it is a cape. it is a poncho. it is a coat.

I can think of about sixty ways to vary this design.

And I am ready to try all sixty versions.  Let me know what fabric, color, style YOU want.

My sample here is crafted of plush wool.

Vintage style

Gramma Gracie and her sister (our Aunt Agnes) made this Southwest Dress back in the 1950s.


I am dying to make one or two (or dozens!) of them myself.  Check out the new listing in my etsy shop for all the details.

Could I use yards and yards of white lace for yours?  

BRIDAL GOWN, yes.  

We could trim it with miles of silk satin ribbon....

What I haven't shown you yet......

The KathleenTemple, Tailor Studio has been open for one year now, and there are many dozens (maybe hundreds!) of custom garments I haven't shown you yet.

I want to trot out a few of the custom dresses and such to give you a taste of what I have been doing.

This little black dress is a simple tank style dress with a contoured hem.  It is of a luscious soft bamboo interlock knit.  I created the silk sash after I shortened a silk dress-- the customer for whom I shortened the dress allowed me to recycle her excess hem fabric!

I created this terrific hooded wool coat for a customer and liked it so much myself that I ended up making a wool lace vest for myself with the same type of hood on it.

I have made many custom wedding gowns over the past year.  This vintage style gown is stunning in person!  I will share photos of the beautiful bride wearing it once I receive them.

Am I lucky or what?? I get to make very fun costumes for a young woman who wears them to Japanese animation conferences!  This dress transforms my customer into a human version of a certain Anima character.

It has been so long since I shared my own dress creations here on the blog that my own summer dress never got included in a post.  Don't worry, I don't wear it this time of the year. (it's all of 19 degrees farenheit outside right now)

 This stretch satin wedding gown is one of the prettiest gowns I have ever made, in my opinion.  It is so elegantly simple.  It sure sets off the bride's elegant and striking beauty....

I will post many pictures of this beautiful customer before too long....  This photo is just to entice you to subscribe to the blog.  You will NOT want to miss the professional photos soon to be published here on KathleenTemple, Tailor that will show you this black lace (honeymoon!) dress with side pockets, her flame-orange chantilly lace wedding gown, and her awesome wedding.  Jimmy Choo heels....

A whole troop of bubble-skirted bridesmaids' dresses in hot pink taffeta!

I made this dress about a zillion years ago, but I love it so much I couldn't leave it out here....  Of course I matched the stripes perfectly (I LOVE to match stripes).

Enough of the photos I took myself, eh?  The last few photos I will show today were created by the talented photog Chelsea Weaver.

Chelsea herself is modeling here.

Kelsey Landes is modeling my blue stripe number.

Chelsea models again.  lovely.

Do subscribe to KathleenTemple, Tailor, will you?  There will be more photos coming soon.  Thanks!

Studio is decorated...

Holiday Decor!

And on the inside of my little woodland studio, I am getting to create all sorts of lovely things, including this:

felted wool/cashmere pinafore

felted wool cape

princess dress

Salsa Dress

Salsa, anyone? 

One of my original design, one of a kind creations.

 THANKS, Jenny for modeling the dress so beautifully!  And thanks to Graham for the photography.

More about that One Dress

Last time, I crowed about getting to participate in an awesome woman's One Dress Protest.  I made her black dress!  She is on a fashion fast, wearing her One Dress every day for an entire year.

Lacey, I am so impressed with you and with your reflections as you continue this journey of self knowledge.  You are inspiring and I feel proud of that terrific dress on lovely YOU!


I am soon to be making a couple more of the very wearable and attractive shift dresses.  I am being commissioned to make the custom dresses by a woman in the UK.  Here are some of the fabric choices:

wools

rayons

cotton tweed!

rayon twill with lycra

hand-dyed silk herringbone

One Dress Protest

I get to be part of One Dress Protest!

I just created a black dress from some fabulous hemp and tencel twill fabric from NearSeaNaturals.  I created the dress for a wonderful graduate student in Texas who is studying marriage and family therapy.  For one whole year, she is going to wear the One Dress every day as a way of becoming ever more intentional about how she experiences and presents herself in the world.

I may not be describing her project quite right...  But I am impressed with the idea of doing a sort of "fashion fast" in order to take some time to reflect and deliberate about clothing, fashion, style, and dress.

Thank you, Lacey, for inviting me to help you to prepare in my small way for your coming year of One Dress Protest!  Both my dress creation and my very self are honored to get to be part of your reflection and meditation.

The dress is a shift style frock, very elegant yet utilitarian.  The black twill is fashioned into a short sleeve, raglan sleeved style with a wide scooped neckline.  At center front and center back, there are small inverted box pleats.  The skirt portion of the dress is slightly A-lined and its wide hem ends a couple of inches above the knee.

