1st Outfit: All Pink Satin
I wanted an outfit that was big and bold! A little something between Elle Woods and Barbie. I went for a large bow, and after finding inspiration on Pinterest, I ordered a crepe, fuchsia fabric from Etsy. The inspiration came straight from a New York Fashion Week runway.
The collection: "Area NYC with designers Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Pansczczyk conducted their 2019-2020 Fall Autumn Winter Womens Runway Catwalk Looks during New York Fashion Week in the United States."
Mine is a highly unskilled version - but it mirrors the inspo enough that I was quite happy with the final version. I sewed two sets of rectangular fabric, one larger (to fit around my body) and one for the bow. I created enough length on the larger fabric rectangle to tie a knot on the top. From there, I sewed a long, skinny piece to act as the center of the bow.
The assembly was easy. I placed the smaller bow on top of the knot and wrapped the center piece around both. This allowed for limited sewing but was sturdy enough to hold together while filming.
The top required a bit more thought but only needed about two different shapes. The middle piece comes out to a boxy triangle where three rectangular pieces attach to every side. Once assembled, it was easy to tie together without involving a zipper.
The top didn't have a specific source of inspiration, rather catered to a style I've seen several times before that I thought would pair nicely with the skirt.
For accessories, I found earrings that practically resembled not only my logo but my brand colors as well! They're from the brand Eyecandy Los Angeles. For gloves, I went with a laced pair (from Amazon) to continue with a monochrome look. And to tie it together, I added another piece of fabric as a hair accessory to finalize the look.
Left Image Credit: Vogue / Denim Jeans Observer | I do not own this photo and only intend to use it for reference/commentary.
Links:
IMAGE SOURCE:
2nd Outfit: Corset and Tights
For the second outfit, I wanted the clothes to be more editorial. I decided to mix in a bit of thrifting and found a unique corset made by @bonnieedora, who owns her own UK-based clothing brand: @bdgarms. This corset became the centerpiece of the design, and I went for the same shade of pink for the skirt to blend the pieces together.
To tie in more of the brand pieces and elements I added a butterfly crystal necklace and bright, orange tights, which represented the secondary color for the video. And, for a bit of a french twist - I added the beret, gloves, and scarf.
I liked the colorful take on a classic look.
Links:
3rd Outfit: Orange Knit
Leaning more into the orange side, I executed another handmade option, inspired by the SHUSHU/TONG SS21 collection. I fell in love with their bow top and skirt and wanted one for myself.
For the fabric, I found a cool metallic, knit that perfectly matched my color of orange. I began constructing the bottoms first, where I cut out different shapes for the top half of the skirt and one long piece for the bottom half. Aside from the zipper and the waistline, the skirt was fairly easy to assemble with accurate measurements.
For the top, I applied a similar method to the pink skirt where I cut out one long rectangle and one shorter rectangle piece, for the bow. I added straps and a small strip wrapped in the center to bind both rectangular pieces, which formed the bow.
After assembly, I managed to find orange gems to hot glue onto the top to mirror the look of the initial design. Surprisingly, most of the gems held on!
Finishing touches included a gold, rhinestone headband, and orange sock boots. I thought these would pair well with the outfit since it was puffier in nature, I wanted the shoes to be very tight.
Left Image Credit: SHUSHU/TONG Studio | I do not own this photo and only intend to use it for reference/commentary.
Links:
4th Outfit: Multicolor Dress
As the final piece in the video, I wanted something really glamorous that tied everything together. Luckily, after browsing an online thrift store I managed to grab a $25 gown.
I quickly placed an order and waited for it to arrive, and the dress did not disappoint. In fact, my mom had informed me that my nana had worn the same brand when she was younger! The designer is quite notable and many of their dresses go for hundreds of dollars, even into the thousands sometimes.
One of my best thrift finds to date! All for $25.00.
For styling, I kept it simple since the dress truly spoke for herself. I had long, rhinestone earrings from Forever 21 a while back and a rhinestone belt that I added to give the dress more pop.
I felt that it was a great piece to close the video with, given the fact that it combined many of my brand colors and had an elegant but fun feel to the outfit.
Links:
DRESS BRAND:
BELT: Princess Polly
Earrings: Forever 21
Image credits are there to provide direction toward the original owners of the photos and design. I do not have any ownership over these photos and utilize the fair use policy to include these photos for educational and informational purposes only.
All other photos (unless stated otherwise) belong to wearing west.