Monday, November 2, 2009

Letter From The Editor



     I’d like to start my premiere “Letter from the Editor” with a very warm welcome on behalf of the Student Apparel Design Association. We are working hard as a team this year to make SADA the best year yet, and are thrilled to accommodate your needs, wishes, and hopes for your future in the fashion industry.
     Our Social Media Chair, Nicholas Verburgt started this blog as an outlet to everything style, locally and globally. It is my pleasure to sit as editor-in-chief, and bring to you monthly the observations I make and topics I wish to touch on.
     As a senior this year, walking through campus on my way to and from classes has never seemed so odd. It’s as if each day is my last day doing the simple routine of getting up in the morning to go to classes, and begrudgingly walking the twenty five minutes it takes to get there. As the leaves slowly turn the beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange as I walk past the Beaumont Tower I can’t help but think, “this is my last fall as an MSU student.” When these thoughts start going through your head you realize just how important it is to seize each moment of your life as it is. Just today, Carol Beard, the SADA advisor and highly respected professor of the Apparel and Textile Design program stated,
“if I can offer any advice, it is to stop wishing yourself out of your present circumstances into new  circumstances, and miss what is beautiful and good in the present.”
It is professors like Carol that have really pushed us as students to think beyond what is right in front of us, and to really find meaning in what is our lives today.  With that said this month I decided in the name of all things academic, it would be interesting to feature a few of our own professors on campus that show an impeccable amount of style, and to see what drives them towards the clothing racks.



     I started my research with a new face to the Apparel and Textile Design staff this year, Rebecca Clark. Rebecca spends part of her time in East Lansing and the other part in New York City working as a specialist with high profile design firms such as Vera Wang.  It seemed that coming from a very fashion conscious city such as Manhattan, one would see a dramatic change in people’s sense of style. Au contraire. According to Rebecca it is easy to see that at MSU there is definitely a lot of diversity, but that it is much easier to stand out because not everyone makes his or her personal appearance a priority as opposed to New York where “if you don’t dress the part, you don’t get the part.”
     When asked about her own personal style and where she draws inspiration Rebecca listed Rick Owens, Prada and Marni, to name a few, of the designers she looks to every season for fresh ideas. “Be your own stylist, mix cheap and expensive, have one statement piece and keep the rest classic. Make it look effortless, like you just threw it on.”



     Another Apparel and Textile Design professor, known for her great shoes, is Rebecca Schuiling. Rebecca has experience in the industry designing menswear for Dillard’s Department Store and also designing women’s knitwear for Chris Triola. To know Rebecca is to know her many pairs of shoes. The first time I met Rebecca three years ago, my immediate thought was, “this lady has very simple, classic style, but those shoes! Not so simple.” So of course given the chance I had to pick her brain about why she chooses to emphasize her ensembles with shoes. “I like classic clothing, basic colors. But I love bold accessories, big jewelry, architectural shoes. I’m also obsessed with wedges because they’re so comfortable!” I asked her the same question I asked Rebecca Clark, where and how she draws inspiration for her own personal style. “I grew up at a camp, and saw many cultures and learned that it’s okay to try new things. My mom also had classic style and I think I got a lot of that from her.” In closing, Rebecca noted that maturity had a lot to do with the things we choose to purchase, in short, “spend less on trends.”

     It’s amazing what valuable knowledge is available to us on a daily basis, if we just ask for it. Now, vivre dans l’instant! Seize the day! Until next time, au revoir.

-Meredith Gruszka

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