Tag Archives: Top

The two things together

06/01/2011 8:45 am \ 14 Comments \

I’m not sure if this outfit is too severe.  Perhaps.  But this is the thing; I wanted to see these two pieces both together as they were designed to go with each other.  Both being from the same designer.  Japanese designed clothing can often be very architectural and pared back.  And I love this sharp, slightly futuristic minimalism that Japanese designers offer.  And it’s a look that I think is very indefinably now.
So, yeah, here’s me trying to be all super fashionable…
Yet other times I’m romantically lacy and floral, and other times a bit sporty; thus the schizophrenic nature of my sartorial tastes… these very different styles are constantly clashing together in my wardrobe, sometimes meeting in a mishmash of an outfit for a day, sometimes donned in a pure distillation of a recognised style.  
Perhaps it’s just that I like to experiment in both my sewing and with my “look”.
Today I am purely Japanese.
Oh, except for the raggedy old hat (romantic)… and the tennis shoes (sporty)…
So I guess, not so purely Japanese after all! 

About the other pictures; I snapped these samples of the local wildlife floating past the jetty this morning.  Black swans, natch, our state fauna and emblem, and after which this river is named.
And the jellyfish… relax, these ones are harmless.  I learnt to swim in this river, as did my kids, and one soon learnt to gently swoosh them aside during swimming lessons!

Details:
Top; top “b” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton, first posted here
Skirt; skirt “d” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, silver crepe first posted here, I styled this skirt styled in 6 different ways here
Hat and shoes; Country Road

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Dressing for a road trip

24/12/2010 2:58 pm \ 6 Comments \

What to wear for a very long hot drive down into the country; joining the entire clan for a massive Christmas celebration en famille…?  Exhibit A.
Comfortable.
Cool.
But vaguely halfway stylish and not tooooo casual; for the dropping off of a few prezzies and returning an overdue video on the way, and a short interval hopping out of the car at the halfway point petrol station, the only times the general public will view my person and possibly judge the book by its cover.   Er, that’s me, the book, natch, being judged by my clothing by the way, in case you missed the tenuous reference…
Not that I had to worry, the standard of dress amongst drivers hanging out at the middle-of-nowhere petrol station today was… well, low, to be blunt.  But I still like to make some effort.  After all, I’m with my family, and I still care that they see I have some self respect, and make the effort to look nice.  That matters.
I’m sure they will still love me all the same.
But that’s not to say I won’t be going all out tomorrow; steppin’ out in my new dress.  Yaas, managed to finish it and I’m dying to show it off.  Never too weary to get excited about a new party dress…
One sleep to go…

Details:
Top; my own design, refashioned from an old pair of linen pants, here
Shorts; Burda 7723, white linen
Thongs; Mountain Designs

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B is for beach

10/12/2010 4:41 am \ 6 Comments \

This is my newest project; top “b” from the Japanese pattern book “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hiraiwa.  It is designed to be worn both ways front and back however desired and has a button band up the centre of the front… or back, take your pick.  All the internal seams are finished with flat felled seams and the armhole edges are bound with self-fabric bias binding.  I’ve had this crisp-ish white cotton in my stash for a while, probably at least a year ulp, thinking it would come in handy for something or other one of these days and it finally has.  Yay! for using up a bit more stash!  
I really like the boxy, undefined shape of this top; the unfittedness of course being the factor allowing one to wear it either which way… but also making for a delightfully cool and breezy shirt to wear during the hot hotter and hottest days of summer.  The Fremantle Doctor can just sail right on through these big loose armholes to refresh and revitalise me on a scorcher.
Hehe, I know what you’re thinking and you can just stop right there;  just to explain, the Fremantle Doctor is the name given here to the afternoon sea breeze…  
An added bonus here is that this shape is gloriously trendy at the mo’, see the big boxy white top in the photo below from Celine Spring 2011?  Nice to think my sewing efforts are resulting in something super fashionable every now and again…  well, I try.
Now perhaps I just need to make myself a pair of loose floppy wheat-coloured linen pants in order to really nail this look right down to the ground…?
This is the fourth white shirt in my Great White Shirt project.

Details:
Top; “b” from “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton
Skirt; Vogue 7303, raw silk
Sandals; Perrini, had for many many many years

Below at left, worn the other way around; at right, from Celine Spring/Summer 2011

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What were we wearing in the early nineties?

30/11/2010 1:50 am \ 11 Comments \

I am wearing here an outfit I wore to death.  I mean the outfit’s death, not mine, obviously…
This photo is marked in my album “4 1/2 months”, which is the age of our eldest son who I am adoring here; isn’t he sweet?  Ah, the days when I measured the age of the children even down to the half month!!
I have no idea of the pattern I used… but it comprised a pair of very loose shorts with an elasticised waist, and a very oversized button up shirt with two large breast pockets.  In the very best early-nineties tradition.  I made this version in a cool light linen mix, in co-ordinating fabrics.  It was comfy and easy to wear, and being so super-sized I managed to wear it during the best part of two pregnancies as well as when not pregnant, and still looked quite fashionable, believe it or not.  Such were the days when the in-look was for HUGE clothing.  Funny times.  An elasticised waist is an anathema to me nowadays.  
I wonder what will characterise the styles of today, when we look back in ten or twenty years time?

