Apr 30

Apr 30 Designed by Me

For my 24th Bday, I really wanted to wear something special. Last year, I wore a beautiful red, polka-dot two piece set by Free People. Since my birthday falls around Coachella weekend, the theme was KiChella so my outfit was completely bohochic.

This year, I felt like my style evolved a little bit. If you look at my Instagram, you can see that I’ve been wearing a lot of white. As a Spring baby, I love the freshness that comes along with wearing white. It’s minimalist yet chic and my friends all say white brings out my tan. I had my eye on a few pieces by some of my favorite brands (which I can’t always afford, but I look at anyway). After staring at a few white tops by brands like For Love and Lemons, LPA, Orseund Iris, and AYAI, I was suddenly inspired to design a top of my own. So under a sudden rush of inspiration, I messaged my dear designer friend, Julia Wild, to see if she would be interested in helping me design my own custom bday outfit.

It originally started out with just a simple, puffed sleeved top, but after some back and forth, we settled on a two-piece set made out of white eyelet fabric. I wanted something romantic, timeless, and effortlessly comfortable so that I would still be able to move and feel free-spirited for my bday party. Due to her Spring vacation plans, she only had about a month to design patterns, construct the prototypes, and complete the finished garments. It was a bit of a time crunch, but Julia being the amazingly talented person that she is, was able to pull it off.

Below is an assortment of images from the design and construction process. Overall, it was a really fun process to work with Julia and learn about the intricate details that go into making a piece of clothing from scratch. Even though it obviously a lot cheaper and less work to just go out an buy an outfit, I thought it would have more meaning to create something of my own with one of the sweetest souls I know.

Since Julia lives in San Francisco, the fit could only be determined by whatever measurements I supplied her. We were both nervous that something wouldn’t fit right. Luckily, with her intuition to make the waist a little bit larger (she’s always thinking I’m tinier than I actually am, bless her heart) everything fit perfectly. With the skirt’s ruching details, I am able to make it however short or long that I please. The puffed sleeve look has been big this Spring, so that’s mainly what I had my heart set on for the top. I am wearing a black slip underneath since I didn’t realize how big the holes were on the fabric, but other than that, I could not complain, I am in love with this beautiful creation by Julia Wild.