June 2024

Definitely my busiest month! what a ride! From finishing finals, saying goodbye to friends, then the school trip to Loro Piana, my week in Milan, and finally my sister’s graduation in Paris! it was non stop!

I’ll start with the beginning of the month, it was very busy trying to finish up everything in class, working on the hand in which was technical drawings, and studying! Oh and of course my sister’s dress, trying to fit all of this in was pretty crazy, I would not recommend as I came very close to burning out! But, now that it’s all done I’m a lot more relaxed lmao. During our final full week of class I started getting fainting spells and actually ended up going to the hospital as we were worried it could be thyroid related. After getting blood work done, it turns out I have an extremely low Vitamin D deficiency (yikes) so currently working to getting that back up! With a week to spare I finished my sister’s dress and then studied and sewed non stop, I finished my jacket three days before our final presentation so luckily it gave me two days to breathe.

So, the final day, we had had some other exams the week before, I got a 10 on theory (yay), but this final day I was quite worried, it was a practical exam plus presentations where some tailors from the association were going to come and look at our pieces. I will say, not to toot my own horn, but this is my blog, my jacket was the only one he didn’t criticise, and he had something to criticise about everyone else’s. He also used the word “perfect” to describe my jacket. It was a crazy day, I couldn’t really process the fact that we actually finished, and I still can’t get over that.

The very next morning we flew out to Milan! Through the school, we were invited by Loro Piana to see their textile factory in Quarona, a small town in the north of Italy close to the Swiss border. It was beautiful and so eye opening. I, now more than ever am convinced I want to work for Loro Piana, or a similar company under the LVMH group, I found everything so fascinating and really interesting. Then I spent the week in Milan which was loads of fun, went to Lake Como on one of the days and it was just beautiful. I saw loads of fashion and I realise now that after one more year in Madrid, I want to move to Milan, I love the city and you can tell there is a real interest in fashion there, I feel like I would fit well in that city.

The season finale was the graduation in Paris! My sister got to finally see and try on the dress!! it fit her perfectly! She graduated Summa Cum Laude, which is for the top 2% of the class, and seeing that she graduated in the top school in the world for her degree, she is very very smart. Nerd Alert! It was a beautiful and short stay and by this point I was keen to go back home and lay in my bed.

Fashion Trends of the Month

Looking through the Pinterest board I’ve collated from this month I realise that I have a lot of neutral tons, mostly whites, which was totally unconscious but interesting. I went down a rabbit hole of 18th and 19th century night gowns, robes, sleeves, and now I’m obsessed, I’ll probably end up making a nightgown with some dramatic sleeves soon. My big reference points are the 2011 Jane Eyre, and 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl.

I have also been rewatching Sex and the City and the minimalism of the early seasons is just so beautiful, and often forgotten about, but carrie’s simple satin dresses, Charlotte’s gorgeous preppy style and Miranda’s androgynous clothes are so classic! Love!

Pinterest Board of the Month

Sewing Projects of the Month

My Sister’s Graduation Dress

I only had two weeks to finish the dress so time was really of the essence! To make matters more exciting, I had my first final on the 14th, last final on the 18th, and was flying out to Milan on the 19th, where I would then be going straight to Paris after that, so I would have to ship the dress off before leaving! By May I still hadn’t cut the dress, but I had mostly finished the main pieces of the top, it was time to really crack down and finish it so that I could study for my final, plus I had some goodbye parties for some friends that were moving away :(.

I ended up needing to do a lot of stitching on the mannequin, especially for the draping, now that I have had time to reflect, I think I would make the bust drape tighter, remove some fabric so that the pleats could be crisper. I cut the skirt on the bias which really helped give the velvet the right kind of movement, I have to also give thanks to my friend Cova, who is also a designer, for helping me hunt for fabric, and suggested doing both the skirt and the bust draping on the bias it really helped! :).

Alas, I finished it with time to spare, this entire month I did most stitching by hand. I had an issue with the zipper on the skirt, it would bend and create a bulky bump, which after some research I realised it’s because the zipper was too long and the fabric doesn’t support it enough, so I removed it and re installed it and solved!

School Work

My final two weeks of tailoring school! It still doesn’t feel real, I think it’ll take a while for me to realise that it’s actually over and that we won’t be coming back! What an intense year, 2024 has definitely been one of the most intense, hardest, yet most important years of my life, and I’m very grateful for the lessons it’s taught me. On a technical level I have improved so so much which I’m super grateful for. I want to thank my teachers, Daniel and Adamo for being incredible mentors and the two best teachers I have ever had. I did pretty well in terms of grades which is always good to get that qualification, but I feel like I have done very well regardless, and am very happy. The suit came out so well and I am so so happy for it. I’ll share some pictures of the final days of progress plus our presentation and graduation!