(Oh, and if you would like to see what this cute little tike looks like now, go here)

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In which Sienna has a bad hair day…

18/11/2010 9:01 am \ 14 Comments \

We are having a mini heat-wave.  35C yesterday, 36C today and forecast 37C tomorrow…  (roughly 95F, 97F and 99F respectively)  I’m nervous about summer.  Yup, not even summer yet, and already we’re cookin’.  Not to mention the dog… all that fur… poor poppet.  So a few days ago, when the hot hot hot days starting appearing up ahead on the weather report I rang our neighbourhood dog groomer.
Oh, yes Sienna, one of my favourites!” she chirped.  “now let me see, when can I fit Sienna in… hmmm (sounds of multiple pages flicking… flicking…flicking) the earliest I have is the thirteenth of January.”
Stunned pause. 
“Oh.” Gulp.  “Oh, yes, please book us in”
Since when has it been harder to have one’s dog clipped than one’s own hair, for heaven’s sake?  Though I’m obviously a bit dense, because I now recall it was the same story last year and still I haven’t learnt about the importance of getting in way early…  I’m telling you, looking for extra summertime income? get some clippers and put yourself out there grooming dogs.  Around here at least, HUGE demand…  
But in the meantime, Sienna is already panting and falling back on our morning constitutionals so immediate action is required.  I’ve never clipped a dog before but am always up for a challenge and my overly-confident, can-do brain assured me seriously, how hard could this be?  Armed myself with a medium sized pair of scissors (a mistake… now have blisters) and set to work.  Like, hours later, simply smothered in dog fur (a daily outfit pic from yesterday would have been hilariously un-glamourous) and with a whole cushion sized bag of new blonde clippings in the bin, and below is pictured the newly coiffured Sienna.  (here is the before-Sienna) You know the old saying from schooldays when someone had a haircut “Lost a fight with the lawnmower?” well in all honesty the poor pet looks a bit this way.  Today my daughter’s boyfriend stopped in his tracks, staring incredulously before inquiring “what happened to the dog?”
But hey, I did the best I could do.  She was a very very good dog, lying so patiently while her inept mistress snipped snipped snipped away laboriously…  There are no nicks.  And there’s no doubt she is a heaps livelier and happier dog with a renewed spring in her step.

Details:
Top; my own design, refashioned old pair of 3/4 linen pants seen first here
Skirt; Vogue 7303, lime printed cotton
Sandals; Anna, from MarieClaire shoes
Hat; Country Road
Sunnies; RayBan

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Out bush

06/11/2010 9:04 am \ 5 Comments \

Have had a lovely morning out bush-walking with Mum and Dad and also, nice surprise, some of Dad’s old cronies from university.  Heard a lot of anecdotes, some hilarious, about some of the goings on from their old student days… such as a few of the blokes driving possibly the first private car across the Narrows Bridge just before it was opened to the public.  One of the guys had a tiny car, that they managed to squeeze past the tractors that had been set up to keep everyone out, and they travelled across the new bridge in the dark hours of night… !
Also how same tiny car fitted between the undercroft pillars of Winthrop Hall, in the space that is now the University Library, so they could drive down and about underneath and weave in and out of the pillars… !
Also about the time they bundled a particularly obnoxious and thieving fellow student into someone’s car, drove him to the river and heave-ho-ed him in to teach him a lesson… he had to face his next patient looking a complete wreck and dripping wet … !
Also about the time they managed to get the car into one of the lifts, up to the fifth floor, and carry it over to and leave it on the fifth floor landing to astonish and perplex staff and other students… !
Such naughty mischievous students they were, and all now such venerable and dignified members of the community, each and every one of them!
Oh, and also have been told that (apparently) I look a lot like an evil character from the “Luther” TV series, absolutely must check this out…  Am secretly glad she’s not a sappy character, I much prefer to have a dastardly and wicked alter-ego…
So this has been my garb,  my surroundings, and my activity for today.  And while taking the above picture I managed to rush over and grab the camera in time to catch the little fellow below…

Details:
Jeans; Burda 7863 modified slightly, greige corduroy
Hoodie; KwikSew 3667, pale grey marle fleece
Mum’s old hiking boots (because I forgot to bring my own); Diana Ferrari of Australia

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On getting maximum mileage from your patterns

