Inspired by the Fashions of Patsy Cline....

I spent a good part of my work day listening to my Patsy's Cline's "favorite hits" CD. I can't remember if I bought it or if it was gifted but I'd honestly forgot I had it until I uncovered it from an old work storage box. To be quite honest I'm not a die hard  fan but there's something about the songs "Crazy", "Fall to Pieces" and my ultimate favorite "You Belong To Me".

In an effort to learn more about Patsy Cline I did a quick internet search. I hadn't realized that she had taken the music industry by storm and was one of Country musics top female performers until her untimely death at age 30 (plane crash). She won all kinds of awards and accolades before and after her death. She was a woman that touched many a life through her music.

Something else I discovered was that her mother had been a seamstress and that she'd often sewn for Patsy. As a seamstress myself I appreciate that fact. Patsy also had a wonderful sense of style and was extremely fashion forward. I mean, who knew gold lame pants were alive and well in the late 50's early 60's? I tried to find pictures of her wearing some of these elaborate outfits but unfortunately didn't turn up much (most pics show her in western wear). But here are a few....

Wasn't she SO gorgeous! I had no idea she had been so fashionable.
 But then I ran across some of her clothes that are on auction at Christies. These really showcase her fashion sense. There's practically nothing up there I wouldn't wear. She seemed to have a very feminine and timeless sense of style. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this dress......I think I'm going to definitely have to knock this one off!

(Source: Christies Auction, description: dress made of cotton, printed with whimsical images of posters)

I'm glad I turned up Patsy's CD and with all the new information I learned I'm now happy to say that it's not just her music that inspires me!!!

Got Muse???

Definition of MUSE

: a source of inspiration; especially : a guiding genius

For those of you who are fans of Project Runway you'll recall Nick Verreos from season 2 who won the "My Scene Barbie Challenge". Well he designed a outfit for Barbie and credited his muse, his assigned model for the inspiration.

(Photo of Nick Verreos courtesy of Project Runway)

 (Photo of the My Scene Barbie Challenge winning outfit and Nick's model/muse on the right)

At some point during the season he actually lost his model to someone else and it was obvious he struggled with coming up with ideas without the aid of his muse. For some reason that always stuck with me. I didn't really know what a muse was and then I looked it up. What a concept. Can a person really inspire another's fashion design creativity???

I posted about things that inspire my sewing just a few weeks ago. But there was one thing I intentionally left off of the post since I knew I'd be talking more in depth about it later. In the last few months I've made an interesting discovery about myself.  Actually this discovery came on the tail end of me beginning my fashion design sketching earlier this year. I realize that I have a hard time just thinking about design ideas just out of the blue. I mean I could think of random ideas but had a hard time connecting and visualizing them without a face & body to connect them to. Well that was until I got a muse. My muse is actress Megan Good.

(Actress Megan Good)

 She's a very talented and beautiful actress. The funny thing is I never set out to pick her or anyone else for a muse. It just sorta happened. I've seen several of her movies and she's usually very stylish and fashion forward in them. Inadvertently my mind mentally migrated back to some of her fashion choices and then I just began to create new fashion ideas with her in mind. She's like a little Barbie so it's easy to imagine her in different fashion designs. And for some reason it's easier to imagine her in different types of clothing then myself. Hey I'm not going to question it, I'll just go with it. I plan on creating some of these ideas one day and wearing them myself or even sale them. Who knows. I have to admit, I love the idea of having a muse, it makes the fashion design process ALOT easier on me especially since I'm such a visual person.

Also, for the record, my youngest muse just so happens to be my "Wee-One". She always manages me to inspire me to make such pretty "special occasion" dresses for her to wear.

(My Wee-One's Father/Daughter banquet dress from earlier this year)

What about you? Do you have a muse or muses? Who are they and why?

What Inspires my Sewing (in pictures).......

(Nature)

 (The possibility of my own runway show)

 (Inspiring others)

 (Vibrant colors)

(The Book title says it all---my aim in sewing for sure!)

 (The Peace & Tranquility it provides)

 (The crusade against negative self images)

(Bold patterns)

 (The smiles of satisfied clients)

 (Special Occassions)

(My Grandmother In Law.)

(Other Creators/ Artists such as God........)

( and Michelangelo, etc.)

(My Daddy)

(The Full spectrum of beauty. I love sewing for them all!)

(My daughter. She inspired this dress. She's my youngest muse)

(My custom dressform. Just makes me want to drape and sew til' my hearts content)

(Freedom of Expression)

(Saving Money)

(Lots and lots of fabric)

(Spreading the message to others. Sewing for others allows me to do that.)

And many, many, many more things!!!!
What inspires your sewing????