Everything on the internet is s-l-o-w right now.  Not sure what that is about - but I feel like I'm on dial up- no kidding. (bad flashbacks to 1999 in the freezing cold shop)  OK- that was fun ... but you do remember what that was like?

I have been on here less and less lately as we have been busy developing the new line for Fall 2012.  I have been sourcing some incredibly (insanely) beautiful leathers and the whole aesthetic of the line is being bumped up tremendously,  it's very exciting.

Pattern making is a long and strenuous process here, it starts out like molasses- slow and sticky.  The process of developing all new fit slopers is always somehow traumatic for me, even when the changes could be considered fairly subtle.  What I do know is that they will step up the fit and final product yet another notch. 

 We are all such creatures of habit in our own ways,  I stick to the familiar for as long as I feel comfortable and then - well- it's all gotta move - I tend to shift before I'm really consciously aware of "discomfort".  It's an undeniable pull, and I often fight it.  In the case of redeveloping fit - I am so picky and it does take me a bit to get into it- I create many, many multiples of variations before I am finally happy with the fit.

After that- comes the styles.  I was organizing the studio Friday and realized I had at least 5 muslin phases for one (very deceptively) simple dress.  I did not want to count further.  It may be a minor William Ware Theiss moment- but for production- big difference.  Check out the "Theiss Titillation Theory".

He was my design hero when I was a kid....really got me into it.  I am forever indebted.

This is example of a muslin, not one from this line, but from a very special custom made project I did about 2 years ago. 

fitting muslin for a custom made leather jumpsuit

Anyhow- now we are in the groove...new patterns are lining up daily on the rack  -very soon to be luscious leather samples!

Happy Summer

I hope your 4th of July was wonderful, relaxing and and thought provoking.... to me it is the big kick off to summer.  The weather is nicer, the BBQ tastes better,  and you get a bit more time to spend with friends and loved ones this time of year....thought provoking because of all the things it means on so many levels, which can get lost in all the hoopla.   So, I am going to post a bit thematically here, since I recently got to work on several fun projects in that most wonderful color scheme...

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” Albert Einstein

“As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.” 

George Washington

“I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool, the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise the fact by speaking” Woodrow Wilson

“So, Two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism” EM Forster

Happy Summer

My very own Scarlett O'Hara, GWTW Moment

Been busy and way backed up with posting here, even without the glitches-  I am once and for all going to finish my custom made wedding dress series,  right here and right now - before I get back to leather & before my first anniversary!!!!

(…and yes to all my :) customers….before you ask…I am still married!!!  & I do love you guys…)

For those of you who've not been here before and are not interested in looking back,  in a nutshell, this dress is my very own Scarlett O'Hara moment.

It's made from my husband's Mother's (& we think, her mother's) antique hand-embroidered, cut-work linen tablecloth.

I will leave my former fiance's initial reaction - when I announced what I was going to do with this very old,  very well loved and very, very stained tablecloth - to your imagination...

Ta Da!

...and this was our "First Dance" Music!

My very own Scarlett O'Hara, GWTW Moment

The Word of Luxury, or Cars and Girls

In Fashion or branding, what do you think of when you think of Luxury?   Is it Hermes?   Or perhaps Louis Vuitton?   How About American Eagle or Urban Decay?   How is it that ALL of these things have been labeled at one point or another as "Luxury"?  

Really, what is it?  Is it D & G masquerading as Forever 21:

Or is  it a $75,000.00 Balmain crocodile jacket?
Is it exclusivity?   Or something more like this?   If you've watched this movie  you'll have drooled over seriously fantastic luxury in a big way!


Is it what you receive from it?  Sheer pleasure or pure bragging rights?  A new Ferarri or an original 1965 Shelby? 

 How about a 1957 Ferrari?

( Is this not the epitome of Luxury?  Better yet if you drive it daily!  Dammit, why can they DESIGN cars like this anymore???)  

Or is it… (as the old song goes) A Winnebago??? Heck a HERD of Winnebagos!  (Disclaimer later) or  a baby's arm holding an apple…?


Luxury could mean the freedom of this…

 Fee Waybill as QuayLude

Or this…

 Daphne Guinness as... Daphne Guinness.

