What shall I wear today?

Have you ever had one of those days when getting dressed and going to work seems like way too much of an effort?

While it might be easier to just throw on whatever is close at hand, it does absolutely nothing to improve my mood.

Perhaps it should not be the case, but my frame of mind can be dramatically altered by putting on the right (or wrong) dress.

And although I really did not want to leave my apartment, I put on one of my favorites frocks and braved the outside world.

The extra effort was rewarded.  Someone told me that I reminded them of Dita Von Teese.  We both share a love of vintage style and have pasty skin, but beyond that, I don’t see much of a resemblance, although I am very flattered by the comparison!

Being the proud mom of a cute puppy dog, my vampirish pallor has somewhat diminished over the past five years with all of those daily walks.

Goodness, that reminds me, I missed my little guy’s birthday this year!  Happy birthday, Valentino! Although, to be fair, everyday is a party for this spoiled pup.

So we are left with vintage fashion . . . how much fun would it be to rifle through Dita's closet!?

Dress/Belt: Made by me, Vogue 1043

Hat:  Made by me, Vogue 8052

Shoes:  Poetic Licence

Necklace:  Banana Republic

Earrings:  Vintage, from Shadows

Where, oh where, does the time go?!

This past week I feel like I have been playing catch up.  And I have been failing miserably.

I simply cannot manage to sew, blog, and deal with work stuff within the space of a day.

There have been some great creative moments when I spend all my free time in the sewing room, but feel like I am neglecting the blog, not to mention how quickly my Google Reader fills.  And that pesky thing called work continues to get in the way . . .

By chance, I happened to click on BurdaStyle's "Best of June" slideshow.  And they included one of my projects!  The fact that I happened to click through was completely serendipitous.

Thank you, BurdaStyle, for the incredible compliment!

Make sure to check out all of the other featured projects!  And yet another day has gone by and that to-do list continues to taunt me . . .

Ladybugs & Daisies

Last weekend was very productive on the sewing front.  Unfortunately, not much else was accomplished.  Does anyone else lose all track of time while sewing?  And it is infinitely more interesting than washing dishes or vacuuming.

This was my first attempt making a skirt version of the Cambie Dress.  I was so unsure about the skirt (part of the problem was that I managed to whip it up in a single day, so how could it be any good?) that I made the Checkered Silk version on Sunday.

And now I am going to fold up my pattern pieces and lock this pattern away for a bit, or I fear I will keep making more of them!

The first time I saw Tasia’s Cambie Dress, I knew that the pockets on View A would look fabulous in a contrasting fabric.  And I finally got around to doing something about it.

This ladybug print has been living in a drawer for quite some time.  I used it to make a sundress for a little girl many, many years ago.  On a subsequent trip to JoAnns, I saw more of the yardage, and decided to purchase some for a rainy sunny day.  Yes, it is a bit juvenile, but why should little girls have all the fun?

I really do love novelty prints!

Skirt:  Made by me, Sewaholic "Cambie Dress"

Sweater:  Mervyns

Shoes:  Alfani

Brooch:  Monet

Checkered Silk

Sometimes things are just not meant to be.  

I had a fabulous idea for a skirt version of Sewaholic’s Cambie Dress.  The wonderful striped fabric from this dress was going to make a great cotton skirt, or it might have . . .  

Unfortunately, I remembered a whole lot more yardage left in the stash than what actually existed.  Whoops. 

Not to be deterred, I pulled out a checkered silk, remnants from this project.

Because of my extremely limited yardage, I had to shorten the skirt by three inches (not ideal), and hand roll a very narrow hem.  But I did manage to get everything cut out.

The pockets on this pattern (which I love, by the way) are quite large.  I did not have enough to cut two complete pieces.  Because they are part of the design, I did not have the option of leaving them off.  

What I ended up doing was using the foldline as a seam.  Because I was not going to be able to match the checks with my scraps, I cut the pockets on the bias so nothing would match at all!

Making a dress pattern into a skirt is extremely easy.  And it is a great way to double your pattern stash.

Something to keep in mind is a skirt that is hanging from a bodice does not have to be very tight to fit properly.  Most skirts these days do not sit at the actual waistline, which is why the side seam always manages to migrate to the front.  

I like my skirts to stay put, and the easiest way to accomplish this is to wear a skirt at my natural waistline.

There are two ways that I pulled in some of the extra ease.  First, I increased the width of the darts at the upper edge.  I also used a gathering stitch at the center back to pull in the remaining excess.

The waistband piece included with the pattern works perfectly – just keep in mind that you may have to shorten it if you want your skirt to sit at your true waist.

If you want to wear the skirt lower on your hips, I would suggest a contoured waistband.  But for my purposes, a straight rectangle works perfectly.  

Just remember that you will need an extra bit of fabric on either end to account for a seam allowance plus an extra tab to keep any hook & eye hardware away from the skin.

And I put those strangely shaped little scraps to use.  With a slightly modified version of Casey’s tutorial, I made myself a new hair bow.  Headbands are super cute, but they give me a headache, so I used a small clip in its place.  This also makes it possible to move the bow around depending on my hairstyle mood.  

And no, I do not plan on growing up anytime soon, or listening to anyone who says I cannot wear bows in my hair!

