06x05 - The Purple Coat

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

I'm in the big apple--
new york city.

I'm going to a neighborhood
where they create today

The fashions
we'll be wearing tomorrow.

I could take
a bus or taxi,

But the fastest way
to travel

Is to go on the subway.
Come on.

That's a nice
bouquet.

Yes, you can
carry it.

One, please.

Thank you.

This is my train.
Let's go for a ride.

It's amazing
that the subway is a train

That runs through tunnels
under the city--

Sometimes as deep as


Not much scenery
to look at,

Which makes it
the perfect place to read.

Here's a book
for subway reading.

It's about a girl's trip
into new york city

On a very
important errand.

Every fall, when the leaves
start melting

Into pretty purples
and reds,

Mama says,
"coat time, gabrielle,"

And they ride
two trains

To grandpa's tailor shop
in the city.

Grandpa's shop
is on the 28th floor

In a fancy
office building.

The elevator is
too fast and crowded.

"You ought to get
gold buttons," mama says,

"Big, gold buttons
on your navy blue coat."

"A purple coat
would be nicer," gabby says.

"Purple?" Mama laughs.

"What's funny
about purple?"

Demands gabby,
puffing her lip.

"There's nothing funny
about it," admits mama,

"But you always get
navy blue coats."

Gabby makes a face
and sighs.

"Greetings."

Grandpa hugs them both
in two woolly arms.

Gabby moves toward
the neat rows of fabric

On the wall opposite.

She drags
red-painted fingertips

Across the rainbow of colors
stacked in shelves.

"Hello, purple,"
she whispers,

Pausing on
the prettiest shade of all.

"Hungry, girls?"
Magician-style,

Grandpa uncovers
a platter

Of sandwiches
from the corner deli.

Mama laughs,
"up to your old tricks."

She eats, then rushes off
to do her shopping.

When she is gone,
grandpa turns to gabby.

"Salami or pastrami?"

"Salami," she answers,
"he same as always."

Grandpa and gabby
sit side by side

On grandpa's
big oak desk.

Everywhere
are pencils and pens

And scraps of paper.

Grandpa bites
into his sandwich

And makes
a "mmm..." Sound,

Which means
he likes it.

"Want a bite
of this pastrami?" He asks.

Gabby shakes her head.

"I'll stick
to what I like."

"Once in a while, it's good
to try something new."

"Next time, maybe."

"Now business."

Grandpa points
to bolts of dark fabric.

"I've pulled
all the navy blues--

"Dark and lighter,

Nearly sapphire,
smoky navy, hazy navy--"

"I want purple,"
gabby interrupts.

"Purple? But you
always get a navy coat."

"This time,
I want purple."

Grandpa frowns.

"I suppose
you asked your mother."

"Not exactly,"
gabby says slowly.

"She said navy blue coats
are what I always get."

Grandpa marches
past the desk.

Gabby marches behind.

"Purple," he murmurs,

Seeming to talk
to the air.

"A beautiful purple coat
to my ankles

"With purple buttons
and a big pocket

"And a pleat in back

"To make it easy
when I run.

I'm a fast runner,
grandpa."

"But a navy coat is
such a classic, gabriel."

"It's good to try
something new," she answers.

"You said so yourself."

Grandpa thinks.
Then he says,

"Your mother wanted
a tangerine-colored dress."

"Tangerine!"
Gabby shrieks.

"Did you make her one?"

"Finally I did."

Suddenly, grandpa clicks
two fingers in the air.

"This year, I'll make you
something very special--

"A coat that's navy blue
on one side

And purple
on the other."

Gabby jumps. "Let's make
the purple side first!"

Grandpa measures her arms,
waist, and chest.

When there's nothing left
to measure,

Gabby inspects
grandpa's work.

Mama comes back at 4:00.

"How's the navy coat
coming along?" She asks.

"Uh, uh,"
grandpa coughs a bit.

"Say, pop, that is
some gorgeous purple."

Mama fingers the fabric draped
across the cutting board.

Grandpa clears
his throat.

"Gabby and I
have decided

On a different sort of coat
this yea" he says.

"Different?"

Gabby twirls
in the mirror.

"It's reversible!"
She blurts out.

"Navy on one side

And purple
on the other."

"Pop, gabrielle gets
a navy blue coat always,"

Mama says firmly.

