Designer

……………………..It’s OSCAR NIGHT once again, and I for one will be watching…..I don’t think I have ever missed an Oscar show , and that’s saying a lot! Even when I was in Italy I would stay up into the wee hours of the morning to watch the live presentation on TV……..I have my favorites, but it seems every year there is always a surprise winner, and likewise a surprise loser……but they are all winners…….right?…………My picks are:….For best picture, Oppenheimer……best director, Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer….best actor, Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer, though Paul Giamatti and Bradley Cooper were very good, but for me it will be Cillian………Best actress will be interesting…..It will be between Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone…….I think Emma should win it, but the historic win will probably go to Ms. Gladstone……..Best supporting actor, Robert Downey Junior for Oppenheimer…..Best supporting actress, DaVine Randolph will win thought Jodie Forster was very good. America Ferrera is always mentioned, but she’s a no for me…..Best song, Billie Eilish’s, “What was I made for”, the Barbie movie….Best costumes is a toss up between Oppenheimer, Strange Things, and Napolean……I’m hoping Strange Things, but it could go to any of the three. however Napolean got such bad reviews they may not reward it for anything…..Best animated feature…..I haven’t seen any of them, but I’m going with “The Boy and the Heron”. That’s the one that’s been talked about the most……..Best cinematography I’m giving to Oppenheimer though “Poor Things” could steal it…….The spoiler for any category could be “Anatomy of a Fall”…..I hope not, but every Oscar has a spoiler! I have no opinion about the other categories. I always guess and loose. Jac always won or tied the contests we were in at parties!……………….REMEMBER!!!!!!! It’s on an hour earlier at 7:00pm EST. I guess that’s because we turned the clocks ahead one hour?????

…………….The dress at the upper left had a stretch matte jersey top with a stretch sheer back….which was actually a BODYSUIT. I chose to make the top a bodysuit because it kept it very taut and never rode up from the attached georgette bias skirt…It came with a separate leather belt….The next dress at the upper left says stretch matte jersey, but I think I finally decided on Silk Cady. It had sheer inserts of triangular shapes in different sizes. The back was solid with a back zipper……..The long dress to the right was in stretch matte jersey. The sheer section of the dress curved around the torso of the body in an interesting shape…..ending in a low back……..What I loved was that there was NO ARMHOLE in the short sleeve, so it was very clean without any seams. The dress had a super high slit!……….Head bands in the matte jersey, and mirrored sunglasses were the accessories drawn.

…………………I watch a lot of……YouTube…….It entertains me……I love to listen to these incredibly talented singers from around the world…….Once in a while one of these talented people reaches me to the core like no other has…….Timothy James Bowen………is one of those people……He was on “THE VOICE AUSTRALIA”, and I wish I could hear him sing again……His rendition of…..”I Can’t Make You Love Me”…..will melt you away…….I haven’t heard anyone sing it as well as him…..since Bonnie Rait!…………His story is inspirational!…….He is a 30 year old, stage 4 cancer survivor who had a rare blood cancer…..He tells of how his wife Christina, pictured at the right, was by his side and pulled him through….”THUNDER & FLAME”…..He got a FOUR CHAIR TURN almost immediately, and had the judges under his spell……….When he finished singing everyone wanted more, and request he sing another song…..Timothy, a singer songwriter, sang for them an original song that he wrote for his wife as a wedding present……..It’s called…..”The Greatest Thing”………I’m telling you if you’re in the mood to have your heart strings pulled go to YouTube and listen to Timothy sing…..you’ll listen to him, as I have, over and over again……………..and just look at that SMILE!

………………..As you can see from these many croquis, my fascination with “sheer” continued for Resort 1986. I would sketch everything sheer that came into my head until I was ready to move on…..At the lower left is a white cotton satin, [different from cotton sateen], zip front jacket with a sheer BONED corset midsection. It had faux pocket flaps, and inseam pockets. The jacket had body seams for shape. It also had a narrow collar and lapel…….The cropped bustier was also in the cotton satin. It had a zip front and a sheer boned midsection……The pant was a low rise wide leg style with a side zipper to keep the front and back clean…….The three button, very fitted jacket with oversized patch pockets, at the upper right, had a sheer back…There was also a matching pencil skirt…….All of the sheer fabrics had…….S-T-R-E-T-C-H!

……………..Additional croquis for Resort 86’…..On the left….the stretch rayon matte jersey tank dress with the stretch chiffon back, and wide bordered hem….This particular white matte jersey was weighty and dense enough that it wasn’t see through as some white fabrics can be….Next is a group of rib knit ideas…..a skirt…..in the middle a short sleeve Henley type shirt sweater with cotton poplin trims, and wide leg high waisted tuxedo pants, and a crop cardigan, with elbow sleeves, again with cotton poplin trims worn with stretch cotton crepe side zip shorts.