Woman Drops Out Of Fashion School In The 1940s, Only For Her Granddaughter To Find Her Designs And Create Them

When Julia first came across her grandma's fashion design sketches that were almost three times as old as she is, she was captivated by them. So were her unexpected TikTok viewers, 2.7 million of them, who shared Julia's appreciation of these drawings, leading to her first viral video. "I knew grandma was talented, but I was like, 'Wow, these are really much better than what I was envisioning in my head'," she told Insider.

Sometimes life throws us a curveball and we have to make sacrifices - just like her grandmother did when she was just about Julia's age, indefinitely postponing her fashion designer ambitions to take care of ailing family members. Hearing how much these drawings mean to her, it's no surprise, then, that the next thing Julia did was teach herself to sew by watching a bunch of YouTube "How To" tutorials.

According to the Pew Research Center's report, the internet's go-to place for all things video and podcasts, YouTube, was the most popular social media site during the pandemic, beating the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Considering the newfound appreciation of our lives, however isolated and uncertain it may have been, Julia's decision to dedicate a couple of years to surprise her unsuspecting grandma is nothing but touching. And so, seeing these vintage designs being brought to life, then appearing on the New York Fashion Week runway, where more than 230,000 fashion enthusiasts gather each year, Julia's story is one for the history books.

Whatever your reason for picking up a needle and a thread is, there's nothing quite like the thrill of sewing your own clothes. Not only does it give you a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, but it also allows you to create one-of-a-kind pieces that perfectly reflect your personal style. But this is nothing new to up-and-coming fashion designer, Gintaras Rėpštas from Lithuania, Kaunas, who, similar to Julia, is self-taught. 

"I was all about making clothes since childhood," Rėpštas told Bored Panda in an email. "As far as I remember, I always enjoyed creating different clothing combinations." Yet, only after Gintaras started to take a real interest in fashion brands and celebrated designers such as Alexander McQueen, did he decide to give it a shot himself.

One of the biggest joys of sewing your own clothes is the sense of creativity and self-expression it allows. With each project, you have the opportunity to let your imagination run wild and bring your vision to life. You can mix and match colors, patterns, and textures to create pieces that are truly unique and reflect your personal style. And best of all, there's no limit to what you can create - whether you're looking to make a simple sundress or a complex evening gown, the possibilities are endless. 

However, similar to any other skill, mastering sewing requires time and practice. As Rėpštas points out, "In today's globalized world, clothes can be made within a day while creating unique high-fashion pieces can take much longer." From sketching to modeling or decoration, no wonder a piece of clothing can take up to several months (and sometimes even dozens of people!) to complete. Jean Paul Gaultier's glamorous dresses one might see on Fashion Week runways can require hundreds of talented hands to pull off.

Still, though, he suggests that everyone who is looking for a new hobby should definitely give sewing a go. Why? Well, for starters, when you take the time to craft a garment with your own two hands, you gain a newfound appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of the clothes that we wear every day.

Suddenly, you start to notice the quality of stitching and the precision of cuts in the clothing you see in stores. You become more aware of the effort that goes into producing a single piece of clothing and you begin to see the value in investing in quality materials and skilled craftsmanship.