I met Chui, a silly, curious, hands-on user experience designer from Central New Jersey, through a sewing class at KSOF (Karen’s School of Fashion) during summer 2017. I was trying to learn making maternity gowns for my own business. Long story short, I realized sewing is not my thing. However, I was so amazed by Chui’s fashion design and sewing skills. In 2019, I connected with Chui on Instagram through KSOF’s Instagram account. Watching Chui’s posts, I am blown away by her talent. I therefore reached out to her for a collaboration on an in-home headshot/personal branding session. 

Chui has been sewing on and off for four years. Her mom has been sewing since she was little from stuffed animals to costumes which got her into it. Chui loves asking her Mom to help her with projects because she will learn great tips and tricks and can steal her Mom’s tools.

For this session Chui wore two outfits designed and sewed by herself. She made this black velvet twist front dress for a New Year’s Eve party with a black and white theme.

“I wanted to pick a solid color so it doesn’t hide the twist and love that velvet adds another special touch. In retrospect, the black still hides the twist so I’d love to do it again in an emerald green or something! What I love about this dress is how the twist looks more complex than it is – it’s fun to see the magic behind the pattern drafting.”

Chui loves making dresses the most, one because they are easier to fit, but also because it gives her an excuse to dress up.

Chui said her biggest challenge is in fitting clothes to her body, especially pants. She has signed up for a pants pattern drafting class on Edx so she is excited to learn about that!

Chui’s other outfit of choice for this session is a red jumpsuit she made for Valentine’s Day.

“I saw myself wearing it in Jersey City enjoying some omakase (pricy sushi) and feeling cool. But mainly, I wanted to give pants a try since I’ve been sewing dress after dress and I don’t even wear dresses that often. I used a pattern I’ve sewn up before so it could be a quick, satisfying make but changed it up a little by lengthening it into pants and adding pockets.”

Chui shops online a lot, but lately she prefers shopping in person for fabrics so she know what to expect in terms of color and weight and to better compare options.

Her biggest achievement was making her wedding dress with a detachable skirt idea come to life (the piece that caught my attention on Instagram). She hopes to keep exploring pattern drafting.

“I see sewing as a hobby that relieves stress and don’t plan to turn it into a side business. I like the idea of creating and selling patterns but it will be a while before I’m ready to consider it.”

Chui likes the in-home concept because of the convenience and she felt more comfortable posing in her own home.  “I could also have changed my mind about outfits or grabbed extra accessories easily.”

She was mainly afraid that her apartment would be too small and that she doesn’t know how to pose. “The size of the apartment wasn’t an issue at all or the lighting, since Karen brought everything. Set up was also a lot faster than I expected. Karen had poses in mind and props to help with them so posing was easy too.”

“Get your hair and makeup done. This was suggested by Karen and it does make a difference. I felt more confident with it done. However, I would also suggest getting hair and makeup done that feels “you” so the person in the pictures don’t end up looking foreign to you. Another piece of advice would be to be open with the photographer about your insecurities (for me it’s my arms) so they can work around them.”

Here is the Chui’s advice for those who consider learning more about fashion design/sewing: “Just do it! The investment can be low if don’t give in to temptation of buying things without a plan. If it’s available, I’d also recommend taking a class to learn the basics. It will move you along faster and help you build the right habits.”

Ready to book a headshot/personal branding session with me? Contact me now!