Live Out Loud Colors for Fall 2012

Fall looks incredible - we made up styles from the line in special order colors and they are out of this world!

What a difference color makes!

And not just color- since I showed none of these styles in straight out black, but simply a change of color.

This is why I love doing custom made and special order  - there is no way we could sample the range of colors I offer.

Working in leather is way different than working in fabric.  First off we work in square feet- not in linear yards- the average linear yard is 11.25 sq feet (45" wide).  Cutting in leather... to utilize the grain and avoid the flaws, the industry considers a 30% loss normal so that's about 15 square feet of leather to one yard of 45" wide cloth.  Put simply,  leather easily costs 15X more than fabric since the per foot cost equals and usually exceeds the per yard cost of a decent fabric.

Right there that limits my samples!

In some cases you can get a higher loss - leather is a natural fiber so you can get a lot that is full of flaws & very hard to cut - table cutting is like a puzzle and a poor quality lot makes it a nasty one.  Not only do you loose yield , but it also takes a great deal longer to cut the same garment.

'cuse me, but ... leather is an entirely different animal! 

When I offer colors in leather- they work- feel secure & we'll get the world (well mostly NYC :) past black!!!

Live Out Loud Colors for Fall 2012

OUR NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE!

Just a Teaser from the new line!  Check it out...

This blog will no longer be updated on anything remotely resembling a regular basis.
Our new Blog now lives on the new site like it is supposed to!  Yippee!

I want to Thank Dave Rooney of Zava Design for making it all possible.  He's been great! I highly recommend him!  Also I want to thank to Phillip Wong for the amazing (AMAZING) photography & Karen Fleisch for all her help in getting the line together as well as Erin Laessle & Mary Banker who have been assisting with so much other stuff it cannot even begin to fit here. 

Thank You All!

 

SEE YOU THERE!

OUR NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE!

Inspired by a Muse

Reversible leather turban inspired by LouLou de la Falaise & featured in Vogue magazine (March 2012)

Inspired by a Muse

The State of Skins

In the last few months  I've seen a few blips in the echosphere that I found quite entertaining as well as something to think about.

I guess it was in the fall when I saw something about a leather covered Ferrari.  Cool idea,  lots of negative comments.   Regarding:  cleaning, scratching, water, etc.etc. etc.   (with a couple of smart people saying if it's leather, water shouldn't be a problem- cows live outside and get wet- no big deal-they are on it!)

foiled "leather" car

That is if it were REAL leather. Nah- it's not,  it's basically a fancy decal. and a poor one at that- weird grain, with poor and very visible repeat (ask a textile designer) even in far shots. Nice idea,  poor execution.

My fantasy is that one day they could build that prototype car that had the movable skin- remember that? Was that about 2-3 years ago?  The skin would be LEATHER...that's my fantasy. 

fantasy leather car

Stretch leather today is not quite there.  It's one way stretch and not quite enough return.  I saw stretch "leather" goods out of China a while back that stretched equally 2 ways!  (real leather does not quite do that!)  It was leather - but weirdly re-constituted.  The effect was that of Cher's face -no offense to Cher - but we are talking leather here- so what I want is REAL.  Maybe 15 years ago I saw a US (Washington State?) tannery making washable  skins that could stretch like that, if you ordered that finish.  No Lycra backing, Where are they now???

I hate to think of the chemicals and effort that went into creating that weird leather perfection from China.  But I guess if I were into weird leather perfection,  I'd be into latex.

...my fetish, my talisman is cut.

The State of Skins

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!

Dreaming

I saw Blondie the other nite- and I'm thinking about that song... and here I want to...I am dreaming of  creating  a couple jobs - no, scratch that- more than a couple.  I want to build a high end manufacturing company,  here- in the USA- in NYC to be specific.  I want to employ skilled labor, and even more importantly TRAIN skilled labor.  That is my dream.  I am not interested in competing with China - why even go there? There are much, much better places to go.

Having (mis)placed our hopes (and too many eggs) into the Financial industries, what has come of it?  What has been produced?  What goods? What Productive jobs?  Practical services? Any actual ability?  (Besides pushing numbers around?)  Can they build this?  Or anyhing?

 So, while dreaming is free - giving up the dream is not...

