Today's guest is someone that I have followed for at least a year! I found her blog via Pinterest with one of her many outfits that just blow you away! I was instantly hooked on her! Everything about her style is perfection. I love the prints, colors, and textures that she pairs together. Her fashion has inspired a few of my own outfits. What I love is that she dresses with such style, class, and modesty.
Oh but I forgot to mention the best part...she is a DIY girl! That's right, she either makes her own clothing or transforms pieces into one of a kinda closet must haves. She has recently published a book that I just can't wait to own! I have my sewing machine ready to give her projects a try!
Today she was so kind to stop by Pretty Practical Me and give an inside look into her book and answer some of questions that I'm just dying to know!
1. How is your book different from other craft books?
When I pitched the idea to a publisher I was really adamant that the tone of the book be end-product driven, with final pictures to be completely styled in a way that inspires readers to see that wearable Do-It-Yourself style is the goal and the tutorial steps are simply how you get there. As a result, The Chic Girl's Guide is being also marketed as a coffee table/inspirational book that focuses on how to beautify garments without looking gimmicky.
2. What’s one of your favorite projects featured in the book?
I
just love this paillette embellished cardigan. It's a great example
of the projects featured in the book—taking blank slate pieces and
turning them into one-of-a-kind creations.
3. What
inspires your personal style?
Color combinations,
prints and unexpected elements. I love mixing my Sperry's with a
gorgeous dress or pairing sequined pieces with denim. I'm not really
much of a fashionista but I know what I like and how I want to
present myself, and all the details seem to flow naturally from that.
I'd say my personal style is somewhere between sporty feminine and
preppy vintage.
4. What role did your personal style play a role in the creative aspect
of the book?
It's
hard to completely separate personal style from DIY fashion projects
because generally, the reason women refashion clothes is to create
something specifically tailored to their personal preferences. For a
book, it's important to feature projects that appeal to readers of
varied age groups. While all the projects are created from my
point-of-view, the style of each project is varied to appeal to as many readers as possible.
5. What's
next after the book launch?
Book promotion and
marketing! HA. I also plan to revamp the way I approach DIY with the idea that there might be a sequel to The Chic Girl's Guide. Being responsible to my readers to present tutorials in an attractive and
understandable way has been both challenging and rewarding. It's
forces me to deconstruct clothing and analyze how I can reconstruct a
garment in a step-by-step process that is clear to novice sewers.
6. What
other projects do you see in your future?
The
best opportunities in life are always unexpected so I'm trying to
enjoy the moment and keep my eyes peeled for the next great
adventure. I hope to focus a lot of my energy on the blog and hopefully begin selling a small collection of my own clothing designs.
7. What are 3 valuable things you've learned on the journey from
personal blogging to book author?
--Don't
dilute your image and point-of-view.
--Constantly
re-evaluate your approach.
I miss designing.
With all the pressure of writing and promoting
The Chic Girl's Guide and recovering from the craziness of meeting my deadline, I haven't had time to execute any designs this spring. My sketchbook is full, but nothing has actually come of them. I got all nostalgic browsing through my designs from last year and thought--
man, I can't wait to create again.
These were some of my fave Kristina J. designs from last summer because 1) I love the fabrics and silhouttes and 2) they've proved to be as versatile and useful for my wardrobe as I hoped a dress could be. It's one thing to design a cool dress and then there's this whole other level on which a piece actually works and these particular design drafts are definitely going into my "trademark" folder for future use.
What about you? What kind of dress are you craving for summer?
I haven't checked with any doctors, but I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible to feel unhappy while wearing a shirt dress, and the great ones are so hard to find at a moderate price point. I don't know why a shirt dress feels different from simply tucking a blouse into a skirt, but it just does. When you combine two pieces to create a dress, it's just so...permanent. You never have to worry about the kiddos pulling things out of place while they twist and turn in your lap.The shirt is always in place; the skirt never rides up. Result: Much yumminess.
This is a super-easy cheat to create a well-fitting piece you can style in a hundred ways, rain or shine. You'll want a blouse that has a small amount of extra room at the waist.
I used a blouse that was torn out at the waist and couldn't be worn anymore. This project gave me the chance to up-cycle it.
It's official! After much deliberation among the higher-ups at my publishing house, my sewing project book has been given a title--The Chic Girl's Guide to a One-of-a-Kind Wardrobe, hereafter to be referred to affectionately as The Chic Girl's Guide (that's chic like the Arabian sheikh, not the Chiclets variety). HA.
Obviously, I made sure to point out to my editor that it's highly arguable whether I'm actually a chic girl, but in spite my protest, the title stands.
If you follow @createclothes on Instagram, Twitter or Vine, you've already been seeing behind-the-scenes shots of what's been going on with the book projects and final photo shoots. I'm coming to the home stretch, finalizing the photo layouts, tweaking the tutorials, pulling together the final elements and it's all been such a crazy ride.
I've loved the entire experience (well, not the exhaustion part), but I'm also excited for things to settle into a more normal place here at Kristina J.
I thought it's be cool to show you the process I go through when putting together these mini collections. Obviously, some dresses get cut from the final sample sheets because the silhouettes aren't cohesive or the colors don't jive when you see the final product in a line-up. Neither the
Port Huron or the
Mackinac made it to the final sample sheet (not that I didn't think they were pretty dresses). So while I always aim to have seven finished products, I only ended up with six for the mid-summer collection. That's just how it goes.
With my line sheet and sample sheet I can quickly see just how cohesive all the pieces are and obviously, with a larger collection I would have combined these six fabrics into multiple pieces.
So, that's it...on to the Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection. A girl's always gotta move on to the next new thing, no?
What kind of dresses do you most look for when shopping for your wardrobe?
Which of these six dresses would you be most likely to buy if you could only buy one?
here are some cute sewing projects and free patterns
St. Ignace is on the edge of things...it's the direction I'm headed with my business model while still maintaining the reminiscence of the classics I love. It's sorta the bridge that spans the gap between what I've done before and what I plan to do with design in the future. It's a shirtdress, a versatile blouse and a swishy, romantic circle skirt all wrapped up in one, and the options it could bring to a wardrobe is what I love most about it.
I realize it's already September and I've never featured the last couple designs from my mid-summer collection...oops. Figure I better get on that before Thanksgiving. HA.
I went through a couple pattern slopers before I was happy with the pleating in the Marquette bodice and skirt. I wanted something fun (ahem...polka dots), but functional (what girl doesn't love navy?)...a dress that could morph into different occasions without looking like it was trying too hard. The secret ended up being off-center pockets and a semi-fitted bodice, 'cuz once I removed the darts, it just worked.
The really cool feature about the Marquette is it's actually separates, so you get multiple styling options out of two pieces...Yep. That's how I rolled with this design. HA.
In all honesty, I've been working hard at developing a business model for my hopefully-coming-within-the-next-year-or-two online store and while I want dresses to be a huge part of a product line, I've always been concerned about how to grade my patterns in a way that would fit women of all body types. Tailoring is number one with me. I think sloppy finishing and fit are what make custom clothes look amateur, which would just ruin the whole process. Separates constructed from the same fabric solve all that. Women could buy the specific size that fits them on top and bottom without all the fit issues that come with one-piece dresses. I've been experimenting with the concept a lot recently and am super-excited about the possibilities, as you're gonna see with the last design from the collection next week.
cute sewing projects and free patterns
Kristina J. Copyright 2014
