Teenagers today are being influenced by programmes such as Ugly Betty, Project Runway, and other fashion blogs, and nowadays nearly every girl wants to become a fashion designer.

Whether the girl decided to act on that dream is her own decision, but I would love to take up fashion designing as a major hobby (perhaps not a job, but you never know – I have no idea what I want to be!), and this has meant me forking out money to buy a variety of things… pencils, good marker pens, fabrics, books on fashion designing, THE LOT!

Of course, this has meant I have been low on money for a couple of years now, but I have managed to find ways to make it easier on a teenagers allowance, to try and work towards the great feeling where you can say – “Yes, I am a fashion designer!”

What you should do, and what you should get -

a teenage fashion designers’ essentials

• Something to draw with – pens, pencils, crayons, ink… whatever you fancy. Doesn’t have to be everything… doesn’t have to be just the one!
• Paper. Find a cheap pound store and get big packs of paper if you can’t get anything cheaper.
• Sources of inspiration. On a low budget? Use the internet. Not so low? Get magazines of any kind… architecture, cooking, fashion – ask people if they have any old magazines they want rid of, and COLLECT!
• Scissors
• Glue
• Bits and bobs – this includes, beads, ribbon, feathers, glitter glue… this is to jazz up…
• Your sketchbook! Sketchbooks not only look good, but if you carry it around with you, you can get any opportunity to doodle, make notes or draw whatever you see that catches your imagination. A nice sketchbook, an  A4 hardback landscape costs about £7 – £10 online (around $9/10 to $14).

However, there are cheap solutions to making sketchbooks, as found on Sketchbooks in schools!

1. Collect sheets of interesting paper, from newspapers, leaflets, wallpaper… anything!
2. Collect them up, and either…

• Sew them together
• Staple it
• Hole punch
• Use an elastic band
• Or just fold it

Got your essentials? Then let’s move on to learning!

Don’t know how to design? Learn from the experts!

Because I am slightly weird, I have purchased several books on fashion designing, and fashion in general, and so far, I have found them useful in understanding the industry and much more!

• The internet is your most valuable source of information and inspiration – EVER! Computers are at school and at libraries, and there are internet cafes in every big city, most usually. The internet is over 20 years of human knowledge, and though 20 years is not a lot compared to a museum or libraries length of time, there is a vast horde of websites probably just dedicated to what you want to know! So use your research skills and a search engine, and you can find something to your satisfactory.
• Just searching fashion design in Amazon comes up with several pages of books, but which ones do you get? Well, the reviews of these books are invaluable to you, you need to select books based on their titles, and then read their reviews for more information.

1. A good book I have found is Fashion Design Drawing Course : Principles, Practice & Techniques: The Ultimate Guide For the Aspiring Fashion Artist by Caroline Tatham & Julian Seaman
2. Instead, use your local library or school library, and check out any books related to art, design and fashion – even better if they have one on fashion design itself!

The most valuable tip you should know, is that no matter what, if you think you can’t draw – IT DOESN’T MATTER. You don’t need to be a master artist to be a fashion designer. So long as you have a good imagination, an eye for inspiration, and the essentials…. you can do anything!

I hope I helped someone

-Jean xx

Yesterday when I bought my monthly Sugar magazine (a UK teen magazine – very popular here). I read through it and at the page where they said you could get a chance to work on one issue of Sugar Magazine – I was SO excited! So excited in fact, I entered straight away.

The online version of the competition is here for you to understand what I am about to say!

I entered both the Beauty Editor category and the Writer category. Upon further research of the above link, there were LOADS of comments from other people. Luckily, I do not think the above two jobs were that popular.

I am, though, thinking about also entering the Designer category and Photographer category! I am thinking about being a Product Designer when I am older-  I love art and drawing and being creative so Designer would be nice to try out. Also, I really love Photography – I am not that good, but I can practice! I think I would like to have a go at entering that one too.

Editor, though, might be pushing it. I don’t think I am that great a leader, so that wouldn’t be the best for me!

So yeah. It would be preeeetty good if I won it.

Ciao x

Jean

One of the best songs absolutely EVER created. I first heard it in the trailer for The Men who Stare at Goats (I was too young to go see it, but I am old enough now ) and it suited the film sooo much! Then I was reminded about it in the new Barclays card advert, and so I just bought it. And now I am addicted to it!

Enough about a song, though.

My birthday was January 31st, and so I got a lot of money! I spent it on a Sailor Sweater Dress (£44) from Lazy Oaf and a really nice purse (£25) from Cath Kidston.

Here is the sailor dress:

That’s all

Jean

Now, I better stop talking about my other blogs, because you are probably here to read this blog – Auberjean. I am hoping that this little sideline blog about my little escapades into the fashion world and my thoughts on different fashion related news will entertain a few people.

Seeing all these other fashion blogs makes me so envious of being popular – but I sadly believe I do not have the money, body nor experience to become like on the “Fashion Blogging God/Goddesses”.

I’ll leave you with a moodboard/collage of a manga called Paradise Kiss, which has a lot of interesting fashion in it!

(From Beijing Baby)

As you can see, I love anything Japanese! I love manga as well – so I decided to find a manga which was kind of related to fashion

xox Jean