Next!

Well, my life is all different now! Finished school, hung around New York for about three weeks just having fun and decompressing from what was the most challenging semester EVER, totally crazy. Now I'm back in Michigan, living in Ypsilanti for now. It's so good to be back. I will always have a piece of my heart left in New York forever and ever, but Michigan is my home. I need trees and air and space to be inspired. I realize this every time I come back here and ideas just flow out of me like crazy. The less is more factor I guess, just too much everything in New York. Two years was perfect for me. I'm going to keep applying for jobs everywhere all over the world and who knows, maybe New York WILL end out being where I'm supposed to be, but I'm going to wait and see and in the meantime I'm really excited for what's next.

TWO huge things. The first one, not the most important of the two but the most time sensitive, is my fashion show this Sept. I'm starting to sketch now and have to crank out minimum 15 looks for my Fall show. I'm really excited about it, but not as excited as I am about the fact that the day before I left New York.... I got... ENGAGED! :)

My long time boyfriend who is the love of my life and I must add, EXTREMELY supportive of my design dreams, asked me on one knee in Central Park. :) He presented me with a gorgeous ring that's been in his family since the 1940's, we walked around all dreamily, and THEN? what did we do? Go on a horse driven buggy around the park? Celebration lunch? Champagne? NOPE! He took me on a fabric shopping spree! Yes, the man I'm going to marry is definitely someone who would say, hey, Kelly, this is your last day in New York, let's LOAD YOU UP.

So yes, I'm excited about this because I'm making my wedding dress, and, if it seems possible, maybe all my bridesmaids gowns as well. Even though I've only been engaged for 4 days now, I'm realizing how big of a task the dress thing is going to be - not even so much the designing and sewing part, but just narrowing it down to ONE idea, one dress! I always found it so hard during school when we had one dress or one garment due at the end of the semester. I always wished we could do at least three pieces, because it feels like compressing all my ideas down to one is always so hard. And now, here I am, trying to make the most important garment of my entire life... the one I want to be the most beautiful, the most flattering, the dress that will make me feel the best I've ever felt in my entire life... well... it's TOUGH. I don't want anything basic that's for sure. I have a few things that I know I want for sure...

Like the neckline, is going to be similiar to Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress, with these cap sleeves, I just think it's so classic and elegant. I'm def not a strapless kind of girl. (and luckily my fiance' loves this look too!)



I also know I want the bodice strait to the waist, and a full skirt. probably either a bell skirt or a ballerina or a ballgown. No train, I think it would drive me crazy and I'd feel like I was 10 again walking around my house with a blanket draped over my shoulders and the blanket dragging behind me. But either the bodice or the skirt will have to have some crazy design element to it. Not sure yet, if I do a crazy skirt, the top will be more simple and if I do something crazy with the bodice, then the skirt will be a little more toned down. Either way it has to be interesting and beautiful and "me".

the HARD part, is setting all these thoughts aside and focusing on my fashion show. It's funny now that I'm engaged i'm all like fashion show smashin show! I want to talk WEDDING! :) But we are planning on Fall 2010, so it's more than enough time to focus on the show now, then in the Fall start the wedding planning. I'll have about one year to figure it all out, which is perfect.

THE FUTURE IS SO EXCITING! It's fun, SO FUN, to be designing again and not have to worry about other projects and school stuff, even though I do already miss FIT dearly. Next to my new fiance, that school was the love of my life. :)

I'm going to have fun posting updates throughout both of these huge projects.

Graduation, 5/20/2009 @ Radio City Music Hall

I am officially, a degree'd fashion designer! :)

This morning I FINISHED my last project ever at FIT, the fluted bodice dress with french lining. Then my wonderful boyfriend Martin went with me to FIT and I cleaned out my locker. (had to choke back tears). My parents are going to be here in less than an hour, they made the 12 hour drive from Michigan just to see me graduate. They are the BEST. I feel such a crazy mix of emotions right now. Most of which comes from 2 weeks of not sleeping and suddenly being finished with all projects and feeling like I lost a leg somewhere or something. Tomorrow is my last class. Tuesday is my graduation. THEN 2 awesome weeks of doing nothing but hanging out in new york, then it's back to michigan, to start the process of figuring out how to make money. I intend on focusing my resume action heavily on California and New York. No, I am def not giving up on finding a job here. The recession will continue on, and fizz out, but my passion will not. :)

Here is the dress... weighs about 5lbs, heh. the construction on this thing is insane...the inside has french lining, which is boned, and kind of like a really tough corset bra, like they used to wear in the 1950s.





Doing this, all of this, has really changed me. Today, I am grateful for my bravery. Because I did this. In two days, I will be a degree'd fashion designer. Who am I kidding though. I didn't need the degree to know the first time I sewed together a basic skirt and felt the magic of someone who just absolutely loves to make clothes.

:)