Leslie in Aqua

I have made many costumes for Leslie.  Each one, different from the last, and yet uniquely hers.  I always ask my clients to provide a word of phrase that we can use to narrow the visual focus of the gown, and Leslie asked me to choose for her.  Good thing I kinda know her dancing!  I told her that for me, the best thing about her dancing was her partnership with her husband Lee.  They are really lovely to watch together, and their power for me is in how they relate to each other in their movement.  I suggested that we try to emphasize their partnership in her costume.  She brought in a crocheted sequinned shawl in a beautiful soft aqua, and told me that this was the color she was imagining for her gown, and I thought that sounded great as well.  Plus she brought me a pile of photos from magazines of things she liked that might be encorporated into a gown.

Her personal style always has a "1950's school girl" vibe for me, and so I was not surprised to see a retrospective of Princess Grace Kelly's fashions represented, (lower left corner) and, note the soft aqua satin of the gown pictured.  Just above that image, (left top) is a gown with high-contrast lace applique in black on a pale mauve.  That jumped out at me right away, as a great chance to feature the black of Lee's dancewear on Leslie's gown, drawing a neat visual parallel.  Certainly, there is an abundance of floral imagery in this pile of clippings, and lots more of the dark figure on light ground.  I particularly like gown on Lucy Liu, (tiny image in the center) as a great example of dark floral on light blue.  All these things fit neatly into Leslie's desire for pale aqua, and my goal to emphasize her partnership in her gown.

She is beautifully proportioned and fit, but not my tallest client, so we wanted a long clean look for this gown, to allow us to see nice lines without any horizontal distraction   She also wanted her embellishment to spill well onto the skirt of her dress, so we decided on a lycra gown, to accomplish both the long clean lines and lengthy detailing, without having the embellishment disappear in folds of frothy skirt.

Not every gown goes along smoothly, and some clients have a very hard time visualizing the end result from the sketch and at early fittings.  In all fairness, it is really hard to stand and look at yourself in a BIG mirror for an hour, while I poke, prod and pin.  But Leslie freaked out entirely at our first fitting.  She was convinced that we had both the wrong color and the wrong fabric.  SO... she went home to think about it, and decided she wanted to proceed with the gown as designed.  I felt really badly for her.

For prospective clients who might be reading this post, I will say add some advice here.  When we finish our design meeting, and agree to a goal, we begin a series of decisions, some I make on behalf of my client, and some we make together.  The process of buying materials, patterning, cutting, sewing, fitting, and finishing each gown is FULL of forks in the road.  And when we both understand the desired end result, we can make these choices with reasonable ease and agility.  Once the design train leaves the station, have faith in yourself and your ideas, and in me and my design and construction experience and ability.  Our process will go smoothly, and I will do a better job on your behalf, and we can work together toward our mutual goal.

We talked about using feathers as accents on this gown.  They are a recent trendy detail on many gowns, and I arranged all the large flowers in the applique lace so a few delicate feather stamen and pistils could sprout from each one.  Leslie decided against this, but was in favor of feathers at her shoulders.  I did these as removable bits, and I do not think she has ever actually worn them, but I would love to see them throughout the gown.  I like it without them as well!

Remember I said I have a harder time making decisions of my client's behalf if I am not confident about what their goal might be?  Well, I had a really hard time stoning this gown.  I think part of why I love those feathers is how very black they are. And my initial plan was to use Jet on the lace.  But Leslie also needs a gown that will "compete" with other gowns on the floor for attention and status, and I felt the Jet might be too quiet. I initially stoned most of the black lace at the gown front with Crystal AB, trying to get to "championship gown", because Lee and Leslie compete at that level.  But after a few hours, I felt I was losing the black, which was really the overall intended visual impact

So, I picked those all off, (on my own time, and deleted the hours of application as well) and switched to Jet AB, hoping to maintain championship sparkle power, without sacrificing the beautiful black-on-pale contrast that is the core of the gown design.  I also put more space between stones, to keep the black visible, and then surrounded the diagonal banners of lace with Aquamarine AB to boost the sparkle power, switching to Swarovski's new color Light Turquoise for the remainder of the gown.

