Tag: fashion style

I Tried Watching Nana

Aside from Haikyuu and One Piece, Nana was the most recommended Anime I have watched. It was mainly recommended in fashion discourse in the TikTok fashion sphere and on YouTube for its spin on street style, punk, 90s fashion, and accessorizing with elaborate detail.

These fans praise creator Ai Yazawa’s Nana for its Vivienne Westwood references and innovative looks. As I expected, the fashion was inspiring. It captures the 90s and early 2000s Japanese fashion in a way that makes my heart warm because that’s how I first got into fashion—watching ANTM’s Cycle 3 and their finale trip to Tokyo. But there was one hiccup—I can’t get into the story.

Nana is a Work of Art

Now before Nana stans click out, I can explain why I am not a fan but can appreciate the artistic duality of the storytelling, while critiquing the worldview of the narrative.

I’ve previously mentioned that I’m not an anime fan, that I had watched Fruits Basket and some Trigun and it was enjoyable but did not grip me the same way a Kdrama can. Since then I have started watching Haikyuu and fell in love with the anime style and its storytelling in Haikyuu’s seasons. Going into Nana, I was excited to watch a new anime style. The artwork is different, older, and grittier like a film noir.

The storytelling was unique, and non-linear at the beginning, and featured two storylines of Nana O. and Nana K, a duality that Ai Yazawa put a lot of thought into. Her passion is clear from the art style, the complicated characters, and the darkness of human life that she explores. I appreciate the inner monologues of the characters, and the way that they feel real because they are flawed, and downright annoying sometimes, but I couldn’t find myself rooting for any character and walked away from the series after two attempts to watch through.

Struggles with the Story

Misogyny and the age of consent, are two things I was not expecting to be major storylines in this tale but there it was. It was hard to watch the disrespect and absolutely dangerous decision-making of Nana K in 2024 as an American with some of the headlines we have had of assault on college campuses and by powerful people in the culture. Me Too changed things and made this normality of the 1990s and 2000s a thing that was no longer going to be passively tolerated. For that, I am thankful to be living on this side of the 2010s and its cultural upheaval because when I encounter stories where the female characters are not being respected and accepting this toxic masculinity and normal, as the viewer it is outrageous.

My standard is now the ladies of Brooklyn Nine-Nine who demand respect and get it because the male characters on the squad are respectful. The characters of Gina Linetti, Rosa Diaz, and Amy Santiago have ambition, and desire love, but understand they are enough and don’t need guys to make them whole. I didn’t see that in my watch of the Nana show. They also support each other with maturity, and Nana K is simply not mature and despite Nana O’s heart, it can’t make up for the deficit, in my opinion. I know that their friendship is hailed for its feminism but I think the best friendships in storytelling have two mature people who have grown and developed into characters that have depth and true, selfless love for each other.

This show felt triggering for its realistic depiction of toxic relationships in both friendships and romantic relationships, which dug up memories from my teens and twenties of feeling lonely by the cloud of darkness bad relationships held me in. Like Skins UK, I could feel the pain, the emptiness, and the struggle in my veins by how emotionally charged the story is. But as Effie can send me into a depressed spiral, I felt the same from Nana. Art should make you feel, but not harm efforts to have good mental health, so as I made the decision to stop to protect my peace, I encourage you to have healthy boundaries with shows that can trigger you, dear reader. It doesn’t mean you are a wimp or that the show is bad, just that it isn’t a good fit for you because it is damaging your calm, to quote Jayne Cobb, from Firefly.

Girlhood, Dark Romance, and the Pick Me Girl

Something that may be holding me back from embracing Nana could be my culture and similar western media I have already grown up with which taught me the same lessons through their stories. As I mentioned before I see many parallels between Skins UK and Nana. They are both edgy, the characters are working through their own pain and finding their own solutions like by dulling the pain with alcohol or love. There is the female friendship in Nana like Meredith and Cristina in Grey’s Anatomy and the toxic relationships in Gossip Girl with the complicated friendship of Blair and Serena.

