See You Soon! Studio Hours for Trunk Show & Sale Now Posted!

Just four days to go, so we are posting the hours we will be on site for our  trunk show and sale!

April 14-19,2011.  Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W., Toronto, Studio 201.

Thursday, April 14, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, April 15, 12 noon. to 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 16, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 17, 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, April 18, 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19, 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m..

Please check this blog post before coming to the studio; any changes in our availability will be posted here.

Sea-green washable silk bolero

Now, back to the really important stuff, about all the glorious colors we're going to have on offer.  In the last post I said we would describe some of the beautiful blues as well as some of the yellows.

When it comes to blues, we have everything from ice blue through royal blue and sea green to navy and on to turquoise  We even have a reversible jacket, navy on one side and red on the other, an absolutely stunning piece to add to your closet and extremely versatile when traveling - four jackets in one! As well as jackets we also have tunics in this color group in WASHABLE silk.

As for the yellows, we have daffodil... sunflower... primrose... buttercream... and gold!  Some of these are also reversible, for example, the buttercream reverses to amethyst, another 4-in-1 jacket.

Black & white polka dot jacket -washable!

And then, of course, we have metallics... blacks and whites... it's really too much to try and describe in a blog post, so the best bet is to come down to the studio, April 14 to 19 and see what we have on offer.

Black & white satin tunic

The Gladstone is a fabulous spot to come and browse around, there is usually lots going on in terms of art shows, there are two bars/restaurants on the ground floor, with entertainment in the evening, so round up some friends and make a day or night out of it!

NB: Due to the nature of this event, it will be CASH sales only and all sales are FINAL.



Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer and Harobed Designs

Photo credits: Top -the designer; middle, Dinesh Shettigar; bottom, LEE

One Week To Go! Trunk Show starts April 14...

Apple green & blue on the runway

Creme-de-menthe wool

The count is now on! Our April Trunk Show and Sale starts April 14, 2011, at the Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West at Dufferin, in Toronto.

We just want everyone to know there will be a huge range of COLORS on offer.

In the greens, we have apple green -  a beautiful 'shot' silk as it's known, with blue highlights... a spring weight wool in creme-de-menthe with black accents... a wonderful Viridian green silk with purple(!) trim... a deep emerald green  4-season wool with a shocking pink trim...

As you can tell, our clothes are not for the timid but for
the fashionista who wants something a little out of the ordinary.

Apricot stroller on the runway

Red satin bolero

And within the red/pink spectrum, we have several
wonderful pieces - remember, each is unique and
there is only one of most styles - we have
a stunning peony silk stroller with black trim...
a scarlet satin bolero with petal trim and pewter accents - pewter
is quite a strong trend in this season's accessories -
an apricot and ivory jacket which offers 3 sleeve length
options in the same jacket...
plus coral and cream,
Chinese red with black and white trim,
peach satin,
a ruby and sapphire iridescent bolero...

(Nearly all our boleros are made from WASHABLE fabrics...)

And what about the blues...? Yellows...? Metallics...?  And blacks and whites...?  Check in for our next blog post, when we'll also be posting the hours we'll be at the Gladstone!

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer and Harobed Designs.

Photo credits: Creme-de-menthe wool and apricot stroller: Wes Harkness

Photo credits; red satin bolero and apple green silk: LEE

It's Official! Trunk Show and Sale, April 14-19, Gladstone Hotel

A beautiful primrose stroller (photo credit; Ming Su)

Harobed Designs will be holding a trunk show and sale at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON (Queen Street West near Dufferin).

This is a fabulous opportunity to acquire a unique piece of clothing for your spring/summer wardrobe. Just about everything we're selling is from our runway shows. 

As we've already shown these pieces on the runway, we cannot keep on showing them!

Tell all your friends, especially as there will be a WIDE RANGE OF SIZES! We have many lovely pieces that are size 12 or higher.

Stunning bolero (photo credit LEE)

But nearly all are ONE OF A KIND -  see it, try it on, love it? Then buy it, as it's the only item of its kind!

Stay tuned for further posts. We'll be describing some of the colors available, garment features, and prices as we get closer to the date.

We'll also post the days and times we'll be at our studio on the second floor.

Copyright Harobed Designs and Deborah C. Sawyer

More From Inside the Designer's Mind

Ready for our trunk show!

Lately, I've been surveying all the inventory I have, left over from various runway shows, and have been wondering what to do about it.

For various reasons, I've decided not to present a spring runway collection this year, but instead I'm thinking of having a trunk show with all this inventory.  In the first photo, I'm showing just a small part of the various runway pieces and samples I have left over from the last three runway shows I've done for Harobed Designs.  I'm also thinking of moving, meaning I need to find some way of dealing with these pieces - what better way than to offer them to people at greatly reduced prices, so that anyone who finds something they love can add a unique piece to their wardrobe at a very reasonable price?

Uncut...but not unloved!

As if having all this inventory wasn't bad enough, I also have a good supply of fabric in cut lengths for which I also have to find storage.  (And you thought you had closet problems?!) One whole closet in my home is devoted to pieces of material, which I hang up with skirt hangers, as I find this works well for storing different lengths of cloth.

