Make It Work

The reality TV craze ushered in one fierce gentleman who made the catchphrase "Make it work designers!" a household saying. Tim Gunn of Project Runway has encouraged designers and consulted them since 2004 on the popular TV show now in its 7th Season. From the first "Gather round, designers." and through every subsequent "This worries me." and to the final "Make it work, GO GO GO!" at the last fashion show at Bryant Park, Tim Gunn is the voice over the shoulder, the yetzer if you will, of every Project Runway contestant.

Sometimes as writers, we need our own Tim Gunn to guide our way. That's the reason peer editing is so important. By letting someone else look at your piece, they can tell you what someone who's outside of your creative fallout zone will see, think, or understand when they read your piece. They can say what worries them about your organizational structure. They can ask you questions about whether or not you'll be able to complete your vision in the page requirements. Tim Gunn does the same thing with the designers about their concepts and their time crunches.

However, sometimes the designers don't listen to Tim Gunn. Tim was worried that Season 4 winner Christian Siriano's designs would be too much for the judges. Christian went and did his own thing anyway and has become a huge success. Recently, his line of shoes for Payless flew off the shelves faster than you could say "Fierce." But there were other times where listening to Tim Gunn may have saved him and other contestants from elimination.

In the end, having someone look over your work doesn't mean that you HAVE to follow their advice. Sometimes it just means getting a second opinion or a reassuring statement that things are going according to plan. Sometimes where your piece is going might worry your reader, and they can guide you to a solution.

Make it work!

(Images from wikipedia.org and glamaddicts.wordpress.com)

Fashion: A Written Language

The Sartorialists of Writing have mainly discussed writing in relation to fashion, but what about the role writing plays in fashion and the industry itself?Writing takes on many forms, whether it is to tell a fictional story or perhaps writing takes on an informational approach with the hopes of teaching an audience something new. Writing also plays an important role in fashion and how the concept of style gets out to the public. Magazines such as Vogue and Lucky share ideas and stories revolving the art of fashion to audiences all over the world all while practicing a stylistic approach to writing different among the rest. Writing for a fashion magazine takes, not only knowledge of the industry, but also the skill to write for the appropriate audience. Doing so may prove to be a task more difficult than finding ways to pair black with brown. As I flip through the most recent issue of Lucky magazine I take notice a simplistic approach to writing. The style is approachable and comforting to the female ear, like a lunch date with one of your closest girlfriends. The ease and flow of words allows the reader to lose track of reality and dive into a world created by colorfilled pages and eye-catching headings. This style of writing is one that can differ from the rest in that both technique and language are tailored to the female perspective in sight and in mind. Layout also plays a large role in how the magazine is read because, as you can find in typical fashion publications, you are not always reading pages filled with text, but more so with images. The text seems to wrap itself around the photographs to reveal the story through both words and images. Writing for a fashion magazine is creative, fun and thought-provoking. The style is all about having fun and being unique, whether it is being applied to fashion or the self. It's like reading a letter from your best friend.

Starting Strong, Ending like McQueen

It can begin any way you like it, perhaps a bold red lip starts the outfit strong to later draw the eye near the floor for heels that leave a person dead in their tracks. In fashion statement pieces are used as showcase items, items needing nothing but a blank canvas to rest upon. Starting strong and ending strong is an important tip in fashion because it gives the entire look excitement from beginning to end, hence the term "fashion statement."
Writing is similar in that it is always important to begin a piece strong, giving the reader a reason to continue reading, and end strong to leave an impression or statement. When writing I have learned that in order to grab attention you must do something that creates emotion, whether the emotion is happy or sad, the connection is made and the message is heard. Like starting an introduction strong, ending a piece is just as important. In fashion, making a statement is leaving a lasting impression on someone. This rule applies to writing as well. Leave them with something strong and powerful because that is how your message is remembered.

Images courtesy of http://chictopia.com and http://styls.blox.pl

White-T Way of Writing

Once used for the sole purpose of an undergarment, the White-T has evolved into a fashion staple lending style and ease to any outfit or current trend. After recently taking the fashion world by storm the simple White-T has been seen on celebrities as well as on the red carpet giving all who where this plain, cotton-based fabric a laid back appeal. But what is it about something so plain and simple that leaves people wanting more? Like fashion, writing too embraces simplicity and concision.
What I mean by this is that in order to give your audience, both in the fashion world and in terms of writing, a clear message it is important to practice concision. Concision in writing refers to being brief in your sentences. Deleting words that mean nothing or have no effect in your sentence should be deleted. Concision in writing is one of the keys to clarity and much like the White-T it can be applied to anything. Even with stilettos.