Leslie had agreed to bangle bracelets, but when it came time for the necklace, I threw caution to the wind.  She had asked for a symmetrical piece, and I felt it was badly out of harmony with the asymmetrical neckline.  I created a necklace from lace scraps and decided she could buy it if she liked it and if she did not, I would keep it.  She bought it!

I thought she looked splendid at the Snow Ball, and danced beautifully with Lee.  She tells me she likes (I think her term was fully embraces) her new gown.  Personally, I hope the next project follows an easier, more joyful path.  But no matter how we get there, success in the end is worth the process.  And I am always ready to try again.  

Condiments for Julie?

Julie is one of my all-time favorite clients.  She is a professional dancer, teaching and competing with her students.  She is also a retired a professional competitor, and that helps to explain the fact that this is our 53rd project together, by my count.  She picked up her new gown at the Snow Ball this weekend, and laughed in the dressing room, telling another dancer about looking at this gown at one point in our process and seeing ketchup and mustard!  Hence the silly name for this post.  

I am particularly fond of the buttons on the cuff detail. 

Julie was not on my schedule for the Snow Ball, but was taken by surprise just before Thanksgiving when both of her ballgowns sold to another dancer.  She called to explain her situation, and despite being VERY booked for the Snow Ball, I could not say no to Julie.  Our design meeting was mostly about the hunt for, and discovery of, an interesting piece of ombred fabric.  With only the vaguest of sketches, I talked with my salesman about the fabric, to confirm color and vibrancy, and sent for a piece of it.  While the ombre flew across the pond, I basted together a leotard, since we knew Julie wanted a portion of the gown to be rhinestone-embellished nude mesh.  When the fabric arrived, Julie met with me and we wrapped it around her body and watched our design flicker into life. She is a beautiful woman and this photo, while illustrating our process, does not do her justice.

Julie's confidence is a tremendous asset in design and fittings.  Even in a moment of doubt, (like seeing condiments instead of flaming gorgeousness!) she is always willing to move ahead from where we are.  I appreciate her calmness and ability to be patient until a great next step presents itself.

The design lines and details of this gown are simple, in the interest of allowing the color shift to be the eye-catching aspect of the work.  We both felt it would need an awesome piece of jewelry to provide focus and cohesion.  We tried out a few of my patterns and Julie liked one she felt was "Amazon" in character.  I reconfigured it to allow it to drop in a v-shape, both in the front and at the back, allowing it to synchronize with and support the neckline in three dimensions. Then I devised a simple means for it to attach to the gown that allows it both to move with Julie and stay neatly in place.  After testing, my paper pattern was drawn onto nude mesh fused to ultrasuede for comfort.  I edge-stitched for durability, and painstaking cut it all out.  Here it is, ready for my syringe of adhesive and the rhinestone embellishment.  As you can see, there are also a couple of bangle bracelets and a pair of as-yet-un-trimmed earrings, at the far left of the shot.

Here are the finished bangles and earrings, and a shot of the necklace connection, which I hope you cannot see!

And here is the gorgeous Julie, modeling the finished gown.

And with her awesome husband, and amateur competitive partner, Ken, wearing one of our suits.

Gown and Ballroom Suit by Made for Movement

I have not been the best blogger in 2013, and have written about only a few of the gowns I created.  I am gong to try and play catchup, (ketchup???) starting with my most recent work, and over the next few weeks, I will see if I can't get most of last years work posted so I can move on to some things I am really excited about for 2014, among them a DRAGON DRESS!  Thanks for reading and if you are imagining a 2014 project, call today to reserve time on my schedule!  

Susan's Plum,Tangerines, and Cherries

 

I can't wait for you to see the rest of this gown, because many of you might wonder about a combination of plum and tangerine and cerise, but there is a really good reason, and a nice cohesion to this rich, warm gown!

 

So, here is the explanation!  This tropical floral print was brought in by Susan, and it was a great starting point, providing the vibrant and unusual color palette for her new ball gown.  Susan trained as a ballet dancer and came to ballroom later in her career.  From watching her dance just a bit here in my studio in testing her costume, I image she is a beautiful, joyous, powerhouse on the competition floor.   This bold print and it's vibrant colorway seem just perfect for her.

