Daily Outfits: Halloween

I have to admit since fall started I have been a bit more lax about updating this blog.  I have been rather busy with "Neptune's Domain" orders and various other projects (more about that in later posts).

I have vowed to post about my Halloween outfits before Thanksgiving! 

But first an update about the Inklings/ Lily of the Valley t-shirt collab:  The two "winning" designs were the bow and crown.  I am in the process of editing them so that we can print the example shirts!

Back to coords!

I wore this for a Halloween party a few days before the actual Hallow's eve.  I decided to be a "Rosebud Fairy" because my "Fairy Formal" dress I made last spring is so very fun to dance in!  I tried to lolita-fy it up a bit with bow shoeclips, rose print socks, a petticoat, and the frilly "peasant" blouse I made for the Otakon fashion show.

This coord on lookbook.

I'm also wearing the Lalique necklace I posted about a few posts back.  I decided to suggest wings with some chiffon scarves rather then wear more traditional ones.  I can't poke peoples eyes out with these ones!

With my current line how could I not dress as a pirate for Halloween Day!  I have to admit all day I was giggling about  how the new vest and hat came out!

This coord on lookbook.

Yes this is a small preview for the next release from the "Neptune's Domain" line, it will include a skirt, vest, and tricorn hat.  

And ahem... here is another lolita look that I wore in the summer and haven't posted here yet.

I wore this for my birthday dinner with my parents.  Looking at this makes me long a bit for warm warm weather!  

This coord on lookbook

Details of the accessories.  The roses were made of some fabric scraps.  I'll have to post a tutorial for them sometime soon!

I wore this vintage cape for the chilly air conditioning!  It was one of those great thiftstore finds!

Spring 2011 thrift store finds

For those who know me; know that I love thrift stores!  At least one third of my wardrobe must be second hand, and several of my favorite dresses were made out of reclaimed sheets.

I live in a University town, and the best time to rummage through the racks is when all the college students leave!  Of course you often find somewhat shocking stringy tops, no doubt worn to a local bar; but there are other surprising treasures if you make an effort.

I always enjoy seeing what other people find, I hope you enjoy my "haul".

First off are some somewhat plain but rather versatile tops.  What I like about them is the little details that make them stand out.  

The plain white one has cute little scallops at the neck and sleeves: perfect for layering with a jumperskirt for a casual lolita look.   I haven't figured out what to do with the dark red one, but those puffed sleeves were too good to pass on.

The white one with the blue flowers is my favorite!.  I had been hoping to pair it with my Sweet Matyroshka jumperskirt, but it ends up too busy!  I really like it for adding a bit of color to mori looks.

Ah sweaters,  I wear sweaters year round; layered over a turtleneck in the winter or worn with a light dress in the summer.  

I'm planning on wearing the cream long one with a long skirt, and brown belt.  I wasn't sure about the teal one, but it's quickly become my new favorite piece of clothing.  Brown is a staple of my wardrobe so the 3rd one should work out one way or the other.

I also picked up a plain white braided leather belt, a simple piece.

I couldn't pass up this tapestry purse, even though the colors (other then brown) matched nothing in my wardrobe.  Then I realized that the striped heavy cotton I had picked up to make a fall/winter dress was the exact same colors. 

And finally the brooch I worn in my hair with my "fairy formal" dress.  I actually have acquired quite a vintage pin collection.  I was all hep on the idea of collecting vintage hats (I have a few), but recently realized that I already have a vintage collection!  I might have to see if I can get them all together at some point and post it here!

Did I say finally?  Well I actually found this at an antiques store, not a thrift store.  It's a sweater guard, and I bought it on impulse because I had just recently found out about them.  

And I wear it all the time!  It's so great!  It's usually either being worn, or kept in my purse.   It's so classy and elegant, and makes all of those cardigans that like to slip off of my shoulders when I work stay put!

So look forward to some coords with these pieces soon!

Have any of you found anything great at your local thrift store lately?

Daily Outfit: Easter

As someone with a love of vintage hats and a small but hopefully growing collection how could I pass up the chance to don a appropriately Easter 'bonnet".

Please excuse the mirror photos, I usually try not to use them, but we had 12 people for Easter dinner, and I didn't have my tripod; so these will have to suffice.

My most appropriate vintage hat is a difficult to match spring green.  I really like it even though it could probably be mistaken for half a head of lettuce instead of a hat.

I chose a 50's inspired dress I made quite a few years ago to go with it.  It's actually made out of an old bed sheet I saved from the rag pile.  It has such cute tiny green polka-dots all over it.

Like most of the things I made years ago, this dress no longer really fits.  So hence the cardigan even though it was really really warm!

I think my favorite thing about this outfit is that other then the petticoat (which you can't see) nothing is new.  The pin and hat are vintage,  the shoes and cardigan are thrifted, the dress is made by me, and the pearls were strung by my Mother.   It was a sort of exciting thing to realize.

