My Latest Project

Another thing I've been wanting to do-- show some of my own work.  And today, in the spirit of weekend projects, I'd like to share the last thing I finished.

The fabric was so totally inspiring.  I found it as a very rough scarf on my last thrift store outing.  It was a large enough piece that I know I could make some sort of garment out of it.  It's a Tanzanian cotton, but the motif reminded me so much of traditional Japanese fabrics that I decided this would be my first pass for the season at a kimono style garment.

Now: kimonos need a lot of yardage, and I really didn't have it in this piece.  So I went way, way, way back in the history of clothing and decided to do a very primitive T shaped jacket.  To accomplish this, I folded my fabric in half the long way, and then cut a slit up the fold that ran half the length of the fabric, creating a front opening.  After this, I cut away the corners of fabric to create the T shape.

The corners were then pieced together to form a kimono style collar, which I interfaced to encourage it to lay crisply.  The stitching of the body of the jacket was remarkably simple.  If you do this yourself, you will have to make sure to clip your corners where the body turns to move into the sleeve.  The sleeve will never lay right without this.  I attached my lining through the hem first.  This picture will help you understand why, I think.

I was lucky enough to spend about a year training under a tailor, and I just love the way tailored hems look.  With this garment, hemming first was the easy method to accomplish what I wanted, and it provided the most efficient and durable construction.  I was able to machine stitch all of the finishing on this.

The next step was to baste the center fronts and neckline together with the wrong sides facing each other.  I applied the collar to the inside of the garment first, and the pinned the front side of the collar in face and stitched in the ditch to finish it off.  I also ended up doing a topstitch around the collar, because even with the interfacing, it was not behaving as I wanted.  The cotton was a looser weave and had a mind of its own.  I'm a firm believer in beating such fabrics into submission by whatever means necessary.  Back on track though-- after that, it was a simple matter of pinning up the sleeve hems and topstitching them, with the lining set back a bit from the cotton.  If I were to do this project again, I would probably break down and handstitch the sleeve hems.  The machine stitching gave the hems just a titch more body than I really wanted.

Next time I will try to be patient enough to take pictures of my process!  I do plan to do a few more T shaped garments, and hope to post a tutorial about how to cut one in the next couple months.

Milan Fashion Week Part Three: Dolce and Gabbana

Whenever I talk about Dolce and Gabbana I have an urge to say "ohmygodohmygodohmygod" about a zillion times, like I'm sixteen all over again.  I can't help it, I'm a fan girl.  Let's get down to it though, cause this latest collection is everything I've come to expect from them.

This collection is what finally sold me on the return of the pencil skirt.  Burberry did it half to death in London, but Burberry bores me to tears.  All it made me do was dig in my heels and resist.  When D&G tackles the same cut, they manage to do it eclectically, with a sense of fun.  And check the way the hem flares just enough to create some great movement on this one.  I suppose that technically makes this a tulip skirt, but I'm not in the mood to be technical.

This sleeve shape appeared in a lot of collections so far, beyond Milan too.  I really love the way D&G has done it in lace here, to soften it and make it more easily wearable for those of us who are not a size 0.  Also, the lace version of this sleeve would be totally do-able as an addition to a thrifted blouse or t-shirt.  

Even fuller version of the same sleeve, growing to be a full fledged angel wing style.  On this dress, with the careful mix of pattern and lace, it totally works.  And this mix of the fabric and lace is killing me with how great it is.

Y'all knew I wouldn't be able to resist this one, I'm sure.  Hi, favorite things.  I love you, wide colorful embroidery.  I love you, contrast of white with color.  I love you, heavy lace.

I've been saving what is the most inspiring for last, but if you review the other pictures I've selected, you'll see it repeated throughout the collection.  Hand painted motifs.  Sweet baby Jebus, Dolce and Gabbana, I was convinced I would never hand paint fabric again.  So much time involved to do it well, and it's so fussy to clean then.  But just look at how divine the prints and fabrics in this collection are.  Imagine how well some hand painting could dress up a bland thrift store find.  The big ole belt on this is kind of fun too, and D&G have definitely inspired me to rediscover my love of funky vintage belts.

Milan Fashion Week Part Two

There's just so much to love about Milan fashion week.  I'm going to try really hard to keep this to two parts, but it may grow into three.  Prepare to cheer for my self restraint if I can stop talking about Milan with this post.

The draping on this dress is just pure flippin' gorgeous.  Missoni must have been looking at saris lately, because this draping is repeated throughout the collection.  I adore it and feel sure I will be compelled to copy it sometime soon.  I think this is arguably the best take on the pencil skirt this season.  By combining a very safe, traditional choice with something distinctly out of the ordinary for western fashion, Missoni has reinvented two garments that are worthy on their own and elevated them to a new state.

Speaking of gorgeous draping, check this skirt from Etro.  I'm not sure I could pull this off since I'm not as thin as I used to be, but I love the easy elegance of this.  The mixed prints aren't killing me either.  This one is a potential restyle project as well-- you could piece a couple of dupattas or large scarves to get this effect.

The Etro collection had the most luscious color, as exemplified by this dress.  Gorgeous, light, flowing fabrics with just the right amount of color dissonance and the sort of wild pattern I adore.  Plus the scarf they used to style this look is a dream, and I love how it works with the dress and how modestly feminine the entire look is.  

This look from Blumarine made me remember a style I'd forgotten I love: rock and roll.  They have me inspired to explore it again though.  Plus I'm loving the pants and may be compelled to copy them.

Another little piece of rock and roll inspiration from Emilio Pucci here, with another great pair of pants.  Check that jacket.  Isn't she calling out to you to be a thrift store restyle?  Just be careful if you haven't worked sequins before.  They're usually chainstitched on in rows, so you'll have to secure each row individually anywhere that you cut the sequinned fabric.

