the reason I have been busy...

Is the collection I worked on for school. I was debating showing but with the classes I want to take I'm better off focusing on my portfolio...anyhow here is my most recent work..here is inspiration and figures.

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cute little girl outside of school

I just had to sneak a photo. She looked very cool. I usually don't approve of lens-less glasses but they intrigued me on here

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dyeing continued...

Hey so its been a while! I got a new job as a tailor at a dept. store. School is kicking my butt too. I am also battling whether not to do collection or portfolio...but ill ask for advice on that later.
Anyhow, I am here now to practice posting remotely and also show some more of my dyeing experiments.
I took fabrics with little to no dye and tried diff combs. Check out the swatch results!
I also put the dyes I mixed and a photo of a building to show what I was trying to hit(which I didn't quite get but hey...lol)
Next time ill have some things dyed with teas and some unconventional dyes

Til then
M.E. the sartor

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My recent obsession with Dyeing

So being a guy, I tend to buy basics and hold onto them for a long time. Things like white shirts turn more of an off white. And I get sad when the only thing wrong with a white shirt is age, so I became inspired from experimenting for school to dye some things. Its a fun process, you just have to go in with no expectations and hope for the best, especially when working with older or premade garments. Either treatments or care habits are unknown to you, and the make up of the dye chemical wise can make strange outcomes

So here are photos of me in things I've dyed and how I got them.



Both the knits, dyed in black dye. The gray was just a few shade lighter and the blue was a sky blue.




The shirt and shorts, shirt in Navy Blue dye and was originally "aged white". The shorts dyed in "Cinnamon" dye on a pale khaki fabric.



Off-White Jacket dyed in the same wash as the shirt above.

Hunter Boots!

So, I am really gonna have to get a pair of these boots! If my feet were a little smaller, Sean would have lost his pair mysteriously....:D anyhow, here is a fun little outfit I plan to wear as soon as I can get a pair of these boots for myself!









H&M scarf and vest
Basic white tee
Black Levi's 511
Hunter Boots

San Francisco and it's "Tribes"

My roommate introduced me to this article from the New York Times, The Tribes of San Francisco . The article has some very interesting perspectives, and anyone involved with fashion in SF should check it out. I'm curious to know what you think.

Anyway to the article at hand...it speaks on how fashion works in the Bay Area. The things that caught my attention most were 1) the breakdown of the so-called "style tribes", 2) the idea that fashion here isn't trend based as it is about personal styling, and 3) how the sustainable and athletic mindset of the city plays into fashion very much.

“There’s the Mission tribe, the Haight tribe, the Castro tribe, the Pacific Heights tribe,” said Ben Ospital, who with his sister Chris is an owner of Modern Appealing Clothing (M.A.C.), a venerable high-fashion outpost on Grove Street near the city’s civic center."

I find the break down to be interesting, and I feel like to those of us who live here in SF, we can picture each style. I haven't really put much thought into it before now, but the groups are definitely there. And its not so much that you have to live in those areas, but are just present in the culture of those areas. The other bit about that is when some of the kids in these areas overlap to others..I sense some street shots and photos of friends coming up in the future...

Anyhow, I digress! This next bit of reference is hard to pull apart so I am going to discuss points 2 and 3 together.

But while skinny jeans and flannel shirts, designer dreads and tie-dyed T-shirts, Restylane and Christian Louboutins, respectively, may be universally legible markers of group affiliation (hipsters, hippies, the Cult of Tory Burch) here other elements enter into the mix.

Not least is the importance of physical fitness, the kind you achieve by doing stuff like rock climbing (and not in the Craigslist sense), as well as a greater ease than you’ll find in most cities with the precepts of adaptable re-use. “Sustainability is not a dirty word” in the Bay Area, said Alexis Handelman, the owner of ABC Bakery, an institution in the Napa Valley. Before embarking 30 years ago on life as a caterer to the oeno-elite, Ms. Handelman was a department store buyer. “The stigma attached to used-clothing is gone,” she added. “You can either spend $300 on a top at Neiman Marcus or go to the thrift store and buy a bag of clothes for a tenth as much.”

There is this mindset in the Bay Area, from my point of view, that learning to do things yourself is worthwhile, instead of having others do it. Its cool to make your own clothes and in some circles, almost necessary. And in a city full of students, artists and kids trying to live the life, you can't afford the new IT shoes, so they get creative or find a vintage version for cheap. This idea of creative mixing of price points and sourcing makes the styling here rich.

Also since San Francisco is so far removed from the fashion industry proximity wise, it takes some of the pressure off of what is acceptable, not mention San Francisco has always been a city of free spirits it seems. With that in mind, I agree with the article that it allows for fresh ideas to spring up here. Its very exciting business for me to get inspiration for my collection here!

Stay tuned! Also I am interested in opinions from others on the article!

'Til Next Time!
M.E. the Sartor!

San Francisco Summer

Hey all!
So I have been hanging out with my friend Sean and getting creative recently. Most recently we grilled burgers and corn and took photos of a couple of outfits for this blog. We also took some more visual pics that didn't really show off the clothes, but I may be able to use for other things.

