Lucy Punch in Behrle NYC Leather

Still from "Dinner with Schmucks" courtesy M.Vogt

This is the Trinity Dress, featured on Lucy Punch in "Dinner with Schmucks",  in beautiful soft French patent leather.  It is reversible (V front or V back) and can be custom made in various leathers and colors.

It is available individually made-to-order as shown in standard sizes. 

Contact us Here with any questions or for an appointment.

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Lucy Punch in Behrle NYC Leather

Bearskins vs Stella McCartney

 I do admire Stella McCartney for sticking to her guns and being in the position to make some real impact.  However,  I don't admire the pushing of petroleum products that have a half-life of 50,000 plus years in a landfill.  I don't like the idea of bears (or any animal) being killed only for their fur,  but that is not the case here as the bears are culled for population control in Canada, which has a highly regulated fur industry.  

 photo of real Bearskin hats from Telegraph UK 2008 announcing contest for alternative bearskin

I expect these  bearskin (hats) when well taken care of,  last at least 10-15 years  and probably a great deal longer.  I would not be at all surprised if one guard has one hat, that lasts the entire lifetime of his career and is then handed down as a treasured family keepsake.  I don't imaging they are needing to make a gazillion of them either.

I have found PETA and it's like to be highly hypocritical over the years.  From the disrespectful open pit burials it promoted  & "gave" for old fur coats that could have been used to keep living people and  animals warm.  Yes, they did eventually figure that one out (first by adding coffins- took longer for the rest) but I think more as a result of bad press than reality.  They don't ever seem to take into account the damage of synthetic petrol based good that are inundating the world's landfills.  I know there are all sorts of hi-tech finishes that can make polyester microfibers "absorbent" but those are  chemical additions and "finishes".   (Think  surface,  faux,  temporary, and mostly,  chemical.)  Add to that the sheer volume of synthetics on the market, as well as  how long it actually lasts in real usage,  a month?  6 months?  A year?  On top of this we have such well informed fashion sites like Refinery 29 and Fashionista with their writers who have touted such a creature as "Organic Nylon".  ARRRGGH! 

For sure,  leather is not a blameless material, (almost nothing is any more)  from GM cotton on up.  But, from my perspective it's the waste involved in so much of manufacturing that is an even bigger issue.  Making thousands of units - that critical mass you need to keep the wheels greased today & make the shelves look full.  OMGod forbid, if Macy's and their ilk do not have their racks at 180% full of synth crap at all times,  you'd think we'd all drop dead! (... that is, if the polyester fumes on the 2nd floor on 34th street weren't enough to knock you down first!)

This is (very wrongly, I think) called the "economy of scale".  Anyone who has taken a serious old school business course knows that this economy of scale eventually collapses under its own weight.  It costs more and more to continue growing it & the arc flattens out.  Now we know that arc is not just a profit arc and  it is costing us all a whole lot more than just money.

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Bearskins vs Stella McCartney

Designer Abayas!

Interesting Article from Bloomberg on Harrods and Designer abayas,  even my other favorite leather designer Jean-Claude Jitrois is in on it! (Alaia & JCJ as far as their leather work, are about it...)
This is  a fabulous idea and honestly from what I can tell of the designs of these 2 sisters,  not far off from very luxurious, voluminous evening gowns,  1980's style.  They certainly don't look like what we here in the West associate with this encompassing garment,  and they are certainly a far, far cry from  burquas, which represents suppression to many people. 

I wonder what the rules are on prints, bright colors and head coverings?  The Das resort 2010 collection is very colorful and looks nothing at all like you would expect.  Very fashionable and elegant. Do they offer matching niqāb?   I would love to see the whole thing put together.

Abayas from DAS

I met a student once who was writing a thesis on full coverage Islamic dressing,  specifically burqas.  He was American of Middle Eastern decent and he dressed in a burqa,  in both the UA as well as in the USA - Middle America too, as I recall)  as part of his research.  He said he felt the whole experience was very disturbing & demeaning.  I don't know how much of this was because he was a man dressing in women's clothing in places it's strictly verboten,  the possibility of getting caught had to be quite scary.