"You wanted
a tangerine dress once.

"Don't you remember?

"It had tangerine pockets,

"Tangerine sleeves
that puffed near the shoulders,

And tiny,
tangerine buttons."

Mama shakes her head.

"And a frilly
tangerine collar.

It was so unlike me
to want that dress."

"It's good to try
something new.

"A person gets tired
of the same old thing,

"And it's such a pretty
shade of purple.

You said so yourself."

"Remember tangerine," grandpa
points a finger in the air.

"Why do I feel outnumbered?"
Mama sighs.

Then she smiles.
"I have a sneaky suspicion

This is going to be
the best purple coat ever."

Gabby can't believe
her ears.

"There may be
a day or two

When I don't feel
like purple," she says.

"There may be,"
answers mama,

"So you can turn
your sleeves inside-out

And flip your coat
around to navy,"

And that's just
what she decides to do.

Buddy, over here.

This is
the garment district,

The clothing capital
of america,

Where you can find
almost any look.

What you're wearing
was probably designed,

Displayed, manufactured,
or shipped from here.

No one here would say,

"I haven't got
a thing to wear."

If you can't find
just the right look for you,

There's probably someone
creating it right now.

Not far from here
is a special school

Called the fashion institute
of technology,

Where young designers
get their start.

Now put the flowers
in the front.

It's final exam time.

That means
a fashion show.

Students produce garments
to be judged.

About the staging,

We have to sell the garments
to the critics,

So we'll have to organize
how they'll be presented.

That's right, david,
so it's very important.

Can we have the models
run through the music?

You can do that
wednesday.

As the big day
approaches,

Students go over
final details.

Young designers like
julie bliss and david berg

Have worked hard
all year,

But there's still
a lot to do before the show.

[David berg]
I'm designing a ski outfit.

The most important element
to this garment

Is that
it fits the body,

Gives little
wind resistance,

And will move
with the body.

Many designers
won't start

Until they have
their fabric

Because they can
picture

How the material
can best be used.

The most important part
of designing a garment

Is transferring
the idea in your head

Onto a piece
of paper.

Once you have it
on paper,

You can play around
with it.

Designs don't always
work out the first time.

You may throw away
lots of paper

Before you stumble on
a design

That catches your eye

And fits the mental
picture you had,

And from there,
you create the garment.

How's it
going, julie?

Good. How are you?

[Julie bliss]
once I have
my finished sketch,

I have to get it
to the fabric,

And we lay out
flat paper--

The outline
of the individual pieces.

Then you take
your scissors

And follow the edge
of that pattern exactly.

The live model
is size 6,

So I'm pinning
my pant pattern

To a mannequin
which is also size 6.

That's where I'll make
any adjustments

Until I get the look
that I want.

I get to see
what the garment

Is going to look like
on a person.

When I get
to the sewing part,

It's exciting for me
because I'm seeing

The pieces
literally come together,

Like creating
a piece of art.

You can't get
too carried away,

But you just
keep sewing,

And it's exciting.

[David]
I like to sew

Because if I'm
making something

And I've started
from a drawing,

I like to do
everything,

From the birth
to the finished garment.

So when
the garment's done,

You'll have
this effect right here--

A profusion of colors.

It should be cute.

Now you just
have to finish.

I know.

My model's going to
be a lot taller.

It'll look
different on her.

[Julie]
over the semester,

Our class
has gotten very close,

And we've learned
to criticize each other

And to take
valuable comments.

Everybody's honest, and if
someone didn't like something,

They would tell you.

Everybody wants this show
to go over well.

My favorite part
of designing

Is seeing
the finished product.

Seeing that end product
is so gratifying.

That's one thing
about new york--

It's full of interesting,
distinctive people.

Everyone has
his or her own style.

You'll see what I mean.

Most of us
have our hands full

Creating ourselves
every day,

But can you imagine
creating fictional characters

And deciding on
their personalities,

Wardrobe, and style?

That's what
steve hansen does.

He's a talented artist,

And each of his characters
begins with a drawing.

I'm a sculptor.

This is the beginning
of making that drawing

Into a three-dimensional
figure.

It doesn't look
like it yet,

But this will be
the head.

Right now,
I'm building a skeleton

That holds
the sculpture up

While I'm
working on it.

This is an armature.

