A mid-summers daydream

      "We walked through a high hall way into a bright rosy -colored space, fragilely bound into the house by french windows at either end.  The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that  seemed to grow a little way into the house.  A breeze blew through the room,  blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding- cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine- coloured rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.
       The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon.  They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.  I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall.  Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor." - F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby


I remember reading this passage from The Great Gatsby on a cold winters day and imagining the scene so vividly in my minds eye that I could almost imagine myself the third woman in that room, also adorned in all white perched on a nearby settee enjoying the summer breeze.  It was from that moment on my summer wardrobe took a turn from all jeans, tanks and cargo pants to flowing dresses and jeweled sandals.  I have never been one to wear shorts too often in the summertime, so therefore I was often very hot in my long pants or even capris but after reading this one simple passage from this classic novel my summer wardrobe consists now mainly of cool, comfortable and casual dresses that can be dressed up or dressed down to fit any summer event.  Yet I still search every summer I for the perfect little white dress in the vein of Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker.

TTYL,

-Devon

Happy February!

Hi All and happy February! Sooo happy January is over! I love the winter, holiday season and snow and all but, honestly by January I am over it. So now that it is February I feel like we've gotten over the hump and spring is just around the corner.

Since I am new to this whole blogging thing, I am posting a little more frequently than I may normally tend to because I want to catch you all up to where I am currently. Well, that is one reason. The other is because my boys (the twins) are getting their first taste of freedom with toddler beds and they think that bedtime is playtime and therefore I have to stay in this darkened room with them until they fall asleep just to ensure that they don't tear the place apart.

You have seen the pictures of the first really wearable dresses that I made but since then I have made a TON of things that I want to share with you. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of everything but I will share what I do have:


This I made for a friend of mine to wear on her honeymoon. She wanted a sundress but it evolved into this maxi-dress made of a light weight viscose. This, unfortunately is the only picture I have and it is not very good and it was only about 85% done at the time but you get the idea.



This one was made for a friend to wear to a wedding. The bodice on this is shirred and was absolutely gorgeous!



This dress was made for a friend to wear to a Christmas party.



I LOVE this little dress! It originally started as a tunic but I needed a dress to wear to an event I was attending last October so I just added a little length and voila, a dress! I really wish you could see the detail in the dress better, but it is made of a simple black poplin, with black satin accents on the trim, pockets and yoke. The yoke is also trimmed with a black separating zipper (non-functional as I cut the zipper pull off). The sleeves and the shoulders are done in a metallic fabric that I found amongst some brocades and sari fabrics. When I saw it I was in love but I knew it was a lot so I had to make whatever I paired it with simple. My husband HATED the metallic and was constantly making fun of me for buying it until he saw the finished product.



Just a simple cowl neck top I made but I loved this fabric...someone spilled red wine all over it. R.I.P cowl neck top in the lovely cotton jersey that was so soft I could wear it to sleep in.



This top is actually pretty popular, I have sold a couple of them. Nothing fashion forward but it is great to throw on to go to the grocery store in place of sweats. This is the best kind of look for me as a mother of three who doesn't want to look like those moms you see walking around in their PJ's and leftover lunch in their hair!

And last but not least, this is the very FIRST item I ever completed. It is made from some fabric that my grandmother bought probably in the 70's or 80's. This was made from Kwik Sew pattern 3692.



Yes I do use patterns occasionally but only for certain things. I have used them in the past to help perfect my sewing skills or to make myself something quick and easy. I don't really like to break out too many of my own designs for everyday wear I save those for when I am going to an event where I need to look fabulous. I am saving most of my own designs for my website. Those photos I am not sharing just yet...I may give you all a sneak peek when it gets closer to launch time though *smile*

Well, the boys are finally asleep so I am logging off for tonight.

TTYL,

-Devon

My Bio

Devon Thomas, a fashion icon...that is what I want to be known as one day. So I am taking the steps to make that happen!

Since the age of four I have known that I wanted to be a fashion designer (I am not exaggerating, just ask my mom!) I would sketch pretty dresses all day. I even made scrapbooks of magazine cutouts because I knew one day all of the trends I was seeing in the fashion magazines would help me in my future designs. My dream was to go to FIT and study fashion design and go out into the working world designing fabulous clothes! However, by the time I was 18 I lost a little bit of my focus and when it was time to go to college I just decided to go where my best friend was going, Seton Hall University. Unfortunately there was no fashion department there (eh, what are you going to do?) so I majored in the next best thing...social and behavioral sciences?? Maybe not. But the desire to work in the fashion industry was still in me so upon graduation I went to work for the corporate offices of Liz Claiborne Inc. in hopes of eventually going back to school for fashion design and one day becoming apart of Liz's design team. But God had a different plan for me, a couple of years into working for Liz my husband and I had our first child and I decided to take some time off to be a SAHM.

Fast forward three years and I have successfully transitioned back into the workforce only to get pregnant once again…with twins. Now I think God is REALLY trying to tell me something. He is saying “Devon, you have had one dream all of your life. ONE! This is your last opportunity, the last chance I am giving you to make it happen. Now get to sewing!!!” So this time I finally listened. I broke out my sketch book sketched well over a hundred looks and took sewing lessons (oh, did I fail to mention I had zero sewing experience? Yup, didn’t even own a machine) and six months later this is what I was churning out:






Not bad for a beginner right? So lately I have been doing a lot of custom work, pictures will be posted soon. Currently I am working on pieces in hopes of publishing a website by the late spring /early summer.

So to those of you reading this I hope that you will take this journey with me. I will be posting as often as I can to update you on my progress as well as maybe some random stuff thrown in the mix. I would also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to hear your feedback so please feel free to leave me comments!

TTYL

-Devon