I just love to inspiration shop. My job has been stressful recently, so I took a day off today. After some productive, early morning, fabric shopping, I visited my favorite boutique for some inspiration. Whenever I feel blah or uninspired to sew, I know it's time to go shopping for clothes. I can get my vibe back pretty quickly that way. Just one new construction tip or shape idea can perk me right up and get the juices flowing again.
Oooh, there were some fabulous items, mostly in the $200-$300+ range - outside of my current budget. I favor loosely structured garments made from yummy fabrics and cut in interesting ways. Luckily there are many designers these days that are creating wonderful pieces. Designers like Eileen Fisher, Citron, Cynthia Ashby, Babette, Steel Ponies, Bodil, Sympli, Dressed to Kill, to name a few. I have certainly purchased my share of nice clothes (especially when I'm not in sewing mode) but it's so much more fun to use their inspiration to create my own pieces. I also tried on a few styles I've seen in the pattern books - I'd had the suspicion that some of these for me and I was right!
Last week I went to the Haight to hit a fabric store there for some elastic. I discovered that store had closed a year ago (sigh) so I decided to visit some clothing stores. The Haight is full of edgey clothing shops for the teen and twenty-something crowd and I found some pieces with fabulous details. Beautiful draping, interesting shapes, gorgeous fabrics.
Today, after my shopping spree, I went to a coffee shop to reflect and made some notes, both for today's and last week's outing, before the details leave my memory forever. I came home and finished a top (I will post after I get some photos) and then hit the fabric piles, to study and think about what I want to do next.
I have some ideas I'm excited about. I can't wait to get to my machine this weekend. :)