Street fashion, 2011-style!

Another year, another summer... and occasionally I remember to take my camera with me, to see what's going on style-wise on the streets.

Here are the three looks very recently snapped when I was out and about.  As it so happens, all were taken either at the bus stop, in the subway or on the bus.  Does this mean environmentally-conscious transit users are also more stylish than other people? 


What I like about the first look is the sheer simplicity.  This lady has on a white linen summer dress and everything else she's wearing is fawn: purse, jacket and shoes.  On some people, this combination would look rather blah but, because of her coloring,  she's able to pull it off to great effect. 

The second young lady I snapped on the bus.  Her look is also very effective because she essentially is wearing two colors.  She has on a navy blue top and - somewhat faded - navy blue jeans, yellow ballet flats and a very smart yellow satchel-style purse.  Her headband is also a light yellow color. 

The third lady almost got away from me.  But I did manage to get a snap as she raced up the escalator.  She was quite tall, so her longer leg helped her move more quickly than some of the rest of us.  her outfit was also very simple and very effective.  I had a chance to look at her close up in the subway car; her gold necklace matched her gold colored sandals, she had on a chocolate brown dress and carried a bright pink purse.

What's interesting about these looks is that none of the items were particularly expensive and probably most of the items were things the wearer has had for some time. 

If I remember to take my camera out and about more often, I'll post more "sightings" on a future blog. in the meantime, keep stylin'!

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

What's She Up To Now?

It's been a while since I posted to this blog.  I know, in theory, a blogger is supposed to post every day but... in practice,I don't have the time for that! And, I suspect, if I don't have the time to post every day, plenty of people don't have the time to read every day. So, I will continue with my occasional posts...

Earlier in 2011, I made the decision not to show on the runway this year. It takes a lot of effort to mount a runway show and I prefer to focus on quality not quanitty. There is a show I am looking to do in late 2012, assuming it is held next year, so more on that at a later date...

In the meantime, I'm concentrating on what's known as "wearable art" pieces. These are all one-of-a-kind items and I'm gearing up to submit to shows. What I like about wearable art, apart from the creative scope it offers, is that I get to use pieces of fabric left over from my clothing creations and thus I'm recycling materials that would otherwise have to be discarded.

Until I know which shows I'll be taking part in, I'm only offering teaser views of my work but much of my wearable art involves applique and embroidery. Some of it also involves an unusual approach to weaving... but that's a subject for a blog post at a later date!

Photos: Top to bottom
Top: Some appliqued leaves
Middle: Leaves assembled for incorporation into the wearable art piece
Bottom: Shapes yet to be assembled... what will they become? 







Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Women want any color - as long as it's black!

Any funerals on your agenda?

Henry Ford, the automotive magnate, sure started a trend all those years ago.

Ford used to tell his customers, in the early days of the automobile: "You can have one in any color - as long as it's black!"

Seems the trend stuck. In spite of the fact color is back for spring and color blocking is the big trend,  women today want clothes in any color - as long as it's black.

Golly! A smidgen of color!

Recently, I sauntered around a department store, to see what was on offer. Before entering the department store, I also glanced in the various smaller bourtiques at the mall. In all cases, I found the same story...

Women want any color - as long as it's black!

I can't help thinking how dull this makes everyone look. It's as if they all lay down on the road when the asphalt is being put down and then all got up tarred the exact same way.

Seek and ye shall find - a colored dress!

It also suggests the edicts of a century ago when, as soon as anyone in your family died, custom dictated you wore black -sometimes for years at a stretch - are still in force. Hmmm... perhaps today's ladies aren't very liberated?




In contrast, look at the lovely colors we offered at our recent trunk show. At Harobed Designs, we think everyone looks better in color so we will continue to design in color. (After all, our mandate is to clothe the few not the many.)

Blues..yellows...pinks...reds...greens... and more!

Why not make this the spring you ditch the mourning clothes and sally forth with a splash of color?

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

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