The Garment District

My favorite part of New York? The Garment District! I'm going to miss it so much. It is amazingly overwhelming. The fabric and trims and applique and accessory stores have so many options! I could spend hours in them. My mind was flowing with ideas after seeing the different bag straps and chains, suede ties, and belt materials. I wish I could bring a little bit of everything back home with me.Fashion Institute of TechnologyI was very much looking forward to going here! Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) had 2 exhibitions in their museum. The fashion exhibit had textiles and designs that were inspired by nature. Photography was not allowed inside so I can't show you any images. But my favorite looks included a dress from the 1920s that had fabric layered to look like fish scales and a floral mens suit. There was a speedo bodysuit in there too (lol). There were mannequins outside the exhibit entrance wearing designs created by their students in the fashion program.FIT's other exhibit was "Thirteen Stories" where 13 students displayed their visual theses. Here are some of my favorites.Mood FabricsI definitely had Project Runway vibes walking in. We went upstairs right away for ripstop nylon for a new windbreaker I want to make. (I can't wait to get back and work on it.) They had a lot of options for a fairly decent price. I also looked for corduroy but they only had 3 color options-- none that I wanted. Disappointing. The lady who showed us the corduroy was very officious (a vocab word I learned last year!) as she cut swatches from the fabrics for us. She didn't have to do it, but she was very nice! In fact, all the workers were very nice and willing to help.Botani TrimmingsWith ZIPPERS written big on an awning, we assumed there would be a selection... but when you walk in, there are a rows, upon rows, filled with rolls of zippers! And at the other end of the space, there were different types of ribbing, then a room of full of chains, buckles, buttons, snaps, grommets, and other metal things in tiny drawers stacked to the ceiling, and finally another room full of anything you could possibly need for belts, as well as patches, lace trims, and suede ties.I actually went into this store to get a jacket zipper for my next project, a windbreaker as Mood Fabrics didn't have many zippers to choose from. I wanted to get a 22" yellow zipper made of plastic, but I couldn't find it. Then person working at the register told me that they make custom zippers on the spot! What?! They matched my fabric, customized the length, and made me choose the plastic zipper style. It was crazy, fast, and not expensive.While we waited for the zipper, we ended up getting a few other things including some belt material and suede ties, that I don't know what to do with yet, but can't wait to experiment with.I'll miss this store so much! I wish the Bay Area had a store like this.Feathers and TrimmingsWe walked past this store on our way to Mood Fabrics, but we couldn't resist not going in so we circled back to it. It's an explosion of color inside. All the rhinestones you could possibly want, a million different feathers, and bins and bins of embroidered patches.I will definitely miss the garment district in New York. I really wish the bay area had one :( I hope to see the garment district in LA when I go in the fall, but it may not be the same.love,laur