Dreaming

Traveling Leather

This is a recent project for a client who travels a lot.  It needed to be light enough to be worn in many climates, and packable without adding too much weight.  The client brought to me a jacket he'd  purchased several years ago, from a well know European designer.  It was incredibly light weight and also very worn out.  In fact, it was actually pleather! (for lack of a better term)

He'd believed it to be leather at the time he purchased it and it did have an amazing hand to it.  It could have easily pass as leather when it was new, except for the weight.  Really, it was so good  only someone who really versed  in leather would be able to tell.  Plus the workmanship in it was very high, quite odd to put that work into a synthetic...

But, what had happened over 4 years of wear was inevitable with a petrol product.  The jacket's finish had virtually disintegrated everywhere there was friction, contact with the skin or the even the slightest perspiration!  The edges, the cuffs, full across the back, the collar, and the underarm area- to the elbow!

He wanted the jacket re-created as closely as possible, in real leather.  keeping it as light as possible and seamless along the length like the original. (This is often impossible since the very light skins tend to be very small and just don't allow for the length required in a men's jacket.)  It worked out perfectly that the one skin that usually runs larger suited this project to a T).  There were also fit adjustments needed, to have a really well fitting jacket.

This is the finished jacket:

The new jacket - just a little heavier than the original,  has minimal inner construction, to keep the weight down.  And,  it can comfortably go from Lima to London without adding too much extra to the carry on.

Traveling Leather

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

Blood on the Snow

It is falling solidly right now - from where I am sitting you can hardly see across the way.  It may go on like this for days.   Looking at the photos of this jacket I recently finished  got me thinking of the Grimm's Brothers version of Snow White and the blood drop in the snow...

This color is probably my favorite color, especially in leather, a true, true oxblood. The combo of red and black against white has always struck me.  Perhaps it goes back to when I was about 3 or 4 and cut my foot and bled all over the black and white checkerboard floor.  It stopped me in my tracks, I have such a vivid memory of the colors and the contrast.

This is my fantasy Motorcycle Jacket.  It was inspired by and created for a great client and very cool guy. Buzz Bissinger. I hope he gets to wear it in the snow.

Blood on the Snow

Whose side are they on?

I met with a prospective intern Friday. They came to me on their own to see if we could do a credit internship. Their school is one of the big Fashion schools here in NYC, the so called "Fashion Capital of the World". The school did not direct them to me, since they requested an internship opportunity that would provide them with "hands on" experience. Apparently- the school basically told them - you're on your own since "nobody does that" anymore.

When you have an "industry" school completely discounting an entire class of independent & entrepreneurial and skill-based businesses in this city and beyond we are in a very, very sad state. Fashion is not all Illustrator croquis that you can punch up, mix and match and send to China with a spec sheet. I feel this is very misguided, and shows a real lack of support for these businesses and local industry as a whole.

Nobody does that anymore? Perhaps they mean Carlos Falchi,  Koos Van Den Akker, and many others?

Have they seen Etsy? All the smaller makers, creating unique and limited edition items at all price ranges. All the buzz on Brooklyn Designers? Not to mention all small makers from everywhere else in the world. Because of Etsy there is a new and nascent class of local, hand-made and specialty production businesses. EVERYWHERE. Turning out an amazing range of beautiful jewelry, (more on that later) clothing, corsetry, leather work, furniture, you name it. This is a whole new world, and it is not just people working at their kitchen tables.

The WSJ notes here that the biggest growth in the Luxury market is coming not from "the rich", but from "the Aspirationals" & "Newcomers".

I think a lot of this is also because people, across the board are sick of disappointing purchases. They want things they can enjoy for more than a single seasonal (or laundry) cycle. If it means spending more, -fine- in the end it lasts longer and is a much more satisfying -and personal- purchase.

It is up to us to support local, independent & entrepreneurial and skill-based businesses. Here in NYC, in Brooklyn or wherever you are.

Whose side are they on?

Rolex Jacket Icon- Mystery Solved?

I was so happily surprised to open up a copy of Elle magazine and find
a new picture of my leather Aviatrix jacket that was commissioned by Rolex for a campaign themed around the Rolex watches worn by historical icons.

