Custom Made Garments

   Raise your hand if: You are tired of going to different department stores and they all carry the same clothing? If you are tired of buying clothing that doesn't fit right, so you settle for outfits that look "the best" on you even though it might not necessarily be your favorite? And raise your hand if you are tired of going to events and one or more people have on the same outfit? (UUUUgggggg......) And lastly, how many of you are tired of some company pushing colors like they are drugs; telling us what colors are "in" so what ever the "in" color is, seems to be the main color in EVERY SINGLE STORE you go into?

I am the one in the front  row with my hand raised,  flailing my arm back and forth saying "Pick me! Pick me!!" Because, I AM!!! I think I am the head runner of being tired it all...This is why I design and make 95% of my clothing.

 The fashion industry prides itself on expressing originality, but what the industry seems to be expressing is a bunch of the same stuff.

The fashion industry is about to have a  huge shift. The Custom Made segment is going to have a large lift. If you haven't had anything custom made before, you're gonna love it. It is truly amazing to have clothing that fits the body perfectly. There is a sense of glamour about BEING THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD with a particular outfit. Once people get the feeling of custom made, they won't want anything less. So expect to see more people getting custom made clothing. I'm not just speaking about celebrities. I am talking about any female or male that wants to be original and look fabulous in their clothing.

We used to have personal tailors and seamstresses but the industrial age made way for the mass production of clothing. 

Now I want to be clear, we will still have mass production of clothing yet, consumers are going to flock more to garments that don't look so "store bought".

If you haven't had anything custom made before, here are a few tips to help you, as you expand your shopping experience. This is great advice for you to follow as you begin to work with a seamstress.

1. Custom clothing is not cheap. Yes you may have an aunt or good friend that can rustle up some garments for you inexpensively, but don't expect to pay department store prices. A lot goes into making clothing. Creating apparel is an art form, it takes talent, skill and patience to create garments.                                                                 Expect to pay for it.

2.Custom made clothing is a process-  As I said before, a lot goes into custom made garments.  The client tells the seamstress what they would like made. The garment has to be designed. The fabric has to be picked out. All of the notions have to be chosen ( buttons, zippers, beading etc.) The pattern has to get made or cut out. The fabric needs to be cut to the shape of the pattern. The garment then is sewn.  Depending on how intricate the article is will depend on how long it will take. ALL OF THIS TAKES TIME. So don't expect for an evening gown to be made in 24 hours. It should be finished by the time the seamstress specifies.

3. There will be fittings. Since the clothing is custom to the clients body, there will be times that the seamstress will need to fit the garments to their body in order to move forward. So, if you are always super busy or have very little patience, custom made might not be a good idea. You will definitely need to meet with the seamstress to make sure the clothing fits perfectly.

4. You have to have vision. Your clothing might not look like you expect when you have your first fitting so don't get nervous. Remember it is a process, it is kind of like sculpting. If any of you have ever watched a sculptor, it looks like a blob of mess in the beginning. As the artist begins to produce their idea, the on lookers begin to see through the eyes of the artist. This is when the product begins to take a recognizable shape. Finally the end product is revealed!

6. Be kind to your seamstress. They are working hard to make your garments come to life. Positive energy will get your far. Remember: you can build a life long relationship and can receive all of your fashion desires!!

7. Working with a seamstress is a team effort. TEAM= Together wE Achieve More. Work with them not against them and your experience will be pleasurable.

8. Know exactly what you want.  If you have never seen it before, above is the picture of a pattern on fabric before it is cut. Making changes after a garment is made sometimes  isn't as easy as one may think.

9. Listen to your seamstress. Sometimes clients may want garments that don't fit their body type. A good seamstress will tell a client if something will work for their body type or not. If the garment  doesn't work the seamstress should be able to still give the client similar alternatives.

Have a fantastic relationship with your seamstress. Personalize this list for yourself! Relationships make the world go round. Remember, " It's not what you know, it's who you know."  With this list, who you know ( your seamstress) can help all of your fashion dreams come true!