...& uncomfortable,  since for the masses,  burqas are made of polyester - how there are not women expiring from heat stroke everyday is beyond me,  that's gotta be like wearing a full body plastic bag!

I wonder if burqas will ever become part of the "designer market" as well?

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Designer Abayas!

BehrleNYC at the Movies

A little leather project I did about this time last year for the movie "Dinner with Schmucks" is finally going to be out at the end of the month and we are very,very excited to see the results on the big screen.  It's signature Behrle NYC leather and apparently gets to do stunts!   On a gorgeous, fabulous person no less, and it sounds like its part of an integral sequence in the flick. (X-ing fingers here!) So should be fun!  (I will post a photo once the movie is out-  tho if you dig around on the web, it seems some have gotten out - how do they do that? or better question - really, is...how do they prevent that????

Recently, we rented the original "un dîner de cons" and even without subtitles (dead, on the disc we got) the little bit we sat through  looked very funny.  So.... Here's to summer movies & a BIG hit! I want everybody googling "leather + _____ + dinner with schmucks"!

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BehrleNYC at the Movies

Custom Made Wedding Dress Part 5

OK, I am back to this project...on to the back section now.

I chose a section of the center tablecloth medallion that allows for matching and seam allowance and inset the zipper on one side. Finishing the top edge as far as the point where the strap will be inset: 

zipper sewn on left, right is roughly pinned

The zipper has a plaquet to protect the skin from the teeth, and the bone of the underlining will butt up right against the zipper, but inside- between the layers:

left side stitched- right foundation layer

First,  I match up the lace overlay- it takes several tries to get it very close- nothing on this cloth is a perfect mirror since it is all hand embroidered:

 Right side, lace overlay only, pinned

I hand baste it & then I match up the body-underlay, the layer of cotton with the silk basted on:

 Body layer placed

Then the boned underlining/ foundation layer- each step gets hand basted:

Foundation layer, placed

How it looks from the inside:

How it looks from the inside

Both sides, matched & finished along top edge to strap inset point and turned the side panels wrap around and complete the back so lace is not yet hand-stitched down to body layer: 

At this point I'm thinking I can match the shaped edge of the medallion at the bottom to either the finished edge of the corset or to the seam attaching the bodice to the skirt- since still don't know if skirt is going to be absolutely attached. 

Next comes the really tricky part.

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Custom Made Wedding Dress Part 5

Can't Buy Me Love...or Taste.

I don't know why (wait -yes I do!),  it always dismays me when I read something that yet again equates "Luxury" purely with the amount of money something costs.  Real luxury is something much, much more than that.  It's getting to sit down and enjoy a wonderfully hand-prepared meal with people you love, leisurely.  ( Happy 4th! Enjoy the day!)   It's getting time to sit in the sun and relax- listen to the waves or the calming white noise from the bakery across the street.  It's having a cat purring contentedly on your chest.  

It's incredibly wonderful to be able to have the luxury of a beautifully made and perfectly fitted garment on your body.  Here, even the most unlikely fit - even very corseted or tight- is actually comfortable over long periods of time.   And yes, many Luxuries cost money,  (and so they should) from custom-made-anything to having a private jet, or driving that Cobra...

What I don't really get is that somewhere along the line someone also has to then  encrust it with diamonds,  & say they are a "designer" so they can put an insane price tag on it and sell it to someone who I can only think has too much $$$ and very, very low self-esteem.....(Along with nothing to do with their money- which is inconceivable in this day and age -  help solve the BP leak problem - contribute to an an award.  Put some kids through school - establish a scholarship or part of one- Jeeze, adopt a kid, build a school....there are a gazillion things.  Help fund a small business for crying out loud- but not like this!)
  

 600 hours to make?  They are including the cutting of the diamonds I presume...

This is not "Luxury".  This is just pure silliness.  

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Can't Buy Me Love...or Taste.