For those wondering these photos were taken at my Mother's vanity table; it's so lovely!  If you squint you can see a littler version of me in the frame in the first photo.

Detail of the top of the dress and my hat.

This Coord on Lookbook

Since the dress doesn't fit me anymore, and I still have some of the sheet left, I'm planning on remaking it when I have the time.

I want to keep the 50's feel with the full circle skirt, but add some additional sailor lolita charm.

I am editing the images for the Sweet Matryoshka skirt release and hope to release them either tomorrow or Thursday.   I also have quite a few irons in the fire for this blog: tutorials and recipes.  As usual, please let me know if you have a specific request!

Practical Ideas

About a month ago I was put into the position of having to relocate most my fabric stash to my parents house.  Even though the this was very annoying to have to do, I think I came up with an inexpensive way to store fabric so that you could find what you wanted fairly quickly and easily.

Because I had limited time and money, a lot of the options that I would have preferred (like large clear tubs) were not reasonable.

So this is my solution: bankers boxes, with clear paper protectors taped to them, and a swatch of each of the  fabrics in question showing through.  I also labeled them both on the top and side of the boxes.

For those curious I think the final total of boxes of fabric was 18!

Another moderately clever or at least surprising idea I've come up with is a solution to fitting dresses for clients who's *ahem* attributes aren't easily represented by my re-sizable dressmaker's form.    It also uses some of the many felt circles I have saved from making all the Admiral Tricorn Hats.


I layer the felt circles until the measurements matches up,  wrap it in an additional piece of felt and pin it in place.  Ta-da!

In a slightly different but vein; I went on an expedition to goodwill the other day and ended up only picking up a book.

It's a great addition to my sewing library, it covers very specific ways of dealing with out of the ordinary fabrics.  My favorite part is that a lot of it is very good illustrations rather then photographs or lengthy paragraphs.

I think it was published in the 70's, which seems to have been a good decade for sewing instruction.  I have two readers digest books published then, one on sewing, and one on needlework techniques; and  they are both wonderful.

I almost bought a dusky pink, short sleeved salwar kameez trimmed with antique gold details, but I wasn't sure I would actually have enough courage to wear it!.  I was planning on wearing it belted, with a cream turtleneck and white eyelet skirt under it, brown boots and maybe some sort of loose knit neutral vest or cardigan; for a dolly-kei type of look.  We have a large Indian population around here so if I get up the gumption I will probably be able to find something similar.

Remake: Green Corduroy Dress Complete!

Happy St. Patrick's day!  I hope you all have had a good one so far!  To my delight, I finished remaking my green corduroy dress last week, so it was available to wear today.  No pinching for me!

It took quite a while because I decided to hand sew the braid on the bodice and hem rather then using my machine, because it was so thick!

I pretty much stuck to my plan for trimming it, except I used an ecru lace trim rather then the cream knit trim.  The knit trim just ended looking way too chunky.

Heres some additional photos.  Click pictures for larger version (as usual).

I've taken to thinking of it as my woodland dirndl.

Today I'm wearing it with a cream turtleneck, ecru long chunky lace knit vest, white eyelet skirt (with the dresses skirt unbuttoned), and of course my usual brown boots.

I'll try to come up with a more interesting coordinate and take a photo soon. 

I'm working on an entry for the EGL communitie's Hair Accessories contest.  I can't post photos here yet, because I don't want to ruin the competition; but I'll let you know that it involves straw!

What green clothes are you donning this St. Patrick's day?

Remake: Green Corduroy Dress

I love thrift stores.  Treasure troves of unwanted items just ready for you to see the potential!

As enjoyable as it is to make something from scratch, it is sometimes more so to remake a dress: changing buttons, adding trim, altering the silhouette until you have something new and wonderful.  It's quicker and usually less expensive then from scratch, and almost feels like delightful cheating.

This is what I have planned for this green corduroy dress I found a few months ago.

At first glance it's a fairly unremarkable dress, rather shapeless, and quite a bit too large for my figure.

What drew me in was the beautiful soft mossy green corduroy, mock tortoise shell buttons, and large patch pockets.  It had potential as a beautiful and warm mori or dolly-kei peice for the cold weather!

So far I have attacked it furiously with a seam ripper; removing the skirt from the bodice and cutting open the side seams.

My next plan is to sew new side seams and adding some darts to make it more fitting to my figure.  Then the skirt will be newly gathered reattached to the bodice.

Image from Folkwear.com

Then comes the most enjoyable part, adding braid, lace, and other trim.

My current inspiration is vintage German dirndls and Tracten fashions, like those frequently worn by the Grimoire shop girls.   They are so elegant and charming, but rather hard to find and *ahem* pricey when you can.

So I am planning to add some sage green and ecru martial braid to the bodice and skirt hem, some delightful knitted trim on the edge of the hem, and ecru crochet doily flowers on the patch pockets.

Hopefully it will turn out well!  Look for more updates and photos in the future!