Happy Halloween!!

Who would you dress up as? Me? That's easy....

Behind the Seams of a Lanvin Dress, Yes!

Check out this video by WSJ.com "Intricate Construction in Fashion" which breaks down the reasons why a Lanvin dress will run you several thousand dollars and what details and techniques really determine the price of a garment. "Experts explain the differences in the making of a luxury and a more affordable garment."

i-D Magazine December 2007

Cate Blanchett takes the cover for i-D's Art & Commerce issue......... amaaaaaazing!

Great Minds Think Alike

Nylon cover girl and MisShapes lover Taylor Warren now modeling Burda Style online patterns for the Shari Dress and the Liz Blouse.

Making a Muslin

Since this is what I'm doing all week, check out this really great video from besewstylish on how to correctly make and fit a muslin.

Well Revered

I am a bit late in catching up to the Stumble hype but now that I have I am totally addicted. Yesterday I can upon the most amazing accessory label called Well Revered designed Jessica Skiles. According to their press release it's inpiried by "vampires, French revolutionaries and the French empire, witches and warlocks, nymphs, wizards, and many other magical beings." To me they are the most rock & roll accessory I have seem in a long time made from vintage charms, medallions, feathers and they should be since the designer is also a member of The Redcoats Are Coming.

Hammer Pants

Want to be on Face Hunter or CobraSnake but you don't have any hammer pants? Afraid that a long, exhausting search through your local vintage shops will amount to nothing? New Haider Ackermann collection outside your budget? Make your own, all you need is to hunt down Simplicity pattern 0693.


(Photos: Bottom left style.com, rest Face Hunter)

Cavalli for H&M

As most of you have already heard, Cavalli for H&M will soon be in stores and H&M has set up a blog dedicated to this entire project which goes slightly above and beyond the call of duty as yesterday's posts included Roberto Cavalli's personal pasta recipes. Apparently there was some party where journalists can see and bask in the glory of all this beauty H&M is about to unleash on us. If you love polyester and leopard print than get your credit cards ready cause you're in luck. Jessica Stam and Erin Wasson star in the ad campaign and were there wearing some of these "garments". The best part of the blog however is this.

What could he be laughing at?


I know........ could it be this?

Covered Boots to Covet

Tara Subkoff for Easy Spirit Covered Boots


If you're like me, you spend at 10 minutes a day regretting not being more vigilant about having bought these Tara Subkoff for Easy Spirit covered boots. They are in every way perfect and I truly yearn for them. Well now Irregular Choice has been kind enough to be "inspired" by them and brings you these. Granted they are not a perfect match and that toe thing kind of bugs me but definitely not enough to deter me from wanting them. I have shoemania and it's a problem.

Irregular Choice Autumn Boots

Organizing Your Wardrobe: How to Fold a Shirt

Just Because It's Andre J.

...and words can not describe how freakishly delicious he is. Oh, and Patricia Fields opened some shop on Bowery bla bla bla, but Andre is in it and I don't care if he was at an opening of a new IHOP on Sunrise Highway, I would still post his video.

The Difference Between Vogue Paris and US Vogue November 2007

November 2007 Paris Vogue featuring Carolyn Murphy and Uber-Hotness & Pat Field Stylist Andre J., US Vogue featuring another actress promoting her new film. Need I say more about whose really on the forefront of fashion?

Two Great Labels from Down Under

I think there are some amazing designers putting out collections in Australia. Recently, I have taken notice of 2 new labels I really like.

Rittenhouse has a really great approach to basics almost in an APC sort of way. They have some really cool drop waist dresses which I love and some very cozy looking sweaters. This is from their A/W 07 Collection.



Zimmerman, based in Sydney, has an almost opposing view of things. They have some peachy, candy colored summer dresses and swimsuits that are much better suited if you currently live in Sydney but are absolutely lovely.

I like the Balenciaga inspired shoes and and socks but something in me is programmed to think of black shoes with white socks as being solely suited for the likes of Cliff Claven. Just something I've never been able to overcome.
Photos of Zimmermann: vogue.com.au

Nothing Beats Presents from Home

and a great haircut...



all in the same day.

