The fashion show went off without a hitch really, but it was harder than I thought it would be, but that was mostly my fault.

And if you haven't heard me talk about this fashion show, here are links to the other blogs I wrote about it. Dress form adjustment, Fitting my own dress, Inside a boned bodice

There I am in the dress I made with all the models for the finale.

I didn't quite know what I was volunteering for, but it turned out to be a really, really good cause called Smiles on Wings. There is a local Thai dentist, Usa Bunnang, who goes back to Thailand on a regular basic to provide free dental work for people in outlying villages.  She also was the first outsider who came in to help after the huge tsunami that hit there a few years back. In addition, she imports fabric and craft items. She used to have a shop, but now sells the things she brings back on line.  You can find her store at the website for her charity.

I'm friends with the costume designers at my local junior college because every year I bring them all my extra fabric and trims. My mother used to run the costume shop at the junior college where I grew up and was always working on a tight budget. They have helped me out, too, by letting me borrow lots of stuff from their huge stock of costumes when I have been costuming for some of my local community theaters.


So, when they asked me to be a part of this event, I thought it would be nice to do something with them, instead of the short visits I have when bringing in bags and boxes of fabric. Each of us were each responsible for 4 outfits made from the fabrics brought from Thailand.  I had a 5th because as the announcer I needed to wear something made from the Thai fabric as well. Some of it was silk, but there were also some very interesting hand woven cottons.  The dress I wore and this angled top were made from such pieces.

I didn't realize it but the fashion show was not the only thing that night. There was a silent auction, Thai dancers and a complete dinner of yummy Thai food.  Some local politicians showed up and one of our local ABC anchormen, Leon Harris emceed the evening  ... a very big deal indeed.

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But, what did I learn? I learned that a fashion show is very different from costuming a play.  Still a lot of work, even though there weren't as many garments to make. I felt the garments had to fit well and be sewn well. I made these dresses so they could be sold at a high price. The inside needed to look as good as the out.  I've never been involved in a fashion show and I wanted to make a splash, to give the audience something really interesting to look at and I spent way more time than was probably necessary.  I chose magenta and purple silks to make party dresses with built in petticoats.

I saw this as a chance to challenge myself.

And when I saw the off white silk taffeta and silk gauze, I knew the show should end with a wedding dress to keep with tradition. 

Although these photos don't show this dress off very well.  I took some on a dress form before the show so you can see it better.

Actually, I'm sorry I don't have higher resolution photos.  I'm supposed to get some, but I didn't want to wait any longer to write about about this.

And ... yes ... it does look like my Edwardian dress, but it's not.  No boned foundation bodice and the skirt is very, very different.  I gave this dress a huge train.

So, I knocked myself out and hope it helped raise money.  

We all use the time we have and I had a bit of extra time, so I used it.  It was fun, but I was pretty wiped out at the end.

OH ... and I was hoping I would get to keep the dress I wore, and I did!