Kate: Shaken, Not Stirred

Sometimes, the jewelry is almost the most important part of the costume!

Kate wanted a elegant and sexy look for her new Rhythm gown.  Something that one of James Bond's consorts might have worn.  Something with a lot of class and a little flirt.  Something a little dangerous!  She had a skirt shape in mind when she arrived.

A soft, sheer but satiny skirt with lots of movement.  And enough sparkle power to dazzle a guy like James.

And maybe a few bracelets?  Just for good measure?

Shoeless, makeup-free, and without the usual quarts of hair product, when she picked up her gown... she looked GREAT!  What a beautiful back!!!

 

And in action...  WOW!

I think Gordon even has "Bond Hair!"  It's always a pleasure, Kate.
Visit Kate at her own wonderful blog, Riot and Frolic!

 

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!

Ember's Icy Skyline

Ember is an accomplished woman, with a busy life as the Chief Advancement Officer with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. Known for her work as a broadcast political analyst, she is also an attorney, former Minnesota state senator, former radio personality, and enjoys acting in local community theatre productions. 

After some years away from competitive ballroom dance, she visited my studio last fall to ask my professional opinion of several gently used gowns she was considering buying for use in a local "Dancing with the Celebrities" charitable event. I gave her my thoughts and we artfully adjusted her choice (a Made for Movement gown) to fit. She looked great in the gown. and dazzled the crowd at her event with her winning performance.  Here you see her with her Dancer's Studio teacher Chris Kempainen, (also wearing a Made for Movement ballroom suit) holding their trophies.

She must also have been having a good time, because she decided to return to competitive dance and asked me to design a custom rhythm gown for her for the Snow Ball, which I was glad to do. 

As her career would suggest, Ember is a conservative woman, at home in tailored suits and not really interested in ruffles or overly-feminine details on her clothing.  As a dancer, she has both good performance skills, and long, attractive lines to display.  Ember wanted a gown that would be reflective of her stately elegance, and also her joyfulness at her return to dancing.

We wanted her gown to have simple, sleek lines, and be all one color.  Ember chose fuchsia, (a very popular choice in the last year) and it certainly is a joyful color.  We wanted her rhythm look to flatter her body and be tasteful and appropriate to her age.  We chose a longer, soft skirt with nice movement, but not fussy frills or ruffles, and sleeves to connect her slim arms to her body and emphasize her long lines. 

Ember is dancing here with her dance professional and teacher, the wonderful Scott Anderson, who is also the organizer of the Twin Cites Open. Ever an aware guy on the floor, he noticed me with my camera, and moved closer, so my photos are a little better than usual here!  Ember has a lovely hourglass figure with a very small waist and we planned to reveal her waist while de-emphasizing her bust and hip with diagonal design lines, meticulously placed in fittings to flatter and define.

Although her skirt is long, we used a diagonal hemline to allow us to see her legs and knees in action.

When it came to embellishment, in keeping with Ember's dislike of the overdone and fussy, I let her look through a collection of prom dresses. She found one with details she liked, and I used those details as inspiration for the rhinestone application, as you can see here.

I applied the stoning to the top of the bodice, and my partner Michele did the hip line.  I thought (perhaps influenced maybe by working on this gown in January) that the detail looked like icicles on a roof.  Like the story of the blind men and the elephant, Michele thought it was a lovely representation of a winter night time city skyline.  I'm fond of the cuff detail as well.

Ember was a joy to work with, and we look forward to seeing her again, when she is ready for her next custom gown.

A Tropical Paradise for Jeannie

Vivacious Jeannie dances on the other side of the Twin Cities from our studio, at The Tropical Ballroom.  Although I doubt she set out to get a gown that would represent her studio, our results call to mind a tropical paradise for me, both because of the profusion of pink blossoms and the lushness of the deep spruce green velvet fabric.

Pretty, dark-haired Jeannie did the homework I always request of my clients, and brought with her to her design meeting several inspiration images.  Some were illustrations of style silhouettes she liked, and a couple were ideas for skirt finishes and details.  She carried in a rich suede jacket that represented the color of her dream gown, and she also brought a friend, but that is another blog post entirely!

I knew from the moment I saw the jacket that I would be doing some hunting to find the color she wanted, in four fabrics: a lycra for the bodysuit, soft sheer for the skirt, shiny fabric for the skirt binding and a rich spruce-y something for the bodice itself.  The suede jacket had a nap, and part of the beauty of the spruce color was in the richness of that nap.  Also, I had just hunted for blue-greens for Patty, and knew very little was readily available in dancewear fabrics in that hue.  We spent a little time looking at my British fabric swatchbooks, and my favorite American lycra sources, but nothing that matched the jacket was immediately to hand.  

I told Jeannie that I would have to hunt for fabrics in the colors she wanted, and keep her posted with swatches and photos of my quest.

