Karen's Magical Hologram Sequin Cloth

Karen visited my studio with her friend Jeannie, at the design meeting for Jeannie's velvet Tropical Paradise gown.

While Jeannie and I worked, Karen fell in love with a swatch of fabric. Not just any piece of fabric, and I wish, wish, WISH!, I could show you this fabric in person, because no photograph will ever do it justice.

Karen's fabric is a stretch mesh, covered with hologram effect turquoise sequins. The holographic diffraction on these tiny sequins works in the same way as the miniscule spiraling ridges on a CD.  So image thousands of teensy turquoise CD's, about 1/4 inch in diameter, sewn onto cloth and you have the general idea of the amazing magic of Karen's fabric.

This is not a fabric for all body types. It magnifies and amplifies body shape. Fortunately, Karen is trim and
fit, and can afford to have her lovely curves highlighted. This fabric must also be cut and fit carefully to lie smoothly on the body with the fewest possible seams.

Karen is a past Mrs. Minnesota, who created her own pageant gown and is a capable seamstress herself.  She had looked at silhouettes and knew approximately what shape she wanted her gown to take.  I agreed that her idea was a good one, and refined it a bit for her.  She chose a asymmetrical bodice, with a soft (and shiny!) full skirt, to enable it to hold it's own against the dazzle of the sequin cloth.  Since there was no prefect matching color for the turquoise of the sequin cloth, especially given that it changed colors itself, Karen found an electric green georgette, and we layered the two fabrics to get an nice match, as well as providing visual interest for the skirt in movement. 

Given the all-over glimmer of the fabric, we decided to define and embellish the edge of the bodice with texure and color, rather than more sparkle, and chose two colors of acrylic cabochons that again, blended to make a perfect hue.  Karen agreed to do the embellishment of her gown, once it was finished, and did a great job of applying the acrylic cabs.

Karen wanted co-ordinating jewelry, and we wanted it to stand out as different from the border embellishments, so we chose to use both some of the large cabochons and Crystal AB Swarovski as an accent, and again, Karen did her own embellishment application. 

 And finally, here are a few shots of Karen from her performance, with teacher James Woods, at the Snowball, January 2012.

Patty's Trendy Tango Flare

March 2012 has been "amateur couple" month at Made for Movement.  We have helped three lovely amateur ladies prepare for competition with their husbands, and we are happy to be able to feature each of them over the next week or so.

We were pleased to help Patty with a delicately beautiful ballgown in 2010.  This spring, she was ready to add a rhythm gown to her wardrobe, and we were thrilled to help!  She arrived for her design meeting with her charming husband and partner, Tom, and a pile of notes, sketches and images she wanted to share with me. 

One of the first things she was certain about was color.  She wanted a new hue, introduced just this year, called Tango Flare.  It's a vibrant neon orange, with a salmon undertone, and I feel sure it was inspired by Pantone's color of the year, Tangerine Tango.  You should be seeing alot of this color this year, in both clothing, and home decor. 

Patty also wanted a shirred, slashed bodice, with strong diagonal lines.  We looked at a multitude of images and amalgamated them all neatly into a lovely design.  She wanted bare shoulders, covered underarms, and a sassy, full and soft skirt.  She wanted to look age appropriate, tasteful, and sexy.

   
We used several layers of edge-stiffened organza in the underskirt, and the same dance crepe used in the bodice and sleeves for the top skirt.  Patty is not a tall woman, and we tried to create an illusion of height with the same color and texure over the length of the dress.  We also made sure that all of our accent points led the eye diagonally up and down the body, rather than across or around.

I really enjoyed designing the jewelry for this gown, and created a necklace, earrings and a beautiful cuff.

I especially love that this Latin look is so entirely different in character from Patty's beautiful Ballroom gown, and yet still features strong diagonals, and many of the same design elements in the new Rhythm dress!

I look forward to the opportunity to work with Patty again soon!  And congratulations to both Patty and Tom on their dancing at their Iowa Dancesport event.  Don't they make a wonderful couple?  I must say, each of my couples is a delight.  They are all supportive and respectful of each other and it shows!

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!

Charlie and Jana in Black and Red

Don't they make an adorable Pro-Am team?  Jana is Charlie's teacher, and they compete all over the United States together.  Charlie really likes to have a great and unique look on the floor, and this is the fourth set of costumes I have created for him and Jana.  Jana is an artist in her own right and likes to be very involved in their design process.  This time, she brought me sketches of what they wanted and Michele and I did our best with her designs.

Jana's gown reminds me of a "French Maid" look.  I kept thinking it needed ruffled panties, or a feather duster as a prop.  And I can't quite stop wishing Jana had red shoes.

It's a simple and clean gown, in black with red details, a very classic Latin and rhythm color scheme. Since dancers spend the majority of their time on the competition floor facing each other, I am very fond of 3-D details, and this dress delivers!

The skirt is very flirty and the detailing at the back with the sash, crisp little bow, and split to reveal the ruffled 1950's crinoline style petticoat is so cute in action.

I also feel like I had the perfect piece of jewelry to offer Jana. 

 Somehow the flowers and styling feel very French to me!

An up-close look...

               Most of the jewelry I purchase for re-sale requires adjustment and sizing,
                               and I am glad to offer that service for my clients.

Charlie's suit provides a nice frame for Jana's "picture."  Charlie is always chilly in the ballroom, which is generally kept cool for the comfort of dancers working hard on the floor.  I've been thinking that I would love to design a smoking jacket styled dance costume for him, maybe velvet, with a quilted satin shawl collar.  It would be warm and cozy, and I think, flattering as well on Charlie's slim frame. 

Our last set of costumes featured Charlie in a wrap-style coat, which I loved on him.  Here's a peek!

Love the addition of the snowflake pin on Charlie's lapel

(from the Snowball Competition last January!)

and Jana's puff bangle bracelet.

Charlie has mentioned thinking about a set of French blue costumes for his and Jana's next look, and I look forward to working with them again!