Luxury,   it means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Indefinable, elusive, emotional, visceral, shallow & at the same time incredibly vital.


It is continually evolving & expressing & Inspiring.

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The Word of Luxury, or Cars and Girls

Wonder Woman Obsession

I am fascinated with the obsession over Wonder Woman's new costume.  While it's been years since I've been involved in the comics world,  mainstream or otherwise,  I am a big fan of Kaz and years ago did costumes for live appearances and book covers of many of Frank Thorne's characters.  From Ghita of Alizarr,   to Lann s2ex,   to Danger Rangerette,  as well as Red Sonja,  (hey, what on earth happened to that movie?) a character Frank took on after Barry Windsor Smith. - (Disclaimer; my sister is in many of the photos on this last link- & one day I may even post good scans!)  Actually, come to think of it,  the whole comic book thing may be the beginning of my decent into leather!

Do those leggings have a "mom" rise?

There's been some great debate going on about the new WW costume with tons of wild & great takes on it posted in various forums.   From Fan Art to Fashionistas,  the debate this has stirred up is inspiring.  Plus,  looking at all the permutations the costume has taken over the years,  is a lot of fun.

My favorite variation of the re-design, (at least the one that I could locate today) is this one,

I've looked everywhere for my real favorite, but there is no way to search these forums by images... so I can't post it here :(  realized I will probably never find it again... Someone closed up the neckline,  killed the jacket and got rid of the carpal casts, in favor of something...sleek & dangerous looking.  I believe they added boots,  something to break up that unrelenting black.   They also tweeked the belt /lasso- it just all worked much, much better as a take on this design.

My own take is either commit & cut the top LOW or commit and make her TOUGH and sexy,  I think if you have a body like this (or whoever they will cast in the movie) - skin tight ought to cover it.   I am thrilled that they thought to put her in leather,  but  a bad 1980's cropped biker jacket?  Why not the hair to go with it?  I am very happy they dumped the silly star-spangled briefs and super red boot combo.  But I think they completely wimped out in a lot of respects.  

And, in spite of all protestations on the various forums otherwise, (for practicality's sake, no less...huh?... for a comic book character?)  I think she needs some sharp, super high heeled wedge boots, either over the knee or maybe 3- 4 inches above the ankle, but fitted.  No gappy ankles & not the clunky shaped wedge, more like the curvaceous YSL wedge from maybe 2002- 2003.  Tough and sleek,  none of this middle of the road stuff,  she's Wonder Woman!

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Wonder Woman Obsession

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

Cutwork Linen Wedding Dress, Part 4

Getting down to the wire now!   1 week…. excited!!!   (a little stressed, too many little, time consuming things to do on top of real life)  Dress is done so I am back tracking here- it's all a distant memory so I hope to catch here up sooner rather than later.  
Lace is already applied to backing material, so now the inner workings of the corset and the body start going together.   It's odd construction (ie: nobody does stuff like this anymore- it's closer to couture)  since I don't want any seams in the lace past what is absolutely necessary.  There are quite a few more seams on the inside than the outside which I know will complicate construction down the line. I say screw it...I am more than momentarily sorry later, but I get over it. 


Inside Layer, with corset workings:

 Inside Center Front

Side layer:  lace overlay will continue in one piece from front to side,  hiding the side front seams of the corset.  Side is one layer of cotton with silk overlay- to cut down on weight.  It's about 95 degrees and insanely humid in NYC while working one this dress.

Inside Side Panel-silk basted to cotton-from back

Inner layer and  side layer are attached to bodice layer, turned out, and seams folded and stitched to form casings for last two pieces of front boning. (Oops-forgot some pix here- not sorry)

 Inside & outside together- shown from inside.

I want to use some of the edges in the cutwork-to frame the neck accent & add a little interest, so I have not stitched clear through it, I've allowed little bits of it to poke out framing the neckline:

Cleaned up, trimmed and hand-stitched down:

Maybe a little subtler than I expected, but I like it, these are the sort of little close up details that make things special.

Here you can see the single layer sides extending beyond the edges of the lace medallion- the ace edge  was stitched down with a tiny matching zigzag, trimmed with applique scissors, and the remaining was stitched - by hand,  through the chiffon layer only.  The medallion continues up the shoulder straps - 

without a seam that corresponds to the strap seam on the underlying foundation layer. 