I found Grey’s Anatomy and Gossip Girl during the end of high school and watched both into college, a time that is full of turbulence. Something that Nana nailed, and I think if I had found Nana first it maybe the coming of age guidebook for me that Grey’s Anatomy and Gossip Girl were during those weird years. I think that both Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy have more character arcs for their female protagonists than Nana, with Serena Van Der Woodsen being the only one I’d say didn’t grow much at all. Blair, Meredith, and Cristina all show tremendous growth by the end of their stories. (Yes, I know Grey’s Anatomy carries on but Sandra Oh left the show in 2014 and I personally stopped watching in 2019 so Grey’s has an end to me.)

Meredith Grey grows from a pick-me girl who lets her romantic relationships determine her fate with self-destructive bend to a healthy, open, confident woman who has family that support her emotionally and professionally at Seattle Grace. Cristina Yang realizes she needs people, that life is not about being an island. She balances her professional ambition with a new compassionate bedside manner and learns how to be vulnerable while being an incredibly strong person.

Blair Waldorf begins the show as a girl who is scheming, afraid to be herself, and afraid to fail and ends the show as a confident woman who knows what she wants and is willing to stand up for herself, support others, and create community in her world instead of tearing others down to make herself feel better. She may love Chuck Bass, but she is willing to walk away from him when he treats her as less than human. I wanted to see this from Nana, and I didn’t.

What I did see was a similar dark romance trope that permeates Twilight, toxic relationships that are abusive, not romantic, and not something women need to endure for love. A good cultural discussion that came out of the It Ends With Us press tour was producer, Justin Baldoni’s commitment to the message of abuse and making sure no interview was complete without raising awareness for an evil that persists in our world. It was in stark contrast to Blake Lively’s cheeky glamorization of this movie, refusing to go there and talk about the serious issues.

That’s what I wanted from Nana, there to be some force that would stop the mistreatment of these women and bring some hope to the story for these women to truly thrive.

Experimenting with Stitching and Basics

It’s that time of year when I am ready to wear long sleeves but the weather isn’t so convinced. This blouse is a project I made at the end of March 2024-early April 2024, that I completed and put into my closet to wear later. I was excited as soon as it began to cool off for the chance to style this piece! All summer long I’ve worn its sister piece, my denim houndstooth skirt that can also be worn as a dress that was absolutely lovely material to wear. It’s so breathable and has a bit more visual interest than the usual chambray, something I look for. This fabric is from Mood Fabrics, it looks like they no longer carry it which is a shame because I have two pieces from this cut of fabric, and I want to make more.

This piece is special to me because I did something a little different with the collar, I stitched in white the lines of a blazer lapel and lines of a jacket crossing over, for a bit of a formal feel. I originally wanted to make this fabric into a jacket but ran out of material, and I think it worked out for the best. I want to play with this stitching a bit more. It resembles a tailor’s chalk marking to me and I like that.

As the fall progresses and the temperatures continue to drop I’m looking forward to styling this piece with pants, vests, dresses, skirts, boots, scarves, etc. Styling this piece with new color combos excites me. I’ve only paired it with this brown and blue combo so far, which sparks my interest the most. I’d like to try this stitching application on trousers and dresses too with a solid fabric or maybe another pattern.

Do you like contrast stitching? Do you like clothing with a bit of whimsy like this faux blazer collar? Are you a fan of patterns? I like how different we all are and how tastes and preferences make this fashion thing, full of endless creativity. Thank you, dear reader, for stopping by. I hope we meet again soon. ❤

How to Make Curved Seams Lay Flat

When I first heard of making small snipping cuts into the curves of seams for necklines and arm openings, I thought this was a bunch of nonsense. An extra step that only overachieving sewing people do. But once I gave it a try – there was night and day difference with how non-stretch fabrics draped against the form. The comfort and fit has been a level up to professional feeling. It’s totally worth it and I can’t believe I was stubbornly against putting the extra effort in. Looking back, there were definitely projects I made that I didn’t like because the neckline and arm openings fit wonky. If only I had tried this weird sounding hack.

