But in practice, well, during the first five minutes I’m wearing them, when I leave my apartment, making my way down the street as a happy and accomplished woman, hair in the wind, I’m contented… Until I feel my jeans slipping down my leg a little with each step. The wind in my hair stops flat. No need to even look, I know exactly what’s going down: in two seconds, my belt is going to be at mid-ass, and the crotch of the jeans is going to be at mid-thigh. Low-rise jeans: they fall, they slip, they never stay in place.

And this is when the dance starts that’ll keep on keepin’ on for the rest of my day: THE DANCE OF PICKING MY JEANS BACK UP. You gotta grab ‘em by each side and wooooooh! give ‘em a nice yank to get them back up nice and high, bend and straighten each leg in a stupifyingly graceful way, and then a nice little shimmy-shake to get the butt-cheeks back in their original position.

These jeans… Do I have to banish them from my wardrobe as well?

Yeah Garance, technically you do.

Birds of A Feather is a new online community where Portland fashion designers can gather, meet, and share their work and ideas. This is a newborn project and is still very much a blank canvas. There is amazing potential for how the site can be used, both individually and collectively... This site is intended for the broad range of folks who are involved in the local fashion scene; from the Portland boutiques who support local makers to the apparel and accessory designers, stylists, models and photographers... Users will be able to create profiles with images and biographies, post blogs and comments, list or check upcoming events in the calendar …etc.! This is a space where you might find others interested in collaborative projects or find fashion-related job opportunities for pay or trade. Here you can discuss craft or business matters, network and promote!

Designers who've already joined include Adam Arnold, who through sheer alphabetical advantage has made it so that this awesome photo jumps out from the top of the "designers" page:

Awesome.

Anyhow, he is joined by Sword + Fern, Emily Katz, and Frocky Jack Morgan, among others. The boutique section so far includes Flutter and Narcisse, and you'll find me under "resources" along with Input vs. Output and Brian Stevenson Photography. That's a decent start, but there are still plenty of tumbleweeds over there. If you're involved in the local industry (and haven't yet reached critical mass tending to your various online communities), come on over and sign up. Let's try to make this interesting.

I don't want to be a killjoy, but does anyone else miss the days when clothing that expressed your interests and enthusiasms for things that aren't clothes were limited to t-shirts?

For the record: I do plan to wear a scandalous denim skirt that my mother would have never let me leave the house in.

So that Leverage show that shoots here? They need extras—specifically, "hip and fashionable men and women to be fashion show attendees, fashion designers, buyers, magazine editors, etc." They're also looking for "runway models" between 18-30 years old who "NEED TO KNOW HOW TO WALK THE RUNWAY." (Christ, I get it, stop shouting at me. That's the last time I show off the walk I learned from Top Model.)

And yes, they're paying—which in times like these, justifies posting notices like this one on Blogtown. Hit the jump for the full press release and all the details.

Via Film Drunk.

Sample post titles:
"Hat Parade!"
"How to Shoot A Bikini"
"Berry Heaven!"
"Yum! Dim! Sum!"

Sample opening lines:
"I spent my 18th birthday half in New York.. and half in London."
"Saying I love tea is a complete understatement."
"I am so all about nutrition and diet."

Just be careful, it's addictive.

Tee and Wallace pooled together to add five industrial machines to their existing resources, a proper cutting table, and hired Susie Ruan, a talented sample maker, with the goal of eventually having her take on a production manager role as the factory's client base grows and they are able to take on additional sewing employees. They've also leased a program called OptiTex, which all three swear by for precise digitized grading, maximizing fabric yield, and generally doing wonders for quality and consistency.

Filo is poised to fill a role that many Portland designers struggle with. Any legitimate factory located in the region requires a large minimum of pieces to produce, and a designer working on a smaller scale is faced with shouldering much of the production work on their own, or contracting it out to sewers who work out of their homes, which can result in inconsistent quality. Filo joins the Portland Garment Factory and Sofada in trying to fill that void, with low or no minimums at reasonable cost to local designers.

May points out that Filo has several advantages over even the work that she's experienced with her own line at the hands of New York factories, where by virtue of the distance between here and there design details are frequently lost, despite monthly trips to monitor the production. There's an old-school mentality that resists computerization despite its effectiveness, likely out of the fear of taking on any additional costs. A traditional factory might charge more for a greater range of sizes, while with OptiTex it can be mapped out with minimal hassle, and thus expense.

