Staring over, once again!

Realization-1: the action of realizing: the state of being realized 2: something realized

Self-Realization: A psychological or spiritual change in one's sense of self

Synonyms: accomplishment, achievement, actuality, attainment, consummation, fulfillment, pass, fruition.

Antonyms: naught (also nought), nonfulfillment.

My mother used to say a lot of very wise things, and one of them was,
“I feel better, my soul is back in my body”. Now I finally understand
this saying: at times when she felt worried, or scared or ashamed,
she would say that her soul had left her body. She felt unhappy and
not like herself.
So many times in the past and recently more often; I feel like my soul
has left my body. Anger, fear, frustration, guilt and many other
negative feelings made my soul go away. It has been over 3 years
since I have intensively been working with many talented people in
Lexington, Kentucky, developing what now is a really exciting group of
creative and hard working individuals called the LEXINGTON FASHION
COLLABORATIVE.

Many of the people I work with doing projects and events for the LFC,
probably don't know much about my personal history, and honestly I
don't know much about them. During runway shows, it is hard to have
long conversations and talk about each others personal lives. It is
usually super busy backstage. People are getting undressed and
dressed walking the runway and then rushing quickly back stage again.
Hairspray, shoes, bras, jewelry and a multitude of items are all over
the place, a lot of bodies moving around, bodies without souls. Get the picture?

Models and hair and makeup artist backstage getting ready for the 3rd annual Future of Fashion Show. At Busters, Lexington KY-May 2011

Photo by GLINT  Studios

Me holding my son Aaron next to Designer ad LFC Co-Chair Sarah Jane Estes, backstage at the 3rd Annual Future of Fashion Show

Photo by GLINT Studios

Designer Maui Crane backstage at the Kentucky Textile and Fashion Expo. Busters, Lexington KY-May 2011

Photo by GLINT Studios 

It has gotten so busy for us doing projects with the LFC that I am

feeling overwhelmed by it all. I have been thinking about quitting,
yes, quitting. So many times I have been hardcore and tough about it.
Why? Because it has not been easy to get all of this “fashion thing”
where it is now. We go for days and days without sleeping. We sew,
we glue, we reply to emails from models, sponsors, MUA, etcetera,
etcetera, etcetera. Lots and lots of things to do and we do them as
volunteers. But if the fashion industry is not about money, then what
is it about?

Personally I am about changing the fashion industry. I worked in
sweatshops, during my high school years and a little bit after. Every
since I was 14 years old, I would work 3 months a year. During these
3 months, I worked almost every day. My weekly salary was equivalent
to $30. I worked an average of 70 hours a week. All of the horror
stories that you may have heard about sweatshops are real. I was there
at the young age of 14 with many other girls in my home town of Poerto
Cortes, Honduras. My life in the sweatshops explains why I am so
passionate about my work with the LEXINGTON FASHION COLLABORATIVE.

The month of September in 2011 has been one of the busiest months I
have ever experienced in my life. I am tough, but I cannot do this
anymore. I have to quit. I am exhausted mentally emotionally,
physically and economically. I have even started to doubt the meaning
of doing all of this work, I have begun to think that this probably
doesn't even matter, this is not going to change anything. People
care too much about keeping up with the trends rather than buying
clothes at higher prices from emerging designers and making a
commitment to supporting our efforts. I feel that I am wasting my
time.


But then, a miracle happened!!! A girl named Elizabeth posted a note
on Facebook. A note that I am going to place below for you to read.
Please, please do read it. It meant so much to me and I know this
will mean a lot to all of the talented, inspiring, independent and
emerging designers out there and it will mean so much to all of the
kids, teenagers and mothers of children in developing countries who
are “trapped” by the system of mass production and consumerism that we
are being manipulated to live under.
So now because of Elizabeth...my soul is back in my body. I feel
renewed, energized and excited. Just in time to go to LA and have a
great time at the 3rd Annual Fur Free Fashion event!!!

Thanks Elizabeth, I love you.

Soreyda


P.S. I’m not quitting!

Why I'm Not Buying Any More Clothes Until 2012 (at Least)
by Elizabet Hicks

Starting today, I will not be purchasing any more new clothing until 2012. Instead, I'll be purchasing ONLY vintage and secondhand items (the only exceptions I might make are garments handmade by local designers). This includes shoes, bags, and jewelry. Here’s why:

• I can't afford designer clothing, and I've grown too uncomfortable with fast-fashion chains to give them my money anymore.
• It's good for the environment, and I am otherwise pretty bad for the environment, so every little bit helps.
• Vintage clothes are pretty and unique and I like them and I want more of them.

