Ode to the Puff Sleeve Jacket

Oh, puff sleeve jacket, how I love you...

I have been making puff sleeve jackets for the past two years and I have been loving it!  It all began with this very sloppy Pedro Albizu Campos jacket I made back in 2008. The neck edge was raw and made with only one layer of fabric. It also had no waistband but people really liked it. I, however, did not feel lead to reproduce it. There are certain items I do just for fun, for me.

The original puff sleeve jacket, 2008

But  when people on my facebook fan page started to ask me if I could make them one, I thought, "why should I have all the fun?"  So, I decide to custom make them in 2010.   Using the purple one as a base, I decided to create this one. A cropped version with puffier sleeves, a waistband and a nice two layer neck collar.

Angela Davis Puff Sleeve Jacket

I made a total of 6 in various color combinatins and icons. Here are some pictures I took before I sent them out and pictures I received from happy customers.  

Nina Simone and Frida Kahlo Puff Sleeve Jackets



Billie Holiday Puff Sleeve Jacket 



The Brothers Johnson Puff Sleeve Jacket

These are so much fun to make! But I do have to take a break from them to start on my Spring/Summer line, so you will see them again in my shop in September. My next post will showcase the new improved puff sleeve jacket that I unveiled in 2011.  What do you think of these?

Nelesc Designs 2011 Highlights

Stop Traffic Fashion Show

There were several reasons I was so silent on my blog from July on (besides wanting to concentrate on my shop more). My son was hospitalized for several days from an atypical case of strep, we were in a car accident, and my husband was injured at work. It was a critical time for my family and I had to let some things go in order to be there for them.

That said, there were some wonderful things that happened at the end of the year that I did not get a chance to share here. So here are some pictures from my first fashion show (October), my participation at the Comite Noviembre Puerto Rican Crafts Fair (November), and my first time participating in the Puerto Rican Crafts Fair at Boricua College (December).

I was invited by the Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ),   to participate in the first annual Stop Traffic fashion show on October 28,  to raise awareness of human trafficking within the fashion industry. The show took place at the YWCA of Brooklyn and also featured local designers Kate Goldwater, chromat, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, and Anthony Posada. It was a wonderful experience and I met some great designers. All the designs were available for a silent auction and the proceeds benefited LSRJ and Kamisetas, a women’s collective in Medellin, Colombia in support of labor and fair trade. If that is not meaningful fashion, I don't know what is! I was so happy to be part of it.  Check out the youtube video here. 

Tara, the organizer of the show, and I

Final walk through, wonderful models



Kiko and I, she was a great model and person!



Serena and Adri, beautiful ladies!

One of a kind dress I made just for the fashion show



Models showing off designs by Kate Goldwater. Check out her blog here.

 On November 19, I participated in the 6th Annual Comite Noviembre Puerto Rican Artisan Fair for the second time! It was so much fun! I consider myself to have a global sensibility who appreciates all cultures but it is also important to take time to be among your people to re-fuel and remember what makes you special. There's nothing like it!  I would like to thank Luis Cordero who makes this possible for me every year. Check out some of his great designs here.



Me and my table



As always, my friend Sheila helped me, I so appreciate her

I added tote bags this year and a new image, Sylvia Rexach!

I made a connection at the Comite Noviembre craft fair which lead me to the Puerto Rican Craft Fair at Boricua College in December! That was a blast too! I was in between Maria and Candida (Warixi) and we sold our stuff and laughed all day long. Maria makes beautiful pottery. You can check out her etsy site called Barro y Agua here. Warixi is a fascinating lady who is a martial artist, a Taino Bohike and a leader in Taino organizations. She makes taino dolls and jewelry, among other things. She can be reached at Shihan@rock.com. Arieana was across from us, a new friend, who has a company called Buttonpress, etc. However, she does so much more than buttons, she also sells mirrors, original paintings, and does face painting, among other things. Check out her site here.

Boricua College Puerto Rican Craft Fair

Not a pretty bad year for Nelesc Designs, huh? Thank you for allowing me to share all of this with you.

Show Your Sari

I was very intrigued when I saw this article, a while back, in the November 2008 issue of Working Mother magazine. According to Show Your Sari, "new research suggests that middle schoolers don’t need to feel trendy to feel good" and that "11-14 year olds who dress according to the customs of their own ethnic group are less likely to have mental health problems than those who don’t."

I started thinking about my middle school years. I used to really dress up for school! I would wear ruffle blouses, dresses, and skirts. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I wasn’t allowed to wear pants because of my very legalistic, Pentecostal church upbringing. Although I wished I could wear pants, I did like dressing up so perhaps my frilly get-ups and my feeling good in them did contribute to my not having a mental breakdown. Lol. It really goes to show that when you feel good dressing in your particular style, you don’t have to bow to trends.

Here are a couple of pics of me in Junior High School. This one is from my JHS yearbook. It's hard to see the detail but I am wearing a very high collar ruffly white blouse with a skirt. I definitely did not dress my age!

This is me in seventh grade. I LOVED this pink tie neck top. I don't know how many times I wore it. I know it was a lot!

Wondering what ethnic cultural dress keeps me sane now? ....My Pedro Albizu Campos tops! This one is still available in my shop!

Nelesc Designs 2nd Year Anniversary = FREE SHIPPING!

I was looking at my journal the other day (yes, I keep a journal, nerdy, I know). On September 17, 2005 I wrote "today I have been thinking a lot about starting a fashion business..." September 19, 2005 read, "I am now ambivalent about the whole fashion/sewing business. I wonder if it's really worth it, if people would really buy my stuff, if I'm good enough..." On September 22nd I wrote, "I am feeling more and more comfortable with this duo, art and fashion. I think I want to design t-shirts with inspirational people on them..." It is so strange to read this back and forth. I totally remember feeling scared and nervous about launching Nelesc Designs. I had about 5 tops I had sewed myself and then stenciled revolutionary/famous people on them. Among them were Frida Kahlo, Angela Davis, Pedro Albizu Campos and Diana Ross. I had them around the house a long time until Sunday, May 25th, 2008. It was then, that I decided to just list them on Etsy already before I changed my mind. I then took the boys to my friend Sheila's house. I was so happy to just do it. I remember telling Sheila that I just opened a shop on Etsy.com and we went to the computer to check it out. Right after, I told my big sister and, bless her heart, she was my very first customer. So, go ahead, write your dreams down, even your fears about them. It's so cool to read these journal entries again. I am so glad God gave me the courage to dare take that first step. It's actually the dreams of the people on my shirts that inspired me and the encouragement of my friends and family that keeps me motivated. Thank you all so much!

So....as you guessed, today is Nelesc Designs second anniversary and to honor that, I would like to offer FREE SHIPPING on all of my items starting today until June 25th. You don't have to buy anything to help me celebrate. Just leave me a comment and tell me what you think. I always love feedback! Thank's again.

New Sweatshirt Jackets in my Etsy Store

This is soooo long overdue! I apologize for not posting my new sweatshirt jacket pics. These are now up in my etsy store and have been getting some orders for them. Let me know what you think.