I also have an abundance of knits and other softer fabrics, such as fleece, stored in wicker baskets and blanket boxes!  Even if international shipping dries up, with no more new fabric brought into town, I can go on designing and  sewing for quite a while yet with the stash of cloth I have!

Better by the basketful?

Anyone interested in being notified about the trunk shows should use the email link on WWW.harobeddesigns.com , which you'll find  under Events on the home page of the website.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Do we really need to match the season?

There is a commonly used expression - the winter blahs - which sums up how people feel about winter in the Northern Hemisphere.  What's really surprising, at this time of year which lacks color in nature, is the way everyone feels the need to dress in a blah style.  It's almost as if we are in camouflage, trying to blend in with our surroundings.

If people claim they feel depressed during the winter, it's not just the lack of sunshine and other factors which are causing this; the way they dress tends to suggest that every day is one long funeral.  In the first photo I'm showing, taken at the bus stop, everyone is wearing a black coat.  The splashes of red you see are actually someone's backpack or bag.




Not everyone, however, feels the need to dress the winter blahs.  On a couple of days out and about, I did manage to catch some people trying to at least liven their look beyond this totality of black.  It doesn't take much to achieve this; even if you want to wear black boots, black pants, black gloves, a black hat and carry a black bag, it's surprising how the introduction of colored coat sparks your whole look.



The photos I'm showing are just ordinary people, not fashion models, so you have to take that into consideration. The lady on the bus in the light blue duffel coat also bothered to find mittens with a blue stripe to match her coat.  Kudos to her, because in her size range, she probably finds it difficult to find things that are more colorful.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Fear of velvet?

Royal Purple Velvet

At my company, Harobed Designs, we just sold another of our lovely Poet Jackets (TM) - which made me think about velvet and the sometimes puzzling reaction I hear from women about it.

First, though, the velvet we use for our Poet Jackets is not the old almost-impossible-to-work-with velvet, which frayed as soon as it saw a pair of scissors and left tufts of itself all over the place while you were working with it.  No, the velvet we use for our Poet Jackets is the lovely modern stretch velvet, with gorgeous properties, not just the colors, but the way it cuts cleanly and doesn't fray... the way it holds its shape... the way it can be machine washed if you so desire...  Velvet that has come a long way since the Middle Ages.

Which leads me to... why is it people, in the modern era, when we are all supposed to be equal, seem to be so afraid of velvet?  Women will admire my Poet Jacket when I wear it and then say: "Oh, but that's too luxurious for me!" or "I could never wear anything as gorgeous as that...". 

Dusk Blue velvet

This concerns me because in the Middle Ages, there were what's known as sumptuary laws, and velvet was a forbidden fabric.  That's right, if you weren't a member the nobility, you weren't supposed to wear it.  Does this mean that some programming went into our DNA long ago, triggering a present-day obedience to these long-defunct laws? 

Perhaps it's time to take another look at all fabrics -silk, velvet, brocade, satin and more - nowadays, all come in  easy-to-wear, easy-care versions.  If nothing else, you'll be striking a blow for equality, since most, in antiquity, were restricted  to those with a title.  Something to think about, next time you are shopping for clothing...

Periwinkle velvet

Pink Blush velvet

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Look Smarter...BE smarter!

Photo One

First, in case I haven't said it before: Happy New Year 2011!  In this blog, I'm holding true to its name by going inside the designer's head, namely, looking at how your thinking, when you are deciding what to wear, can have a bearing on how your day goes.

We all know the workplace has become more casual in recent years and more relaxed styles of dressing are now the norm. Sadly, for many women, "casual" has more correctly become "haphazard", meaning they do not look smart.  Last year, I was taking a course where many of the women - most of whom were my age-mates - would frequently tell me: "You always look so pulled together!".  I suspect, from the way they said this, they thought it took vast amounts of time and effort to make this happen.

The fact is, it just takes a bit of common sense when you shop for things and a wee bit of effort when you get dressed.  The two photos I am showing with this post are a case in point.  Because I work from home, most days I like to dress comfortably and only put on a formal jacket if I am going out and about.  However, if I gave in to just putting on cords and a sweater (photo one),  I would not look very smart.

Photo Two

Contrast photo 1 with the same cords and sweater but now paired with a matching belt and a necklace (photo 2).  Not only do I look more "pulled together" than in the first photo, I actually feel better.  And feeling better about how you look can have a huge bearing on the kind of day you have, whether you work from home or go out to an office.  It doesn't mean you have to dress up over and above what is expected at the office -  unless you want to - but a bit of thought can go a long way.

One of the reasons most women end up with a bitty and "pulled apart" kind of look is that their closets or wardrobes are bitty; they purchase without a plan and don't stick to colors they really love!  If you're still casting around for a New Year's resolution, why not make one that this year, you will take the time and effort to look more pulled together, so that you will not only LOOK smarter, you'll probably also BE smarter i- and will reap the results you want! 


Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer