Taking Double Takes

Thinking about everything we have learned this week, i realized that being a designer is not all glam. When I watch designers on TV it seemed that they are only concerned about the creative process, but like what we have discussed, it is only a part of the whole process. It got me thinking of what field I really want to be a part of. I love designing but the whole production process seems so vague for me. But, I'm still excited to learn things. Maybe, I just need to know what to do and get the hang of it. But it's still great thinking that being enrolled in this curriculum will prepare me for other fields of clothing and I have a lot of opportunities.

I realized that being a designer means to be a lot of things, it is not only about being creative, we have to develop skills and improve our weaknesses. Our lecture also opened my eyes to the categories that I can choose from. For now, my eyes are set on designing clothes for women and what I usually are for formal and casual wears. But I am so intrigued on designing for lingerie and sports wear. I'm so excited to learn more!!

The Dilemmas of a Designer

Yes, I am late in posting. I forgot. Apologies.

After the lecture last Friday, I was baffled by the lengthy process of designing clothes. It's almost impossible! A month would not be enough to finish all of those if there's only one person working. If a one-man-team would do all of this, a year would (probably) be the minimum to be able to finish all of those. But looking at the famous designers today, most of them started as a one-man-team. They had the potential and attitude to do it and they are deserving of what their statuses are today. I may have a few flaws here and there, but I will strive to polish them and turn them into strengths. Hopefully I will rise like them.

~Jolens

I think, therefore I am a Great Designer

"I think, therefore I am" is one of the greatest things I learned from Rene Descartes, the mathematician behind the Cartesian Coordinate System. It helps me to focus on my dreams, my goals. So, I think, therefore I am a great designer. I think, therefore I am a successful one.

Unfortunately, this very good psycho-quotation only helps me to keep my mind set on my goals. Reality strikes, it will not hasten time nor magically make my dreams come true. So as an aspiring fashion designer, I have to work on it.

I strive to be an excellent fashion designer for I will conquer the world with love and fashion. As a fashion designer, I will make masterpieces that would help people express themselves and not change them. I will make a change through helping my fellowmen by giving them jobs. I will also contribute to global development through innovative and environmentally sustainable designs.

As a designer-in-trainning, my strengths are being creative, idealistic, organize and resourceful. I can also use my assertiveness and competiveness in this industry. For now, I find that my only weakness is time management in which I am already trying to resolve. Although I am quite confident as a person, I believe that I have to amp up my guts because fashion is a very competitive world. I have to fully believe in my self before others do.

My main target will be Haute Couture. But later on, I would also like to expand it to RTW so that everyone would be able to afford and appreciate the art of dressing. It is also a dream of mine to make children's clothes. Mainly, I want my masterpieces to touch lives in one way or another. As Kimora says it, "It is a world denomination".

I am still at my starting pace. But sooner, I will be there

~jamie

It is About Making Innovations

July 18, 2011

When I was young, my perfect perception of fashion was barbie. I thought it was only about the glitz and glamour. Fashion for me then was always interconnected with being on stage, may it on the runway or the limelight. I come to think of it, it might be the reason why I loved joining programs and being the muse. But, fashion is not only about that. Yes, maybe a portion of it.

Last Friday, Ms. Kitty showed us some videos about certain fashion innovations. There was one designer who focused on remote controlled fashion. Another one focused on fragrant emitting mood sensor clothing. And there was many more. Due to that, I had a greater realization of what fashion is all about. Fashion is about innovations. Innovations to better express ourselves. It is about technological changes to help us be more equipped in facing daily tasks. Sooner or later, there will be many more ideas that we will be wowed and used . And when that time comes, when there is evident fusion the worlds of technology and fashion, I will be one of those who will not only adopt to change but I will make one or even more.

~jamie

Hi-tech Fashion

I was never aware of the applications of technology in fashion. My perception of fashion was just what we usually see on TV. I was amazed by how innovative clothes can get. It was very interesting to watch videos where you see new designs intertwined with engineering. I learned that there are a lot of opportunities in this business and that ideas will never run out. I also realized that fashion really reflects our physical and social environment. These new designs are the responses to the continuous growth of technology.

Stalking Fashion

July 18 2011

Last week I have done the oddest thing I have ever did in my life. That is to ask complete strangers for their pictures. The pictures were for our CT11 presentation of the different subculture in different locations. It was nerve racking and not to mention embarrassing but ironically at the end of the day the activity had boost up my confidence. Knowing that I just went through an activity that is incredibly out of my comfort zone made me think that I am capable of performing uncomfortable tasks.

All the presentations given at the class were helpful in terms of proper presentation delivery, consumers, and their response to certain styles. I have observed a theme that was present in almost all of out presentations. The theme is comfort in fashion. Through the testimonials and observations presented, consumers nowadays prioritize comfort and functionality in their clothing. In some ways it true that its all about location. For example in the Eastwood setting, were one can find multiple business and entertainment establishments, young professionals choose to wear a somewhat casual to corporate attire. The interaction between fashion and culture is fascinating and there is so much more to learn!

Buena

Style and Trend

July 11 2011

I have realized that trends are inevitable. There will always be an IT garment that everyone would want to wear. But what I dislike about trends is that sometimes originality is being thrown out of the window and then fashion posers sprout out of nowhere. I would rather be a trend setter than a follower. It would not be a surprise to tell you now that I am more into style because it is more personal compared to a trend that can be mimicked so easily. But as our class defined our own many definitions of what style is, I realized that I yet to have a full grasp of my true style. It easy to determine what i like and dislike. The thing is I am fond of so many things. In some days i can't get enough of vintage clothing. On the other days my jaws drop for modern designs. Maybe it is because I'm young. So many things are new and wonderful to me. But now I have the conscious desire to find the style that suits me, a style that represents me best. So right now I am searching and learning. Also hoping that at the end of this semester I have improved my sense of style.