All images courtesy of Chictopia.com

En Garde!

Avant Garde fashion is all about making a statement. Whenever I think avant garde, I immediately go to Sarah Jessica Parker who always is wearing something crazy, in both real life and in her role as Carrie Bradshaw on Sex in the City. Just take a look at this Alexander McQueen gown and hat SJP wore to the Sex in the City: The Movie premiere.
It's kinda crazy, isn't it?

But this is what she's known for. And her personality allows it to work.

Experimental writing is meant to give this same kind of shock value. A writer's voice and a good hook allows a reader to accept unconventional methods. If McQueen (RIP) wasn't so technically strong, the fashion world would never accept that hat. Writers like Chuck Palahniuk, T.S. Eliot, and William S. Burroughs broke the rules and wrote stories and poems that challenged the establishment.

If these writers had been asked to write a "normal" text, I'm sure that they could blow us out of the water. The fact that they can do that so well, allows them to break the rules that they know inside and out and literally make us do a double take. We as writers have to learn the rules in order to break them. Alexander McQueen did it with his clothes. Now it is our turn to do it with our writing.

Image From stylefrizz.com

liberate Me

Sometimes writers just need to loosen up a bit in order to take their standard, typical piece to that next level where it would sparkle and shine. Often times writers feel hindered or restricted by rules, rubric, and deadlines which leave their work cookie-cutter, boring, and lacking of its full potential.

Free People is a clothing line which signifies liberation, individuality, and freedom. As you can tell from the name all their pieces are very flowy, creative, detailed, and free. Because of the diversity of this lines pieces you can tell the freedom their designers must have in creating work in which they truly feel inspired to create. Free People beholds the originality so many clothing lines are lacking.

Just walking down the street you can tell that clothes wearers are constricted and confined. Sorority participants must wear boat shoes and a Vera Bradley bag and those involved in athletics, tennis shoes and sweat pants. Whether it is needing the independence to shed the worlds expectations of how they've always dressed or space to take the risks they have always wanted to take, people need liberation to be fashionable and original.

Same goes for writers. With all of the MLA and APA formats, grammar and punctuation rules, five paragraph format, and on and on and on. Most writers, especially college age, need to be reminded of their freedom, their license to be themselves and create work they believe in.

From the fashion world to writing arena this is all that's standing between typical and standard or eye-catching and innovative work or dress.

Back to the Basics

American Apparel. In the fashion world, they are the definition of basics. The hipster appeal is that they don't use sweatshop labor, but what's perfect is that they are well made, high quality simple clothes.

I think this outfit is great, a solid black sweater and a seersucker short with classic boat shoes in a neutral color. All available handmade from LA.

In writing, often we need to go back to the basics. Simple sentences can convey a point more clearly than a complex, convoluted sentence. And if a more involved idea needs to be conveyed, if we bog our words down with too much, the point can get lost. Instead layer ideas and introduce them gradually. Like a Deep-V with a cardigan and then a blazer to top it all off, the end effect will be tasteful, yet get the job done.

So don't be afraid to wear a white shirt and jeans. Sometimes, that's all you need.

Red Thread

Coming up with a reason to write anything is always the hardest part. There has to be a "So What?" a reason for the reader to care and follow things through from start to finish. The same pressure is on designers as they come up with the concept for their lines.

The metaphor for this consistency is called a "Red Thread." We see it in the cut of a jacket, a color scheme, or a pattern of fabric in fashion. In writing, we often have difficulties because it's not always stated right out. We have to read between the lines, search for the pieces of red thread that are hidden. Because these things aren't nearly as obvious when we read, as writers we have to guide our writers to the answers we want them to get.

We have multiple tools at our disposal to accomplish this. Repetition is the most effective. Just like with the slim black ties and black silk bowties in the Dolce and Gabbana Men's line, we see different variations of similar themes, but with consistencies. By looking for places where we can restate the theme we're trying to get across, our readers can find the pieces of thread and pick them up to get the total understanding of our texts.