Jenna say, "quoi."

Many of us know a few french phrases, but everyone should know, Jenna say, "quoi," a collection by Jenna Howard. A little play on words, but a whole lot of style. She recently attended the Apparel Design program at Seattle Central and focused her final line on coats for "a busy but chic urban woman." She got her inspiration from "the classic urban work-a-day look" and from women of the 60's & 70's like Audrey Hepburn and Jane Birken. While many of the students were during dress and skirts, Jenna choose coats because she gets overwhelmed by choice and "needed to give [her]self parameters." Also she is a "total coat fiend" and even though she has a closet full of coats, none of them are quite right. There's that saying, "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself."

Her coats were made from a brushed cotton khaki twill that is amazingly soft. Her lining, made from a silk charmeuse, "had a large black and white feather repeat" and was used "strategically in each coat to make every piece unique." One of your coats had a completely detachabe capelet with a cloak hood!

Although her apparel program was in Seattle, she flew to Los Angeles to get her fabric because as she said "everything was cheap and at my fingertips. All the fabric in the garment district is within a few blocks. It's a bunch of open front stores with fabric bursting out of them. I actually found everything I needed within two hours. That NEVER happens in Seattle. I couldn't even find a decent cotton sateen."

After finishing her student collection, she now has "no desire to design more coats," but is really getting into underwear and hope to start developing it soon. She have the same driving force and underlying mantra for the underwear as she did for her coats: "luxurious, beautiful, hip but FUNCTIONAL." So keep an eye out her!

Jenna's Tip of the Week:

"My driving force for life is to be happy and stress free. I think it's backwards to pick something you want to do, say a career, and assume that it will lead you to happiness. I'm trying things the other way around and am curious to see where it takes me.
Sewing tips: Don't forget to sew the label in before you sew the seam; I forget EVERY TIME. "

Belmont Manor

Belmont Manor is a student collection by Becky Sullivan. Her line included "fully lined jackets, silk blouses, tailored pants and feminine skirts" and was inspired by 18th century riding clothes and wealth, but with a modern twist that can be seen in her exaggerated hoods and collars on the jackets. The jackets were made from 100% wool; the blouses, 100% silk; and the pants from a wool/spandex blend. When she was done with her line and the buttons were tallied up, so had a whooping total of 84 buttons!

Not only did Becky have a great line, she was also the winner of the Seattle Fashion Week student competition this past year. She had to create 8 garments in 2 weeks which included sketching, patterning and sewing, and had to keep up with her normal school load which may seem daunting to many (like me), but she thought the thrill of seeing her "garments go down the runway was worth all the time and effort." Lucky for New York, she will be moving there in August to pursue her fashion career. Yay!

Still want to know more! Visit Becky at her website or read her blog.

Photographer: Celie Gruber
Model: Alana Osborne

Wanderlust

It’s about that time of the year that people start taking vacations. Many experience the beautiful scenery, exotic foods, and unfortunately the wrinkled clothes and the lack of a laundry mat, but Monica Jackins, a frequent traveler, developed a line around this with Wanderlust. Her versatile dresses are made from Organic Bamboo, “a readily available renewable resource.” It’s a super soft fabric and has naturally occurring anti-microbial properties which are “great for keeping your clothes fresh when you can’t wash them on the road.” Did I also mention they were wrinkle-free?!

To go one step further she made each dress versatile. The dresses can be worn both in the day and night & be worn in many different ways. Monica remarked about all three dresses, “the Barcelona dress has an adjustable hemline, so you can show a little or a lot of leg, and the Roma dress has a shawl attached at the waist. You can use it to cover your shoulders, tie it around your waist as a sash, or make it one-shouldered for a cool asymmetrical look. The third dress, Praha, is totally reversible, two dresses in one!” The Roma dress was inspired by her personal travel experience. She explained, “When I was in Rome a couple years ago, it was so hot outside, but the minute you went inside a museum the air-con was freezing! Or when I visited a church I had to make sure my shoulders were covered.”

Monica is still developing her line and hopes to add “a couple skirts and tops.” When asked how she stays focused, she recommends listening to a good playlist to “keep the energy up.” Her personal favorites: "Poppin My Collar" by Three 6 Mafia, "Whatever You Like" by T.I., "We Be Clubbin'" by Ice Cube, the new Keri Hilson, and of course anything Sir Mix-a-Lot. Thanks, Monica!

Layered Cake

This design was made by Amanda. I photographed it at the Alexis hotel in downtown Seattle. The dress, named Layered Cake, was shown at the Comcast Student Competition at Seattle Fashion Week.

The shoot was really fun and although it doesn't look like it in the photo, the room was crammed with six other people, a steamer, tons of make-up and bags of food. We did lots of laughing and followed the day up with a drink in the Library Bar, which was super cute and hosts a great Happy Hour!

Zephyr

Who doesn’t love taking a bath and putting on some silky lingerie afterwards, which is why you should take note of this new & upcoming line in fine lingerie, Zephyr. It was created by Kristine Carlton and Jenny Mae Miller Rulff and what started as a final line project in school became a business.

Before starting fashion school at Seattle Central Community College, Jenny Mae was sort of “anti-fashion,” but after taking an art history class was hooked on it. Kristine received a dance degree and realized the second that she had it in hand that “sewing was [her] first love” and quicly enrolled into the apparel program. They met at Seattle Central and after many conversations wrote a proposal to do their final project together, which would be a Hollywood glamour inspired loungewear collection for women between the ages of 40 to 60 years old. They “wanted to design for women with real shapes, women who want something nice to slip into at the end of the day, who have a respect for fine things, things of quality, which is how [their] customer sees herself as well, 'of quality'.”

Currently, they are “working with a local boutique on a small private label line of knit tops and hope [to] expand that small line into other small boutiques nationwide”. As well, they have “a small spin-off line from [their] final line” that will be available for sale to boutiques for Spring 2010. Their fabrications are made from Pima cotton, Silk crepe, and a printed silk/cotton batiste. Jenny Mae remarked about this spin-off, “The colors are black, white, and silver, and the designs are a little bit more wearable than the final line, more undergarment-y, nightgown-y, morning coffee-y.” Samples are set to be available by August 1, and all inquiries are welcome!

Their company name pretty much sums up their line. As Kristine stated, “Zephyr literally means a soft, gentle breeze and/or a light, airy garment, it has a very classic sound and feel to it, and it is entirely perfect!” I couldn’t agree more!

To see more photos or contact them, visit them at http://www.zephyrfinelingerie.com/
Photo Credits: Steve LaRose Photography