If I were going to wear one dress for a whole year, this dress would be IT for me as well.  Beautiful and functional and sophisticated and comfortable, all in one dress.

Little Black Skirt becomes a dress once she is wrapped up....

The little skirt grows up to become a fantastic Little Black Dress.

To don this baby, you step into the narrow skirt (the fabric is stretchy yet substantial cotton/lycra knit), then draw the fabric up and over your shoulders.  To cinch the waist, you wrap the long ties around and around.  The black knit works well for the dress, but I can make this design in any light to medium weight fabric.  If it were made of a non-stretch fabric, I would simply insert a zipper into the side seam.

Here's the back:

To achieve this look, I pulled the back of the bodice up and over the shoulders first, then pulled the front bodice up and over the shoulders toward the back.  Those shoulder pieces create sleeves because I made them extra wide, wide enough to come down past the elbow.

Sure, I DO want to make one of these comfortable and flattering dresses for you!  How about royal blue cotton or wool jersey, worn with apricot and gold accessories?  Or short and WINTER WHITE, worn over skinny black pleather slacks?

Like a sari

As soon as I find just the right piece of silk, I want to create such a dress.  Ooooo!

The incredibly beautiful photo is by The Sartorialist (http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/).  Thank you to Scott Shuman.

I need a new dress. I do!

I simply must have the gorgeous top by LeMuse.

WHY ON EARTH, you ask, would someone who makes fabulous one of a kind, original design, fun to wear clothes buy a new dress made by someone else?

Because I love LeMuse clothing and want to support the beautiful muse behind the beautiful and unique clothing.  Lina designs and creates the remarkable pieces featured in her shop, www.LeMuse.etsy.com.

I ordered her top, "Asymmetric Muse Blouse" yesterday.

I will take any number of orders for this fund-raiser dress!

Want a beautiful new dress?  I can make it in whatever color you want.

Want your money to go to Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty?

I will take any number of orders for this fund-raiser dress!  And I will send every bit of what you pay for the labor portion of your custom, made-to-measure dress right on to VADP.

For this dress, I began with a commercial pattern, but I redesigned it here and there for more flattering and more comfortable effects.

The green knit version of this dress now belongs to me (I had it up for sale as a one-of-a-kind dress, but decided I just can't part with it!).  What is for sale in my Etsy shop now is your chance to have me replicate my green knit dress to YOUR measurements and specifications.  And I am going to donate all my labor.

Go to the listing in KathleenTempleTailor to read more about the dress and about how the donation to VADP will work.  Thanks!

sunshine in my studio

It may be winter outside, but one of my customers is getting in the mood for spring.  She brought this sunshiny dress to me so I could take it in and shorten it.  Come on, warm weather!

Morgan is making treasuries full of fabulous etsy items!

My etsy partner Morgan Kraybill (together, we are KathleenMeetsMorgan) is curating collections of great etsy finds.

TREASURIES to love.

Just one item here, from this treasury, to whet your appetite:

Okay, well.  One more .

If you like these pieces, you are going to love to look through the rest of the beautiful treasuries Morgan has gathered!                    The treasuries:  

Ear-resistible
Oh honey, won't you bee-mine?
RGBY para ti!U-Need, U-Nique
Blue Beauties to Chase Away Winter Blues
A table for twoWith love, your Secret Admirer


Kathleen made a few treasuries too.  Though they aren't as fun as Morgan's, they do show some awesome items by some of the hottest etsyers!


ever more winter whites
Winter Black
Christmas Reds by Team Discovery Shops
gifts for Johan
Gifts for Jill

KathleenMeetsMorgan skirt is featured in a SHIHAR treasury!

As if I didn't already LOVE "Studio SHIHAR" enough!

Shira, the creator of an etsy.com shop full of gorgeous hand made clothes, gave a huge honor to THIS hot pink and black organza party skirt:    



Shira featured my hot pink and black skirt in her newest treasury collection!  The skirt is one of my donations to Virginians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty-- all the proceeds from the sale of the skirt will go to this very worthy organization that engages in education and lobbying for transformation of Virginia's criminal justice system.


This is Shira's shop, SHIHAR:



http://www.etsy.com/shop/SHIHAR

Browse through the entire shop.  I think it is one of the very best shops out of the half-million shops in the etsy system!

And then browse the treasury that features my skirt:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4007c5f2ea6d914eed0c3a/sweet-dreams?index=0

What a thrill for me!

blue with black is honored...

One of my great dresses was honored by being added to this lovely Etsy Treasury collection!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d26fd8e18d16d91248f09f9/blue-blue-and-blue



Size Medium Peacock Blue Knit WrapFoldOver by KathleenMeetsMorgan