Look closely at "the dress" - here is has breast pockets........
What a week it has been here in DC!! Tuesday was Christian Siriano - a great night, for certain! But tonight was an UNFORGETTABLE night! I just spent 90 minutes 10 feet away from Isabel and Ruben Toledo and a jacket made from "THE LACE"! Of course the back story of Mrs. O's inaugural dress was fascinating but the best, the very BEST, part of the evening was when Isabel talked about her love of sewing. Her description of her love affair with textiles and construction is just how I feel about fabric and sewing and design! Ohhhhhhh, I am gone! 
The Textile Museum has two “must see” events on their calendar. First up is (drum-roll please) an evening with ISABEL TOLEDO - designer of Mrs. O's fabulous lemongrass dress and coat!!! I have already snagged my ticket for this outing!!
From Switzerland to the White House: The Story Behind the Inauguration Dress
Thursday, November 5, 5:30 pm
Isabel Toledo's Lemongrass Coat and Dress dazzled the world when it was worn by First Lady Michelle Obama on Inauguration Day. Join us at The Textile Museum for this special evening program and hear firsthand about the process behind its creation—from the fabric, made by the Swiss company Forster Rohner, to the finished product.
Panelists include American fashion designer Isabel Toledo, her creative partner and husband Ruben Toledo, and Hans Schreiber, creative director of Forster Rohner, moderated by Robin Givhan, The Washington Post's fashion editor and winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The talks will be followed by a reception featuring Swiss wine and chocolate. This program is co-sponsored by the Embassy of Switzerland.
Fee: $25/Textile Museum members; $45/non-members. Advance registration is required; space is limited. Call (202) 667-0441, ext. 64 to register.
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And it seems the Textile Museum is on a fashion roll – a new genre for them! Don’t miss the extraordinary collection of Mary Baskett’s Japanese garments.
Contemporary Japanese Fashion: The Mary Baskett Collection
October 17, 2009 – April 11, 2010
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto shocked the fashion world by introducing avant-garde styles that challenged received Western notions of “chic.” Informed in part by Japanese traditions such as the kimono, obi and the art of origami, these designers produced radical garments with shapes and textures often incongruous with the natural contours of the human body. Their designs—characterized by asymmetry, raw edges, unconventional construction, oversized proportions and monochromatic palettes—effectively overthrew existing norms and set the stage for the postmodernist movement in the fashion industry. Miyake, Yamamoto, and Kawakubo remain three of the most successful designers in today’s fashion world, and under their tutelage a new generation of Japanese talent has emerged.
This exhibition, an expanded version of an earlier showing at the Cincinnati Art Museum, includes avant-garde garments from the collection of Mary Baskett, an art dealer and former curator of prints at the Cincinnati Art Museum who has been collecting and wearing Japanese high fashion since the 1960s.
And before you set out for S Street to view the collection please please take a few minutes to read Robin Givhan’s review of the collection and her views on the designers – her insight definitely will make your time with the garments more meaningful!
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And as previously posted, Christian Siriano willbe speaking about and signing his new book, “Fierce Style” at the Corcoan Gallery of Art on November 3rd.
Oh yes! November is lookin' mighty fine here in DC!
If you want one like it in your closet as much as I do - all you'll need is one of these -
---- a new Michael Kors Vogue pattern (V117 - a lined, fitted dress, below mid-knee length has pleated bodice, tucked front, invisible back zipper and center back slit) and one of these extraordinary silk florals from Gorgeous Fabrics
I'm thinkin' I may need to grab the seam-ripper and add a pair of handles to mine! Great idea by Coach Emily and stellar execution by Juliana!
UPDATE: Due to a fabulously positive response, we have filled our registration slots for the upcoming sewing lounge this Saturday, September 12th. If you have not already registered, we hope you will join us for the next lounge in October. You can reserve your slot using our new registration page here. Thanks so much for your interest! REMINDER---if you are a member of the American Sewing Guild or would like to volunteer at the Lounge your registration request will be automatically honored.
Join us this Saturday, September 12 from 1-4 at North Michigan Park Recreation Center, for the DC Threads Sewing Lounge! We will welcome the glorious Fall with a fabulous back-to-school/campus project - a hand-designed and crafted laptop sleeve - thanks to Ars Technica!
Here's what you need:
Optional:
As always, you can bring your own project or browse our library of patterns for other ideas. We’ll also have tutorials for first-time and beginning sewers and plenty of opportunities for you meet others who love to sew. Check out our pattern library here....
And, in response to your requests for tutorials about sewing techniques (see, we really do read and value the evaluations you graciously complete!), we will offer a 20-30 minute tutorial about how to read a sewing pattern. The tutorial will start promptly at 1:15 - leaving you loads of time for sewing!
Hope to see you there!
Laura and Allison
