Back to Designing this Holiday Season

Tis the Holiday Season!!!

Well first let me explain a few things. The last three years, my posting wasn't was consistent. I closed my boutique and moved to the other side of the country. I met the love of my life, got married and started a new career that I always wanted. And of course for almost 2 years, my sewing machine sat in a box collecting dust.

I love sewing, designing and fashion but without the boutique and it not being my career, I let it fall second to everything else. I golfed more, went out more, saw more sights, and partied with friends. But I missed sewing and designing.

Then this past spring I broke out the sewing machine. Went and bought fabric, and started creating. I realized that even if I don't have a shop, boutique or an online fashion store, creating things (especially clothes) is something I love.

So in the last few months I've made some fun projects and I'll be sharing them on here. I even thought about doing a holiday shop and working on sharing everything I make. I will keep you updated on that. But in the mean time, I'll be posting what I made. :)

Love, your designer Rachael

Summer Thrifting

Thrifting on Summer

Here is a pre summer thrift haul that happened last week! So for some of the activities I am doing this summer, I have needed to get some new gear for. I regularly swim, golf, and now, because I have a friend with some family horses, have the opportunity to visit a horse farm.

The first time I went to the horse farm I ended up ruining my shoes. So I knew I needed some boots. I got these for 6.99 and these are waterproof and really durable! There is no lining, so I'll wear either light socks, or heavy socks depending on the weather. These have never been worn so I felt like this was a really great deal!

 The second shoe I ended up with was this fun black moccasin with actual treads on the bottom so these are safe to wear outside. I'm obsessed with Native American style clothing. These shoes had tassels and small round silver tacks. Very cute. And of course, because I rarely wear sneakers or tennis shoes, will be my version of that like my slip on moccasins are now. These were around 7.99.

Now onto a pair of fun high waisted shorts. I got these because 1. they are red! and I love red and 2. because I love high waisted, fitted, shorts. I'm pretty sure these were 5.99 but also 50% off. They are soft and super comfortable. I'll probably pair this with a cute crop in black.

Now onto the swimsuit. I found this speedo with tags and it was in my size. I have not worn or bought a one piece in any of the past years that I remember. So this was a step out of my comfort zone. But, I liked the way it looked on. This was 7.99 also, and I'm really excited to go out and swim around in it.

I also go a golf skirt that was 5.99 and was 50% off as well! This was such a cute skirt and I don't have many skirts that are not black. I ended up wearing it golfing this past weekend and it was so comfortable. Much cheaper than the last skirt I bought by about 50 dollars. 

This ring was really interesting in shape and texture. I found this for 12.00 but wasn't sure if it was going to be hypoallergenic. I wore it for a few hours and ended up with itchy fingers, so this might be something someone else ends up with. But I really love it, so I might try and clean lacquer the back and see it that helps.

So that was my thrift haul! I got stuff for swimming, horse farming and golf all very cheap. Also got a few neat pieces to just wear around. I'm going to say I don't really need to go thrifting anytime soon because I'll be unpacking an entire storage unit with a lot of clothes in it. That might be an entire post on cleaning out old clothes and how to do that. Because that is always a big undertaking. Plus, this time I'll be downsizing a lot!

Until next time,
I'm designer dreaming!

Blog Re-Launch Coming Soon...

Designer Dreaming is re-launching! 

Yes, you heard me right. (get ready for morning scanning blogs in your underpants - everybody does that right?!) I've been working so hard to come up with new and exciting things for this blog. For the longest time I felt like I could only post a few types of things, but now I feel, for more fun and inspiration, I'll be posting a few different types of things. 

We are going to be a lifestyle blog. 

While fashion was, and is still, such a passion of mine, I also feel like I miss out sharing the other creative things I like. For examples, styling my house, makeup, thrift shopping, and just being crafty on the sewing machine. I'll still be posting fashion inspiration from the runways, which I have always loved. But, for most of us, that fashion is out of reach, or we just can validate spending that kind of money. 

In the past few years, after a few friends turned me onto it, I have really enjoyed thrift shopping and scouring vintage stores. Fashion is not about price, its about having an eye and making your own style. Along with sales and some stuff I make, I will be showing you how I build my wardrobe! Plus, it's very eco friendly and I love donating clothes back!

I'll also be revisiting the Rum and Couture line, for those who have been following me since then. In fact this blog might migrate there at some point! But, I'll also be posting more stuff than just fashion. For instance, my new found love of fun makeup. Something I've never really experimented with. And of course just fun stuff from my home. I'm always looking at throw pillows and how to organize and style everything around me. 

I'm excited to share my life and style blog with you all!

Until next time, 

I'll be designer dreaming.

It's Friday ...I'll Wear Pants and a Tutu if I Want To

Well I couldn't resist. 

