rock the vote...

time to exercise your civic duty, kids...and vote for my term garment design, inspired by the work of madeleine vionnet.  out of the 12 sketches i made, here are my 5 favorites:

1.

2.

3. i wanted to make this one but my instructor said it would be too difficult.  there's a deep cowl in the back, which you can see a bit here...

4. my instructor wants me to make this one...

5.

of course, i may not even listen to your votes...but do it anyway, okay?  okay.

love it!

i'm a bit incredulous that kobe actually made this commercial.  he seems like he'd be too cool for it.

still figuring it out...

so many things to do this week it's kind of alarming...so glad it's almost over.  1 skirt and 12 sketches left tonight...hopefully not all night...

:-(

how very depressing...

christian dior, you wasted your life

on aroma and clothes, fabric and dyes

christian dior, you wasted your life

on grandeur and style and making the poor rich smile

you could have run wild on the backstreets of lyon or marseille

reckless and legless and stoned

impregnating women or kissing mad street boys from napoli

who couldn't even write their name

christian dior

you wasted your life

sensually stroking the weaves of a sleeve

christian dior - morrissey

ouch...

where art thou, hedi slimane?

men's fashion just isn't exciting without you.  kanye was right: they don't make 'em like this anymore...

oh baby...

i have acquired adobe photoshop cs3...time to do some damage...

in other important news, my duke alumni forwarding address is not working for some as yet unknown reason so don't send anything to that address.  please use my gmail or FIT e-mail instead.

also, i need a masseuse...

i will offer up my life...

in spirit and truth

pouring out the oil of love as my worship to You

in surrender i must give my every part

Lord, receive the sacrifice of a broken heart

what a day.

followed a friend to church this morning and got lost in brooklyn searching for it.  it was my first time outside of manhattan. finally, we ask this fine young chap, who looks up the address on his iphone and guess what he says...

"that's in manhattan."

so by the time we get back to manhattan, the service is already over.  fortunately, chinatown was nearby, so we proceeded to commiserate over dim sum.  i came to the conclusion today that the bubble tea in manhattan falls ingloriously short of the bubble tea in houston.  how depressing.

anyway.

to make up for my morning adventure, i went to an evening church service that i've been meaning to go to anyway.  in short, i think it worked out for the better.  i was quite touched by both the teaching and the worship to the point where i must admit, i shed a few tears.  it reminded me how lost our world is and how dark and lonely a place like new york city can be without the love of Christ.  truth be told, it also intensified my feelings of nostalgia for the community i had at duke and in intervasity that i've been feeling for the past few weeks.  perhaps contrary to popular belief, i DO get lonely.  fashion design can be a rather lonely profession.  i was probably the most lonely last weekend during duke's fall break when i felt like i really needed a fall break myself.  am i going to get married, some have asked?  i hope so. but the reason i don't just jump into relationships is simply because i want things done right.  i believe that the process is ultimately more important than the result.

"trust in the Lord with all your heart

     and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

     and he will make your paths straight."

proverbs 3:5-6

DISCLAIMER:

this does not however, mean i am good at doing things right :-/

in other news, i visited 3 fashion labels yesterday--theory, elie tahari, and bcbg max azria--to do a market research project. basically, we had to profile each label in regards to seasonal color story and target customer while covertly sketching and noting the price and fabrication of what we thought was the centerpiece jacket of the collection.  i must say it was a pleasant experience.  brands like these are "safe" because students won't be tempted to buy anything since they usually can't afford it!

speaking of centerpieces, isn't this one of the most beautiful dresses you've ever seen:

christian dior fall 2008 couture by john galliano--the overall look of the model is simply gorgeous.

i officially regret not going to homecoming.  nuts...

close your eyes and imagine...

feel the magic

vegas on acid

seen through yves saint-laurent glasses

there's something magical about new york when the temperature drops.  it got me thinking about christmas today and the possibility of spending it in new york in the future.  i suppose it's not quite as magical when you're alone :-/

eureka!

i just had somewhat of an epiphany...

i have 4

mosquito bites on my FACE.

psalm 43:5

why are you downcast, o my soul?

     why so disturbed within me?

put your hope in God,

     for i will yet praise him,

     my Savior and my God

not the same...