Sweater:  Made by me, “Lace Trim Bolero”

Skirt:  Made by me, Sewaholic “Cambie”

Halter Top:  Thrifted

Earrings:  Nordstrom

Shoes:  Banana Republic

Ring:  Grandfather’s high school ring
Purse:  Harvey's Seatbelt Bag "Bow Tide Blue"

J’Adore Dior

A couple of years ago I decided to cancel my subscriptions to the fashion magazines I was receiving in the mail, mostly because they were taking up way too much space and time in my life.  The never-ending onslaught of images and ideas was beginning to give me a headache and make me feel like a real underachiever.  Lovely ideas would flash through my head faster than I could organize them, let along create anything!

But I really do miss the inspiration.  Thankfully, just about everything can be found online these days.  Have you ever been on style.com?  If you want to lose three or four hours in the blink of an eye, head right on over.  Many of the recent collections include an option to see the garment in motion, which brings a whole new level to the experience.

And now I have an embarrassing confession to make.

I miss Mr. Galliano.  I should clarify that:  I miss his work.  Couture should be completely over the top, and set the imagination free.  And his creations are truly magnificent.  But it turns out he may not be the most kind human being in the world.

It really is a travesty that such ugly and racist thoughts can live side by side with such creative beauty.

But isn’t genius pretty darn close to crazy, when you think about it?

So should someone who is obviously incredibly talented and at the top of his/her game have their title stripped from them because of one terrible moment in time?

Do you think Pablo Picasso was a nice guy?  I don’t think so!  And how about Sir Lawrence Olivier?  I’ll bet he was a real peach to be around.  But does that really take away from what they accomplished?

And how about Coco Chanel? – if there is any truth behind the Nazi collaboration, should the fashion house be burned to the ground?

I certainly do not wish to make excuses for anyone, but I keep coming back to the same conclusion.  Super successful and talented people are usually not the most considerate people in the world.  There is probably a long line of people lined up behind them who were stepped on and over.

Does achieving a certain level of mastery of a chosen field cause a person to forget all of us mere mortals, not to mention a basic level of decency?

Okay, I will stop blathering on now.

As I am sure everyone knows, Dior's 2012 Fall Couture designs are out.

And it is back to basics.  But they are wonderful basics.  The Bar Suit has returned - with trousers.  Oh well, I will just have to ask the atelier to swap out the trousers for a pencil skirt when they make mine.  But those jackets are too, too, fabulous to pass up!

Perhaps there is some truth to the old adage that simplicity is more difficult than the ornate, which can hide a multitude of sins.

All I know is, I want to sit with those men and women who create these stunning works of art.  I wonder if they ever make clothes for themselves?  Or after hours of bending over a cutting table and pinning muslins on a mannequin, are they sick to death of a needle and thread?  I do wonder . . .

I there a way that I can contact the second assistant to the assistant that delivers the flower arrangements for the runway show?  May I tag along with them, just to get close to the wools, and silks, and chiffons, and beaded trims.  And, gosh darn it, I NEED to see the inside of those garments.

[Images from style.com]

Designer Genius

These days I feel the term “genius” is bandied about a little too often.  It takes away from the true meaning of the word.

But there is no other way to describe Mr. Jean Paul Gaultier.  The man’s creativity is astounding.

So yes, I finally made it to the De Young for their Gaultier exhibit.  If you live in the Bay Area, run, do not walk, to this event.  The only negative thing is the overwhelming amount of fabulousness (although I am sure that this was done on purpose).  You really will need more than a few hours to digest all of it.

I have been lucky enough to see Yves St. Laurent, Balenciaga, and now, Gaultier thanks to this local musem.  Thank you, De Young! 

And while I would never choose to wear some of his designs, there is no denying the fashion genius that is Gaultier.

If I ever had the opportunity, I could absolutely see 85% of those fabulous vintage Balenciaga pieces in my closet (as if I would ever be so lucky?!!).  And I would kill to wear approximately 70% of the YSL couture collection that was featured in San Francisco.  The brilliance of Gaultier is a bit more, how shall I say, esoteric.   If I had the opportunity to become a collector, about 40% of the amazing designs would be my cup of tea. 

As amazing as the construction may be, I will never wear a bodysuit, even if it is designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, himself.  So while some of the pieces are a tad out of my comfort zone, the pure genius of this man is clear in each and every garment/sketch/photo/runway show.

And the man loves his fishnets . . . that’s it – I am in love!

My outfit for the day started with the purple silk. 

I have cotton remnants from other projects that I keep because I cannot bear to throw them away.  Often, I pull them out and get really frustrated when there is not enough yardage for any of the projects that I want to make.

This blouse was no different.  I have a cotton watercolor floral that was going to work perfectly with my purple silk skirt.  The image was clear in my mind, and it was going to be lovely.  Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

So I pulled out another possibility.

I still did not have quite enough to cut everything out, but I was very close.  Instead of putting the fabric back in the drawer, I used the silk from the skirt to line the sleeves.  And it worked very nicely.

Overall, I am very pleased with this outfit.  I just know I will get a lot of wear out of both of the pieces.  Separates are so very versatile!

By the way . . . have you ever had an issue with an invisible zipper buckling?  Well, if you have the chance, check out that vein-embroidered flesh colored body suit.  Even couture pieces have less than perfect bits!  It is somehow reassuring to see that absolute perfection really does not exist in this world.  If only I could remember that when a particular project is making me crazy!

Blouse:  Made by me, Simplicity 2154 (sleeves from Simplicity 1872)

Skirt:  Made by me, Simplicity 1997

Shoes:  Nine West

Fascinator:  Made by me

Purse:  Harveys Seatbelt Bag

Earrings & Ring:  Macys