On days where I can't figure out what to wear. Sometimes I just feel like this. 

What about you?

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming. 

Fourth of July Suits

 

www.tommyhilfiger.com

 

When I think of the Fourth of July, I think pool parties and patriotic swimwear. But going the traditional American Flag print is not necessary to really stand out on this holiday. This Tommy Hilfiger racer back two piece suit mixes festive colors and a sporty look.

 

 

 

 

www.odabash.com

 

For a more minimal bikini as well as print, this Odabash bikini is charming and simple. The blue and white stripes are just enough so you get the flag idea but still cute and perfect for any weekend, holiday or not!

 

 

 

www.macys.com

 

This Lauren Ralph Lauren bathing suit is perfectly patriotic with out any print at all. I love the full coverage, making this the most versatile bathing suit for all occasions. The style is both flattering and flirty. So if you are looking for the prefect 4th weekend bathing suit look for new flirty styles outside of the traditional prints.

 

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming

 

The New Twist on Tea Length

 

 

simplestylings.blogspot.com

 

Tea length skirts lend to a time that tea parties were about being classy and social. But, since there seems to be a lack of tea parties in my schedule, I find it hard to pull off high waist tea length skirts unless in a formal setting like a wedding or a shower. However, the tradition tea length skirt has come a long way and with new fabrics and cuts, there are less formal, but just as classy and stylish, options all over.

 

www.lyst.com

 

One great twist on the tea skirt is the gather and draping of this white skirt. The fit of the skirt is more modern, but still modest.

 

www.stylehaus.com

 

The tea length in tulle gives the skirt a texture that is more playful than straight cotton and makes the skirt more whimsical looking. People just might ask you if you are going to or in swan lake.

 

mhouseblog.wordpress.com

 

My favorite twist on this tea length skirt is the leather, or faux leather, style that adds a structure to the skirt and a pop of color for excitement. Red is bold and the cut is strong.

 

www.pintrest.com

 

For a little sass with all the class still, there is the sheer skirt with the under skirt cutting off above the knee. Show a little knee, keep the rest a secret.

 

www.irockleggings.com

 

And, of course, the really modern and scandalous, don't wear this to your grandma's tea party, take on the traditional tea length skirt. All the cuts and fitting lines of the skirt make this sexy with showing only a little but of skin. Night's out with the girls don't have to get wild, your skirt is wild enough for all of you.

 

 

Looking at the options for this summers skirts, the tea length can make an appearance in your wardrobe in many new and exciting ways. And hey, there is always still the classic. Because what the heck, you can throw your own tea party.

 

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming.

Rock the Length this summer

 

 

Summer is here and this is when the weather heats up to epic temps and I break out the skirts. However, I usually save the maxi skirts for spring or fall because the length can make them hot. But, Nikki, the blogger behind http://itsnikkisworld.blogspot.com/ shows off our wrap maxi with a sheer over lay. The skirt is cool and breezy even at floor length. Plus, I love nothing more than pairing a great denim button down with just about anything! For more great pairings, and tons of cute shoes, check out her blog!

 

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming.

Soft Fall Shapes are Spring Perfect

These great shapes come from Milan fashion week in the fall. But these are such beautiful shapes I can't help but think they can translate into the spring as well. These are street style shots courtesy of www.wgsn.com. I will have find a way to play with those cute pant shapes. Next project in mind!

Until next time, I'm Designer Dreaming.

Love to see how your wear it!

Of course most of the fun of making clothing, is seeing how our fans wear it! So here it is! Morgan sent us this of her outfit for work. So cute with flats. She ordered the skirt two inches longer because she's very tall and that kept it work appropriate. Beautiful! 

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming. 

Happiness and Watercolors

So here is our latest creation. Also, I wanted to talk about why I keep two separate blogs. First the blog explanation. I keep a blog right on our website, www.rumandcouture.com, and that is for our customers to keep updated on our upcoming designs, sales, and just general line information. I like to post things that we do like trunk shows and events. 

And then there is this blog. This is a less formal keeping up with Rum and Couture space for my family, friends, and of course customers as well. But the biggest audience I have had for this blog is the one it was originally intended for. The designer who is dreaming of one day making it big. I feel like I can speak more of the making it as a designer side of the line then of the line itself. I love to share with those who dream of designing clothes the way I'm doing it and hope to inspire others to follow their dreams as well. 

Moving on to this skirt. I love the water color print. I went searching for a summer floral a few weeks back because through customers and friends I got the idea that this is what they were looking for. Even though it took me a long time to find the right fabric, I think I found the perfect fit for this style skirt. The navy, white and green spoke to me of sailing on the water. 