Love Bambu

Seamstress Extraordinaire!! Bambuint@gmail.com

Passive Buildings, Tiny Homes, and Earthships

   Yes this is a fashion forecasting blog... and houses fall into design... and design is fashion!!! ( It might not make sense but just roll with me!) I will talk about the up-coming surge of Passive homes/buildings, Tiny Homes and Earth ships.

What are passive homes?

   Passive homes / buildings are energy efficient buildings that have amazing insulation and are air tight. This prevents inside air from going out and outside air from coming ( unless a window or door is opened... of course)

It has high performance windows and the main source of energy is solar.

 It costs about the same amount to build a passive home as the conventional homes yet, the buyers save all the money on the back end. The normal electric and gas bill are slashed dramatically, if there is one at all.

They have a modern feel, any one can basically build the house exactly how they would like .I like this one because it reminds me of Earth ships.

Earth Ships?

Earth ships are completely self sustainable houses  that are " off the grid" they use solar energy and the heat transfer from the ground to keep the house warm. And strategic placements of windows and sun blockers to keep the house cool. ( to say in layman's terms)

 They have an amazing visual exterior and are formed to live with the earth while still keeping all of the modern amenities. Rain water is filtered stored and collected. 

The walls of the earth ships are made of tires packed with sand, cans and bottles. Then they are covered with cement and plaster...

Interiors of Earth Ships

...which gives the interior a whole new look and feel than the traditional interiors  we have been accustomed to. Each home has it's own unique personality. I love how tires and glass make up these beautiful homes!

All earthships have a built in green house that provides the food!! The gardens are watered by recycled filtered  rain water water.

What are Tiny Homes?

Tiny homes look like miniature versions of passive homes, I think they are so cute! They have all the amenities of a conventional house but are significantly smaller.

Tiny homes are  500 square feet or smaller, they are relatively easy to make and super economical. You can build yourself a home with $8,000 -$2500!

 

Many of these homes are "off the grid" and use only solar energy. Yet we will see tiny home communities popping up in cites and rural areas.

 

People are astounded by how much money is paid to buy a house! Paying over 1 million dollars over the course of 30 years for $290,000 is asinine! "For most Americans 1/2 to 1/3 of their income is dedicated to the roof over their heads; this translates to 15 years of working over your lifetime just to pay for it, and because of it 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck." (thetinylife.com)

The interiors are very cozy. The design and layout are made to use the best of the space.

As you can see there are even 2 story tiny homes with the living space on the bottom and bed on top.

It is a studio apartment! Without the loud neighbors or the pounding of little kids feet running on top of you.

    All of the homes can be made off the grid. Being off the grid is a huge why reason people are choosing alternative ways of making their living space. For those of you that don't know, what "Off the Grid" means; It is the house is not using any of the conventional ways of  electricity, water or gas. The people have no bills to pay to companies which keeps more of your hard earned money in your pocket.

     These are seemingly three different styles of homes or buildings yet they all serve the same purpose: to make the world a better place, to lower our carbon emission, to minimize all or small portions of our lifestyles also, TO NOT PAY UTILITY BILLS!! I see nothing wrong with living in a huge house. Yet, I do like the idea of living in a house that is working with the natural habitat instead of taking it over. 
  
    What I see happening in the future is all of these styles of houses/buildings are going to merge into one kind of super home/building where it is made of recycled materials, it is air tight keeping the insulation and co- inhabits with the earth, it recycles and filters the rain water, they will incorporate green houses  for food and solar energy will provide the electricity. This is my vision of the ultimate future house.  

    There are organizations and associations that are popping up for each of these  styles of homes: The Passive Home Institute, Tiny House Atlanta and Earthship Biotecture which helps people build earthships in 5 weeks!

    So, those of you who are currently designers or going to school for interior design, architects, contractors,o r even furniture designers, I would suggest you start looking into this emerging industry. You will be a heads up from everyone else in how to incorporate new and innovative designs in these interesting new buildings.

Bambu

Not Your Typical Models Anymore!

