Record Tote Bag - Empire Records Edition

“Damn the man, save the empire!”

…Personally, my favorite line “I tried to kill myself with a Lady Bic. A pink plastic razor with daisies on it and a moisturizing strip.”

As I began making record totes - designed specifically to hold 20 vinyl records - a fellow elder millennial with a mutual (un)healthy adoration for the 90s contacted me about doing an Empire Records themed record tote. With complete creative control, I put the very timely classic on and began drawing the first things I latched onto. The most obvious was the Empire Records giant neon sign atop the building. 

Next was the color, it needed to be the electric blue of the dvd release. This color is amazing, even better against the black twill liner. 

The most enduring part of this was carefully editing the references to include, then plotting their placements. I lucked out on Liv Tyler’s skirt with a random piece of fabric from my stash. The straps could only be complete with Marc’s outcry of “Shoplifter!”, though the chef’s kiss is the quarters sewn to the bottom of the bag. Why? I don’t have to explain my art to you, Warren.

Machines used:
Singer 20-U-33 - embroidery
Juki Mo 6704 Serger - construction
Singer 99 - secure construction stitch & top stitch

Blue Dye Recipe:
1 bottle Aquamarine
6 tablespoons Royal Blue

The Endless Patchwork Sack Dress

The Endless sack dress was born out of my desire to learn pattern drafting and have a shapeless dress that looked good on my very shapely body. 

As a sustainable designer with a deep instinct to use whatever’s at hand, I created a textile from the dyed canvas remnants in a hodge podge manner throwing out the rule of following the grain and let the fabric lead me. 

Once it was cut and on the dress form (Judy), it felt like magic. The pockets (dyed birdseye pique)) were sewn on with the construction stitches - four thread serge for flexibility - leaving me with the most daunting decision - to add a zipper or not. To add the zipper meant cutting the full front of my dress from hem curving to armpit. It meant commitment. Once that fabric is cut, there’s no going back.

As Tim Gunn would say - it elevated the piece. The zipper allows for le sexiness and a on those hot days; and on those hot days requiring a mid-day hoe-bath (a wipe down for the uninitiated), unzipping all the way makes it possible without removing clothing. This feature would’ve been ideal during my desert party days *looks off in nostalgia*.

Hand pockets, shapeless freedom to walk confidently in docs or crocs, to spin with the music without fear of my voluptuous ass popping out. This dress makes me feel like a powerful punk rock witch.

Machines used:
Wilcox & Gibs Serger 514 - main construction
Singer 31-15 - zipper installation, binding.

Have you ever been in a diner that wasn’t haunted? - Crossbody Diner Bag

The first time I had diner coffee was at the local Perkins in 2002. I was with my friends, Moe and Luke, all high school juniors, we’d ridden our bikes to Blockbuster to rent tapes before they closed and opted for late breakfast and coffee. I don’t remember the meal, but I do remember doing Coffee-Mate creamer shots until we were asked to stop.

Was Perkins haunted? I believe so. I don’t believe I’ve ever been in a diner that isn’t haunted. There was the crowded feeling in the Dupar’s bathroom, though I was the only person upstairs, phantom floating napkin at Cafe 101, and tragic vibe at the Tennessee truck stop.

And then, there’s the diners haunted by the living.

House of Pies on Vermont and Franklin comes to mind. Your last stop on your Silverlake barhopping adventure if you’re not up for the wait at Fred 62’s and just want something cheap and greasy, maybe a slice of to-go pie you may forget in the Uber. I spent many solo evenings sitting in this fluorescent lit dwelling with subpar food and black coffee because the music is lower and the vibe trashier like a bland canvas with great pie. 

When I set out to start this bag, I knew a ghost was first, then coffee. Initially, I imagined the diner from After Hours where Griffin Dunne takes refuge from the mob (led by Teri Garr) chasing him. As I carried on, deciding I wanted red stools, suddenly NoHo Diner was in my head. The last diner of my LA life; the diner I had three “going away” meals at; the diner where I never had a life changing moment at. Sometimes diners are like bananas - they are just diners.

Every diner I’d spent time in - cried, laughed, watched in movies - went into this bag as I pieced together scraps of denim for the scene. There was no planning, each piece sort of fit together enough to be serged, cut to size, and embroidered another piece of the scene. The wall clock reads 11:45, but what is time in a 24 hours diner? Time exists purely for the staff. To the customers sitting at the front counter sipping coffee, time ceased to exist as soon as they stepped in the front door. 

Has it been an hour or four? When you ask this question, you know this was an important trip to the diner. Those nights you show up at 10 and you and your diner comrade leave somewhere around 230 when the bars are letting out and you realize you’ve been discussing life, the conflicts, the craziness, the pretenses falling all around (okay, I’ve just had “All I Really Want” stuck in my head for weeks) and the first rowdy group busting through the door is your cue to pay up, leave a tip, drink the last of your coffee and sip your water before heading out into the night. 

The strap is a purple made from slate gray, black, and purple Rit dye and the hardware is gunmetal aluminum (Ohio Travel Bag), both chosen to represent how the night sky feels after spending hours in a diner. At least that’s how it feels to me. The night sky has never looked purple, but the vibe is there. Next time you’re in a diner late at night, when you leave, take a moment to feel the vibe of the night sky.

This bag isn’t for sale, but I’m always open to ideas / commissions / custom orders. Email me at endlessmeghan@gmail.com or DM my Instagram - @endlessmeghan

Machines used:
Janome MyLock 2040
Singer 22u33
Consew 277rb-1