This is one of my favorite outfits. With San Francisco being chilly most of the summer, I still have to layer, but I decided to do it in a way that at least the mood and color of the outfit were more summer appropriate. Tell me what you think!







H&M Glasses, hat and scarf
Levi's Gray Shrink-to-Fits (soaked once for fit)
Basic tee
Vintage Vest

Til Next time!
M.E. the Sartor

The Invisible Shoe

It's not really invisible, but it does look super cool to me! It is really hot in San Francisco today, and I am sad because my favorite pair of sandals are broken and worthless now, so I started window shopping for a new pair and came across this site

How to Make Huaraches

Its all about Huaraches, these running sandals used by an indian group in Mexico called the Tarahumara. The idea being that running barefoot is better for you than all the clunky stuff we wear now a days. Well, I don't know about running, but I do enjoy the simplicity of them.

Anyhow, I'll post some pics I've found for now, and when I find some time and materials, I am totally making myself some!




Speak soon!

M.E. the Sartor

Beginnings of a collection...

So I have been compiling research and trying to start drawing for a while now. I've decided I want to do my collection based off of my most successful projects in my program. One was a collection inspired by Steampunk and the other was a sort of East meets
West idea. So I'm trying to create something inspired by the Victorian era in England and the same time frame in Japan, then styling them Steampunk-esque.

I'm including some of the process below!




Mood type image. I am doing spring summer


Color Story







The collages are inspiration pages from my sketchbook...enjoy!

M.E. the Sartor

The Convertible Tailcoat Part 2

So here is the end result. I wore it and a classmate as well. It fits my classmate much better than it does me (I'm too big for it, but I couldn't resist)



The gray shirt and the pants are the same pattern!













SO I Call this my convertible tailcoat because as you can see there are a few ways to wear it with the flap that buttons in the front! Its just something that allows the wearer a little more freedom. There were a few more methods I realized after the photos were taken. (Constructive) Comments welcome!

Thanks all!
M.E. the Sartor

Convertible Tailcoat Part 1

Hey Yall!

So I just finished this semester! I am catching my breath a bit, and figure its a good time to recap what I did this semester. So I took an group independent study in Menswear Construction. I am getting ready to start on my collection and so my professor told me to basically explore and figure out the direction to go in. Then I had to design an outfit in the vein of that direction and make it.

In this post, I just show you a few pics of the process. The next post will be the final result.


The shell of the jacket and the lining in the process of being cut



This is the lining for the jacket being cut out.





A couple of detail shots



This is me working on pressing and shaping the sleeve cap.



This is the jacket with the sleeve lining attached. The sleeve lining is the last to get closed up!

So yea, that's some of the process, and next will be the finished jacket and the other parts of the outfit. hopefully after that i can start to document my design process here as well!

Speak soon!
M.E.

What is going to be the standard on gay marriage attire?

So with the recent ruling that Prop 8 in California is considered to be unconstitutional. This means we are closer to having gay weddings...which leads me to wonder...will there be a standard for ceremonial dress? Brides have the dress of course, and heterosexual grooms have the tux in tradition here in the states, but the gays are known to be original stereotypically. As a menswear designer I am curious what people think will become the norm once it is official. I think I am going to do a side project on gay wedding attire. Look for sketches soon!

Til Next time
M.E.

Response to the Dark Times of Fashion

So, I am currently pursuing my masters degree at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I study Fashion Design, specifically menswear there. Anyhow, I am currently taking a class called Professional Practices. Its basically learning how to obtain work in the industry and such. In the last class, my professor gave us this article from the Atlantic called " Fashion In Dark Times" and it is from 2009, but it still seems current.

It basically talks about how the industry used to produce these lavish shows when the economy was booming in the 1980s and now the runway show is slowly starting to die out. It also talks about the condition of the industry due to the recession and how its affecting the mindset of the consumer and the industry as a whole for the future.

I find it both a little sad and also very optimistic at the same time. Essentially many designers can't keep afloat with all the hardship and are having to close down shop so to speak. This is the bit I am not happy with, but at the same time, it seems to be opening doors for new faces and ideas. It is definitely a promising idea for all of the students out there (including myself) who hope to express themselves in the industry.

Part of the article talks about the idea of lasting power and a certain heirloom quality we are moving towards in fashion. Many are abandoning the frivolous idea of seasonal wardrobe changes, and leaning more towards slowly building a wardrobe to hold onto over time.

This last idea I am a huge fan of. I like the idea of designers working to create something that will be an object to covet. I think fashion is about finding something that is an extension of your personality and holding onto it. Also I think this idea of building the wardrobe can enhance the designer-customer relationship, allowing for growth and dialogue amongst both.

Opinions? Thoughts? I'd love to hear
Speak Sooon!

M.E.

Day 1: The beginning.

Hi all!

This is me attempting to start a blog. I have become inspired by a few of my colleagues and friends. This will hopefully be a space for me to express my interests in fashion and the world, and see where it takes me!

well wishes!
M.E.