"There's a lot of talent here," says May of the sewers in Portland, "you just have to handpick them." This is probably particularly true now, with layoffs at large firms. Along with Ruan, they and their associates in the Synergy group are keeping their eye on such candidates, and if the factory is able to grow and create enough new jobs, there's the possibility of additional support from the Portland Development Commission.

If you're a designer looking for a local, reliable source for production—even on tricky fabric like woven knits—Filo is extremely well equipped, and Ruan comes highly praised. May Tee's line is, after all, carried at Mario's, which is not known for compromising luxury and quality for sentimental feelings toward local design, and her work there is testament to the standards upheld by Filo.

Photos via dlisted.

Gotta love it. Also recall Castelbajac's Lego-inspired looks from Spring '08—and definitely check out the video (how badly do you want the Anna Wintour Lego figure?!):

Increasingly, window-shopping is being done online. The seductive waltz between a shopper and a business now begins long before the prospective customer walks through the door. Stores have long-ago begun catering to internet usage with online purchasing options and blogs, both of which are awesome, and can really draw people into the merchandise. Many companies and stores give excellent, detailed descriptions of the products, their materials, sizes, color options, etc. Companies that go out of their way to market themselves to customers as being green in particular tend to be fastidious in their presentation of the hows and whys of materiality—all very valuable information.

The one thing that consistently blows my mind and irritates the hell out of me is how frequently what I consider to be a crucial detail is omitted: Please be upfront about where things are made. If you are detail oriented enough to provide information on how many square inches a pocket on a bag has, you can do this. If I'm tempted by your blog or online store to come in and try on or examine what you're selling, you know what one of the first things I'm going to do is anyway? Look at the tag.

Okay, done.

The Factory's charming facade

Britt working at her machine

One thing I've realized about being a designer is that no matter how cautious a person is when cutting, sewing, designing, there is bound to be a staggering amount of waste fabric. Being the pack rat that I am, I have saved nearly all of my scraps over the past year, and this week I realized that I had 7 (!!) trash bags of scrap fabric in my basement that I really needed to do something with. I decided to post an ad on craigslist to find a home for the fabric. I received 38 emails in less than 12 hours, so I had to come up with some criteria for the lucky recipient. I decided that they had to be using the fabric for a good cause, and they could not be making money from the scraps.

Most of what I had leftover was fleece, and I found the perfect match! Kathy Sayles, a volunteer for the Cat Adoption Team Shelter in Sherwood, OR ( about 20 minutes outside of Portland) contacted me about a possible donation. She makes beds for the kitties at the shelter, and is always in search of scrap fabric, especially fleece, to make the kitties feel comfortable. Kathy was very grateful for the donation, and it made me feel great as well! It's nice to know that I have a home for future leftover fabric!

And, here is one of Kathy's cat beds. Awwwww....

(Thanks to dlisted.)

Giovanna Parolari owns one of my favorite stores in town. Not only does she have the perfect mix of designers (choosing from both an international and local crop), but she also arranges it just so. It's like you're discovering something incredibly special. Here, we pick her brain about what she's into right now.

What are your picks of this season from your store?
For the summer:

-Mociun tank dress in tie die
-Selima Optique sunglasses (coming this month)
-pyt jewelry
-local jewelry and bag designer Sara Barner's rings!!!
-scarves any and all kinds.

Place to eat:
Navarre of course! Also, Clyde Common, Masu East, Helvetia Tavern, Maki

Drink of choice:
Compari and soda. White wine and rosé

Summer music you're playing at your store:
Wings
Fleetwood Mac tusk
Rihanna
Brightblack
Tu Fawning
Neil Young
Liz Phair
George Harrison
Tito Puente

Travel destination and dream companion:
Brazil, Argentina or Japan, with John, my partner. He's by far my favorite travel companion, too much fun, too much food and too much wine!

Favorite quote:
"medium"

Items in your wear-every-day outfit:
I'm too moody, except for certain jewels.

What Portland event/concert you're looking forward to:

River time and driving home afterwards- sitting in the back, nice music, staring out the window at the leaves and light. The windows down, slight breeze, you're a little smelly, a little burned and the most relaxed you've been in awhile. Thinking about food with your friends, trying to keep the feeling around a bit longer... Bocce challenge with friends and food.

Last thing you bought:
Malia Mills bikini for myself
Rag & Bone cardigan and Lova short sleeve cardigan for my beau

Una
2802 SE Ankeny / Portland, Oregon 97214
www.una-myheartisfull.com
www.unaportland.blogspot.com