Gone are the days of the frail, pale, thin models who barely eat food to land the catwalk gig they have always wanted with  their adorned designers. We will begin to see models of all races, shapes, sizes, skin shades, or multiple skin shades in magazines and on the covers, in commercials and on the runways. The fashion industry will begin to highlight the differences and showcase the differences as beauty.

We have already seen the plus size models making a mark on the fashion industry. We are seeing ads with plus size models, commercials and even curvy mannequins! That was only the beginning. We will continue to see the plus size model industry grow to runway. Yes I said it! Plus size models will be on the worlds stage whether people like it or not and the companies that jump on board first will reap the rewards.

Cheers to the many photographers who have taken beautiful raw natural pictures of people that were not the "typical models."  Cheers to all of the people who never fit the "model" mold, yet still had the dream of becoming a model and continued to take pictures. All of those nameless people were the front runners of this amazing change we will see in the coming years. Consumers have expressed long enough that the model industry needed to have a make over, well the overhaul has begun.

 April 3,2015 Time.com published an article written by Laura Stampler which informs us that  France is becoming another country in a growing list, that is banning ultra thin models with a low BMI (Body Mass Index).  They are cleaning up the modeling industry.Check out the article

France Just Banned Ultra Thin Models

Welcome people to the new face of fashion! Below are a few of the qualities we will begin to see on a large scale.

 Alessandro Manfredini is a handsome man. But he is much older that what we are used to seeing as a model. Yet his sex appeal jumps off the page and I am sure many men and women will buy whatever he is selling! We will see older male models doing just as good as their younger counterparts

With the baby boomer generation being middle aged we will also see beautifully aged women modeling. Companies will realize that they need to directly target this generation and we will see older women modeling in high fashion magazines.













Gigi Cunningham

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Madeline Stuart

Above are two girls who love modeling. They both have down- syndrome yet that is not stopping them from breaking into the fashion industry. We will begin to see models with what we would call disabilities in the industry... It doesn't sound right calling it disabilities or special needs, these girls are doing more than many people who are fully capable!!!

                                    Thando Hopa                                          Diandra Forest                    

                                                 Shaun Ross The first male albino model

Albinism has usually been approached with mysticism or a kind of taboo. Now the fashion industry will showcase this trait as a high fashion aspect. Gracing the magazines and ads with their beauty.  

Gingers and Freckles!!! I have always loved red hair and I have always loved freckles. Together is a match made in fashion heaven! We will see models flaunt their red hair and or freckles in main steam fashion.

 Chantelle Winnie

Curtis McDaniel

Vitiligo is another attribute that has been shunned in American Society. I have never seen anyone with this trait modeling fashions. Yet soon we will see very interesting ads promoting products and or services that not only promote the company but the model as well.

                               

It was very hard and still is hard for some to accept the plus size models. Yet there is no signs of the industry slowing down. There are all types of women in this world and it would be best to premier them, being that they are buying the products! Next stop for the plus sized industry. RUNWAY!

This next one is something very near and dear to me. This year 2015,  Maria Borges was the first chocolate model to walk down the Victoria Secret runway with her natural hair.Without  weave or extensions. Natural haired Black women are still very much shunned in many parts of corporate America, business and modeling. We are finally seeing ads and commercials with natural haired women but walking down the Victoria Secrets Annual runway show on National television showcases more than a natural haired model. It gave the natural haired kinky-curly women sex-appeal on a worldly scale.  We will continue to see natural haired black women published in ads and all aspects of fashion. 

                                      .....But what will they do with their hair??!!!

                               

                   I can help! I wrote a book that shows step by step how to style natural hair 31+ different ways...(shameless plug.... But not really.. HA!) Who knows maybe I will start styling some of these natural haired models for huge photo shoots!

Download 31 Flavours of Natural Hair

Love it or don't love it at all we are going to see huge changes in the fashion industry.No longer will the model be an empty vessel only used to wear clothes. Models will begin to be the focal point showcasing their personalities, abilities and intellect. So, those of you that know you are beautiful but don't feel you have the height, skin color, body or any of the former modeling standards, this a call for action, start taking pictures because you might have exactly what these new up and coming designers want!

Love Bambu