Roberto Cavalli and D&G Both Come Out With Untacky Collections?

I guess sometimes I just expect the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening and I start to take it for granted and if one day it all changed and sundown would all of a sudden be at noon and sun up would be at 11pm it would be a shocking jolt to say the least. I would have to say good morning at night and goodnight in the morning and I would have breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast and have afternoon tea at 5am and all bars in NY would close at...... well you get the point. Like every season, when Milan rolls around I allow myself time off from stalking the internet like some weird fashion pervert during the Cavalli & D&G shows to take a breather and just look forward to the upcoming Paris shows when both houses throw me a curve ball by showing things that can work for those of us who don't like to dress like we have ties to the mafia. They both showed floral print dresses that were, dare I day, cute, not skin tight, spandex free, devoid of leopard print, sweet, ethereal. The D&G sandals were sweet perfection and no they did not resemble those often found within 6" of a brass pole, they were flat and sensible but still fashion forward. All this came to me as shock because I started thinking what if everything is going to be opposite in fashion from now on? Will the Lanvin show be a garish freak show involving bondage gear, will McQueen come out in roller skates at the end of the show full of poorly sewn dresses with strange hot-glue gunned appliqués? Maybe it's just like last season when Chloé was Marni and Marni was Chloé. Oh well so now I have to like them? Damn.

Cavalli



D&G


Well, ok, old habits die hard.


Maybe Jerry was right and there is a Bizarro Superman. Superman's exact opposite, who lives in the backwards bizarro world. Up is Down. Down is Up. He says "Hello" when he leaves, "Good bye" when he arrives.
Photos: Style.com

Not Fashion Related But... The Grass is Always Greener... Literally

New York October last week


Freezing my butt off, Berlin from my studio window. Why god, why? I haven't been gone that long but did someone call off the seasons?
(Above photo: New York Daily Photo)

Winter Perfection from Built by Wendy

Although I much more of a warm weather attire lover, this fake fur coat by Wendy Mullin makes me want to go ice skating and sit by the fire drinking egg nog. Happily, rather than jumping on that hideous big foot/yetti/gorilla coat bandwagon, she opted for short white fake fur leaving all those adorable creatures to live in peace. Perfect for you Dust Bunny (you know who you are)!

Books I Can't Wait to Read

The Collection: A Novel by Gioia Diliberto sounds like it was written for someone just like me. The novel is about a fictional character who at 22, takes a low level job in Coco Chanel's Paris atelier as she and her fellow seamstresses work tirelessly in preparation for the upcoming fall collection. Perfection.

and while your at it...


Rizzoli just came out with a book about the house of Lanvin by Dean Merceron. It traces the house's history from it's establishment in 1909 to the present and chronicals the career of Jeanne Lanvin up to present day designer Alber Elbaz. It's supposed to contain loads of photos and sketches of Lanvin gowns from museums, collectors and it's own archives. Can't wait.

Etsy Thursday

There are a lot of lovely things on Etsy this week, especially jewelery and accessories. I am so taken with the cupcake necklace, total cuteness!

Cupcake Necklace by My Little Store


Butterfly Deluxe Necklace by Sunny Rising

Wishing Twig Necklace by Honey Bee

Sunglass Pouch, Handmade in Austria by Working Class Heroes



Flutterby Dear Dress by Gretchen Jones


Buck Skin Nomadic Apron by Hier Apparel


All White Reclining Deerman by Melabo



Fitted Swing Military Wool Coat (Vintage) from Ultra Retro

Simeon Farrar

I am totally in love with Simeon Farrar's website and of course, his beautiful clothes. They are a perfect blend of fashion and art and are very wearable at the same time. Of course if art alone is your cup of tea, that is also available here on his website. Fred Segal in LA is the only retailer in the US to stock him so far so if you like your money hanging in your closet where you can see it, you know where to go.

Is This Child Abuse?... from 1985 Care of CK

The Kaiser

In case you love Uncle Karl and want to know more about him and you hate artificial "butter flavoring" on your pop corn and you're free tomorrow and you are in NYC, go to the Film Forum and see this movie. It's playing all day and the director will be there for the 8:20 showing. Know the man behind the machine. Will you're at it, go see this.

