Monthly Archives: March 2011

I quite like the utilitarian edginess of this outfit, with vaguely military overtones, thanks to the trench skirt.  When I first tried this top on with this skirt I was a bit struck with the unusualness of the look.  Sort of  intriguingly different.  It’s all quite boxy and not shaped to flatter my body at all.  But I’m OK with that.  After all, I dress to please myself; for both comfort and appropriateness to the weather, as well as to look nice.  Today is another hot one, so the airiness and unfittedness of the outfit allows for breezes.  And “nice” encompasses many things, pretty not always having to be amongst them.  This is more funky.  It’s not a very feminine look, but I don’t want always to look feminine.  I like an edgy unconventional look too; and I think this has that appeal.  So yeah.
The necklace is another I made a few years ago, during my beading fad.
Re Vogue 8333, the jacket with the “inside secrets to luxurious custom couture construction” (this is verbatim from the envelope, I’m actually not making that up); I bought some wool/silk mix while in Japan specifically for this jacket pattern and made a tiny start today.  I cut out the paper pieces today and read through the instructions.   Well, I did say a tiny start…
Has anyone else got this pattern and read through these instructions?
Some new concepts here; hair canvas… pad-stitching… er, bridles? I always thought bridles were for horses, apparently ladies wear them too, just in a different form, tucked away inside their lapels… ha!
You learn something new everyday.

Details:
Top; my own design, made from an old pair of ivory light cotton pants, details here
Skirt; Burdastyle magazine 08-2009-107, khaki cotton, close-up details and my review of this pattern here
Necklace; my own design
Belt; Country Road, had this for about twenty years
Shoes; Betts & Betts Brazilian collection, had these for about twenty years too

Me-Made March; Day 21
I may have been more influenced by Collette Dinnigan’s collection from Friday’s fashion parade than I realised as this morning I felt lace-y and nude and feminine was sartorially just what I craved.  The images of those pretty lingerie -y dresses have been simmering and percolating in my brain over the weekend and slowly settling in and I just had to go there.
“Nude” as a colour; one that has been bandied about in fashion circles as being very “in” a few years back when I made this dress.  My very stylish friend J who works in a boutique informs me quite seriously that “nude” is the word to use; no one uses “beige” anymore.  “Beige” is out out out, one must say nude, or alternatively stone or putty or sand or one of a small collection of more aesthetically pleasing variations, but never never beige.
Beige has “connotations”, it seems.
So I do still love this dress, whatever colour it is.  The lace has black and metallic silver in it, and I used a smudge-y purply silk chiffon for the ruche-d midriff section and the sash.  The dress has been seen here on the blog before; an oldie but still a favourite, a used-to-be-good dress for smart semi-formal does, now relegated to a day dress that makes me feel extra-specially feminine when I wear it.

Details:
Dress; based loosely on NewLook 6699, lace, border lace, silk chiffon and swiss voile lining
Sandals; Vincenza, from Soletta shoes
Nail varnish; Pouty Purple, BYS
(woops, I just realised… I did have a vague feeling of deja vu about this picture… and look here… snap!)

Today’s setting reflects our morning’s activities, namely going to another school to watch our son’s “away” volleyball tournament; if you’re curious the title gives the outcome, btw…  
So I commandeered my husband briefly into service as a photographer, wonderful right? saving that little bit of hassle and extra time that a DIY photoshoot takes…  you’d think, but my husband thought I was crazy, wanting a photograph beside some lockers when there were some truly lovely gardens just barely metres away, but I’m like, “no these are perfect!”  Not to mention private, my primary concern in photo-taking… He could only see a set of grunge-y old un-beautiful lockers.   But, variety (in backgrounds) is the spice of life, no?
Also he was pretty incredulous that I specifically walked over to a little bit of abandoned schoolyard rubbish for a shot of my shoesies, but I reckon it wouldn’t say “boys’ school” without a bit of crud about somewhere.  Neat, and teenage boys… two mutually exclusive concepts.
This is a top that I’ve shown here before, but forgot to put up any detail close-ups, so I’ve included some below for those interested in such things.  It is made out of crushed shot silk with a brilliant orange weft on a brilliant turquoise warp, giving it this wonderfully pearlescent greyish pink hue.  And the silver grey skirt, essentially from one piece of fabric, with just a few extras such as waistbands and button bands, making it one of the simplest pieces in my wardrobe.  By simplest, I mean in the uncluttered minimalist sense.  But it was pretty simple to make too.
I’m also wearing a necklace with a pendant that I made during a beading fad a few years back.  It’s like a little “spray” or “bouquet” of beads on little individual twists of wire all then bound together at the back, strung on some kitchen string.  Perhaps I should get a nice leather cord for it, hey…

Details:
Top; Burda 7834, shot silk, my review of this pattern here
Skirt; skirt “d” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like by Natsuno Hiraiwa, silver grey crepe, to see this skirt styled in 6 different ways go here.
Sandals; Vincenza, from Soletta shoes
Necklace and pendant; made by me
Nail varnish; Bright Light, BYS

… but we are just past the half-way mark for Me-Made March… yay!
When I’ve already taken a picture of myself in this dress, and what’s more wearing these very same sandals with it too, it’s so sorely tempting to just use that same photo for the MMM flickr group, but I guess that is not the point, hmmm?  That would be cheating, and someone might notice.  Anyhoo, I’m happily getting used to packing my camera in the backpack for the morning walk now so taking the daily photo is not too bad.  But just ask me in a week…
I’ve made myself some new little things lately and am dying for the weather to cool down enough so I can show them off here… yes, new things!  (I just know my Mum will tut-tut at that one…!) but remember how last month I pledged to make ten things using up my fabric collection before I was allowed to buy new fabric?  well I have made seven new garments since.  That 7 includes Craig’s shirt, the Japanese cotton dress, the matching shorts and the yellow shorts; all of these I have shown here… there are some other things, and I’m currently putting the finishing touches to an army jacket for me; thick khaki cotton and with lots of tabs with big shiny snaps and a fur lined detachable hood, and I’m so disgracefully proud of it!!  But I just can’t show it off here yet because when I’ve had to put it on during construction to check how it’s fitting etc, as well as when I’ve worn it to show my family, I’ve started to expire from heat overload within seconds so off it comes.  But I’m pretty excited about wearing it for this winter…. stay tuned…!

Details:
Dress; modified NewLook 6699, made out of leftover cotton scraps from other projects, see details here
Sandals; Micam by Joanne Mercer, from Hobbs shoes
Nail varnish; Bright Light, BYS