When I was in Houston, Texas last week, I went to visit Lot 8 Boutique, a clothing store owned by Project Runway's Season Two winner, Chloe Dao. I LOVE looking at how fabric is used in fashion, and it was well worth visiting Lot 8.
I tried on two things while there. One was a really funky jacket that had a lot of fabric that poofed out at the pockets, and was pulled in tightly at the waist thanks to a elastic form-fitting belt. I liked it a lot, and it looked good on me, but it was short sleeved, and I wasn't sure I'd have that many occasions to wear it since I live in New England where we have a short short-sleeve season.
I also tried on a black silk/cotton/cashmere sweater that had a double drawstring tie, that created accordian pleats along the front edge and collar. The pleats vary, depending how tight you pull the drawstrings. It was fun, it looked good, and it seemed like something that I would wear for years, so I decided to splurge and buy it. This photo is a closeup of the front, enhanced a little by photoship to show off the pleats. It was hard to show the pleats on a black sweater without a little tweaking. Now the photo looks like a watercolor, but at least the pleats are visible.
