Fashion Illustrator Bobby Hillson

Lately I've been scouring the web, the library and all of my magazines looking for inspiration for the poster design for our second annual Vintage Madison fall fashion show. I'm thinking that some sort of fashion illustration would be fantastic, so I'm trying to draw something myself (no royalty fees!), but I'm not much of an illustrator. Anyways, I'll figure something out, but in the meantime I'm finding all sorts of amazing inspiration.
Some of my favorite illustrations that I've come across are by London-based illustrator and designer, Bobby Hillson. She has worked with all of the major British designers of the last 50 years, and even taught Alexander McQueen!
These gorgeous line drawings from the 1960's are so simple yet amazing! I added some pops of color. . . enjoy!

Learn more about Ms. Hillson here.

XO,

Jess

Tourist in My Town

So, this past week we have had a lot of family visiting us. First, Josh's Mom, Dad & little sister came to Madison for the first time ever (he has lived here for 8 years)! And then, coincidentally, the same week, my parents made their yearly trip up north. So after being together nearly 4 years, our parents finally met each other! It went very well- I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I have breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The great thing about having people come visit (especially if they've never been here before) is that we get to be tourists in our own town. Josh and I never go to the zoo or the gardens or inside the Capitol (well, unless we're protesting political injustice), but when out-of-towners are here we get an opportunity to take a break from our day-to-day life and enjoy the beautiful city we call home!

 

Henry Vilas Zoo (it's free!) 

the view from the top of our Capitol dome

 Olbrich Gardens (also free!)

Bowling at a Clean Water Fundraiser

taking the boat out on Lake Monona

XO,

Jess

Craft Project: Exposed Zipper Mini-Skirt

I know the exposed zipper look has been hot for a while- I still love it. And luckily, adding an exposed zipper is actually a bit easier than adding a hidden one. Yesterday I found this gorgeous piece of fabric at a thrift store-- I thought it was very on-trend, reminiscent of so many "Aztec prints" we've seen on runways this season. So I decided to make a very simple, 30 minute skirt with it. Here's the tutorial:

 

Voila!

shoes, belt, hat and bag: thrifted
t-shirt: Alternative Apparel

XO,

Jess