Saturday, January 29, 2011

Week Three- Adult Inspired Designs

Ok- I'm sure I've thought this every week, but these have been my favorite designs for real this time. So beautiful! Be sure to vote in the sidebar! Poll closes Monday at midnight CST again.

1- Shauna's Sweet Little Miss
 Here's the inspiration:
This week's challenge excited me I love all of my daughter's clothes to have an adult flair. I figure once she could walk that there is just something irresistible about a little mini adult, or a "sweet little miss" I knew almost right away what look I wanted to do for her. I had my eye on this military jacket for awhile to make myself, but I thought what better than to make one for her. I also pulled from some other adult trends that I love right now and adapted them for my little miss. I made the cropped military jacket in a light weight cotton so it is a great transition piece going into spring and summer. It is layered with a sweet cami with some pleated detail. I also made a pair of skinny pants out of a super soft stretch corduroy in dusty rose. Since every woman would complete the outfit with a pair of killer boots, I made soft soled ankle boots. Lastly, the outfit just didn't seem complete without the sweet little miss having her own necklace, which made very child friendly with fake pearls and soft string, it makes her feel all grown up. While the outfit has a grown up vibe my sweet little miss could still play in a tree and keep up with her brother, we both win.

 

2- Kelly's San Marino
 I took this weeks challenge to mean we were supposed to be inspired by an adult outfit and "minify" it for our munchkins... I am over the top nervous that I interpreted this wrong but whatcha gunna do right? I have been coveting Shabby Apples San Gabriel dress for over a year.
Every time there is a sale I pop it in my cart and then after an hour of browsing other sites I force myself to close the browser and walk away. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try it out on a less intimidating scale. So, I can up with the San Marino (a small suburb of San Gabriel in CA).
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I love how it turned out. Although when I make an adult version I will tone down the ruffle a tad to be more like the original. But my gorgeous little model loves over the top ruffles so I had to deliver.
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In an effort to make it more child friendly, instead of a ton of buttons you have to wrangle your cutie into  I used several little velcro strips to close the bodice then just sewed the faux buttons onto the top ;) Saves you time getting your princess in and out with the added bonus of not having to make a zillion button holes woo hoo! (of course you can put the real buttons in if you like). I just love the sea of ruffles everywhere and I must  say I am really proud of how well made this dress it. It took me a LONG time to create and get the pattern right but it was worth it!
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The pattern and tutorial will be available at SINML this weekend so you can take your own sewing vaca to a suburb in sunny California :)

3- Lindsay's Girly Girl Twirl Dress
The inspiration:
My goal for this week was to take several women's fashion trends and create an entirely new and unique look for a child.  I've been loving the soft, tiered feminine ruffles, the gorgeous deep jewel-tone colors, and the little lace details that we've been seeing on a lot of women's fashion pieces.  I used super-soft spandex/cotton blend fabrics to construct the long-sleeved top for the dress.  I added three tiered ruffles to the end of each sleeve.  On the bodice I used several tired ruffles, surrounded by a tiny lace detail and finished it off with a gorgeous piece of woven, vintage trim.  The skirt is made from a spandex ruffle fabric in all the gorgeous jewel-tones that we have been seeing in women's fashion.  Underneath the dress I added a pair of black leggings with a ruffle edge detail at the bottom.  The look is completed with a ruffle and vintage trim headband and Chanel-inspired, black patent leather, quilted ballet flats.  This dress is incorporates women's fashion, but yet is completely wearable for a child - she could run, jump, play, or twirl and still be incredibly comfortable and stylish at the same time!



4- Ashley's Papilionidae
My inspiration for this challenge was Alexander McQueen. I love the butterfly prints and hair pieces that several of his past collections have included and wanted to do something similarly inspired but still appropriate for a child.