All of this I am doing by gut, I do not know what is going to happen with the skirt or the final fit, since I expect the  fit will be different than fit in muslin and checked at every juncture.  I have not worked in fabric in ages so I don't know what to expect and accommodate for at this point.

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Cutwork Linen Wedding Dress, Part 4

Antique Cutwork Lace Wedding Dress, Part 3

In real time I am almost done with the dress.  (I expect to be done by Sunday the 30th,  tomorrow-barring any massive changes /adjustments or fits of complete anality which don't belong in this project!) Anyhow, I know its now a dress. Rather than a bodice and skirt or even a semi-attached…whatever…

But since I started to do this in actual segments, in blog time,   I'm sticking to that!  You've seen the rough layout, but I will refresh you: 

This is just the front panel, the lace will wrap around to the sides.  I plan to make use of some of the oval edges as well as the motif edges. Just not sure which ones or where at this point.

The lace is carefully back stitched down to the layer of twill and silk.  not too close to the edges, since the sides need to be stitched on later.  I've cut the straps in one piece on the lace layer.  I want the motif as continuous as possible. The basting line 3/4" inside the cut edge is the finished edge I've drafted for.  Parts of this are likely to change since fit was done on muslin and the finished piece entails several layers and will be thicker so we'll see…

Thread is wrapped around needle, for portage.  (I watched "In Cold Blood" while doing the handwork- Great movie!  It took far too long for me to get to...)

From the front, stitched in a mocha/taupe along edges of cutwork- I was very lucky to have an old,

old spool of thread that was a perfect match to the embroidery! 

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Antique Cutwork Lace Wedding Dress, Part 3

Custom Made Wedding Bodice-part 2

First the fun part  of re-doing the front foundation.  (PITA) I go back to the drawing board to my first instinctual direction (doh!)

Re-cut and re-trace one front panel and trace all the boning points.  Using a piece of the stretch silk I apply it to the twill along the boning marks.  Because of the stretch I don't need to worry about adding room- or perfect stitching.   I use a rough cut piece & trim it later.

Because of the chiffon I do have to worry about the fabric shredding if boning isn't pushed through carefully.  This stuff is sharp!  I lightly melt the edges of the boning,  being very careful not to allow carbon buildup.  Which has potential to be ugly & messy at all times.  (At least no bleeding yet,  which is a given.  I don"t think it counts if you don't bleed on it at some point!)

Then the crossways boning, using what is really the wrong size twill tape (because its here) I make casings over the applied boning- it will be inside, under several layers.  Slip in the boning & trim.  This layer is the lining,  as well as the foundation.

 I'm a little off here,  but it ain't leather - I have not worked in fabric in years- not like this!

 Now no puckering or buckling inside when curving with the body.

Sew the straps to the front bodice:

And layout the lace:

Here I am using a medallion from the center of the tablecloth.  Centering & mirroring as well as possible,  the cloth is not symmetrical,  at all.   Overall it is several inches off.  Still amazing  being entirely stitched by hand and washed a bunch.   I eye it.

The center of the cloth was the most stained.  I cut around this where possible,  not too concerned.  The stains add to the depth of the cloth,  I may spray parts of it with some tea when it is done. Depends.

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Custom Made Wedding Bodice-part 2

Custom- Made Wedding Bodice, part 1

OK. a little delayed in this, but still going to set this up in increments...

Bodice number 2 wins! It suits not only the overall feeling of the fabric, but it also allows for wonderful usage of the medallions.  Number 1 would become a nightmare, especially given my time frame and the very limited hours I have (and want!) to put into this project. I am also a sucker for historical periods & costumes and this is a bit of a Titania variation.

So, for the foundation, I found a nice brushed twill weave cotton that matched the linen beautifully, then I saw a great nude-beige denim that looked incredible under the cut-work, but it was way to heavy weight so I go for the twill.

Back in the studio I re-think this,  I have to find something in that color,  but much lighter in weight. Back out I go & this is my solution:

You can see the subtle contrast between the linen over the twill by itself vs. with a layer of  taupe-y-nude silk chiffon in between the two at the top.  So this is what I'm doing.