Jacket By Carla Dawn Behrle/ BehrleNYC, for Rolex

Then, moments later I got an email from the stylist in Rome telling me it is also featured on the back cover of V magazine!  Double surprise.  I am very glad this campaign has been so successful,  especially since both the stylist and I thought this particular shoot was not going to see the light of day.

The model is incredible, (I personally love this variation…) the photo is incredible and of course the Icon is a pure American Legend.  I think the photo brilliantly captures so much of the spirit of the legend. The adventure, the strength, the dreams and the goals.

The timing is wild too since the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance seems closer to being solved than ever…

For information on purchasing a  Made-to-Order or Custom Made variation of this jacket Please contact me directly via this link.

I am  unable to respond directly to comments left anonymously.  If you do want to comment
( I love comments!)  and and would like a direct response rather than just a comment on this blog.
You do need to provide an e-mail in the email field.   It will not appear here at all, it remains completely private. Promise.

Rolex Jacket Icon- Mystery Solved?

Custom Made Leather Jeans; the Process

Custom-Made is different from Made-to-Order.  Made-to-Order is where an existing pattern is cut with small modifications to the original fit.  Or it can be a standard pattern cut in a non-standard fabrication.

Custom made is specifically cut & tailored to fit one individual  body.
Bespoke is specifically men's wear (English).  Haute couture is  specifically women's wear (French).  Both are individually cut and fit custom- made garments. 

At Behrle NYC,  This is how we make all our men's jeans.  (We do made-to-order in women's styles only).  I am always asked if we do Custom-Made via mail order.  The answer is YES.

The Process:  for Mail Order.

Please contact us via the contact form and include your email address.

You may provide a brief description of what you are looking for - color/style, etc. 

We will contact you for additional information & then send you a measurement chart with instructions and a diagram showing you how to measure. You can take this to a tailor or fill it out yourself- (it's best to have help). The more info you can provide - the better.  We are here & happy to answer any questions.

Send back the completed chart back along with 3 clear photos taken in a well fitting pair of pants- stand straight and relaxed. We need to see front, side and back (full length or torso to floor- it doesn't matter)

We send an invoice for deposit via Paypal (payable within credit card)   Once the measurements & photos are is received, along with your deposit, we start on your muslin, (aka a "toile") which is a cotton fitting garment.  

In approx a week to 10 days (depending on the season) you will receive your muslin/toile along with swatches of leather (based on your preferences),  pins & instructions on how to fit.  You will try it on and mark &/or pin any changes/adjustments and again provide clear photos as before. (front, side and back.)  This way we can see any additional adjustments that will allow us to perfect and customize the fit to you.  You return the marked pinned muslin with your choice of leather noted.
 
Pattern is corrected & finalized before anything is cut in leather. When pants are done we let you know and invoice the balance which is due before we to ship.

Working by mail order occasionally requires a second muslin, so rush projects will not be accepted by mail.   3-4 weeks is minimal time frame for mail order, depending on the season.  The final shipping charges will vary according to method and location.

We have a standard price range for classic men's jeans that is based on a limited range of currently popular leathers.  However, since Leather prices and availability are subject to change we do not list prices here. You must contact us for current information. 

Stretch leather, exotics, specialty finishes & details like cordovan lacing, contrast top stitching, appliqué and inlay work are not part of this basic range. These are estimated on a per project basis and the time frame on specialty projects vary accordingly.  For More information please see our FAQS page.

 More Examples of Our Custom Made and Specialty Leather Work.

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Custom Made Leather Jeans; the Process

Size Lies & Why it's called Custom Made

I do custom made, via mail order,  all the time.   I get requests for this service from all over the world.  It is not a simple process and requires work on the clients part as well.  It entails a pretty detailed list of measurements needed from the client (supplied with an equally detailed set of instructions). 

It can be filled out by the client, with help of a friend or tailor, and I make myself available to help via e-mail or phone.  I make mostly pants this way.  I have done much more complicated pieces like Catsuits and Jackets via the mail,  but I want at very least one in-person fitting on these types of projects! 

When clients see the chart,  many US clients,  in their initial panic upon seeing it  (Pl-eeze, it is 2 pages including instructions!) is:  "But my my jeans size is______"

The answer to that one is HERE.  Courtesy of  Esquire's Excellent Style Blog. 

It should be required reading.   It is true for both Men's & Women's jeans.

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Size Lies & Why it's called Custom Made

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

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