This is a dress I designed while I worked with Navajo Spirit back in 2002. The original design was quite dated and looked like something Blair Warner would have worn in “The Facts of Life!” I felt that if we were going to be designing something for royalty then it should be something modern and stylish and something she could pull out of her closet ten years from now and still feel like it’s something she could wear.
I know that it was a challenge getting this dress made. Not because the pattern was particularly difficult but because of the staff at the time were quite lazy and really didn’t want to undergo any new endeavors. Wow, I made this dress super simple to sew up and there were so few pieces. It was a simple sheath design with cutouts in the back. All in all, it had a total of 4 self pieces, 5 interfacing pieces, and 3 lining pieces. It was a simple side zipper-no invisible zippers! The seamstress actually did not know how to sew it up! It was ironic because she use to walk around talking smack-off handedly, about my skills as a seamstress, patternmaker, and designer. I did a contoured collar and she insisted that the collar was all wrong because it didn’t fit her fat neck! I told the boss that it wasn’t made for her neck but for Onawa’s neck which was slender and swan like.
The seamstress threw a hissy-fit over the dress and collar! I just threw my arms up and the air and told the boss, “Let her sew it up however she wants! It’s only your reputation that’s going to suffer-not mine!” Of course, the seamstress got so frustrated with the collar and dress she gave up! She left for the day and told me before she left- “You didn’t even make that collar right! It’s your problem don’t bother me with it!”
Stress time? Oh, did I mention that Onawa was coming in that day for a fitting and we had no dress for her to try on! Well, I simply got up from my design table calmly walked over to the industrial sewing machine and took the pieces of the dress and proceeded to sew. An hour before Onawa came in, I had a complete dress! Zipper and everything! The only thing the seamstress managed to sew up was the dress darts! I had time to clean up the dress (cut off stray threads, do the hem-invisible hem-BY HAND, and steam the thing)!
I remember when she walked in. I gave her full on VIP treatment! I remember she mentioned she like this “NO DOUBT” t-shirt I was wearing. She commented that she was going to see their concert-I don’t remember where she was going to attend the concert-I was nervous about the dress. She was my first VIP client with Navajo Spirit. She like the entire outfit I wore that day-I told her I designed it myself. She said, “Oh, you’re the designer?” I told her, “Oh no, I’m the assistant designer.” At the time, I was doing all the designing. Onawa came in, tried on the dress, and was smiling ear to ear! She loved it and it fit her to perfection! The only thing wrong was that the seamstress had not done the darts right. So all’s the alterations it needed–fix the darts.
I of course took care of that myself because the seamstress was not going to like the fact that I not only did my job, the job of my boss but her job as well and would purposely ruin the dress just to make her self seam more important. The boss pretty much left up a lot of the designing to me while I was there. I gave her advice on how to improve her business and she knew that if she wanted to take everything to the next level she would have to make the changes I was telling her. She did do one thing before I left that I felt was taking a step in the right direction. She got rid of the seamstress in question and hired a seamstress who had actual production experience. She use to work as a seamstress for a major clothing line. I was impressed and got along fine with her!
Working there was okay. If I had to do it all over again, I’d re-staff and demand that the boss train me on the cash register. The employees there showed up physically but mentally they were all vacant. Which would explain the overcharges made to the customers and the cash shortages in the dailies. On one event, the second in command (the cutter), confessed that she came into work intoxicated and even passed out at the cash register while customers were coming in! One of the customers woke her up! The staff I worked with made that job hell! Even with the setting my own time card, vacation time whenever I pleased, and extra long lunch breaks-the job just was not worth it.
I did see my ex-boss while I was out doing my shopping this past Monday. One word-AWKWARD!!! I was ready to say hi to her and let bygones be bygones-all the accusations about me stealing patterns and unsubstantiated rumors that I was using her designs to start Nizhoni Way Apparel. What did she do when she noticed it was me. She turned her nose up in the air and flipped major attitude! I should have tripped her! Ha, ha! No, I wouldn’t have done that. She is still a Navajo Woman and deserves respect-oh, not from me but from someone-you knew I was going to stick that in! LOL! All jokes Aside from all the jokes, if it had not been for me working there, I would not have had the courage to start Nizhoni Way Apparel, DKC*fx, and NuGen Productions!
Below is a sketch of the gown both front and back! Both front and back pieces are all one piece. With the exception of the diamond stairstep piece. That was separate.
