Recent Purchases

I saw this vintage 70's tiered dress on Ebay a few weeks ago and added it into my watch list. When it was nearly expired, I got a reminder through but I wasn't anywhere near a computer, so I missed out.
Fortunately for me, the seller relisted it and I won it.
As I was anticipating it's arrival from France, I started planning what I would wear it with from my existing wardrobe. It was at this time, that I noticed that I didn't have the right belt to wear with it.
I promptly went about hunting for a belt that would fit the bill.
I managed to find one at Primark.....now I never really buy anything from Primark simply because quite a number of years ago, I purchased a top from there which was absolutely ruined when I washed it, plus I don't really buy clothes that I consider as 'throw away fashion'. I like my clothes to be well made, in great fabrics and have a long wearing life.
Anyway, back to the belt....I found the perfect belt in Primark, as I was buying some underwear for my niece (their Childrenswear is particularly good), and although it isn't leather, I like the style of it and the studs make it a little bit harder.



Whilst I was there, I picked up 3 more belts - two with gold trimmed bows and the third was a double belt in light grey for another dress that I was waiting to accessorize right.
The best thing was that I spent £8 in total for the four belts!!! A bargain or what?!

Have a lovely Sunday X

John Galliano Suspended!!!

I'm sure by now you have all heard the news (at least those of you who are into fashion like me).


Dior has suspended John Galliano while they investigate the alleged anti-Semitic remarks that landed the designer in jail last night.

I have been a fan of Galliano since I was at Uni studying Fashion, which is well over 15 years now, so I was completely shocked to hear this yesterday.

I hope the allegations are not proven to be true.

London Fashion Week - Roksanda Ilincic AW 2011

London fashion week started a few days ago and I was fortunate enough to be given a ticket for the Roksanda Ilincic show which happened today at 12.45pm.

For those of you not familiar with her work, Michelle Obama recently wore one of her dresses when she met the Chinese President Hu Jintao.




The show was amazing......Roksanda is known for using some of the most exquisite colours in her collections and she did not disappoint with this one either. Some of my favourite colours from her show included burgundy, light grey and cobalt blue.

I adored the details she introduced such as chunky zips down the back of really delicate silk dresses. The contrast between hard and soft really was great. Another detail I loved was her use of what looked like oversize sequins with pearl centres - again, the hard and soft contrast was beautiful on the cream pieces that were shown.
I found overall the collection to be very feminine and very wearable. She designs clothes that women really want to wear and that have that longevity we all want from our clothes, especially in this time of economic downturn.
Her clothes are not cheap, but I personally believe that you would wear them season after season without getting tired of them.

I have already hinted to the hubby that I saw some really great pieces that I want, and with my birthday coming up in June.....who knows?!

I could have shown the entire collection as I loved it so much, but instead opted to select my favourite pieces. All photos are from Style.com, where you can see the entire collection.

Have a great Tuesday
X

Blythe work in progress

I mentioned before that I am now freelance sewing for a couple of days a week for some up and coming independent designers.
On the days i'm not freelancing, I have been working on adding some more items in my Etsy shop as well as adding pictures on Flickr.

At the moment, I have been knitting these cute little Blythe hats with hand made pompoms and crochet ties.
All the yarns are 100% Cotton in a double knit yarn. I made them on 2 3/4mm needles.

They are really quick and easy to make and that is really what I find gratifying about making Blythe clothes and accessories.




Completed colours




Red colourway




Pale pink colourway just started




Aoki in blue colourway




Aoki in yellow colourway




Aoki in cream colourway

 Have a great Friday. X

Decisions Made

I have been taking some well deserved time out to decide what I want to do and what direction I will be taking in terms of my next career move.

Having been made redundant just before Christmas, it has taken me a while to adjust to being at home again.
Whilst this was good for the first few weeks, I quickly realised that I need to fill my days with activites in order to avoid my days just becoming a routine.

With this in mind, I have been doing all the thing that I wish I could do when I was working full time, including going to museums and exhibitions, trawling around antique shops and fairs.

I have found that I have been factoring in doing this every week and it has been great!

On the work front, I have been applying for full time Senior Design positions (I've had one interview so far and I'm waiting for feedback from the agency) and in the meantime, I have been undertaking some freelance sewing work for an up and coming designer. This has kept me busy for a few weeks.

I have also had the time to finally increase my Etsy inventory and have made the decision to only concentrate on making Blythe items for now.

Here are some of my newest items

Handmade Check Knickers



Handmade Broderie Anglaise Knickers




Handmade Blouse with Openwork stripe and pinspot




Handmade Blouse, Skirt and hand knitted hat




Handmade felt beret and hand crochet flower trim

 Have a great Saturday X