Thursday night, Grechen of the
Austin Fashion Seen Blog, assembled a lovely Blogger Happy Hour at the
Athenian Bar and Grill. MMMMMM!!! I love Greek food! I had the meatballs but forgot to take pictures...I was ravenous when I got there! But I did get a few gratuitous food (and booze) photos before it all ended...
Appetizers...bread...need I say more?
Grechen and Andrea (an incredible writer,) from
A Cat of Impossible Colour blog.
Cathy's yummy looking sangria...I really should have had one of these...
Theresa's plate of cherries.
WHO DOESN'T LOVE A NIGHT OF GIRL TALK?
From Cathy's new boy toy (Super cute and a shoe salesman...lucky girl!) to learning how to accept compliments to body issues and of course fashion, we pretty much covered the necessities. (Guys, wouldn't you love being a fly on the wall?)
Afterwards, we went directly across the street to the Scarbrough Building, which I wish I had taken more photos of because it has amazing art deco architecture and interior. I felt like I was in an old detective film!
(Photo from Google.)
Details from the elevator, gorgeous wood paneling everywhere... I could ride it all day!
Sorry for the glare, a quick shot as I was leaving, it says LETTERS. Every door has a bronze letter slot... I may have to go back, this doesn't even do it justice!
Anyway, we were there to visit Theresa's studio, where she creates the most beautiful vintage inspired dresses for her line,
Tess. She was such a gracious host! It was truly a treat...
The lovely designer (wearing a dress from Tess M, her maternity line, that reverses to a beautiful shade of green, she's due in December,) walked us through her design process, from how she determines a specific size and creating a pattern...
And getting the "skin" of a dress back from the factory...
A "skin" is what the dress will look like minus any color or pattern. All work and fabrics for Tess are done in the United States. It was educational and enlightening! I couldn't help but take a ton of pictures!
Vintage fashion illustrations on her inspiration board.
Vibrant silks for her holiday dresses...I'm loving the green! Just imagine a beautiful vintage broach against the texture of the silk!
Cathy and Andrea enjoying some macaroons. Andrea is wearing a Tess Dress, the Marlene Dress in plaid. Most of the dresses are named after actresses from the 50's or their characters. (This is my favorite picture of the evening!)
The very first Tess sample. Theresa and her husband were making jokes about having a fashion line on New Year's Eve and on New Year's Day, they were writing out a business plan. What a way to start the new year!
The darling
Sharon! I promise you, her pictures are better than mine!
Theresa will take apart vintage dresses like this that are no longer in wearable shape to find out how they were constructed and use it as inspiration.
Some possible fabric options.
The USO Dress. Theresa used to be in the Air Force, (she's now a reservist,) and uses her experiences to inspire her.
D'Andra from the
Sable and Sage blog. I love her one shoulder dress!
One more fabric swatch. What can I say? I love fabrics!
It was a great event and we even got to try some pieces on but I was so excited at that point that I forgot to take pictures!
J.
Your incredibly soft touch sends me chills even during these dog days of summer! I don't care if you happen to be last season's dress, you still thrill me just the same.
Small but not dainty, in purple and tan hues...I never thought you'd be mine!
But I'm learning to love it very quickly!