In the curve of seams, make a very small cut in the seam allowance, not the actual part of the seam you are going to sew. For structural integrity that’s important. You don’t want your seam to have a cut or it will rip. The cuts in the seam allowance give the illusion of stretch and help the non-stretch fabric curve without warping the line of the curve. It creates shape without bulk and proper fit. The quality of a garment, I’m learning is not the fabric quality alone, it’s the planning and care put into the construction. Proper pattern cutting can make or break the fit of the look you are going for.

What I’m Wearing Summer 2024 – A Cohesive Wardrobe

I’ve been sewing my clothes for nearly four years now, which had some unexpected results. I knew I would like the clothes I made better than those off the rack once my tailoring skills caught up to my ideas and that has happened. I didn’t expect the rocky period of making things I liked that didn’t fit into my wardrobe. This has been a problem over the last two years. I think because my style was changing. I think the clothes I was buying at stores were not really me but more a trendy persona to blend in. Going into 2024, I wanted my clothes to be more cohesive.

I’ve been more intentional with what I sew and how I will wear it with the pieces already in my wardrobe. I’m also less afraid to upcycle and repurpose existing clothes I’ve bought or made into something that will work with my current clothing and accessories. This summer I’ve felt like I every piece has had a purpose in my wardrobe and everything feels like an accurate reflection of who I am. It’s been a lot of fun to mix and match pieces, even dabbling in layering garments in ways I may not have tried before. With how busy this summer has been unpacking, I’ve been less likely to reach for my accessories, which I’d like to get better at because I know that would truly bring an outfit together.

In the meantime, I think this has been a successful season of making and wearing because I reached for my pieces more than anything else in my wardrobe. It feels good to know they are getting used and can easily mix and match with other garments in my closet to get as much use out of the items I made as possible.

I started keeping track of my outfits because of my Instagram and blog, to catalog my makes and it has been a fantastic way to see what I am wearing and what I should repurpose or re-home. If you are feeling stuck in a style rut I’d highly recommend keeping a record of what you wear and how you wear them. It’s been a helpful tool to find my personal style.

Designing clothing has been a journey of learning how outfits come together within an existing wardrobe. That is my biggest takeaway from the last four years and what I’m excited to apply to my future creations as a designer and maker.

Potato Technology: Back to Basics Collection

Almond Ribbed Wrap Top

Materials: 1.5 yards of stretch knit jersey. A remnant cut of fabric. This pattern was self-drafted by draping on myself and adjusting the lines with pen marking. As this was the first garment in this series, there was more trial and error with cutting pieces out of the fabric to reduce waste.

Inspiration: I was inspired by the iconic 1970s wrap dress, designed by Diane Von Furstenburg. I originally planned a wrap dress but scrapped the plan due to a lack of fabric. Because of this, there was probably 1/8 of a yard of fabric left over. With more practice, I’d like to reduce that amount to smaller pieces of scrap leftover.

Cherry Henley Ribbed Top

Materials: 2 yards of stretch knit jersey and 6 buttons. It is a heavier weight jersey and feels like a light sweater. This was a remnant cut. I developed my first official bodice pattern from this process.

Inspiration: 1900s men’s buttoned henley baselayer tops from the gold rush era in the United States. Think “old western” dramas, Deadwood, or Red Dead Redemption. I cut it oversized to carry the theme of it being a men’s garment. During the cutting process, I was able to utilize almost all the fabric with only 2-inch scraps being left over.

Stormy Seas V-Neck Tunic Top

Materials: 2 yards of stretch knit jersey. To utilize as much of the fabric as possible, I chose to get creative with my pattern cutting. To do this, I pieced together the bottom and portions of the sleeves to use up almost all of the remnant, with 2in or less scrap pieces left over.

