ECOMP 5106 Assignment 2.1 What is Understanding?

When asked to identify what it is that I love to do and do well, I would have to say that I love to design and create apparel for me and others to wear. This has been a passion of mine since I was in grade school. I began my “designing” career by making outfits for both my Barbie doll and my dog to wear. I entertained my family with my unique and bazaar designs. Being somewhat of a ham since I was the middle child I craved attention, I planned elaborate fashion shows for my family. I would tell them where my idea came from for the apparel and when and where the subject of my designs would wear them. My family would always affirm my desires to be a clothing designer by applauding loudly and throwing flowers at me after the show. It turned out that I not only did learn to design and create my own clothing, but also I majored in fashion design in college.
My mother was a self-learner when it came to sewing and she wanted me to learn from someone who was a professional. My cousin worked for a dry cleaner where she did all of the alterations. I would see her on weekends and she would instruct me on how to cut out a pattern on fabric, follow the pattern instructions and use the sewing machine properly. One huge incentive for making my own outfits for school was the fact that I was very skinny and tall and buying clothing, especially jeans that were long enough, was very difficult. Another reason was that my family lived on only my father’s income and it was not feasible for my sister and me to have a closet full of outfits. It was the high school formals that really inspired me to learn how to sew since buying a gown that was a show stopper was out of the family budget. Up until my junior year I was following sewing instructions from store bought patterns and it was not until my cousin helped me make my first pattern for the gown I wore to the winter formal that I realized my passion for designing unique apparel. This process of designing and sewing my own clothing was not an easy process but it was very rewarding when I received compliments and was asked to design apparel for others.
Since my love for designing clothing was so intense, I decided to pursue a degree in fashion design. That was where I developed and mastered my understanding of the design process. My parents encouraged me to also major in marketing to have a background that would one day serve me well if I ever decided to open my own business. A trip to New York with my fellow design classmates during spring break one year was an eye opening experience, to say the least. Since I was a small town girl attending a large university, West Virginia University, I was overwhelmed by the reception I received from the cool and unfriendly people of New York. As I look back at the experience now, I realize that the people were not inhospitable at all but were simply living their usual busy lives in the clothing industry. However, visiting the big apple was one reason I did not pursue my idea of a design career.
I chose to enter the field of retail in Atlanta and work my way up to being a buyer instead of going the route of a designer. When I found the retail business was not challenging enough, I decided to work as a flight attendant and go back to school simultaneously and get a teaching degree. However, I never lost my love for making my own apparel and still to this day when I want to wear something unique, I will conjure up an idea and create it. I have found that rushing through the process of designing and making my own clothing is not beneficial. There have been times when the article of clothing I made was not up to my usual high standards and I would not wear it. In the past few years, I have also taught my niece and several of my friends to sew. It is very rewarding and enjoyable to pass on my knowledge of clothing design. Additionally, when I shop the sales racks at the mall and I can’t find my size in a design I like, I simply buy any larger size and alter it to fit. Once, the secretary at my school knew that I made some of my own clothing and she asked me if I would make her gown to wear to her son’s wedding. As a favor to her, since she is a very special person, I made her gown and we both were pleased with the way it fit her figure so well. What made the outcome so rewarding was when other teachers witnessed the altering and fitting sessions at school, they too started asking me if I could do altering or hemming for them. My time away from school did not allow me the privilege to become the school alterations expert, so I had to decline.
I have plunged into teaching with the same passion I had for creating clothing. Now, I enjoy designing lesson plans that allow the students to be creative in their final products either by solving a problem or creating a plan of action. I also enjoy the Professional Learning Community model at my school because it allows me to collaborate with other professionals in my subject area. When I think back to my experience with understanding the concepts involved with designing and creating apparel, I had several “ah ha!” moments as well as many moments when I pulled my hair out. I found myself constantly reflecting on what I had learned. The times when I could explain what I wanted to accomplish and then solve all of the problems that arose were very rewarding and they helped build my sense of self-worth. If I were to correlate the way I plan a teaching lesson now with the way I learned and understood clothing design, I would say that instruction, modeling, practicing a concept, and applying the concept to a new and different idea are valuable tools. More importantly, the most valuable tool will be when the students have an “ah ha” moment or change an idea completely after considering the problem and the solution.