Day 6: Risks and Rewards; Bjork and Half and Half Color Blocking

I will preface the story of my #3 top Black Friday Thrifting find with an inspirational story about the risks and rewards that come with fearlessly embracing half and half color blocking.

I was but a young woman in the full throes of my fashion internship during my first summer in fashion school. I of course made the unconventional decision to intern with the design collective threeasfour, Chinatown’s very own space cowboys. In retrospect, this was perhaps not the most career-savvy internship decision, but by far the most fun one.

Threeasfour are without a doubt some of the most innovative designers out there, and there was much innovation happening on a day-by-day basis in their studio. Some of that innovation had to do with creative exploration, while some had to do with supply shortage.

I was instructed to make a sample of a signature threeasfour kimono robe pattern with curvy seams and rounded sleeves, in silk charmeuse. I forget why exactly. Upon looking through the fabric room, I found that there was not enough yardage of a single color/pattern of silk charmeuse to be found. So I grabbed a skinny bolt of red and a skinny bolt of white, cut half of the pattern out of each color, and sewed the two sides together. The result was what I thought was a hilarious half and half kimono robe.

Then all the designers circled around, and I was a little worried maybe it was too wacky for the desired purpose, and I was going to have to do it all over again. Quite the opposite! The response was ooo-ing and ahhh-ing and an unanimous decision that Bjork would love the robe. I was skeptical, but flattered, and totally forgot about it.

A few months later I get an email from a fellow intern containing pictures of Bjork wearing the robe to a film premier.

My #3 top Black Friday Thrifting find--this black and beige half and half zigzag silk top--might not quite be Bjork-worthy, but it is definitely me-worthy.

Holly has already explored the values of color blocking as a design quality in her earlier Black Friday post, and all the same rules apply with this top. Between the boldness of the half and half color blocking, the boat neck, and the spiky stripe effect, there is a lot to love about this top.

And, call me crazy, but I find something strangely satisfying about looking down at my arms and seeing two different colored sleeves.