04/11/2010 4:10 am \ 9 Comments \


For the third day in a row, shorts; sorry.   BUT has anyone noticed, this is also the third day in a row I have showcased these same two patterns for shorts and top?  Just to show how different a garment will appear with the use of different colours and textured fabrics, one can get a variety of looks using just a few basic patterns and just getting creative with one’s fabric choices…  don’t be afraid to try out unusual or unexpected fabrics using your old patterns.  And making slight alterations to the length, width and/or embellishments …  you will get a lot more bang for your pattern buck, too.  I swap pattern pieces between different patterns all the time, things like sleeves are very interchangeable er, I’ve only once used one of the sleeve options on this pattern!  The addition of a hood to a blouse, like yesterday, (and the next time I do this I will do a tutorial to demonstrate) will add a whole different flavour to a garment.  For example; take this shorts pattern, merely lengthening and flaring the leg, trying out different shaped pockets on the back; will change the look.  This pattern doesn’t come with pockets on the back, but it’s so very very easy to add them, and in any shape or form you choose.  Check out the last three days and you will see how different this same top and shorts patterns look on each day.
And to answer a query, for the last few days I have been down at our beach house in Dunsborough, thus the daily uniform of thongs (flipflops) and shorts, and the dusting of sand and salt as an accessory…  Dunsborough is in a huge bay, thus the calmness (is that even a word? un-wave-iness? now that’s better…!) of the ocean in this spot…  And btw, it is one of the few places in WA where you can watch the sun rise as well as set, over the ocean.  Love it here.
We are expecting (and wishfully hoping with our fingers crossed) some rain and I just love the stormy moodiness of those grim leaden clouds.  Such a nice change from yesterday.  Today is probably going to bring a balmy pleasantly cool day of 24C (75F).  I will be de-cobwebbing and washing a few windows.  Spring-cleaning, you know…

Details:
Top; Butterick 4985 with different sleeves and a lace collar, seen first here, grey printed and pre-shirred chiffon
Shorts; Burda 7723 with minor modifications, charcoal gabardine
Cardigan; Metalicus, secondhand
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs

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The weakness for ivory lace continues

03/11/2010 5:18 am \ 14 Comments \

Hehe, in order to avoid falling into a rut and boring you with repeat photos of the beach I’m making an effort to seek out new locations, variety is the spice of life, so they say.  Thus, the toasty tones of my lovely rocky wall backdrop setting off the all-white ensemble here.  Beautiful wall, no?  It is actually the outer wall of the toilet block down here at the beach.  Yeeeeah, I’m so sorry to completely ruin any romantic notions you may be entertaining about my “picturesque” backdrops… ! honesty in blogging, and all that…  the same beach from yesterday is a mere stone’s throw away from this spot.  That’s even for a pathetic stone-thrower like me with a truly “girly” throwing arm…

So… my new ivory lace hoodie; top 3 in the Great White Shirt project (I’m counting the two I made just before signing up, hehe)
This lace top will be perfect for days like today (a hottie of 35C, or 90F… I know, bit worried about what the real summer will bring…!)  The beauty of lace in hot climates is that it has its own inbuilt ventilation to pick up breezes and thus keep the wearer cool.  In a temperature sense as well as a super stylish fashion maven sense, of course…
Details:
Top; Butterick 4985, with modifications, ivory lace
Camisole (under); Country Road
Shorts; Burda 7723, white linen, these ones sewn to the pattern with no modifications
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs
(The rest of this post below is technical sewing stuff, so feel free to skip it if you want…)
So; new top.
I didn’t use the KwikSew hoodie pattern as planned!  Instead of racing irresponsibly off to the fabric store willy nilly for white stretch fabric I was a good girl and took stock of my stash first, and of course there were a few lengths of white fabric already lurking in there with no purpose: one was this ivory lace.  It’s not super high quality and not stretchy and I only had about 1.2m… so couldn’t use the KwikSew pattern, but just right for the old standby Butterick 4985.  I have used this pattern a multitude of times already.  I made a few adjustments, obviously the biggest is the addition of the hood.  For this I did use the KwikSew hood pattern piece but re-drafted somewhat drastically; cut it down smaller to suit the finer more delicate fabric I was using here, and also adjusted the neck edge length to fit the collar edge of the top, so the hood actually replaces the collar and is sandwiched in between the fronts and facing just like a collar would be.  I really just treated the hood like a giant oddly shaped collar.  I sewed the hood’s own centre seam in a French seam.   The back neck edge is finished in a flat felled seam.  The open edge of the hood is the selvedge of the fabric, which is a nice sealed flat edge already, making any further finishing unnecessary.Sleeves: I drafted a sleeve with a long flat sleeve cap like a man’s, and the rest of the sleeve is basically a wide and untapered tube.  I like the unstructured casual flappiness of this new shape.

Buttons; I lucked out and found these perfect ivory buttons with embossed roses and flowers, perfect, no? to go with the rose motif in the lace.  Rather than my usual habit of sewing all the buttons the same way up I sewed them on alternately up and down, to try to match the random rose pattern in the lace…

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