New Year's Eve Sneak Peak

We'll reveal the full outfits in 2010. All I can say is that this 3-outfit snippet collection is a good way to end the year. Paswera is excited for its 2010 debut! :) Feliz Navidad! :)

a quick update

ink + paper + blackberry camera + paint.net photo editing

Project Glamourina is slowly but surely taking shape. Dates of appearances and outtings will be posted soon. A Sneak preview of our new year's eve 3 outfit snippet collection will be posted tomorrow. Paswera's 2010 debut collection line-up will be confirmed in January 2010. Paswera's logo will be completed by 12/30/09.

Felize Navidad! Paswera loves you!

sunday storms from the brain

These are some sketches for Project Glamourina (shots taken from my blackberry). I can't wait to show you guys what's been stewin'. These are just some rough renderings for our upcoming capsule collection. Hannah is currently in the workroom producing more conceptual sketches.

The purpose of Project Glamourina is firstly and most obviously - to glamourize our surroundings and those who surround us. It aims to be all-inclusive and to love everyone that deserves and wants to be loved. Depression is a topic that is often overlooked especially in the fashion industry. Project Glamourina is basically about being inwardly depressed yet outwardly beautiful and outreaching - in that, although we are withered inside, we want to heal those around us with our wisdom from our hurt. Project Glamourina celebrates all differences, all traumas, all hurt, and all sadness through the outward display of Glamour. We lament our past, we lament our loss, and we lament our joy. We want one day, to lament our sadness.

glamtourage. We're still looking for more muses! If any of you know or are yourself, a tall alien-esque beauty .. . then give us a ring. We'd love to get our hands on you! paswera@gmail.com.

photo shoot. I've been itching to get started on our Glamourina ad campaign photo shoot! Tentatively scheduled for late November, it will again be an outdoor shoot. Check back for updates on the shoot. written inspiration. untitled

I've learned that although my tears wet this page - that I am still strong. Still strong enough to write. To write fear; wet and frigged fear - in a somewhat coherent scribe. I find that, in so deep of all this debt; financial, physical, emotional, spiritual debt - that I am still strong. Strong enough to weather my own almost nightly storms that come washing away my sorrow. Making room for a warm and gentle draft of hope. That even hope, impaled and reluctantly lingering as it stands, still exists somehow within me. That without me, somehow it won't live. For if I wish for this truth to end suddenly - there will not be anymore. Let alone hope. My frequent solitude spells have all made sense. Forming for me a solace, in where I can find peace. Backward and wretched as it writes, I admit and I am proud of sitting here drowning in my own solitary pool of imagined blood (that translate to tears). And even as I finish scribbling, I am strong enough to not fill this page with only tears.

w.pasco.

brainstorms and autumn

This is our Fall 2009 Inspiration Board. We've put together images and sketches that we feel will inspire and/or become a guideline to the feel of our upcoming collection and/or projects. Inspiration Boards should contain emotions, issues or events one would like to address, photos, sketches, or writings.

The Mood: Melancholy/Lamenting/Ethereal/Transitional
We've always been drawn to the uneasy calm of the spiritual world. Hence, most of our work will reflect this often brooding and moody ideal. Fall 2009, for us and the world, is a time of change and transition. Our world today is dangerous, uneasy, threatening, and yet somehow still hopeful.

The Palette: A subdued hue of lamenting blues, greys, and darks that casts themselves as a pictorial cloud of almost certain doom.

The Inspiration: Dark Glamour.

We want to whet your artistic appetites by creating tempting bite-sized previews of our larger projects to come. Trust us, it will be all the more delicious! Keep a keen eye on this blog. There will be plenty more to come!

Vintage Glory

After our Sunday Sushi lunch tradition, Hannah and I decided to pay our old friend, the Exchange District a visit. She wanted to show me a new Vintage store which had opened up shop a few months ago that apparently housed many good "finds." Of course, I was excited about the lower price point being on a monitored budget as of late - and who could resist a good shopping day with the big sis?

It got me to thinking; Why is going Vintage so alluring and why has it been an integral part of retail history? As we entered, we were quickly greeted by the sales associate and that familiar smell of vintage musk. I immediately went to work to try and uncover these good "finds." Not long into my rummaging did I soon figure out why going vintage was so fun and so necessary...

It's the thrill of the unknown - you never know what you're going to discover. And once you've located that certain "find", you know that it is one-of-a-kind. On top of that, you will probably be the only one among your group of friends to have it. And if those weren't good enough reasons, then the money you saved in buying vintage probably is.

For the apparel industry, vintage is that cool older sister that hands you down her gently used dress, necklace, purse, shoes, sunglasses, wallet, or what have you. Her history is written all over that treasured item. It's this constant recycling that allows forgotten labels to be rediscovered through generations of hand-me-downs. And for established labels, finding that vintage gem only solidifies its importance and value in apparel history.

In my many years of going vintage, I have learned to be a bit more discerning in what ends up going home with me. I have come up with a simple list of making this sometimes tedious shopping task - a little easier.