And here is where all my favorite things come together, thanks to Roberto Cavalli.  Bohemian rocker chic, with lots of fringe, a little metallic, and easy, drapey fabrics and shapes.  This and a vintage shawl I own have me about 75% convinced that I'm going to have to make something for myself with a whack load of hand tied fringe.

Believe it or not, this is what self restraint looks like in my world, but I'm still going to have to do one more post on Milan to talk about Dolce and Gabbana.  They're awesome.  Geniuses.  I can't possibly pick just one look and say only a few sentences about all the glorious things that are right with their latest collection.

Fashion Week: London

Perhaps it's because I don't really like traditional styles.  Maybe I've just never been an Anglophile.  But British fashion is usually a bit of a yawn to me, and this year's London fashion week was no exception.  I only found a few things worth mentioning, so this will be a quicky and then in my next posts we'll be on to Milan.  (Which I lovelovelove their fashion week, by the way, so it will have to be another multi part series.  At this rate I'll be blogging about fashion week until it starts up again for next season.)

So one thing I usually love from British designers is the tailoring, and this suit from L'Wren Scott is no exception.  Beautiful lines, really flattering, and perhaps best of all for someone like me, it immediately gives me ideas for restyles.  Opening up a sleeve to mimic this is no sweat.  Recutting and shaping the collar could be doable with the right jacket to start from.  Unfortunately, I'm not able to see a way to get that elegant, minimalist draping across the bust from a restyle.  I suppose you could start from a jacket that is about 2-3 sizes too large and just recut the entire thing, but at that point it's easier to just make a new jacket probably.

The discreet mix of prints and conservative use of sheers in this look from Temperley London is pretty fantastic, and definitely inspirational to me.    The lines of this outfit are a bit dull, but the other elements make up for it.  Wearable?  Probably not for me, because I think it would make me look too old.  For someone younger and thinner, sure.  And this could serve as a starting place for dreaming up a look for myself that wouldn't age me 10 years.

I don't love every Vivienne Westwood collection, but this woman is a modern genius of couture as far as I'm concerned.  Most of this collection wasn't so much for me, but I did like the idea of this piece.  Great option for a refashion, right?

Last one, I promise.  This is a fun skirt, right?  And it would be relatively easy to make, though not probably doable as a restyle.  Just think pencil skirt + two triangles in one side seam.  I'd probably use a drapier fabric though.  This one is a bit too stiff to me.

Fashion Week Faves Part One

I love fashion week with a special devotion reserved for things that are a guilty pleasure.  I love the creativity.  I love the hype.  I even love the excess, but very, very guiltily.  I love the detail and clean construction.  I love watching what's happening with trends as they translate back and forth from street to runway to street.

Of course, I'll never own any of the things you see on the runway.  I don't have that kind of money, and if I did, I don't think I could bring myself to spend that way on clothing.  What I can do is get ideas though, and look for ways to have things inspired by the runway for myself.  With that in mind, here's my round up of favorites from New York fashion week.

I won't argue that most of this outfit from Theysken's Theory is a big yawn, but I'm digging the jacket.  It would be such an easy upcycle too!  All you need to do is find a men's suit coat that hangs over your acromion process about 2 inches.  (The acromion process is a fitting point on the shoulder-- a knobbly bone.  It lands right where a traditionally fitted armscye is supposed to fit.)  Bust out the sleeves, give it a nice finish by trimming away any awkward bulk and turning the lining and wool in to be whipped together.  This would work best with a jacket from the 80's or later.  Earlier vintage will be too substantially built up with padding to provide these kind of lines.

There's a whole combination of things to love here.  The wide sleeve on the coat, the brocade fabrics, the drop waist dress...  It's all designed for a girl thinner than me, of course, so if I did a version of this I'd have to make some significant changes to make it flattering.  I'm definitely inspired by the fabric choices in this ensem from Libertine, though.

This is one of the better looks I've seen from The Row for this collection.  I actually love their stuff as far as it goes, but to my mind, they're more about wardrobe essentials than about statement pieces.  The generally conservative take on fashion from these ladies means a lot of their runway looks are only so so to me, but their pieces mixed with other designers can really wow.  This blouse could definitely be a thrift store upcycle from three old pieces.  Not feeling the exaggerated cloche though.  It's a bit too far to the pith helmet place.

I have usually found Oscar de la Renta to be a bit too stiff and middle aged for my tastes, but this dress is doing a lot to change my mind.  Holy embroidery, Batman!  And what a fantastic color!  I'm not sure if it's just that I'm getting older and catching up to Oscar's demographic, or if this dress is really a winner for people with a younger sensibility, but I'm seriously in love here.  I'll never have the patience to do this much embroidery on my own, but I'll definitely be looking for embroidered yardage at the thrift store now.  The lines of this dress are so simple and basic that they almost don't matter-- it's all about the fabric and embroidery.  With enough fabric, you could base a top, skirt, jacket, or dress on this sort of look.

Great, flattering shape with some nice nods to vintage style in this dress from Cynthia Rowley.  You're not likely to be able to do exactly this as an upcycle, but you could borrow trimming ideas from it.  It wouldn't be a terribly difficult dress to just build, either.

Last tidbit for today, if you're only going to view all of one collection from NYFW, I highly recommend Naeem Khan.  You can see it here.  This collection is utterly feminine, with a mix of classic cuts and bohemian lines that all serve to showcase some truly divine ethnic inspired fabrics and embroidery.  

More to come on another day, but I'd love to hear what everyone else is loving from fashion week!