Today I have another interview for you! Today it is with Araby Designs :) Well..remember the first challenge of the week, to create your own version of one of Katniss's Outfits? Well that's exactly what Ashlee @ Araby Designs does!

 

I have been crafting and tinkering my whole life, but I didn't actually start sewing until Star Wars: Ep I came out in 1999. The costumes were so over the top fantastic...I knew I wanted to learn how to make clothes like that. I received my first sewing maching shortly thereafter and the rest is history!

Wow...inspiration is everywhere! There are so many films out there with fantastic costumes/clothing--somtimes I'll stare at a costume in a movie and wonder what it would take to make one myself. I also turn to nature alot...I've sketched several nymph and fairy gowns based on different aspects of nature. And history, of course...I have a degree in English Lit, so I look to my stacks of books (both historical and fiction) for inspiration when plotting my next costume. Right now, I'm cooking up a regency dress as well as an 18th century robe Francais.

Celebrities!!!! I've always marveled at Heidi Klum's Halloween costumes every year...I make it a point to look up images of the costume bash she hosts. To design and create a gown or some other outlandish concoction...that would be a pretty sweet challenge!

I don't have a huge clothing budget, so I buy my work/street clothes anywhere I can find a deal. The small town I live in has a great little thrift shop, and I have found some really great vintage pieces there. Last summer I bought a black leather Coach envelope-style bag...just a few days ago I snared a vintage Etienne Aigner short trench for...a dime!!! (Seriously--they were clearing out winter wear). I also love Target for the basics, and Express for my jeans and dressy pants. When I need accessories, I hit up Forever 21. So cute and inexpensive! Many times I'll go there to find huge chunky rings and earrings for the costumes I make, then end up wearing them to work as well.

This may sound a little cliched, but I have always loved the style of the character Carrie Bradshaw, especially in the first 3-4 seasons. She always had a way of taking something totally trendy and impracticle and combining it with the very wearable and stylish, mixing things up nicely. As for a 'nonfiction' style icon, I really love Kirsten Dunst's taste. Even in a laid-back outfit, she looks impossibly cool.

Ok, I'll admit it--I'm not ashamed....I love Effie Trinket! She's so vapid, but I feel that she is the type that has substance underneath all of the paint and shallow remarks. I love all of the characters, but she stuck with me. I can't wait to see what Elizabeth Banks does with her! I have refused to watch any of the trailers or buy any magazines featuring the film, so I am waiting anxiously to see some of her clothing in the film. I accidently saw a small picture online, just a torso shot, but drooled a bit at the wig and the huge flower in her hair! A very close runner-up would be Cinna, of course...oh, to have that man's skills. He is amazing...there is so much mysterious depth in his character, a sort of wisdom that comforts.

The Hunger Games, at least for me, managed to merge the stark with the extravagant. I really liked that. The contrasts of Panem, the contrasts between the inhabitants of the outer district with those of the Capitol...it was a little feast for the mind. You couldn't help but grow attached to everyone. I really like sci-fi, so I appreciate the mix of futuristic technology with the archaic. It's hard to imagine such a variety in the qualities of life the citizens have, but the books makes it very real. Just overall wonderful storytelling!

As of right now, the original Hunger Games is my favorite. That may change...I read it and Catching Fire in a very short span of time, but I am reading Mockingjay very, very slowly. It sounds silly, but I don't want it to be over yet. My husband actually asked if I was even enjoying Mockingjay, since it was taking me so long to finish. I simply said that I'm not done...I'm not ready for it to be done. The original was so action-packed though...always something lurking around the corner. I couldn't put it down. So, yeah, I'd have to call it my overall favorite so far.

I'll be there!!! Spoiler free, baby! I haven't been this pyched about an upcoming film in a while. Even though it will be dark in the theatre, I will probably have my little notepad, jotting down costume notes so that I can go home and hopefully do a little planning!

Thanks so much for talking with me Ashlee! You had really great answers and I really loved hearing what you had to say :).  Visit Ashlee at Araby Designs here and check out some of her costumes! I have some pics of a few of her items below:

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