• Always ask the question: where else can I find this? Is this one-of-a-kind?
• Ask yourself if you can wear it with at least 3 different outfits
• Ask the owner/associate about the history of the item (who wore it before you?)
• Look at the condition of the garment/accessory/etc. to see if it's worth buying and/or restoring
• Look at the price! Remember to try and negotiate. After all, the purpose of going vintage is to find affordable treasures!
• Bring a companion! The more, the merrier! And plus, having many eyes heightens the chances of unearthing more great "finds"

From my Blackberry

Here are some shots of some things I found interesting to share. I always look for three things: Detail, colour, and proportion.

Left: a brown leather embossed pouch. Right: purple weaved and beaded renaissance heel shoes.

Left: a green and yellow knitted pouch with front beaded details. Right: brown leather embossed handbags.

Keep it Fun!

I found a very cute pair of sunglasses. I've never quite seen anything like it before. A pair of shaded specs dangle from a chain on either side, that you hang on your ears. The result - it appears as though you are wearing shades and pendant earrings. It's a very fun piece that I can picture being worn with a dainty summer dress. It's definitely for those who don't take themselves too seriously!

My $10 Purchase

I ended up buying a simple brown embossed wallet. Now this is a good "find"!

Overall, it was another successful vintage shopping date with big sis. If anything, it's more of a social experience, knowing that each item in the boutique had a previous life and owner. The vintage experience is quite like no other shopping experience - you're interacting with the past.

If you're a vintage newbie, make sure to visit Vintage Glory on 88 Albert Street in Winnipeg's Exchange District. The owner, Doug makes going vintage easy, fun, and relaxing - by hand picking the selection from other vintage stores, the Salvation Army, and from his travels. The Glory was all ours.

Project Glamourina

Hello conGLAMOURates!

The nip and frost of the Fall /Winter season is slowly approaching us. With this change of temperature and outdoor colour palettes, comes a new and tempting project we at Paswera calls Project GLAMOURINA. Yes, it melds the words Glamour and Ballerina into one - forming an interactive fashion entity. Borrowing its enhanced beauty and elegance from glamour - and its grace and frailty from the ballerina; this fusion of displaying one's inward decay and demented emotion through its outward exaggerated elegance - embodies what it means to be a Glamourina. Where these two polarities should only meet at skin level - her inside turmoil never rots her outer beauty. Although she laments inside - she inspires those around her with calm and hope.

thePROJECT

We will be choosing a group of female persons to represent and wear the PASWERA clothing label while attending social functions. We are launching this as our advertising campaign -where instead of holding seasonal fashion shows, PASWERA will showcase capsule (smaller-scale)collections to the unsuspecting public as they are within a social gathering. This is a direct response to the ever-changing apparel industry, where fashion is becoming more and more of a commodity and more and more disposable. We believe the opposite - that fashion should be looked at as a luxury and as a form of art. Yet, we realize that we need to respond to the fast-paced internet-ruled world in a relevant and quirky way. At these gatherings, our Glamourinas will be distributing memorabilia that contains PASWERA's twitter and facebook contacts. Giving the brand the interactivity it needs to stay competitive - yet still maintaining its glamour and mystique.

theGLAMtourage

The Glamourinas will travel alongside hairstylists, makeup artists, and photographers -who will constantly document, touch-up, and style the group as they interact with the other social goers. Aiming only to inspire those who wish to be inspired - and only those who wish to follow ...... (us on Twitter and ultimately - become a fan of us on Facebook. The Glamtourage will arrive together and will leave together. Their next appearance will be announced via Internet social networking.

Scouting

The search for the Glamtourage will start in September 2009 and will be confirmed by December 2009. If you or anyone you know may be interested, please send an email to paswera@gmail.com with the subject title Glamourina and a brief discription of what Glamtourage position you are applying for (model, hairstylist, makeup artist, photographer, videographer). The Glamtourage is paid on a per-project basis. We hope to hear from you soon!

- love the Paswera siblings ;)

Pasweralogical point of view

After almost one year since our first blog, it is very paswera of us to continue where we have left of. The origins of the name Paswera is documented in our first blog, and it can be used as a verb or an adjective with the meaning of laissez faire - allowing events to take their own course.

This will be a 5 to 6 part series in creating a design portfolio done in a laissez faire fashion or simply done in a pasweralogical way.

Let's begin with the foundation - have a clear and precise point of view. A portfolio is your own self marketing tool and platform which, when used properly, will showcase your own special individual talent and expertise. You want your portfolio to express who you are as an artist, designer, and person. A book that is highly recommended is the Portfolio Presentation for Fashion Designers by Linda Tain is an excellent starting point.

If your main purpose is to land a specific job, with a specific company, it would be wise to do your research and find out all the relevant facts and information of how the company does business and their corporate lifestyle and culture. You can get inspirations and ideas with the layout and presentation of your portfolio based on how the company runs. For example, if the corporate culture is more open, artistic, and liberal, then it would make sense to create a portfolio that shows off these qualities that you may or may not already possess. If for some reason, you may not agree with their point of view, but are still looking to get a job within the company, then you may have to take some risk and show how you can change and add to their existing business.

Is your portfolio meant to shock ? to advertise? to land a job? or simply to create a work of art? It can be all these things and many more , depending on your point of view. Remember, as a general rule, your portfolio should be an extension of your personality or a glimpse and mixture of your own complex personalities.