You Will Die If You Don't Get All This Stuff

According to this article in New York's bastion of journalistic integrity, The Daily News, these are the products that every beauty editor thinks are a must have and without which, your face will most likely fall off. For the record, although I may sometimes have that cantankerous personality of someone closely resembling Frank Costanza, I have no desire to look like him and am not above getting my greedy little hands on all these myself. Here's what you need to live:




All this can be yours for a total cost of $283.99 plus tax. After much time spent in their corner offices, at their stylists, manicurists, pedicurists, masseuses, facialists (?), taxidermists and wherever else they linger, they have descended to bequeath upon us the following 10 commandments.

• Never wash your hair two days in a row.

• Always wear SPF 30 sunscreen, come rain or shine, winter or summer.

• Wash your face every night before bed ... even when drunk ... even when tired.

• French manicures are not an option.

• Everybody looks better with a hint of bronzer or self-tanner.

• Avoid frowning - just like your mom said, your face will stick that way.

• Don't smoke - it causes wrinkles, sallow, uneven skin and yellow teeth. (Oh, yeah, and that whole cancer thing, too.)

• Introduce acids into your daily routine - glycolic, salicylic, retinoid, whatever. Your skin will thank you for it.

• Antioxidants are your best friend. Eat them, drink them, wear them, love them.

• Smile. When you carry yourself beautiful, you are beautiful.

Anyway, I won't be posting for the rest of the day as I have a lot of shopping to do. I suggest you do the same, your face and hair depend on it. Serenity Now!

Cute Overload: Brigitte's Hair Accessory

Before we all go ahead and forget about The Fashionista Diaries we have to take notice of Brigitte's totally adorable hair accessory on the last episode. It's pretty obvious that the girl has money and her wardrobe is probably the equivalent the a middle class person's annual salary. From her 3.1 Phillip Lim dress to her John Galliano newspaper print t-shirt to her Sretsis dress, it obviously costs a lots of money to be her. One of my favorite things from the last episode was her pink bow hair thingy. It kind of reminds me of this which Susie Bubble refers to as a millinery item.

Design Studio Details: Ironing Board Cover Tutorial

As any of you out there who spend a lot of time in your sewing studio know, your ironing board gets a lot of wear and tear and will eventually need some kind of repair or replacing. Rather than going through a new ironing board every few months, replacing the cover will return it to it's original glory and allow you the choice of fabric so you don't have to resort to any haus frau prints that they always seem to come in. It's easy, here's what you need:

• Ruler

• Roll of paper or some old news paper taped together the long way

• Scissors

• Fabric made from natural fibers such as cotton

• String

• Quilt batting or some other padding material such as foam or even an old wool blanket (Just make sure that what ever materials you use can withstand the heat of your iron at the highest setting!)

Step 1:

If you do not have long rolls of paper that are slightly bigger than your ironing board, tape a few pieces of old newspaper together. Place your ironing board on top of the paper and trace it.


Step 2:

Add 3" to the stencil you just made.


Step 3:

This is now the pattern for your ironing board cover. Take your fabric, pin the pattern into place and cut it out.


Step 4:

Remove 1" from your you paper pattern so that there is a 2" seam allowance left.


Step 5:

Take your quilt batting and use that pattern to cut it to size.



Step 6:

Depending on the type of fabric you are using, you may want to overlock or zigzag around the edges of your fabric if it frays easily. Then, pin the edges of you fabric in by 3/4" with wrong sides together and stitch about 1/8" close to the cut edge. Do the same for your quilt batting (or padding). Now you have created a channel for your drawstring. Make a small incision in your channel for the drawstring in both the cover and the padding.


Step 7:

Using either a bodkin or a safety pin, pull your string through and pull it back out of the same hole you cut. Leave enough of the string so you can comfortably tie a bow with it.




Step 9:

Now comes the fun part. Remove you old ironing board cover and padding and put on your new padding. If you have any hardware on your ironing board like a slot that holds the iron, unscrew it. Pull the drawstring until it fits securely being careful not to tear a bigger hole by the drawstring opening. Tuck the string under.


