Brooklyn Ballerina Tote Bag

My Brooklit Shop now has its first tote bag featuring one of my favorite fashion illustrations, Brooklyn Ballerina alongside the quote "Dream until your dreams come true." I made the first one months ago for myself and pretty much use it daily. Many of my friends have requested one, and I've even been stopped on the street, in elevators and on the subway by people commenting on how cute it is and asking where they can get one! The Brooklyn Ballerina bag is now available in my shop and would make the perfect gift for any fashion loving graduate, friend making a big move or birthday gift for the hard to shop for green-girl.  (It also looks pretty cute just hanging around, as shown here on my vintage 1944 dress form!) Click here to purchase your own 100% cotton canvas Brooklit tote.

New Blo Girls

Last friday I took a little day trip to Connecticut to see my latest custom fashion illustrations blown up on canvas' at the grand opening of Blo Dry Bar West Hartford. It was so exciting to finally see them so large scale in person!

I was commissioned to illustrate two girls for the new Blo salon. The first (shown above) a trendy-chic girl mid "blo" greets clients near the front, her I had printed on a 4 foot tall canvas. For the second (shown below) I illustrated a traditional preppy Connecticut girl on to go, ala Charlotte York with a cable knit sweater, blo-pink Birkin and shopping bags in tow. She was printed on a whopping 6 foot tall canvas and makes quite an impact on the back washing station wall.

Even though I've worked with the Blo crew for a while now, illustrating their hair menu and their NYFW Barbie menu, the grand opening of Blo West Hartford was actually my first time in a Blo salon. Although Blo Dry Bar is the largest blowout chain in North American, there's still no Blo here in NY! (I was planning on sharing before and after shots but my curly-frizzed out before shot is just too embarrassing to publish.)

In addition to seeing my artwork adorning the walls, the grand opening of Blo West Hartford was a great event all around. There was lots of mingling between blowouts, sipping pink champage, munching on Blo cupcakes, diving into gift bags of goodies, and seeing my two favorite Blo girls, Hilary and Lizzie who flew in from Blo headquarters in Canada.

If you're in the West Harford Connecticut area definitely stop into Blo, check out my sketches and treat yourself to a fabulous blowout.

Colleen Atwood Costume Design {Snow White & the Huntsman}

This weekend I headed to the movies to see Snow White & the Huntsman. The film was ok, but the costumes, they were spectacular. Three-time Oscar winning costume designer Colleen Atwood truly transformed Charlize Theron into evil Queen Ravenna through the most avant-garde and medieval-haute-couture wardrobe I've ever seen. Shown above is Ravenna's caged collared wedding dress built from fabrics and findings from Paris and Italy and embroidered with leather to give it an edge. The costume design sketch of her rooster feathered gown and cloak cost an estimated $32,000 and two of them had to be made since one would be covered in oil. This was the very first piece Atwood designed for the film, to be used in teaser trailers where through the help of visual effects transformed into a flock of crows. The intricate detailing and beautifully rendered fabric make for quite an impressive costume sketch.

For more about Atwoods costume designs for Snow White & the Huntsman you can check out this Vanity Fair article and I highly recommend seeing the costumes in action. The queen's crowns and chainmail and spiked leather gowns are a sight to see. 

(Images: Universal Pictures, via Vanity Fair)