As you can see, I had a scrap of crushed velvet that had been custom dyed and it did the jacket justice, but was too textured for our needs.  I also had a piece of lycra from the hunt for Emerald for Patty that would serve for the body suit, since it didn't have to be an exact match. Our first find was a luminous piece of georgette that became the skirt, and next that I discovered a piece of charmeuse that could be made in to shiny skirt binding.  Finally Michele said she had seen a piece of velvet in a local shop, and with these fabrics in hand, we got underway.

After we had the shell of the gown complete, we looked a a myriad of different possible flower options.  We even considered three-dimensional silk or fabric flowers, but Jeannie wanted a something flat and I wanted an exciting edge, since it would be strongly featured against the deep velvet.  Jeannie also wanted shades of pink, and nothing else.

We finally settled on a lycra print with lots of pinks and interesting shapes, and we cut out bits and created applique, for which I found we needed yet another piece of fabric for the backing of these bits.  Jeannie was disturbed by the olive greens in the leaves, but I assured her that our embellishment would change that.

And indeed, it did change!  We also emphasized the edges with Crystal AB outlines and I just love this result!

I am also really pleased with the skirt movement.  When a gown is a darker hue, it must compensate to achieve visibility with sparkle, texture, and action, and Jeannie animated it beautifully.

I apologize again, for my photography.  My camera is not sufficiently sophisticated to capture action on the far side of the dark room, and rhythm dances do not travel around the room, but stay in one spot.  Sadly, Jeannie was never close to me when dancing, but although these are not great photos, they do at least hint at the shiny skirt and sleeve edges in action.

Thanks Jeannie, for letting us work with you on your delightful new gown, and we hope to see you back in our studio again!

It's Been a VERY Busy Month!

I have been too busy making dance wear to post!  But today, the fog lifts a little and I have a moment to mention a little of what we have been doing.  Hopefully in two weeks, I'll have photos from The Twin Cities Open competition to post as well, but just to get up to date... 

First, today Jane picked up her new ballgown, to go along with her Purple Volcano Rhythm gown of a month ago.  It's a simple and clean design with plenty of sparkle, in a color that looks a little like Caribbean ocean water to me.  The jewelry designer in me would call it Blue Zircon, which is the color of the rhinestones on the body.  She looks happy, doesn't she!  As we speak, she is having a dress rehearsal on her lesson with teacher Charlie Hardcastle, and I anxiously await a "thumbs up!"  It has a floaty organza skirt stiffened at the hemline with matching crinoline braid, and I think it will dance like a cloud!  Here are a couple more quick shots, and yet another version of one of my favorite necklace designs, adjusted to neatly fit the space provided.

Immediately before that project, the beautiful Christine Hallberg picked up her new Hematite ballroom gown, (I'm calling it "Fierce!") which I am dying to share with you, but I do not yet have a single photo. Hopefully, I'll have some photos from TCO.  Christine is finishing her own rhinestone embellishment.

Additionally several Gently Used gowns from our rack went to new owners.  Sue purchased Flame Latin, and I shipped it to her Florida address today!

Then another of my favorite gowns found a new home.  Joyce and her husband visited my studio to try on a very inexpensive little rhythm gown, and after many try-ons, upgraded dramatically, leaving the studio with a splendid piece that serves both for the rhythm dances and for the ballroom dances.  It's a personal favorite of mine, and I was told Joyce looked great in the gown, "As though it had been made for her!" at her Dancer's Studio showcase two weekends ago.  I am hoping she might dance at TCO as well, so I can have pictures.  Here is her new Gently Used "Navaho Rose" gown in it's rhythm mode:

It was such a great piece of fabric and so fun to design and enbellish!   And this is what it looks like, when converted into a ballroom gown:

Joyce really looked fantastic in it, and both she and her husband seemed to agree it was a good purchase.  I was so happy for her!

Then "Jade Swirl" was purchased by Gwen, who I thought looked lovely in it, again for TCO.  She also had us re-model an off-the-rack dress for use in her Rhythm dancing, which I think turned out very nicely.  Gwen is doing her own rhinestone application as well, so I am hoping for photos again from the competition to post here.  Here's her new ballgown:

We are also finishing two more gowns for Twin Cities Open, (just eight days away!!!) and have dressed four gentlemen, Tom, Kent, Alan, and Troy, as well as adding wings to a new Gently Used gown for Patty, and another for Suzanne, and adding sleeves to a Rhythm gown for Jacqueline. 

Boy, do I ever have a load of photos to take! 

So you can see why I have been neglecting my blog, and the blogs of my friends as well, and I apologize!  June is usually my craziest month, and when you add my son's High School Graduation and college parent orientation into the mix, plus many graduation parties to attend, and one to plan...   It's been a VERY busy month!

