Shoes! Fall 11 samples (sale!)

So, remember when I was working on starting my shoe line? Well, ta da!

However, things with the shoe designing have taken to the back burner.. In the mean time, I wanted to share my designs.

The ankle straps (left hand side) are called Fifi (yep, inspired and named after Ms. Queener's character), seen above in grey leather with a black and white wool herringbone trim and straps and the "oxfords" are called Cha Cha, seen above in black and white wool herringbone and grey leather with black grosgrain trim and laces.

Here you have Cha Cha in cranberry leather and blush pink satin and grosgrain trim and laces and Fifi in just the blush pink satin and grosgrain trim.

So, my heartbreak about this process was, I only got to make samples. Currently there are no plans for production of these. My goal (still) is to make smaller runs. And the factory we were working with didn't really want to help us with that. So for now, these are my sale samples. And that really means, these 5 pairs of size 7's are on sale.

Above is the only pair of "flats" I designed. (Flats give you bunions, you have to be good to your feet! When I find flats that don't ruin your feet, I'll totally promote them. In the meantime, be careful and wear heels!) Okay so they aren't totally flat, they have a 1" heel.

I digress... I was actually really pleased with how these turned out. Someday I hope I can make a production run on Fifi and Cha Cha (it's because I don't what you to have bunions that I am reluctant to produce flats, even the ones with heels.)

So if you are a size 7 (the fabric shoes are a little more snug then the leather ones...) and you are interested in buying a pair, please let me know (phaedra.elizabeth at gmail(dot)com). I just want them to have a good home. Where someone will love them as much as I do... :)

Also can we give a round of applause to my super awesome (size 7 and 6.5) models! Keiko in the white jeans and Kya in the black pants... they were super helpful and have such great feet! And are generally just wonderful women to hang out with! :) thanks guys!

xoxophae

Fascinator headband

This was a sweet little project I recently finished for a bride that lives out of town. I sent her some mock up-sketches and we decided on this kind of "flower", but then as luck would have it she came to town to visit family and we were able to sneak in a little "fitting".

She was wearing a headband that day to our fitting. And as we talked about her plan for her wedding it just made sense that this would be a good way to go for our design. One of the things I always aim for in these custom projects is that the client (bride or not) looks and feels like herself, in whatever we come up with. (Granted, it's also important that she feels super gorgeous.)

Anyway, I think we made something really lovely and sweet for a really lovely and woman!

I can't wait to see photos of her in it from the real occasion! In the meantime, congrats to the lovely bride! and thanks for letting me contribute to your celebration!

xophae

Susana's Mom's prom dress gets a make over

Susana came to my studio with this wonderful dress from the 50's with a photo of a modern white dress with layers and layers of Technicolor tulle under the skirt. I got so excited at the idea of this. What a fun way to update and personalize a vintage dress. Even better that it was already a personal dress inherited from her mom!

This dress had a couple issues, the waist line was authentic to the era and measured a mere 20", the front boning was wildly misshapen and needed to be replaced, but otherwise was in really good shape. Susana had a tailor detach the bottom ruffle and replace the entire back panel to make it fit correctly.

So what was left was this short scalloped hemmed, sweet cocktail dress. And that was when I went in and added layers of tulle to the skirt and a little orange tulle piping to the waist line.

We played with different combinations of colors, more colors vs less colors . . . but in the end, I think, we struck a lovely balance:

We kept the feeling of the vintage dress, but added the fun pop of colors at the hem (this must have been so fun to see her dance in!).

And then using the same tulle as her dress, I made her a fascinator, with tulle "peonies" and birdcage tulle "plumes" (keeping with the vintage feel). Her fascinator was really fun to make after we finished her dress. I pretty much made her put on the dress and sit in front of the mirror and I just put things on her head until we found the combination of flowers and tulle that we liked.

(fascinator back view)

I love this last photo of them! They both look so happy but most I love the way her new husband is looking at his bride! Like he just caught the canary . . . so sweet!

Congratulations and best wishes to the happy pair! xophae

Maggi and Dom (how my heart exploded with joy on Sunday)

So, I met Maggi my first semester in design school, it was September of 2003, and it took about 10 minutes for me to realize that we would be friends for a very, very, very long time. She's one of those friends that once you met her, you're not sure how you survived without her.

And Dom, Dom I met as a potential room mate. I kept thinking this is a great guy, then he said, he had 4 sisters and I thought, yep, he is the best kind of person. I think I even said, "I have lots of cute friends" hoping this would make me a good roommate. (It seemed too, I got the room.)

So Maggi came over to help me paint my room, we walked into my new apartment and I said, "This is my new room mate Dom, this is my friend Maggi, she's gonna help me paint."

And then life took over, Maggi ended up moving into our building, she and Dom became friends and neighbors. And I just sat on my hands thinking "would they work together? I think they would work together. Right?"