I'm also happy to be working, not only because my production partner is amazing, but also because the space that we get to walk out on when we take sewing breaks. That is why that mannequin ended up where it did. I was enjoying the view so much I didn't see why she shouldn't too. 

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming!

Office Spaces

Here's a little love from the office. The joys of being self employed is that I can work as late as I want, come in early if I please. I love that if I want to work on something another day, then it's usually a possibility. If creativity strikes me, I can switch projects. I am so thankful to be doing what I love. 

Coffee, always so wonderful. It's my thank you to myself for working late then I do. I however am working from a remote office. It's a rainy day and I decided I needed a change of scenery to keep the motivation going today. It's nice to change it up. Keeps things exciting and my brain working full speed!

Enjoy this day! I will be posting some beautiful pictures of our new wrap skirts as soon as the sample is done. I can't wait to share them with you. 

Until then, I'm designer dreaming. 

No, I'm not just reading for pleasure...

Part of being in the fashion industry is being aware of what is currently trending, what is not, and what could possibly be the next big thing. Although some companies don't care because their style doesn't hinge on those things, we all care to know. Why? Because that's where you get inspiration. That's the big news in our industry. I happen to love, even though I don't tend to wear many, all the new and rotating trends. They inspire me to create my own. 

I have always been obsessed with fashion magazines my whole life. I used to use my grade school libraries archive of fashion magazines to keep current on everything. I still subscribe to at least a dozen. I love the feeling of the glossy pages. I love the stories and backgrounds on the designers we all love. I like to see the industry's take on what we will wear the next season. So even though I'm not just reading for pleasure anymore, it is always a pleasure to indulge in one of my many magazines. 

Just a little industry reading at the office...

Until next time,  I'm designer dreaming. 

New Studio!

Welcome to our new studio. Let's call it home. Because I have never felt more at home in my work space than I do now in this new one. The room is very vintage. A throw back to a simple time where things were pretty and everything was natural more natural. The exposed painted brick in my favorite part of the entire studio.

So we moved in a small retail space and saved the remainder of the studio of our GIANT, and I mean biggggg, cutting table. Also, we have a small office space where our intern will be working. You'll have to meet her soon. She's amazing and will be working on the PR for our line this spring. That's a post for next time though!

If you want to stop by and see us, we have moved to the second floor of the historic Cortland Corset Factory. We have now officially occupied the address 75 East Court Street, Cortland NY 13045. So stop by and say hello!

Until then, I'm Designer Dreaming.

Follow up and Exciting News!

Here are some pictures of the event that I was sewing like a manic for. I found that all the holidays prevented me from doing the blog work I needed. Then when the holidays were over we began a big project that I didn't want to tell ya about until I knew that we were going to be 100% in on it.

So...here it is. Rum and Couture, my designer line, will be 100% online now. We decided to close the boutique and find studio space and work on growing our online business! I really am excited about the big move. When we first started the brand it was out of my college dorm room. Then I moved into a space inside a salon to show my clothes. I then opened a full boutique on my own when finishing my schooling.

Now to the big world of ONLINE! I am so excited that we will be focusing on reaching a bigger audience than just the surrounding area of my shop. The biggest change will be that I won't be interacting with customers face to face anymore. All of my customer service will be online or on the phone.  I will miss that. But, dressing a bigger audience will be great! I feel like reaching out to more people will be very rewarding. I can't wait to share our designs with the world!

Next week we sign the lease! So March 1st we will be in a new stuido. I will be posting pictures of that for sure as we move it! Also, my intern will be working on marketing this semester and you'll be seeing some of her work on here!

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming

It's 1:03, Yea Sewing Marathon.

I had to start with that beautiful picture of organization. It's a store. Yes, I know. But, I really wish I could have all my stocked fabric waiting to be made into things looking that neat and artfully stored. I however have about thirty piles of scraps and several project piles with half finished pieces. 

The good news. We are rounding the end of the Holiday Line and it is so close to being done I am almost tasting the finishing threads. The entire design team is hunchback and stiff from cutting, pinning, and sewing for the last few weeks. Their brains are fried from finishing designing, pattern making, and event planning. 

But it is worth it. Friday we will be unveiling our entire Holiday 2014 Line. This is really exciting for us because in the spring we showed just a small portion of our spring 2013 line and it was received very well. This holiday line launch will be much bigger for us. Thanks for your support and patience while we work night and day to get ready. 

I really look up to all the other small, made in America, did it all yourself designers out there making their dreams come true. Because designer dreaming is not easy, but its worth it. Keep up the good work. 

Now, it's 1:03am. I have to wake up at 6am for another long day of sewing. So! Off to sleep. Keep tuned for how the show goes!

Until next time, I'm designer dreaming <3 .="" p="">

How my sewing marathon ended.