Inspiration: I was inspired by the design lines of early medieval tunics. I like the simplicity of the lines and the lengthening effect it has on my proportions. For more information about Viking Age tunics, I recommend checking out Project Broad Axe for historical recreations and additional background on the history of Viking Age tunics.

Stashbusting in 2024: Color Palette Knitting

A goal I have in 2024, is to go through my yarn stash and use what I have to create unexpected pieces. A lot of my yarn has been sitting on my yarn shelf for a year so I decided to try a new approach to my design process – to create a garment from a color palette. I chose these five yarns to make a striped and joyful sweater that encapsulates the coolness of a winter landscape, yet the minty green hints at the spring yet to come.

This project was a journey! I didn’t quite know where it was going to end up. At first, my plan was to make a striped cardigan, but I worried about the sleeves. I thought the stripes would be too busy if carried on to the arms. I also had fears of playing yarn chicken. So I pivoted to an unusual piece because of how cool the bodice looked over a t-shirt. In the climate I live in there is no reason to wear an acrylic yarn vest over a t-shirt, but I couldn’t get the image of that out of my mind, so I made a “t-shirt” looking sleeve with the light gray yarn. For length and a bit of vintage flair, I added a peplum that took this piece to a place of whimsy that brings me joy.

When I look at this piece, I smile. When I wear this piece, I am filled with joy and sunshine. It is the first piece of knitwear I have designed that I think would show wonderfully on the runway and that is freaking cool! Lastly, I added a navy blue collar to the neck opening and gathered the neckline slightly so that it sat on my shoulders properly. The peplum was knit in two pieces where I continued the pattern and knit the sections wider than I needed to pleat it. Now that I’ve blocked the piece in the dryer it floats over the body and looks so effortlessly.

A new technique I used for this sweater was to knit one side at a time. I knit I believe 60 stitches across and began my striping pattern, switching colors after three rows. Next, I bound off stitches at my desired armhole position and carried on to the neckline where I again bound off stitches which made the shoulder more narrow than the rest of the garment. I then continued to knit down the back of the piece, mirroring the neckline by casting on a new row. I continued on to the armhole where I again, cast on more stitches and then followed the piece down to match the length of the front.

I did this a second time on the other side, mirroring the original. It is important to make sure you are mirroring so that the two pieces will match up knit side + knit side or else one side will be inside out – which is easier to do than you think! I ruined a previous project by doing that and had no choice but to rip it out. That’s okay! It’s all a part of the learning process!

If you’re a knitter or crocheter, I hope this project inspires you to get creative with your stash and make something out of the box. Or if you’re an artist, a maker, or just a human reading this, get creative with what you have! It is a fun journey. Thanks for taking time with me today! I hope you know that you are worthy, you are loved, and you are special to me. Until next time ❤

A Stunning Green Loewe Shirt

Seungmin in the building! I am beyond excited that Loewe chose Seungmin of Stray Kids to be an ambassador because he flies under the radar but has fantastic potential in this role from his personality to his visuals, this is going to be a great combination.

Loewe was another brand that I learned about in 2024 that is quickly becoming a favorite. I first heard of the brand in a discussion on Fashion Roadman’s channel and didn’t believe it would be for me, but I was sorely wrong! This is next-level art.

I truly enjoy the textures of Jonathan Anderson’s designs. Like the texture on the collar of the leather blazer, the texture of the rolling garden behind the dog, or the fluffy cloud-like texture effervescently emerging from the bottom of his knitwear. Not to forget the carpet-like floor of the black sweater vest with a brown collar. There is fun, there is whimsy, how is it this sophisticated and fun at the same time? I like the way the clothing is draped from the pants to the layers of lightness on his blouses and coats. The stunner is the plaid dress that melts into a stripe and then a solid like Willy Wonka’s Three Course Gum. Have I found a new designer whose work inspires me to want to learn more and create more? Yes.