Jane's Purple Volcano

Sometimes my clients want to change the image they present on the competition floor, and Jane was ready for a change.  Here's her first rhythm gown, which I thought looked very nice on her, and obviously had good movement as well.  It was not a Made for Movement gown, although I did adjust the fit for her.  I think it is playful and fun, and a bright, vibrant and visible color, all good things on the floor.  I also thought the bare chest and shoulders were flattering.

But Jane wanted a change.  Something more "grown-up" looking, and more understated and elegant.  So we set to work on a design that would flatter her body, and create the impression of elegance and maturity.  We started with a deeper richer color, and a more complex grouping of lines and shapes.  We softened the skirt, removed some weight, and used a more transparent fabric to feature her pretty legs, although we wanted to maintain good potential for movement in the skirt so used a similar volume of fabric. 

We also moved the focus from the center of her body to one side and  provided a vertical division.  We achieved this division in two ways.  We used opaque draped dance crepe on one side of the gown and sheer stretch mesh on the other side, as well as using different embellishment on each side.  We also found a bronze scrollwork applique we thought might provide a hint of vintage antique aesthetic to use a a base for our rhinestone decoration.

Decorating this gown was fun.  We chose a Swarovski effect crystal called Volcano for the scrollwork details and the sheer mesh portion of the gown.  Effect crystals are a different color viewed from a different angle.  Volcano viewed directly from the front is a pinky purple, but as you move to the side for an oblique view, it turns a green gold.  One stone, multiple colors.  This too added a mysterious complexity to the gown.  You can see the effect at work by looking at the bust area of the gown in this photo.  As we view the crystal headon at the bust point, the purple color blends into purple mesh, providing just sparkle.  Beneath the bust, where you view the stone at an angle, you can see the vibrant gold color of the effect, and as your eye traces the curves, you can see the transition from purple to pink to deep, bronzy gold. We used Amethyst crystals on the opposite draped crepe side, which are simply purple from all angles, providing lots of sparkle, but less color drama.  All of the scrollwork is embellished with larger Volcano crystals, and even some big sew-on jewels for added punch.  We did the embellishment work in stages, allowing Jane to decide how much sparkle she wanted to see and consequently, allowing her to choose the final cost of her gown.  Jane chose plentiful rhinestone embellishment, and was pleased with her decision.  We did not stone the skirt, wanting to keep the focus on the pretty shape of the handkerchief hem, and allow our eyes to see though the fabric to her shapely legs.  I like the assymetrical balance of this gown.

Since we were not revealing as much skin at the top of the gown, we opened one sleeve with a keyhole and embellished it with our scrollwork applique. 

We also opened a keyhole at the back of the gown.

And here is a shot of those lovely legs in their new skirt.

We do not yet have competition photos to post, but I have seen Jane's video from Wisconsin State, and both she and her new gown look wonderful. and move beautifully!  I think we achieved Jane's elegant new look successfully.

We are in the process of creating a new ballgown as well, and I am enjoying working with Jane again!  When we are finished, I look forward to sharing our work with you.

Flame and Sunglow for Zhuojing!

Zhuojing stopped in this afternoon to show me her finished gown, and I think she did a wonderful job with the rhinestone embellishment!  Many of my clients who enjoy crafts and have good motor skills save money by applying their own Swarovski crystals.  We usually design with that in mind, so that frustration is kept to a minimum and rewards are maximized. 

In this case, we used stretch lace fabric and a lace applique shoulder detail (a last minute idea of hers, which I think turned out very well) to serve as guides for the stoning, and a random sparkle pattern on the other side of the gown, with a dense edge for definition.  We used Sun AB on the lace and applique, for a vibrant accent and contrast to the Hyacinth on the other side.  I think she did an especially nice job with the bottom of the sleeve edge!

Zhuojing had rented one of my other client's gowns for a recent competition, and that gown became our design starting point.  She wanted her gown to be graceful and sensual, hence the soft georgette skirts.  We felt it was important that she wear a bright color because she is a wonderful dancer, but a very small woman.  To be seen, she needs to wear an eye-catching hue.  Super-saturated neon tones are also really lovely with her Asian skin coloring and thick black hair.

So this Latin gown is Flame Red, and the accents and lace are Sunglow and Mandarin.   I especially like the Mandarin satin binding on the edge of the skirt, which helps to tie the lower half of the gown to the Yin/Yang lace detail on the bodice.

While Zhuojing was in my studio, she let me take these photos, and then we counted the stones she was returning to me, to know how many she had applied to the gown.  When we finalized her invoice I was within $8.18 of our original estimate, which always makes me (and my clients as well, I am sure) very happy!

We also created a cuff bracelet and two armbands of the lace, which were stoned very densely to make them pop as details.  Zhuojing is still finishing the crystal application on her earrings.

Now all that is left is for Zhuojing to compete in her gown and send me a few fantastic photos to add to my gallery!  In the mean time, here's a couple shots of the big picture. 

Zhuojing is a pleasure to work with, and I am really looking forward to a new ballgown this fall!