I was working ever so diligently for the last few days sewing my little heart out. With a Fashion Event to showcase my Holiday line just a week and a half from now I have been feeling the pressure to work as many hours as my tiny fingers and eyes can handle. I was doing so well. In fact, when my partner in crime has an appointment to go to I was so excited to say I stayed and worked through a potential break opportunity.

However, I am going to put it frankly. I got bit right in the butt by that decision. Literally. I was working along for almost two hours with out any major hiccup. [A miracle in itself.] Then right as I'm feeling the high of making real progress, I shovel my bottom half just a half of a foot over to get a betting angle on cutting out a dress, and I sit on my pin magnet.

I scared both dogs, both cats, probably the bearded dragon two rooms away, and myself with my initial response. Which was a low, almost manly, yell and then louder shrieking when I had to pull pins out of my left butt cheek. Literally they were jammed right into the side of my left hip/butt cheek. I now have two very large punctures in my left side. Each puncture was home to about three pins for what seemed like two hours but was probably just two seconds. [See attached picture for said vampire pins.]

Like the woman, Mikhaela Reid, from www.polkadotoverload.com I too have days where I feel like a total amateur and totally overloaded. She always write funny quips about her bad days where she feels like sewing won. That was one of those moments. I spend at least twenty to thirty minutes nursing both my bottom side and my dignity. I also put on a second pair of pants. Just for extra protection. Which was smart, because I almost sat on the magnet again being so jumpy trying to cut dresses out after.

And yes, I sew in an outfit almost identical to that one.

Until next time, I'm designer Dreaming!

How Pintrest Sparked my Holiday Window Interest

I have never really been obsessed with pintrest...until this holiday season rolled around. My friend Sarah was sending me pictures from pintrest so I finally opened a personal account for myself to see all these cool photos she was sending me. I am officially soooooo obsessed. 

Why? Because I usually just put my store mannequins in holiday attire and put a Holiday Collection sign out. But, all this time I was missing out on the awesome joys of window dressing. Not that I don't do any holiday decorating, it's just that I have never gone all out on my store window. Inside the shop I love to put up a tree and decorate and hang stockings and ornaments. This year I will be working on the window so stay tuned for our holiday window display that I make...I will have to post pictures. Now, the big step is deciding what I'm going to do with it. 

Those pictures have given me some good ideas though...I'm thinking lights and feathers and white. 

Until then, 

 I'm designer Dreaming.

Does anyone know who designed this?

So a few weeks ago I pulled this photo and wanted to save it to look at more from this designer. But, unfortunately I didn't save the info from it or the link. If anyone knows what designer this is please let me know, I'm interested in their work!

Until then, I'm designer dreaming <3 p="">

Styling Myself. For once.

 

What do I sew in? Sweatpants and a pull over fleece. What is my favorite day outfit at the office? Zip-up and jeans. How about when I'm at the front of the shop? V-neck, jeans, and a button down sweater. I manage to wear a variation of every single one of these outfits in about 35 different ways. I own about 20 V-Neck tees. I might own close to 30 pairs of jeans. And, probably more big zip-ups. And even though I love the ease of this kind of dressing, I can't help but notice my closet full of wonderful clothes that don't fit into this category. 

I am an avid shopper. I am also an avid designer and work on my line. Being a designer leaves me everyday working on dressing other people. I love it. I love making things for people to wear. I love putting people in my designs and finding ways to incorporate into their wardrobe. So why is it so hard for me to get my self styled every morning? 

My reasoning: I want to be comfortable and able to work my best. Oh that's valid on sewing days. But I should be working on styling my clothes better on all the other days. My other reasoning: I'm very busy from when I wake up until I go to bed working on my line, website, and everything in between. And taking the time to really style something for myself could be saved for a customer at the shop. 

Until I read an article on how to wear hard to style garments. Even though I'm not worried about hard to style clothing, just any at all, I read it. The article suggested that you take out seven hangers and hang up all the clothes you are trying to wear that week. Hang the entire outfit on one hanger, accessories included. And then it won't take up time each morning to find something to wear when you are tired. 

So I did that. I planned out just three outfits this week. But! I really love how it turned out. The first few pictures are what I picked out and put on the hanger earlier this week. Then the bottom picture is of me wearing it on a regular day at the shop instead of my normal work outfit. 

How does it feel? Amazing. I felt so put together. I know that when I style other people sometimes they are looking at me like why should I trust this girl in street clothes to pull together a beautiful dressy outfit. Until they see what I can do. But even though my style is very odd I still know how to dress other people. Showing off my different style is a good way to show people I can work with all styles.

My goal is to start working in all my different pieces each week. I'll let you know how it goes. No more go to everyday uniform just because I'm busy. I of course will always find a place for it. Put its place is between styled outfits.