Your first idea is usually your best. Pin up swatches and sketches and review them every morning for at least a week before committing to anything. After a week, I was able to settle on something that I thought would be pretty close to the finished product. For cocktails, she reverses her jacket and snapps off its sleeves, revealing playful, snap- embellished armscyes. Working in small areas with less options is where I am usually at my best.
Good design is really just good problem solving.
These are always calming thoughts in the midst of the panic, and it helps to repeat them over and over as you work. Brainwashing of this sort has always served me well. Sorting through all the ideas that I came up with in the beginning, I begin to narrow things down. With the deadline in mind, a good dose of practicality never hurts. Plus, all the discarded ideas are the seeds of my next project.