It's the skeleton
that holds the sculpture.

This establishes
the attitude of the body

Before I fatten him up.

Once I have
the arms and legs on,

I adjust it
so it'll come out looking

Like what I think
he's doing.

He's ready to get some flesh
on these bones.

Papier-mache
is paste and newspaper,

And I learned about it
in third grade,

Like everyone else.

It seems to have

A kind of lumpy life
of its own.

It's a fast way
of making something lively--

Also a fast way
of making something big.

It's my hope

That every sculpture I make
has humanity in common.

By that I mean,
when you look at it,

It looks back
or seems alive.

It has to remind you
of yourself,

Or, as with this guy,
I hope not.

I go through the world
collecting people.

It gets filtered through
what I'm thinking

When I make
a sculpture.

They're all a part
of the world around me.

This is where his personality
starts emerging.

If I wanted to
make him angry,

I could put in
a heavy brow

With the eye
under it later.

I do like this corner
on his mouth.

I hadn't intended it,
but I think I'll keep it.

This is brown paper
that holds everything together.

The brown paper
is like putting a skin

On the whole thing.

I want this guy
to look surprised,

So I'll open up
his eyeball quite a bit,

Like it's
a real shock.

It's starting to talk
like it has a personality.

It must be working.

The thing my sculptures
have in common

Is that
they're all human.

I guess
a successful piece

Is one that,
when I look at it,

It kind of looks
back at me.

Generally, people respond
with laughter or embarrassment,

Which I take
as meaning

It struck
some familiar chord.

They very often tell me
they have an uncle

Who looks
just like that.

Most people would know
better than this,

But not this guy.

[Panting and grunting]

Ha ha ha! Hee hee hee!

[Snoring]

Shh!

Watch out
for that manhole.

♪ Blue velvet ♪♪

I haven't seen you
in a long time.

Ahh...

Meow.

Here's my reason
for coming

To the garment district
today--this shop.

I have a special order
to pick up.

While I jump inside,

Here are three
finely tailored books.

Each will fit you
perfectly,

But you don't have to take
my word for it.

Hello.
My name is yotam.

Did it ever
occur to you

That every artist
started out as a kid?

Here's one
I read about.

His name
is pablo picasso.

Pablo picasso,
the world-famous artist,

Was called pablito
when he was young.

He was not
an ordinary kid.

He looked
at many things closely

And noticed everything
was one of a kind.

He painted
on the walls.

He even painted his sister
with egg yolks.

His parents didn't know
what to do with him

Until his father
finally discovered...

Pablito was an artist.

I enjoyed this book.

It was fun
finding out

What a famous person
was like as a kid.

Hi. My name is allyson.

Have you ever wondered
how a book is made?

If you have,
you should read this book.

It takes a lot of time
to make a book.

There are many steps involved,
and people, too,

Like the author, artist,
printer, and salesperson.

Authors write stories.
Artists draw pictures.

Personally,
that's my favorite job.

I think you'll enjoy
reading this book.

Pick it up
at your library.

It's waiting for you.

Hi. I'm heather,

And I just read
this great book.

This is a fun
and interesting story.

The characters are
glen mae, a navajo weaver,

And geraldine, her goat.

Glen mae decided
to make a rug

Out of her goat's hair.

Glen mae
took her scissors

And cut off
geraldine's wool.

Geraldine felt naked.

The story
is really neat

Because it's told
by geraldine the goat.

As you can see,

The goat in this rug
has a special meaning.

Why don't you
check it out?

Well, what do you think?

Not bad, huh?

It's got great lines,
I love the material,

And it's got a certain kind
of quiet elegance,

Don't you think?
Ha ha ha!

But sometimes
when I wake up

And I'm feeling
just a little different,

All I have to do
is this.

Now, this is different.

Ha ha ha!

See you next time.

Today's reading rainbow books
are...

The purple coat,
by amy hest,

Illustrated by
amy schwartz,

Published by
four winds press.

Pablo picasso
by ibi lepscky,

Illustrated by
paolo cardoni,

Translated by
howard rodger maclean,

Published by barron's
educational series, inc.

How a book is made
by aliki,

Published by
thomas y. Crowell.

The goat in the rug

By charles l. Blood
and martin link,

Illustrated by
nancy winslow parker,

Published by
four winds press.