The silk-chiffon gets basted to the twill,  this silk has some stretch in it,  (not what I wanted or needed but for the color I will deal. ) It must be handled carefully because the stretch could pucker between the layers if not carefully basted down.

For the front and back panels the twill is cut in two layers one for the outside, which will have the silk & linen over it and one as the foundation layer.  Side panels will be single layer (with silk overlay) & twill is bias cut, for a little extra give & cling.  Here I use the stretch in the silk. (Side panel is shown from the  inside.)

All the basting includes stitching and reference marks.  Silk is trimmed down later.

I had planned on stitching the boning directly to the inside foundation.  This is how that worked out:

Looks OK from the inner side that will be facing the bodice layer (on left), but like hell on the side that will be facing the body. Its not so visible in the photo on the right, but when the foundation is curved as it will be when on the body,  all sorts of puckering appears.  The boning itself is not the good English ridgiline, (is that even made anymore?) but a Chinese version which is a bit less pliable and flexible and will not take on any curve at all when pressed - none of which helps here.

This part gets a re-do.  I had actually thought about doing this a different way at first, then  spaced on it.  So, this goes back to the initial plan.  End of first installment.

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Custom- Made Wedding Bodice, part 1

Happy Halloween from Behrle NYC!!!

from my 1920's Ghostly self...


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Happy Halloween from Behrle NYC!!!

The Rolex Jacket has Finally Landed...

Wow, I had almost forgotten about this jacket... I wonder if the stylist even knows, it's been so long.

But it looks fantastic and I am so glad the photos finally came out!  All around a gorgeous shoot.
Thank You's go out to to a new customer for bring this to my attention,  I really appreciate it.
And Tommaso, wherever you are,  it looks amazing!  When are we gonna work together again!!!?

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The Rolex Jacket has Finally Landed...

Glourious...

I saw Inglourous Basterds last night. I wasn't originally planning to - but after seeing it mentioned on 2 of my favorite blogs, here & here, both of them highlighting the costumes, well... (like I said, I'm a sucker for costumes) I really enjoyed it.

QT has a shoe fetish, and with such great shoes, who wouldn't?

... and of course the leather...

(I must admit, though, after 'Grindhouse' I was a bit apprehensive - I could not stand that movie- dreckola- plus y plus-! I had to force myself to be polite & not ditch my friend in the theater!)

Anyone else see the huge "Brazil" influence in this film? Between the costumes, the mores, & the buffoonish portrayal of so many of the Nazis?

I do hope we will be seeing a lot more of Mélanie Laurent & Christoph Waltz in films here now, they are both tremendous talents.

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Glourious...

The Lost Colony, recreated

Here's an interesting link to more on the re-building of the costumes for "the Lost Colony".

Yes the Queen's costume is like a car, not only in cost (a luxury model I would guess), but in it's dimensions! And I believe the actress wearing it is quite petite! Imagine a 5'1", 100 lb woman encased in a Smart car!

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Now playing: Gogol Bordello - Illumination
via FoxyTunes

The Lost Colony, recreated

"The Lost Colony" Costumes

I had meant to add to my couture and costume post over a week ago, so better late than never.
The costumes were for an incredibly long running production out of North Carolina called
"The Lost Colony" and are designed by William Ivey Long.

It's a very funny coincidence that I happened to have a program from The Lost Colony's second year in production. My Mom saw it as a child and loved it. She'd kept the program pristinely all these years! Here are some images from that program:

And here are some more photos of the new costumes which are replacing costumes lost in a fire last year:






Some finished Dresses:


I want to thank my friend Karin for these beautiful costume photos.

I am very behind on a ton of stuff, all of it computer related. Everything basically stops when I have projects. So only when I get a decent break or am waiting for an appointment and have stuff prepped, am I able to stay on top of this. I would love some help with this, so I'm putting it out there for any of you with ideas and/or suggestions.

I will be posting some more VERY amazing "Lost Colony" photos soon. Never, ever, before seen photos from the Amazon Jungle, circa 1947 or 1948. Some really gorgeous tribal life images.

----------------
Now playing: The Elysian Fields - Bayonne
via FoxyTunes

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"The Lost Colony" Costumes