Anyway, long story short, they fell in love. They fell in love in a way that I am endlessly inspired by.

So when I found out they were getting married, I was a little (okay, totally) over the moon. Two of my favorite people on the planet have fallen in love and are now gonna get hitched. I think my response was, "I get to make the dress cause it's kind of my fault!" (I'm sure they would have met some other way if it wasn't this way, people that belong together find each other.)

This is what we made, lots of layers of peach and ivory silk organza over silk habotai, and then the fascinator with bird cage tulle and more organza.

It's funny, I've made dresses and helped with dresses for people that I'm crazy about before, I made all my siblings wedding clothes (in 2 cases also the clothes of their spouses) I've helped with the dresses of friends that are as wonderful as Maggi and Dom, maybe it's the nature of knowing them or that I just felt like I was already so glad for our friendship before they got together, whatever it was, I would just get teary while sewing. Really happy tears.

So this last Sunday, June 5th, 2011, (7 years and 3 days exactly after they first met) Maggi and Dom got married. And in September they will be blessed with their newest addition. (!!! more joy!)

And my heart just keeps exploding. Thank you both for letting me participate in the beauty of your celebration. To know you both is to love you . . . . .

xoxophae

Tara and Kent's wedding

Tara and Kent actually got married on July 21 of 2005, so this is a look back.

Tara is my oldest sister. We look like sisters, we sound like sisters. We are incredibly similar in so many ways and completely opposite in many others. When she and Kent married, they actually were trying to elope.

I got a call from Tara, she was in line at customs in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. She and Kent had just returned from 3 weeks in Africa. I hadn't spoken to her for the entirety of this trip and it was awful to go that long without hearing from her. So you can imagine I was really excited when the phone rang and it was her.

What she said was, "Sis, I'm gonna need you in Colorado in a few weeks." and I said, "You're dress is gonna be SO simple."

"You're not mad?"

"Of course I'm not mad!"

and then she had to go, it was her turn to see the customs agent. That was it.

Later, we had a conversation about what she wanted this dress to be like. And I said, I think we're talking about the same dress.

Without taking her measurements and without sending her sketches, I made her this dress and got it in the mail in about 7 days. I don't think there is another person in the world that would trust me so completely to design and make the right thing, on such short notice and then get married in it. And it really was the right thing.

Today, Tara let me be a guest blogger on her writer blog, it was really exciting to be apart of her world for a day and write an essay for her audience.

Now I'm extending the invitation to her, so you all can hear this story from her side or maybe she'll just want to indulge in her own love of design and fashion. What do you say Tara? Are you game? It'll be fun! :)

xoxsis

It was a great day for a Derby!

I love the Kentucky Derby. The first time I saw the race was a couple years ago and I was totally hooked. For such a fast race, it's so worth seeing. I had no idea how beautiful the horses were when they raced until I actually saw them. I love all the festivities, the mint juleps and of course I love the hats!

(please forgive the silly look I have.)

My favorite place to be for the race and the party is at the Bell House in Brooklyn. There is always a lot of people, most of them dressed up. This year there were more hats by far then the last couple of years. (People were inspired by the Royal Wedding, maybe?) It's been a crazy week for me in the studio, so many fun projects that I'm finishing up and starting, but late the other night I made sure to make up something for my head. Because honestly, when else can you wear a big messy nest of tulle on your head and call it a hat? Not nearly often enough I say.

There were all kinds of hats in attendance, formal hats, traditional hats, men in hats, hats shaped like horses. After the race, most of us stayed around to see the live band Karaoke band, Bunny England and the New Originals play. What could be more fun then horse races and playing rock stars on a beautiful spring day?!

All the photos above and more can be found here.

Something Old, Something New . . .

My friend My Phung asked me if I wanted to work on this project with her and of course I said yes, I always learn so much and have so much fun working with her on things.

So this is Jodi's dress before we started, it was her grandmother's wedding dress.

We all liked the bones of this dress, but we also agreed it could be a little more fun and maybe less modest. We immediately removed the sleeves and lowered the front and back neck line.

My Phung remade the actual dress, adding silk tulle to the front and back, while I worked on the part that isn't really so visible, I rebuilt the vintage slip that goes under the dress. In the end I think both pieces came together in a really lovely way.

We kept some of the vintage look for the original dress but made the whole thing look way more like Jodi.

And then I made her a fascinator using some grey bird cage tulle and feathers to tie in her grey belt. I wish I had a shot of her shoes, they were this amazing bright fascia, so fun!

It was so fun to work on this kind of project, watching something new emerge from something old. It's a brave bride that will pony up a vintage dress and let someone recreate it right in front of her eyes!

Thanks Jodi! It was so fun working with you and My Phung on your dress, I had a ball!

And congrats on your new marriage! xo