When I was little I was obsessed with fashion. I was always creative with my outfits to say the least (sorry Mom for not listening to you about the giant bow headbands and the colorful yellow tights I wore with everything. I tried to copy Blair Waldorf's style and failed very miserably). 

I honestly thought I was going to be a fashion buyer, designer or editor of a fashion magazine. While my career path has changed, my passion for fashion has not. When I got the opportunity to visit the Garment Creative, a unique concept similar to a wine + paint, but you design a clothing item, I was ecstatic. 

I arrived at the studio in Wicker Park to a group of amazing designers and fellow bloggers. There was delicious snacks and I tried champagne mixed with promogrant juice (which is amazing). I thought the event was just going to be about checking out the studio and learning a bit about the concept. Much to my surprise, we found out we were designing our own dresses! A childhood dream come true! 

We first got a bit of history on the concept and learned about its ethical standards - not ordering excess fabric so it does not contribute to fashion waste, etc. I also learned that it is on a mission to make handmade items for every women - regardless of shape, size, etc. An ethical design shop, created with the everyday woman in mind, led by some badass female designers - count me in!

Jill Weeks, Natalee Rogers and Edith Arias were the three designers there that day. With amazing design experiences and backgrounds and a killer eye and vision they helped us each design the perfect item. We first selected which item we wanted. There was an array of shirts, tanks, pants, skits and dresses. I fell in love with a structured urban dress called the Ponte. It had a structured silhouette, a full skirt and an exposed zipper in the back. Love love love. 

Next we selected the colors. Jill was a major help in this! I wanted something summery and fun and I was really attracted to more pastel colors. Jill showed me their seasonal floral print- a blush pink background with a variety of floral designs in black, olive, blue and purple. Sold. We decided to mix the print with a white fabric and I played around with designs until we settled on white on top and the floral pattern on the skirt. 

Next, I played around with stitching and decided to use blush on the white fabric and black on the floral fabric to help tie the look together and add a bit of edge. 

We designed all of this in a program on the iPad and when I was done, click we ordered it. 

I can't wait to show you the final product when it comes in! 

What dress would you design? If you're in Chicago, schedule a girls wine + design night at https://www.thegarmentcreative.com/. It's so much fun!