Clothing captures a part of who we are

July 4 2011

I have always thought of fashion design as the reflection and interpretation of culture and society. Little did I know that I was missing a crucial part of what fashion is or rather how certain fashions came to be. Fashion in not simply a piece of sewn fabric that people purchase simply because they find it amusing but because it satisfies our human need; a human need that is as important than anything else. It is the need to express ourselves - to express what we think we are and what we want others to think.

The funny thing is despite how hard we express ourselves through our clothing we still cannot completely show our full identity with one outfit. After all, we play different kinds of roles in our everyday life and we cannot wear everything at once. Also, different people can have different interpretations of a single object. Therefore, we cannot exactly judge a person by what he or she wears. Because whatever outfit he or she may wear at the moment, it only captures one side of his or her's persona. I experienced this when i dressed up as a secretary. Everyone was quick to think that I was in corporate attire. They were right. But it was confusing to identify me as a secretary or a lawyer. Despite of these, clothing cues/clues can still make a difference. By knowing part of an individual's persona one gets to be a step closer in understanding that person.

Clicking at Greenbelt with Style

Last Friday, our group reported about the different fashion tribes based on malls in Metro Manila. It was fun telling the class our experiences. While doing research, I was so shy I couldn’t even walk up to a person to ask for her picture! I was lucky to have my mom tag along with me that day; she was my biggest source of moral support. Soon enough, I was running and tapping random people to ask for their picture. At the end of the day, I was a bit shaky but hey, I did it! I finished my part. I walked around Greenbelt with newfound confidence and experience, because as researchers, we should not be ashamed of what we’re doing. In the future, I will probably do this again so I have to be bolder next time.

Some friendly advice: Dress up as the person you want to be identified as. I wore something that would make people instantly identify me as someone knowledgeable in fashion (let’s pretend that I know a lot), so I wore clothes that catch attention but properly styled. It worked (people really believed me), but of course, the personality completes the look. ♥

~Jolens

Preferring Style

Once in our life, we have dreamt of being in style. But coming across a realization, what we really wanted then is to be in with the trend.

As I can reminisce, there was a time in my childhood years when light emitting shoes were so fascinating. I have to say that I myself craved for the amazing pair of shoes. I was an annoying kiddo who acted like a sales clerk in order for my mom to give in to her precious little girl’s request. Yes, I had what I wanted and I flaunted it to my classmates. But, poor me, I had outgrown the shoes in less than a year. I outgrown the shoes sooner than the trend did.

It was not long since that instance when I decided to disregard fad and develop my own style. I now realize how unfashionable the shoes are. Not all that glimmers is good for the eyes. I come to know that being in style is better than being trendy. Everyone can be stylish while following a trend but few can be followed for having a sense style.

Clothes can Talk

Clothing is often defined as tangible material objects connected to the human body which can also be an assemblage of modifications and supplements. Aside from being connected to the human body, clothing also helps us relate with other people.

Our clothes are apparent speakers to our viewers. And, they can make impressions that may or may not last. Nonetheless, it should be a habit of ours to look after the images we are trying to portray through our clothes. Yes, clothes do not compose our totality as a human being. They are just extensions of our personality. Yet, our human ability description does not include being able to control people’s thoughts. Not everyone is as openminded as the others.

Our outfits can mean a lot of things to others. And, we just got to portray the right one closest to the image we want others to see. Clothes can talk. It depends to you what you want them to convey.

You Are What You Wear...Sort Of

Don't judge a book by it's cover, but I think it's inevitable to judge people based on appearance. It becomes wrong once you let the judgement get in the way of actually knowing the person. I mean, why would you let your impressions keep you from getting to know that person? I don't deny that I do judge people, but I do get to know them just because.

My first 3 weeks in school made me realize that what we wear is just a small portion of who we are. I mean, we can't put everything that we are as a person into our clothes, and there are those, like me, who just wear clothes. I don't have a "distinct" fashion style—I wear what I feel like wearing. I can be a hippie one day, polished the next day, and the extra-girly the day after that, just like what happened this week. Monday & Tuesday, I was a hippie; I was preppy for CT 11's White Day with my white button-down polo; and I was a girly-girl Thursday & Friday with my floral skirt. If you saw me last week, what would you have thought of me? What would have been your first impression-slash-judgment of me?It's not like anyone sees me everyday because my style changed with my mood, but if someone did see me everyday last week, they would've been really confused—even I was!

I think this goes to show that we really shouldn't judge people based on how they look because their characteristics aren't shown on the surface of their skins. I've been judged a million, if not billion, times because of how I look and what I wear, and those who judge me are almost always wrong. I mean, hey! Yes, I like wearing shorts almost all the time; no, I am absolutely not a skank. ;)

Career Opportunities in CT

Wednesday last week, Miss Kitty gave us an activity that required brainstorming. Each group was given a topic and we were given time to think and give birth to new ideas from that topic. Ariana and I got Business and Marketing. It was quite hard, since I know little about business. We finished anyway and each group presented their findings.

I realized that there are a lot of career opportunities in Clothing Technology. From design to anthropology, this course expands and caters to a wide variety of fields. For now, I'll be sticking to design. :)

-Jolens