Step 10:

Now put your new cover over the padding and pull your drawstring until it fits properly. You can now screw your hardware back into place. That's all! Now you should have a new cover for your ironing board and a pattern that you can keep reusing.

Remember this?

Driven Insane with Desire for the Balenciaga F/W07 Blazer?

You're not the only one. Check out this story from Vogue UK. "One woman, who was not on the waiting list for the £1295 jacket, refused to move until she was sold one in Harvey Nichols – and staff are considering bringing in extra security until the stock clears over the next few days." I know the feeling, that's a hot ass jacket.
(Pic:Style.com)

LA "Fashion" Week Wrap Up

Thankfully LA fashion week is over and as usual it didn't fail in disappointing me as usual. As usual there was an over abundance of t-shirts defaced to perfection, D-List celebs and celebrity designed lines we can all go on to ignore. Heatherette showed and I guess people are still pretending to like it as did Jeremy Scott. To save everyone out there the pain of looking through this mess, here are the highlights and the lowlights...... but I have to warn, the lowlights are very low.

The Highlights:

Totally love Grey Ant

Monarchy

Elsie Katz Couture, Joseph Domingo


The Lows:

Whitley Kros... does this really need to be designed? Hasn't it already been designed a thousand times over? It makes me tired to look at it but only because I have a shirt identical to that one which I sleep in.


Both Jeremy Scott and Heatherette sent their models down the runway looking like garbage, literally.


Heatherette

and finally I present this breathtaking elegance brought to you by Christian Audigier. I'm speechless.



Project Runway Season 3 winner Jeffery Sebelia also showed his line Cosa Nostra. Overall it was very Jeffery, the styling was bit off with white spats and very sharply pointed shoes but there were a few cute dresses. His strongest dress however reminded me too much of this:

(Pics: Venice Girl via Flickr, Style.com)

What They Wore: The Cold War

I have always been fascinated with fashion during the cold war. I think it stems from my love of uniforms and the military aesthetic. A couple of weeks ago I visited the DDR museum and I was really surprised to find how much focus there was on clothes and sewing. Everything in the museum is original and not a reproduction and ranges from clothing to beauty products to furniture all from East Germany. The garments in the closet were much more colorful than I expected and contained non of those greys, olives or navy blues that we all associate with communist fashion. They were however, all polyester through and through and while the actual pieces were not very exciting, the technical drawings of the shapes and styles on the door were much more interesting.



As an attempt to compete with western fashion, they put out this clothing catalog


I guess no matter how much they tried to isolate the people, Dynasty must have influenced some pattern maker out there.


My clear favorite.... this school uniform. I love the boy's face, he's totally thinking "wtf?"


West vs. East. On the left Levi's, on the right the East German brand.


East German sewing machine & notions.

Jane Mayle

Mayle has been one of my favorite designers for the last few years and this article from The Telegraph gives you some insight into the woman behind the label. According to the rumor mill she was also considered for the position of head designer at Chloé which sounds like a perfect fit. The article does it make it seem like it came came to her quite easily but once you can get Liv Tyler or Maggie Gyllenhaal to wear your gear, isn't your job mostly done for you? One of the most amazing things about her is that apparently she doesn't know how how make a pattern and she has no formal training as a designer. Other designers that had no formal training: Betsey Johnson, Matin Grant, Yigal Azrouel, Sonia Rykiel, Marni's Consuelo Castiglioni.

Impulses Seattle has the following Mayle pieces:

Etsy Thursday

I love Etsy a lot but it does take sooooooo much trolling to find what you really love. For some reason they haven't made it possible for you to refine your search. If you're looking for a sweater, you need to scroll through pages and pages of baby sweaters, sweater knitting patterns or dog sweaters just to find something that suits you. As much as I love vintage and think there is definitely a place for it on Etsy, I always go there in search of new designers and handmade things. Here are my favorite lovely hand made things for this week.....

