It has been awhile since I pulled out my beloved Prismacolor markers and pencils for a little drawing practice. Turns out, I think I need more of it… (as if that wasn’t blatantly obvious) . I decided that today I would try designing something that I would wear myself and that would suit my lifestyle. I wanted to incorporate design elements that I love from my wardrobe with trends I’m loving right now. Most importantly, I wanted to design something I thought would be wearable. So often I get excited to draw funky furs and intricate lace, that I wanted to think inside the box. Realistically speaking, we dress “inside the box”, (i.e., I’m not going to wear this to the grocery store…) 

or this….

If I wore that, the people at the grocery store would probably think I had just done an embarrassingly bad job of stealing from the meat counter.

You get the point. The thing about fashion is that there needs to be a certain amount of digestibility (no pun intended…). I’m not going to wear something weird or over-the-top, so I need to think about how I become a more versatile designer also- one that clothes people who go to the grocery store.

I’m absolutely in love with the maxi-dress and maxi-skirt takeover. I think that every woman deserves to wear gowns, even if that means they are just going to Trader Joe’s. Maybe that’s my inner pageant girl. Keeping this in mind, I decided to design a “grocery gown” suited to my tastes!

This summer white jersey knit has a cowl neckline and stops just above the ankles! I wanted to incorporate the black & white stripe trend and the graphic tee trend, but I gave it a twist by making the stripes silver. Balancing with fabric and graphics is a good way of eluding to that hourglass shape, especially since many women are smaller on top. 

Also, I wanted to make sure that it was short enough to be worn with any shoes, so you can show off when you find cute ones like these that I found on Polyvore!

 Charlotte Russe $43

I had a difficult time trying to mix the colored pencils and the markers in the drawing. You can tell especially by the shotty shading on the skirt and semi-contorted foot. I never said I was the best drawer. I’ve determined that for the time being I should stick to one medium until I’ve honed my skills.  I definitely see where I can improve, but was having so much fun putting this one together that I couldn’t be bothered with creating a masterpiece. I’m happy with the mind exercise I was able to get from the experiment, and it is definitely therapeutic to spend some time engrossed in a coloring project! 

It’s funny, I realized if I was going to draw myself I needed to use a bright red marker for my hair… something I’d not yet done. One of my wonderful readers has suggested a caricature superhero for Dorky Chick in Lipstick so stay tuned, more red-marker hair to come 🙂 Maybe this guy will have some pointers for me….

Ba da ba ba ba I’m lovin’  terrified. 

Anyways, another drawing done and just in time to get ready for work. They say “practice makes perfect” but I say practice makes me hungry. 

I’m off to fix that. xo