When she arrived for her design meeting, Susan had this piece of fabric and a dark purple piece she thought might be an underskirt that would be visible from beneath the floral print.  I asked her to take the purple piece home.  I really enjoy working with prints, but experience tells me that a busy print requires careful design handling to be successful.  When the entire gown will not be the print, the colors used in conjunction need to be from the middle value range in the print.  Either end of that range (in this case, the white or the purple) is too much contrast, and the print and strong contrasting colors war with each other for focus.   This gown has several textures and details, but they all flow together to create an interesting whole, primarily because of the value choices.  I also find that it possible to use shapes with prints, but they must be similar in feeling, and since this print is very organic, a straight purple line at the hem would have been a clash in intention.  The diagonals, and flowing, color-shifting drape we used, have the same shapes as those in the print, and the dynamics compliment each other nicely.

Susan seems the sort to be a good performer as well, so we created a primary impact point at her face with the jewelry design, using the pale pinks in the Crystal AB Swarovski to exploit the power of contrast as a focusing tool.  I also image her port-de-bras is excellent, and the cuff bracelet will draw attention to beautiful arm use.

 

We also carefully kept the cutting of the fabric to a minimum with the design of the skirt shape, to allow it to be seen without interruption of line by seams any more than necessary.

 

Thank you Susan!  I really enjoyed making this gown and working with your beautiful print, and I love the great action shots Helen sent to me.  You really are a glorious dancer!

 

A Bouquet of Roses for Tracy

This gown was actually begun in 2011, when our client Tracy was headed for the Ohio Star Ball.  Unfortunately, life intervened, and Tracy put the gown on hold for several months while finding a new job.  When she phoned to let us know we could begin again, we were thrilled, both for Tracy, and because this was a gown we were excited to make!

Tracy is a super-organized woman, and when she brings me her inspiration images, they are always in page protectors and  she usually has clear ideas about what she wants.  See???

When I look a this array, I see, shades of pink, floral imagery, and prints, but my eye keeps returning to the upper left image of the cut-metal bowl.  I loved how the graphic repeated and how it referenced "rose" without being specifically detailed.  I also really liked the visual importance of the negative space in recognizing the image.  Tracy is is feminine woman, and although she liked the floral imagery, she did not want silk flowers or anything three-dimensional, or even a print.  She was also interested in clean lines, simple shapes and lots of sparkle  I think there was also a buckled leather cuff with chain that she brought in.  So all these ideas poured into the creative hopper, and out came rhinestoned belts and buckles and a figure-ground reversal floral pattern imagery, to be created in rhinestones on the gown bodice.

I experimented with the graphic in the bowl, but didn't like how it expanded and contracted, so I found another using Google images from Sweet Clip Art that I thought was perfect.  I got permission from the artist who created it, who was very charming and wanted to see what I did with her image when I was finished.

I  blew it up.  I contracted it.  And then I designed vines to go with it, and a rose bud.  The darn bud reminded me of the Hallmark logo a bit, but I found, turned sideways, it was less offensive and so used it careful only on angles.

I find the back very pleasing with it's pretty drape to balance the gentleman's hand on the dancer's left side and provide a bit of softness and movement.  I also like the placement of buckles, two at the front opposite sides, and the one center back.

We also had lots of fun creating the bangle bracelets for this gown, using many different patterns and ideas.

I'm pleased with the end result and I hope Tracy will be too.  She wore it at Minnesota Madness last weekend and I was thrilled to see it (and Tracy!) in action.  It's sophisticated and beautiful, as is she!

New Listings for August!

I am back at work and anxious to show you what we made last spring at Made for Movement.  I'm collecting images and stories, and if you have anything to share with me from Twin Cities Open 2012, please do! 

We are happy to show you two new Gently Used listings in the harder to come by size range of 14-18.  If you or someone you know is interested in either of these beauties, fair warning, larger sizes sell fast!

