The last weekend was pretty hectic, getting everything together and packing all my stuff. I was really unprepared because I was thinking that I had two weeks back at my Dad's but i was really excited to start my collection.

So i am sorry that by blog was cut short but i have to fly home!

It was soon enough time to go home, I have loved being in Dallas for so long, these past 6 weeks have really blurred into one it went by so fast but it was an amazing experience and i am so glad i chose to do my internship there!

Goodbye for now Texas :(

My last week in Dallas

The next day we also went to another designers studio in Dallas named Shamara. I had met Shamara at career day and she was lovely. Telling me about her studio and that I should stop by before I left Dallas and I really wanted to go all the time I was there!

We finally got the chance to visit and I loved it! Shamara shares a studio in the design district in Dallas with another designer who is male but doing womenswear. It was really good seeing another designers work in Dallas to see what other kinds of styles are being created. Shamara showed me and Elizabeth around the studio and was telling us that she works completely and only made to order, so similar to how Elizabeth works, the clients come by the studio, look at the fabrics on offer, and explain what kinds of designs they would like, colours, trims etc and also get measured.

I also took photos around the studio, throughout my trip i tried to take as many photos as i could so that as well as explaining in words about my experiences i could put the photos on here too because i know that i would want to see photos if i was reading someone elses blog!

The last few days in Dallas were mostly rushing around, me and Elizabeth went fabric shopping round all the warehouse like fabric shops, there is a street called Harry Heinz that is known for fabric shopping. I got lots of stuff that i wanted there so i was really happy but i forgot to take photos! 

This was the only time on the trip where i didnt take photos!!!! Silly me! 

Also on one of my last few days in Dallas, Elizabeth took me to the Neiman Marcus flagship store in Dallas, Neiman Marcus is just like the American, Harvey Nichols. They stock all the luxury brands.

And the one in dowtown Dallas is huge because its the flagship store. 

Elizabeth had been telling me the whole time i was in Dallas that i needed to go so we went down there on one of my last days there it was amazing. Elizabeth also knows one of the ladies that works there that is very high up, so she had a little meeting with her in one of the offices. It was really good to see 'behind the scenes' of a shop like that and to find out a bit about the company and how it works. 

These are the ladies dogs, Coco and Chanel!!!!

She was showing me all her photos of all her pets she has so many exotic birds and they all have designers names. I found this so funny! She was crying laughing when she was telling me and you could tell she loved all her pets! Too cute!! 

Well it came to the point where it was my last week of working with Elizabeth, I was sad to leave I had completed five weeks there and had really enjoyed everything i was doing. It is safe to say that my last week working there was very hectic, we had a lot to do and a lot to see and just not enough time.

I am writing this now I am back home in England because the last week was so busy i didn't find time to finish my blog.

So on the Monday i think it was.... I woke up to an email off George about the Children's wear graduate fashion week competition that I had entered through University earlier this year.
This email was telling me that I was in the final 6 of the competition, I was SO excited. I couldn't believe it really!

So after jumping around my apartment for a while because I was so excited at the fact that in my second year i would be showing my collection at graduate fashion week..... HELLO!!!!!!!

Once I had kind of come to terms with it i then realised....OH WOW what am I going to do... I have three outfits to produce ready for the start of June and I am still in Dallas on my placement.....?!?!?!

I spoke to my tutor that morning (struggling with the six hour time difference). And I worked out that I needed to leave Texas two weeks early to begin working on my collection.
In my last week in Dallas I could be collecting fabrics/trims/buttons etc to start the process. Well I was in the right place anyway for the Cowboys and Indians concept!

Anyway back to work.. Monday and Tuesday really was my last days at work because the other days we were busy out of the studio.. so I decided to finish the bags that I had been working on however I was so excited still. I phoned Elizabeth and told her the news and she took me out for lunch to celebrate the good news, she was so happy and excited for me which was really nice and encouraging!!

On the Wednesday we were invited to El Centro college to judge one of the classes final assignment, this class wasn't the ordinary Fashion class though. I am not sure what the class was called, I know that a lot of them had never made a garment before though.
The brief was to create a garment but they couldn't use fabrics off a roll, everything had to be recycled. They could use anything they wanted, it didn't have to be fabric.

I was really excited for this event and I was eager to see what materials the students had used because I love using plastic so I was wondering what kinds of materials they had come up with to use.

I took quite a lot of photos so here are a few of the outfits that I took:

This was made mostly from doctors gloves.

The dress above was interesting only because it was made out of the black paper like material that you make sushi rolls with, I think this was the most unique of materials that was used. 

I found the experience of going to the class really useful and I loved seeing what other people are thinking and designing, I think creating garments from everything other than fabric gives you a different look on designing clothes, it makes you more innovative and less restricted and I think everyone should think like this when they are using ordinary fabric too. 

I have also been busy out of work this week!

Tuesday night, me and Chelsea went to see Florence And The Machine at the Palladium Ballroom. IT.WAS.AMAZING!!!!!!!

I have never seen anything like it! I loved it so much and we were so close to the front.

Sorry i think i got a little too excited then, it really was so good though! 

And then the day after which was Wednesday I went to have my hair done because it had faded from really dark purple to me looking like a fruit salad sweet, (half pink, half orange). I'm exagerating a little but it was still bad! So i booked myself in at 'The Songbird Society' hairdressers. I follow a fashion blog called Sea of Shoes, the girl who runs the blog lives in Dallas as recommended the salon so i thought i would give it a try! I was there for nearly 3 hours and it was like heaven, they were the nicest people and treat every customer like royalty, i didn't want to leave! 

The salon its self is really cute too! 

It reminded me of like a secret garden theme, with birds painted everywhere and wooden furniture. 

I know, I know, I change my hair aaaaall the time. But I love it and I am really happy that I went to that salon! 

Now I am almost upto date.. Sorry if I am babbling on. 

Today is Saturday so.... 

Last night, Friday! 

Me, Elizabeth and Chelsea were invited to El Centro's college fashion show at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas. 

We were running late so casually ran into the show fifteen minutes late. 

The show was really good. There was male dancers at the beginning introducing the show, it seemed to be like a tropical themed show with the dancers being animal like. 

The show kicked off and there was around 10 designers showing there collections before they graduate. You could compare it to the local Manchester shows that our University have. 

I have began to realise that the designs here are a lot more commercial, and I suppose it depends on the designer too. There is a lot of evening wear too, nearly every designer that you hear of here does evening wear or bridal!

Bladi Duran shown above won best collection and also was the one who won the grand prize at career day to study in Paris that i showed in an earlier post from my first week of placement, he definitely deserved to win! 

After the show, Elizabeth treated me and Chelsea to Thai food at a restaurant called 'Mint' and mmmmmm it was YUMMY!! A tasty end to a good night! 

And finally, today! 

Me and my Dad went to Dallas Zoo, we had been to Fort Worth Zoo a few weeks ago so thought we would try the Dallas one, we kind of picked the wrong day. 

It got to about 96 degrees and we were almost passing out, it was far too hot. We had a really good day though apart from that, probably cut the trip shorter than usual because of the heat though! 

My Dad looking really errrrr... manly? with his new friend.