Spring '18: A-line Top with Hooded Mini-Dress

My mini collection is coming together.Here's Look #3: a plaid a-line top cinched with 2 straps tied onto key rings and a pastel purple mini hooded dress. My friend Nayeli, who I've known since middle school, is the model. She's actually modeled before when love, laur was a baby for the Hazel Grace Dress. Back then, we took five pictures, laughed a bunch, and called it a day.When I first started love, laur I took characters from books and movies, created outfits, and reimagined them to look like my friends (that is: people of color). So Nayeli played the brown version of Hazel Grace from the Fault in Our Stars.  Representation is  something that's important for me--and I want to use POC models for my designs as much as possible.Lately I've been learning more about Filipino representation and admiring artists such as Ruby Ibarra. I've been listening to her music on repeat! Brown Out is my favorite because it's super relatable for me, especially because she raps about colorism in the Filipino community.Now back to Nayeli and Look #3.A quick recap of this collection: I'm creating looks that balance of peace and tranquility with a hard-working sensibility. The pastel purple and slouchiness of the top connects to the soft, laid back aspect. The hard-working elements are the ACE hardware key-rings (which I used in look 2), everyday hood, stiff structure of the dress, business-like plaid pattern, and the sneakers.The process:I made the patterns pieces and then made sample pieces out of muslin--you know the drill. I needed to have the pattern pieces for the a-line top longer; originally it was a curve but I made it into a diagonal line. Then for the dress the only adjustment was a bigger hood. It was my first time making a hood. :)Both the front and back of the shirt have seams down the middle. When I made the pattern pieces I had a pieces for the shorter half, then one for the longer then straps. For the dress I finished the arm holes with bias tape.I'm working on Look 4 next. Stay tuned!love,laurall photos by: martin b.