First we have a beautiful sheath style Rhythm gown in slimming Sapphire blue, with lots of lush detailing.  Swirly leaves slash diagonally across the neckline and beneath the bust of this sleek gown, and continue onto sleeve and shoulder.
The leaves are outlined in  Swarovski Crystal AB and filled with Chrysolite, Olivene, Emerald, Peridot, Aquamarine, Sapphire and Blue Zircon.  The supple dance crepe body is covered with Cobalt, and as with all Made for Movement gowns, a lycra body suit provides support and structure underneath. Delicate flesh mesh left sleeve supports your arm and glimmers with ss16 Topaz AB. The gown is finished with two layers of rayon fringe for lots of great movement and nicely displayed leg action.

This gown includes a simple pair of leaf motif earrings.

Asking price is $1600.

Also just listed is this Monet print ballgown, currently configured with a diagonal georgette sash and substantial left side float.  It features a slim, dropped waist bodice of print stretch mesh over soft and stretchy angelskin, embellished with matching Swarovski ss20 crystals.

A soft georgette two layer skirt, with a double circle volume, is the same print over solid soft turquoise, and provides rich, full movement.

The back has a delicate cowl and the shoulders and hip are embellished with organza leaves, edged in Crystal AB.  This gown comes with three georgette flower hair clips, and a pair of delicate rosette earrings.

The gown originally had a banner of crystal AB dew kissed fabric roses, and these could replace the front drape, if a sleeker look if desired.

Visit us at our website, www.made4movement.com to check out these and more Gently Used listings!

Anne as Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the mythological Olympian Goddess of  love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. When Anne and I began work on her ballgown for the USA Dance Amateur National Competition this spring, Aphrodite became our muse.   

After several years of stepping away from competition to earn a college degree while working full-time, and struggling with back injuries, Anne (and her husband and partner Tom, who also wears Made for Movement) were ready to return to the National arena.

Anne wanted an attention-getting, classical, and sexy look.  She tried on a few gowns and fell in love with one with a deep keyhole front.  We had done a similar (but smaller) keyhole in a gown several years ago which was a success, so with that as a starting point we set out to create a Greek Goddess look for her.  We wanted to include white draping and golden jewelry like that worn by the ancient Greeks.  Unlike Greek clothing, our draping needed control in the interest of not adding mass. The golden details were both perfect with her blonde hair and peachy skin, plus a subtle reminder of their quest for competitive gold.

 Anne and Tom's goal for this National competiton was to "make the podium."   Just like in the olympic games, the top three couples in each championship event take stands to receive medals for photos, and they vowed to be on one of the three podiums.
 
No color is as visible on the floor as white, and it is often a championship gown color as well.  In addition to the gold, we chose a range of cool cabochons in turquoise, sapphire, emerald and peridot green to serve as our precious gem representatives. These colors were derived from the Greek jewelry I used as resource material.  The jewelry was mostly collar, cuff, and breastplate shapes, and very geometric in character.  I wanted the jewelry to be a part of the gown itself to allow for large shapes that would move neatly with Anne without flopping about.
We ran into a bit of trouble with the Anne's keyhole.  Before one of our fittings I reviewed the USA Amateur Dance competitive costume regulations, a very large and complex document that seems ever-changing. I developed a concern that Anne's keyhole might be more revealing of "imtimate areas" than was allowed.  I asked her to get approval for the keyhole and took a few snapshots at our fitting.  Sure enough, the USA Dance costume regulations staff determined that Anne's keyhole would be outside allowed limits.  So we filled the keyhole with a large decorative white mesh, backed with nude mesh, and embelllished with stones.  Ordinarily, nude fabrics are frowned upon by the USA Dance costume regulators, but Anne got approval, in the form of an e-mail, for this solution and carries it in her dance bag at all times.  The impression is still sexy, although not what Anne had hoped for, but I was glad to be able to avoid a last-moment disqualification for her, which can and does happen.

All of the jewelry research I did led me in the direction of geometric layouts, and I used those ideas in the collar and both the front and back keyhole treatments, as well as in the cuffs and earrings.  I loved the great matte shine of this gold lycra and think it looks almost like burnished metal and works really well in the cuffs and belt.  That belt is really not represented very well on my little half body form, but on Anne, it stretches to a sleek and beautiful fit.  With layout help and prompting from me, Anne kept the cost of her gown reasonable by applying her own Swarovski flatbacks and acrylic cabochons and did a great job of it.

We also found a great piece of metallic gold crinoline to stiffen and finish the skirt hem that really adds a lovely finishing flash of precious metal.