Acne Studios Fall 2024: Johnny & Jonny

To be honest, before Johnny of NCT was appointed as a brand ambassador and flew out for Paris Fashion Week, I had no idea what Acne Studios was. Zip, nothing, nada. But holy moly, I love their style. Acne Studios is a Swedish luxury brand, based in Stockholm. Their creative director is Jonny Johansson, so there is a lot of Johnny’s involved here which is kind of funny to me, but anyway, I’d have to say Jonny is becoming one of my favorite creative directors of the time!

This collection is sculptural, wearable, and a lot of fun for showcasing a lot of neutrals. The knitwear is utilized refreshingly with cuffs on the dresses, full-length asymmetrical zipper coats, and a turtleneck crop top bustier. It showcases how versatile and capable the craft of knitting is.

My other favorites are the handbag dresses, the orange version is pictured below, for the kitschy zip-top closure and surreal nature of this design. It was out of the box and that is what these shows should be about. It is a fantasy. All these pieces fit in a fantasy world that can become our world, because of the attention to detail to make them still wearable. I’m a fan now!

Knitwear Designer

To start the path of becoming a knitwear designer, I first had to quit knitting, totally walking away from it to understand that it was something I was passionate enough to keep growing, pursue, and be willing to fail at to create something beautiful. Sometimes personal growth requires surrendering your plan to find the plan you were called to follow.

These pieces were made two years apart and yet I think they fit seamlessly together even though they were not planned. None of my knitting pieces from 2023 onward were planned because I decided to quit knitting in 2021 and was feeling pretty lost and frustrated in 2022. Knitting became a place of competition with my mom, a comparison with more advanced knitters, and a direct competitor to my sewing process.

It took a while for me to see this skill as an art form instead of a distraction. An extension of fashion design, storytelling, and fiber art. These forms are symbiotic, yet the way I was approaching it created struggle in my mind and it wasn’t until I made peace with the process that I could see how this was a way to continue self-expression and design.

It took being willing to approach knitting the way I feel comfortable instead of the way others feel comfortable, like knitting on straight needles, and taking the scenic route in my knitting technique to learn and improve. I had to accept that my pieces were going to look different because my approach was different than how I was being taught. Because of my background in art and sewing, I think about garment creation as I would in sewing. Knitting is the opposite, instead of cutting shapes out of a whole, you are making the whole shape out of nothing, it’s a brain teaser. It was at least until I took time to think about it.

After I completed the scarf, I put my needles away, donated my excess yarn stash, and walked away. For a year, I didn’t want to knit. I wasn’t inspired, I wasn’t interested. But at that time, I was designing with fabric. I was tailoring and learning how to read patterns. That’s when it clicked. All of it clicked.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t figure out knitting, I needed a better approach! My brain needed time to process the knowledge that I was learning from sewing and knitting. My mind was figuring out what kind of story it wanted to tell. Making a collection in 2022 for my family and friends got the ball rolling in my mind. I realized it wouldn’t be that difficult to be a successful knitter, I just needed to be a knitwear designer and go that extra step to create my own pattern and my own plan. Knitting hadn’t clicked before because I was trying to be like other knitters, instead of experimenting and finding my own style.

Just like personal style, creative writing, and art, you have to find your thing! The process may not feel like progress and that is where falling in love with the process is such an important piece of the puzzle. I have a passion for designing clothing, I’ve had it my whole life, but I was divorcing clothing from knitwear because I was not pushing myself to make clothing. Once I got serious and dove into making an actual garment it transformed my perspective. They are the same just different approaches. One does not need to be a distraction from the other, they can work in sync. That’s when the light bulb went off in my mind – so can accessories. Layers are little things that make a piece pop. If I am going to go all in for design, then a symbiotic relationship between what I design with thread and what I design with yarn must play off of each other. This is how I realized being a knitwear designer was as much a part of me as being a fashion designer, a sewist, an artist, and a writer.

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