what a strange week.  we had yesterday off for yom kippur, which i suppose is nice but really it's just a free day to work on projects that may be due the day after.  it also really messes with your sense of which day of the week it is.  i would much rather prefer a fall break...like...right now.

i suppose i've had a lot of things on my mind lately, and how i feel about a design career seems to fluctuate everyday.  although i do enjoy what i'm doing here, i've been thinking whether or not design is what i'll actually be doing in a few years.  for one thing, it's definitely a different lifestyle from the normal 9-5 workday, which i suppose is something i've always wanted to avoid, primarily because i thought it was boring.  lately however, i suppose i've been reevaluating my priorities not necessarily on purpose, but i think life simply forces you to do that at various times, you know what i mean?  anyway, i think i want...

...more time for other things.

because of course, there are more important things than making clothes.  maybe that makes me more boring.  maybe it's unavoidable.  i actually don't really care.

as a guy in our modern world, i also feel the pressure to get a job and have a 5-year plan, for better or for worse.  getting a job is not that bad, as i'd like to become completely financially independent from my parents, but having a 5-year plan is a little ridiculous.  who knows what anyone will be doing in 5 years--it can all change in a heartbeat.  why bother making a plan?  :-)  of course, i'm being facetious.  plans can be useful; you just shouldn't put all your faith in them.  who knows?  after this year, i may just quit school and get a job.  i'd like to stay in new york and in the fashion industry though (if not in design).  perhaps by the end of the year i'll have made some connections that will turn into employment muahahaha.

something else that always seems to be in the back of my mind is the idea of a noble life--or a life that matters to more people than yourself--like that of william wilburforce, for instance.  films like amazing grace never cease to move me.  i think we all want to matter to someone else or to several other people, and the way we seek to satisfy this desire manifests in many forms: romance, philanthropy, popularity, etc.  or perhaps all i really want is a state funeral with soldiers, bagpies, drums, and rifles. but in all seriousness, anything other than the truth of the Gospels will eventually fade.  the desire to live a life that matters is natural, but we do not necessarily need to satisfy it by being a faithful spouse or a champion of social justice--in Christ alone (which just happens to be my favorite hymn) are we justified.  i find myself looking forward to sundays the most, primarily because of church.  although i haven't found a spiritual home here yet, i have a feeling i'm close.  i must admit however, i do miss the summit.

i suppose i've been feeling a little homesick lately.  they say that home is where the heart is.  the problem is that part of my heart is in texas, another part is here in new york, and yet another part is at duke.  so i suppose i'm actually feeling a bit homeless...like zach braff in garden state, which i surprisingly haven't watched in over a year now and which i won't be watching anytime soon since my dvd's in texas.  i do however, wish that finding some alone time here were easier.  there's just so many people everywhere in manhattan.

it hurts...

to breathe lately...you think i should see a doctor?

can't stop...

i love this video--it's so wacky:

although i never was a fan of erwin wurm's work...

woo...i need to sleep...

what is going on...

there's a hoedown going on outside on the street in front of the school.  although i do love the simplicity of life that country music lyrics often portray.

new york city...

is like one big playground.

the eye of the beholder...

the fashion industry is quite smaller than most people may think. in many ways, it resembles a small town where everyone knows everyone else.  designers often maintain connections to various fabric dealers and fashion schools like FIT, reselling or donating unused fabric and other materials.  in return, schools like FIT lets designers use their libraries and archives, and FIT has one of the most, if not the most, extensive fashion museums and archives in the world.  top designers like john galliano will send a lowly assistant a couple times a year to do research within the museum's archives.  in conclusion, i should spend more time in the archives.

today in draping class, i realized that i tend to gravitate towards designing asymmetrical garments in more elegant fabrics, which is good to know while i'm in the process of working out my design aesthetic.  in draping however, you need only to produce HALF a garment just to get your idea across.  but for my asymmetrical designs, i obviously need to produce both halves to get my idea across, which means i use much more fabric...and money :-(

can't sleep...

again.

i really want to play some soccer.  and sing in falsetto...but my suitemates are sleeping...

observations...

there's a guy in my building who looks just like jude law.  quite the looker, i must say.  and i wish the subway didn't smell like urine...

just a little insomnia...

a ton of thoughts running through my head...good thing rosh hoshanah is 2 days long!

have you ever tried...

brushing your teeth with your less dominant hand?  it's a whole new world...