I am so happy to report the Anne and Tom achieved thier goal, placing third in Senior II Championship Smooth, and I look forward to seeing those podium shots!  Congratulations to both Annd and Tom on a successful return to USA Dance Nationals!  Made for Movement was glad to be along for the ride.

A Word About Ed

WOW!  That is the word that best describes what I saw when I watched my client Ed dance at the Snow Ball.  I could use some other words.  Like fast, powerful, controlled, and expressive, but this is supposed to be a blog about costumes.

I really need to spend more energy featuring the men of Made for Movement.  Since they almost always wear black, and are intended to provide both a physical and visual frame for the ladies they partner, it's very easy to let them slip away in to the background.  But they really look great.

We like to try to help all of our clients, men included, find a powerful competitive image for themselves that flatters and emphasizes their movement and body, but also reveals something of their personal character.  Ed works in the banking industry, and we wanted to hint at that with his double breasted, immaculate, and conservative look.  We chose a matte black gabardine and beautiful matte satin tuxedo facing with satin buttons for this sleeveless jacket, and Made for Movement tailor Michele did a great job with it.

Our sleeveless jackets are very popular with our gentlemen.  We make ballroom suits as well, and they are an engineering feat, allowing the dancer to raise his arms while the shoulders of the suit  stay neatly down and flat.  But for American style smooth dancing especially, the sleeveless jacket provides the illusion of a full suit, while offering our clients the freedom of movement and coolness of a vest.

Ed's beautiful partner is his teacher Julie, a National Nine Dance Champion, and the person deserving some credit for my opening WOW! But Ed can take a bow as well, since teachers cannot dance for anyone, and Ed is clearly doing his part. Julie is also a Made for Movement client.  Her gown was re-done this summer, a renewal project to give a gown made several years ago a new lease on life.  We added the color to a gown that was originally white and re-furbished and replaced some jewelry and the results are splendid.

Please do not miss Julie and the rest of the Beyond Ballroom Dance Company, February 3-5th at the Cowles Center.  We are working on costumes for two of their new pieces this week and are really looking forward to the event.   We hope to see you there!

Congratulations to both Ed and Julie, on a successful Snow Ball.

Celebrating 25 Years!

Made for Movement was born 25 years ago this month, in 1987, and a little celebrating is in order.


We have had 4 different locations, and by my estimate, created nearly 1000 costumes for Twin Cities competitive ballroom dancers in those years.  I believe I have managed to make the things I love the most; 3 dimensional design, beautiful fabrics, all things sparkly, and dance, into a perfect career.


As I finish the last of three new gowns for the Snowball this weekend, I wanted to look back a little, and look ahead as well.

First, let's look ahead.  Of greatest importance, I want you to know that we are raising our rates this year.  Each year, the cost of rhinestones, fabric and notions goes up, but Made for Movement has charged the same hourly rate for our labor since 2005!  After seven years of holding the line, it's time for an increase.  But for all of you who book with us by the 15th of January, for any project for any time this year,  we will honor our 2005 rate.  So stop by our display at the Snowball and make sure your projects for this year are on our schedule to take advantage of this offer.  To give you an example of the savings you can get by scheduling NOW,  I just finished a new gown at a cost of $2050.  At our new rate, this same gown will cost $2300, so book your costume needs for 2012 by the 15th of January, and save!

Now for a quick look back!  In 2011, we made 22 new gowns, dressed 15 men in either Latin, Smooth or Standard attire, and sold 12 Gently Used gowns, plus did several "renewal" projects, (a new skirt, a new sleeve, a new look for an older gown) working at our usual project-a-week pace.




The average new, custom-designed Latin or Rhythm Gown cost about $2000 and the average ballgown cost was $2450, which makes us a huge bargain by industry standards, and this will still be true when our new rate is in place.

For those of you looking for an exceptional price on a beautifully made gown, I just got a couple of new Gently Used listings, and they are being cleaned and readied for the rack on Friday, so, VISIT US AT THE SNOWBALL!










OH!  And here's a little sneak peek at a detail on a new gown that I am loving.  I can't wait to see it (and it's lovely and talented owner) dance!