More thoughts on fast-fashion: I've had mixed feelings about my patronage of stores like Forever 21 and H&M, and even more expensive places like Urban Outfitters, and I am taking a hiatus from giving them my money.  http://www.39thandbroadway.com/hate-21/ This page is a more detailed explanation of why I'm not down with fast-fashion anymore (it applies to most chains to some extent), but here's the abridged version: they copy other designers' art and treat the people who actually make the clothes like shit. 

If your reasoning for shopping at Forever 21 and H&M is based on not being able to afford designer clothing and still wanting to follow trends: I felt the same way for years, which is how I justified my purchases (up until a couple weeks ago) for so long. But since I care as much as I do about the fashion industry, I'm going to forgo the convenience of buying trendier yet cheap items pre-made at F21 and will search for similar vintage items, or alter vintage/secondhand items or clothes I already own. I realize that I come from a privileged place with this stance: I own a sewing machine, I can afford some pricier vintage clothing, and I have a lot of clothing to work with already. With that being said, the counterargument to boycotting fast-fashion that says it will create a bigger gap between economic classes because there will be a visible divison based on what types of clothes you can afford is a cop-out: there ARE alternatives to fast-fashion, they just take more effort, and as time passes I'll see firsthand just how much more effort and get back to you. Plus, if (hypothetically) enough people took action and forced places like Forever 21 to change how they run and stop paying the workers in their sweatshops $4/hr, it would DECREASE the gap.

If you're still wondering why you should care: then you probably shouldn't. No, really. I'm aware of the inconvenience of championing every cause you hear about and I know that it is impossible. I know a little about the horrors of where a lot of my food comes from, and I still buy store-brand eggs and milk from Kroger; I vaguely know what's happening to our planet, and I still drive a car and sometimes leave on my kitchen light at night because I get scared. I know that in ~*$*~\\~"the bigger picture"~//~*$*~ fashion is trivial. But it's something I love and care about, so I'm going to start putting my money where my mouth is, and since I can't yet afford to support independent designers directly, I'll at least stop supporting the companies that harm them.

Sooooo if anyone wants to go vintage shopping with me, hit me up! I'm in the market for a coat, cross-body bag, and fur (See? You can't be perfect. Sorry, PETA).

I'll be doing a photo shoot next week with the amazing Laura Kirpatrick (ANTM Season 13), with Photographer Alicia Calton an model/stylist Catherine Jones. We'll be shooting a promo video for an upcoming fundraiser-fashion show we are working on for Spring of 2011.
Laura has stared a foundation to help educate people about the difficulties of leaving a life with Dyslexia and how to help individuals with this learning disability.
I'm super excited to work with Laura again, we have done many shoots before. Here is a link to a You-Tube video from one we did a few months ago.

Sarah Cropped Cotton Jacket now available at S.Benedit web store.
Model Sarah Olson
Photo By Andrew Kung www.andrewkung.com
Hair and Makeup By Lorie Karnes and Micah Severo Ruelas
Location Land of Tomorrow Gallery

I recently place some pieces from my 2011 Spring-Summer collection on this great web store for independent designers called Senseofashion .com. I still have some more pieces to upload, so make sure to check it out often!!

The Garifunas!

From Wikipedia
The Garinagu (singular Garifuna) are descendants of Carib, Arawak and West African people. The British colonial administration used the term Black Carib and Garinagu to distinguish them from Yellow and Red Carib, the Amerindian population that did not intermarry with Africans. The Amerindians who had not intermarried with Africans are still living in the Lesser Antilles; Dominica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, etc. Today they live primarily in Central America. They live along the Caribbean Coast in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras including the mainland, and on the island of Roatán. There are also diaspora communities of Garinagu in the United States, particularly in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and other major cities.

In this photo with my friend Virginia from Ecuador at the Lexington Latin Festival Parade. I'm wearing a traditional costume, is a combination of the Spanish style full skirts and the flirty Caribbean style top.

For my Spring-Summer 2012 Collection I want to honor my ancestors. My mother was Mayan-Spanish decedent now called Ladinos and my father belongs to a African group establish in the coast of Honduras for over 200 years called the Garifunas. Bout cultures are very strong and have a very unique fashion style, the wardrobe for special ceremonies is quite impressive. I want to create a collection that represents this cultures in a modern but yet timeless way.
I'm very proud of my heritage and I want to show that on my work.

Video Diary

You-tube video Diary
About my inspiration, my style, my work room ad more!!