Nail Art: Dots & Stripes

I love color and patterns, so I decided to mix the two in my recent nail art design! I used a bobby pin for the polka dots, and nailene polish guides for the stripes:

cheers! andrea ♥

Nail Art: Glitter Blocked Nails

I love painting my nails and attempting to create various nail art designs. The below design is what I like to call a “glitter blocked” look:

1) Paint your entire nail with one color. I first used the Sally Hansen “Whirlwind White” Insta-Dri polish.

2) Place nail strips onto your nails. I used Nailene Perfect Tips polish guides and placed them diagonally.

3) Paint the second color on either side of the nail strip. I used Butter London’s “Henley Regatta.”

Cheers! andrea ♥

Neon & Nude

My favorite trend of this season: neon & nude color combos. Live colorfully!!

cheers! andrea ♥

Color Blocked Nails

I love nail polish! I recently experimented with color blocking, and here is the result!

I used the OPI color called “What’s With the Cattitude?” and Butter London’s nail lacquer called “Blagger.” To get the divided look, I used Nailene “Perfect Tips” as seen below.

To get this look, start by painting your entire nail with the lightest color, let dry, place the polish guide strip where desired, and then paint a darker color on one side of the sticker.

I love how nail polish can reflect your mood and personality 🙂

cheers! andrea ♥

Fashion Show Designs

I have completed my two garments that will be in the CSULB Campus Couture Fashion Show this May! I designed and constructed a dress and jacket. Here are the two garments together:

My main inspirations for my dress and jacket design came from the era of the 1950s, Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga, and my style icon Audrey Hepburn.

I was greatly inspired by 1950s fashion. The hourglass silhouette is what mainly stands out to me about that era. I find the silhouette of a fitted bodice and full skirt to be very soft and feminine, which are characteristics I like to portray in my designs. The bold use of prints during this time period inspired my use of the floral print for my dress. Prints such as flowers and polka dots made the clothes of the fifties look even more elegant and feminine. Additionally, the pastel colors used on many garments of the 1950s inspired my light blue color choice for my jacket fabric.

Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga was also an inspiration for me when it came to the silhouette of my dress. In the early 1950s, he designed dresses with a bubble/balloon shaped skirt. I find this shape to be dramatic, unique, and sophisticated.

Audrey Hepburn has always been an inspiration for me as well. She exuded such grace, femininity, and classic elegance. Her style is timeless, and I wanted my garments to reflect her qualities. I created my dress and jacket to be versatile, stylish, unique, feminine, and classic, which are traits that I believe Audrey Hepburn possessed. The feminine details of my garments that make me think of Audrey include the princess seams and lace yoke on my dress, and the center front bow and petal collar on my jacket.

Overall, the styles of the 1950s, designs of Cristobal Balenciaga, and femininity of Audrey Hepburn were the main inspirations for my dress and jacket design.

cheers! andrea ♥

My Dress Design

I recently completed designing and constructing a dress for my Advanced Flat Pattern class.

My design inspiration for the dress was the 1950s silhouette of a fitted bodice and flared/voluminous skirt. Audrey Hepburn’s classic and sophisticated style was a great inspiration for me as well. I also drew inspiration from Spanish fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga, (I too am part Spanish) who, in the early 1950s, designed dresses that had balloon/bubble skirts.

Andrea Medina design

Andrea Medina design

I decided to design a dress with a fitted, princess line bodice, a-symmetrical bubble skirt, and a pencil skirt under the bubble skirt. To reflect the Spring season, I chose to use a cotton fabric with a bright turquoise and lavender, all-over floral print. My focus was to make the dress look sophisticated, ladylike, and youthful at the same time. I love details in garments, and my unique details come in to play by incorporating turquoise lace on the bodice and tulle inside the skirt to emphasize the bubble shape.

Here is one of my favorite bubble/balloon dresses by Balenciaga from 1958:

Turquoise Balenciaga evening gown from 1958

Thank you for taking the time to learn about/see my design. I am very proud of my end result.

cheers! andrea ♥