I took a basic light grey cotton/lycra knit and created a whimsical butterfly print using different colors of inks and diluted fabric paint. The butterflies are silk screened in different colors and additional colors were added by hand painting the fabric. I created a pattern for a halter jumpsuit, double layered for the chest and straps and added elastic at the ankles for a fun retro look.

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For styling, I took a flamboyant head band and added in some butterflies for more drama.

This outfit is comfortable and forgiving....perfect for toddler play! Sassy! (Note: my daughter calls this her pirate pose....argggh!)
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Now I just need one for me! Come visit us over at Lil Blue Boo to see additional photos!

5- Kirstin and Jordan's Taste of Sunshine
Every year around the beginning of February, my sunshine-loving heart begins to ache for summer (in fact, any small sign of spring would do). And the Sun Shades Dress by Anthropologie is essentially a beach vacation in a dress in all its stripe-y, flouncy glory. So, of course I knew exactly what I'd be knocking off for this week's challenge!
Since February in Colorado isn't exactly flip flop weather, I paired the dress's cheery goodness with a tiny version of the ruffle-y Peplum Cardigan by Banana Republic. Gotta keep that baby warm.
And every great dress requires a few fabulous accessories- a knock-off of the Beaming Featherfew Pin by Anthropologie (pinned on the belt in the pictures), gladiator sandles and a sunny headband complete the look.
This stripe-y, flouncy, summer-y, ruffle-y, cheery little ensemble certainly is A Taste of Sunshine! If only they made it in my size- oh, right, they do!

6- Katy's La Fleur de L'Orange
The inspiration:
I don't know anyone who doesn't find the blog The Sartorialist inspirational and fascinating all at once.  I love orange and knew this was the one I wanted to use for my one and only redhead, Pearl.  I took liberty with the back since there is only a front view in the photo.  I brought the keyhole detail up to a more modest neckline for a little girl, but pretty much retained the silhouette of the dress.  The placket in the back is a faux placket, so there is no need for buttonholes (hooray!) and an invisible zipper on the side for access.  I call it La Fleur de L'Orange.  For more views of the aqua and orange dress, hop on over to my blog






Beautiful huh? Glad I don't have to decide!

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22 comments :

  1. WOW! They are all SO beautiful! Great job everyone!
    -Sarah

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  2. Oh my Oh my Oh my - how am I EVER going to choose this week?!!!! Definitely my favorite week so far!!!

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  3. Oh my gosh! You're totally right, this is the best week yet! I LOVE that there is so much inspiration here! Every single person did such a phenomenal job!

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  4. Wow. That was really tough! The designs are fabulous! Thanks so much for playing. : )

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  5. Ack. This is impossible, how could I possibly choose? Each time I scrolled down to find another design I would think, "Well, maybe I'll vote for this!" Wonderful job and so inspirational!

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  6. Wow! These are amazing/inspiring!

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  7. I LOVE checking back here every week to see what these ladies come up with. So much inspiration and I'm also loving the tutorials :)

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  8. LOVE Katy's La Fleur de L'Orange dress! BEAUTIFUL!

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  9. Oh no! I think I'm sorely addicted to this blog now !! Great job on all the lovely dresses!! I'm a mom to a little prissy tomboy--so this is great! :) Follow me back at www.carronhefner.blogspot.com

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  10. Katy's! It's gorgeous! So creative.

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  11. katykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykatykaty

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  12. Uhm can i pick ALL of them? Seriously.

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  13. Seriously folks, that jacket is so cute, I can't believe it does not have more votes. I want that outfit!!

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  14. Um, yeah, too hard to decide! Yikes! Love them!

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  15. What a fun theme! I made an outfit for my daughter for this theme.

    http://catonalimb.blogspot.com/2011/01/grown-up-inspired-outfit-girls-dress.html

    Thanks for all the fun playing along!

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  16. I just cant not notice the BLUEBLUE sky! Beautiful! and so is all your work :)

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  17. Katy's La Fleur de L'Orange is INCREDIBLE!!!

    What a fantastic job!!

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