Ive been pretty busy in March. Now that we have the longer daylight, I get more done (I spend my mornings doing admin and sourcing - plus all the errands......). Ive had lots of vintage alterations lately, which I dearly love. I'm finishing up a few projects and starting a few more.............gotta keep the flow going...........I helped style a bridal photo shoot with Black Lotus Clothing last week. We should hopefully see results of that in May.

Every now and then, I miss a call or someone  doesn't call me back. I do my best to get right back to all of you, but please give me a few days just in case I'm in deadline mode! I treat your project as importantly as everyone else's and when Im really into working on your gown or costume, Im going to be focusing intently on finishing it up for you also. That may mean not being able to drop what Im doing just when I want to!

That being said, I always have to be revolving projects. So email me!! Call me!! Keep bugging me!!

April is promising to be busy. My shop at Tews Treasures is looking cuter every day. As soon as the rains stop, I'll be building a cute display wall so that I bring more fun things in - AND we have lots of events lined up! Ive got one more Bridal Show to attend this Spring!
Stay Tuned!!!!
X

Black Lotus Clothing and Kathleen Crowley Costume Couture have teamed up to offer an alternative to off-the-rack wedding gowns!

Two small collections were designed by Christina Molcillo and carried into fruition by myself.  We've got 1920's and Boho for you!

Initially, Christina will sit down with you first and discuss what you are looking for in a gown. Then you will come to me and we will make it work. I'll discuss your design and take your measurements. A mockup of the gown will tell us if we need to change something in the design to work best with your figure type. It also gets any corrections in the pattern taken care of before I cut into fabric. While I am working on your mockup, Christina is sourcing materials. Then what we actually do is hand the gowns back and forth until we get them perfect. I'll tweak the gown, she'll tweak the gown. She'll do the hand embellishing, but I might jump in or finish it. She might not like the bodice or I might think something has to be done differently to get the desired effect. Its a true collaborative effort. We do fittings.........we do it all. All 100% custom made from start to finish! Its magic!

Christina designed the set here in the pics,  styled the shoots, and I helped out where I could. Im afraid that my expertise has to stay within the field of textiles these days........but we have taken this set and models and gown to three or four bridal events these last few months, and Im not beyond setting up and striking the set when needed.

Here are samples that Christina designed and two gowns that we worked on for private clients. These photos are just delicious. Im very proud of us!

For Information on how to go about commissioning us to create a stunning gown for you, please go to www.blacklotusclothing.com and check out her beautiful website! Contact her there.

I still work independently of Black Lotus Clothing, so contact me at kc.costumecouture at gmail.com for your costume/alteration/bridal needs! Its great to have options!

Some Of My Favorite Wedding Projects

Over the years, Ive been honored and blessed to be part of some very unique and wonderful weddings. This is a sampling of the joining of individuals, families, and friends  for marriage commitment ceremonies. You can click on the photo if the image looks cut off . My brides do what they want within the confines of their budgets. I wish I had better photos of some of my projects, but I'm sure you get what we all achieve here when we put our minds and creative souls together. 

Much Love.

Samantha and Oscar

                          Carolena Nericcio-Bohlman and Loretta Bohlman

                         Bianca with her mom, Marsha

Karen and Brian

Tasha and Brent

Autumn and Kimric

 Ariella Afaloh  (a collaboration with Black Lotus Clothing)

Lynne and Erling

Ka Katherine June Amorastreya  (wedding jacket collaboration with Black Lotus Clothing )

Its Wedding Season!!

Its Wedding Season! My favorite time of the year!

Altering A Beaded Wedding Bodice

This bride needed some gapping closed up in the front of her gown. It was sized as a 14, which she is not - and I cant help but believe that the wedding dress industry does this on purpose in order to procure more money through expensive alterations. And I could even maybe justify their reasoning in this market if they would do quality alterations, but I rarely see that as the case. Many of these places will just chop off your dress and give it a cheap looking  hem. It always looks awful and they get away with it. I have a hard time believing that someone would think these hems look good, but maybe the brides just don't know better.

I do everything by hand or as nicely done with a machine as possible. I want it to hang right and that usually means giving it an ample hem.

But I digress. This bride needed her bodice taken in and I was able to do it by taking it in at the back zipper, adding satin cookies inside at the bra line, and taking in the front gap by folding over the fabric. I then carefully hand stitched the fold down, and strategically tacked down the beading so that it wasnt an obvious fix.

All in a day's work! :)

A Few Words About Quality

Here is a video made of my friend Erika who is a clothing whore   fashionista of the finest degree. She has impeccable taste and knows quality when she sees it. I made a Poiret inspired silk velvet opera coat for her wedding day, and Ive repaired some of her precious vintage. I do believe that the black fringie beribboned coat was one of the coats that she brought me to work on. There is nothing more exciting than keeping these old treasure alive and wearable! Here is her SF accessories boutique!


Erika Von Petrin for Stylelikeu.com from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.

Most people have no idea what goes into making clothing. They usually don't understand why certain garments cost so much when they are used to purchasing  mass produced clothing that can be worn and thrown away in a season or two. And with incomes going down and the cost of living going up, it is harder to justify purchasing expensive clothing.

Better clothing is usually more expensive because more time and money goes into its construction. But if you purchase things that are made better, they will generally last a lot longer with care. I have altered, repaired, and constructed many garments over the years. Ive worked on a lot of vintage clothing, which were usually made with better care and attention to detail. The ONE thing that I have seen with the older clothing in contrast with the newer clothing is that the older clothing is made with a much tinier stitch length. This has held these garments up to the test of time. The most time consuming part of repairing or altering these garments has been ripping out those tiny little stitches. They often do not rip out easily. Rarely do I see modern clothing sewn with tiny stitches. And it usually falls apart quickly with wear.

A garment of superior quality will look like more care and consideration was taken into its production. The first thing to do would be to go do some window shopping and inspect low priced garments and then compare them to higher priced garments. The item or items should stand out  above the inferior clothing. There may be more detail, seams will be straight or sewn with more care. Bust seams should be smooth with no puckering. Buttons are sewn on securely. Button holes should not be frayed. There will sometimes be smaller machine stitching in the foundation of the garment ( but this is a trend that has mainly died out due to manufacturing costs). Pockets flaps will lie flat. Lapels will lie flat. Inner seams may be bound with bias tape. Threads will be clipped. Linings and interlinings and padding may be used. There may be more curves to accommodate a female body Seam allowances will be clipped so that the seam lays flat against the body. More consideration may be taken into giving a hem or hemline that is flattering. Hems  should not pucker. There may be a bit more weight and drape to the garment. There may be bigger seam allowances to accommodate possible alterations. More finishing techniques may be used to add more life and structure to the clothing.  More thought will be taken in the actual design of the garment. Better fabrics will be used. The inside of the garment should look nice also. Try on the garments and see how they fit. See how they make you feel when they are on your body. There is a reason why some clothing makes you look and feel like a million bucks - much more time and thought went into its' making.

Hail Stevie!

Sonja Drakulich of Stellamara brought this little corsetie bodice to me to have cut down to fit her frame. It also needed some repair.

It is a 70's relic - the lace is delicate. The velvet has that oldie worldie panache that only time can create. And I'm sure that Stevie Nicks would have worn something like it . Hail Stevie!