Designer's Guide to Girls' and Junior Apparel

This book explains the process that a fashion designer goes through to put a line together specifically for the girls' and junior markets, following a sequence similar to the schedule that an actual working designer follows when he or she is working on a line for a manufacturer. It starts with the inspiration phase, and then moves to research and sketching. Chapters teach students how the designer works with patternmakers to see the garment fabricated and sewn, then follows the garment as it is costed, merchandised, and prepared to be sold. Students will be exposed to the many layers of specifications, production patterns, and testing, and finally producing and shipping the garments. Each chapter will conclude with a "Designer's Diary" in the voice of a fictitious designer, documenting her successes, frustrations, and other experiences intrinsic to the job. Students will also be given a chance to create a diary of their own, tracking the progression of their own children's wear collection. Features: -- Illustrated timeline shows the evolution of ready-to-wear children's wear from the 1960s to today -- "Designer's Diary" concludes each chapter and follows experiences of a fictitious designer -- Activities related to the content of each chapter will train and inspire the student to think like a working designer -- A book-long project will ask students to fill out their own day planner to track their progress as they create their own line; this will become their own "designer's diary" that can serve as a portfolio for their new collection or inspiration for their next collection -- Instructor's Guide provides suggestions for planning the course and using the text in the classroom

Randi Beer is an instructor at Woodbury University.