7115 Dress


Heather Gray Knit and Crochet Tam by: tiffytuffington


Twenties Top with Ecru Flowers by iriestar


Anchor Dress by: chmura


Fanciful Rococo Chiffon Wallpaper Print Ruffled Party Dress by: Louise Black


The Demeter Dress by Snoozer Loser



The Lacey Heart Necklace, Owl in the Forest Necklace both by: Reyney

Berlin Mauer Park

Being somewhat new to Berlin I have yet to discover where all the indie designers get their supplies such as fabric, dressforms, notions etc... I am however, lucky because my apartment is just a block away from the enormous Mauerpark flea market where I can find all kinds of unique treasures. It takes at least an hour or two just to walk through the entire thing and you really have to commit to looking through piles and piles of stuff in order to find your own personal treasure but it is Berlin and you can find all kinds of relics from the days of the DDR. Of course my natural inclination is to go to the same ladies who sell fabric every weekend but there are a lot of people who sell their own hand made clothing and accessories.

36 Years Ago in Fashion

1971 The Fashion Message for Fall - mode
Uploaded by grandmarquis

When we think of fashion I think everyone can agree that it is constantly changing. Looking at this video from 1971 I'm shocked to see how so many things remain the same. They interview the Bill Blass, Geoffry Beene, Halston, Anne Klein, basically the fashion all stars of the early 70's. With fashion having such a strong 70's flavor for the past couple of seasons, it seems like a lot of these guys are on the same page as todays' designers. The message of bold shoulders, sweaters and knits being key pieces and Asian inspired pieces sounds so much like today it makes you wonder how fast fashion really moves or does it just go around in circles? I love seeing all the design studio equipment and how little, if at all, any of those things have changed. The sewing studio, the dressforms and patterns look like so much like what I have that I couldn't tell the difference.

Who knew that Harper's Bazaar had the brilliant idea of podcasting back in 1971?

Less Than a Month

Only 29 days till Project Runway season 4 begins!

The Fashionista Diaries' Last Episode

So The Fashionista Diaries has now come and gone. Final thoughts? The highlights include the hotness that is Charlottle Tilbury appearing on this episode as the head make up artist at Just Sweet, Bridgette being totally over it (it being PR) while getting spray tanned in prep for fashion week and Janjay stating that seeing JLo walk past the door without acknowledging anyone at all made her feel "beside herself".


Of course the show did not disappoint and gave everyone more of what they really want to see, the beautiful and elegant see you next tuesday that is Mandie Erickson.



Not only did we get to watch her freak out when someone took her box of cake but we actually had to watch her give Laurie the heartfelt and sincere evaluation/goodbye that we have all expected from her. The comedy came in the form of watching the Just Sweet "Collection" which, as expected, was at the cutting edge of fashion and which every it girl will wearing as soon as they can get their greedy little hands on it. If I can get a lime green polyester potato sack which some hot glue gunned plastic bits in my wardrobe, I would consider my wardrobe very close to perfect. JLo, can you help me??



Andrew got the shaft in his assignment and from Cosmo Girl Magazine but gets full credit for wearing an ascot, Rachel got the shaft from that dude who called her orange and poor Tina got the shaft from Flirt Cosmetics. Brigitte gave the shaft to 7th House and the gorgeous Mandie looked like she was going to strike her but instead offered to help Brigitte break into magazines with her trademark sincerity, which is nothing but endearing, by telling her it was totally ok cause there are thousands of other people who can take her place. Janjay got the job at Flirt, yay. The End.

Two cups in the front, two loops in the back

Check out this behind the scenes of what it takes to make a bra.



Bra facts we never knew:
1. The average woman owns 6.5 bras.
2. Woman breasts can vary from 10oz. to 20 pounds! Ouch...
3. A fitting model's job is to be vocal.

Kate Moss for Top Shop A/W 07...

The new new Kate Moss for Top Shop line is out online and oddly enough, Irina is no longer the model for it. The look book is up as well. The floral print dress that every one was dying for is back in a different print as well as a blue clover print one in a very similar cut. The best of the series is definitely the tweed suit which Kate recently wore to the launch of her new hair product line and the one shoulder chiffon dress. A quick check shows that the small sizes are already selling out so I guess it's now or never..... or now or eBay.

Fashion Via Etsy: Wiksten Made

A lovely new shop just popped up on Etsy by the name of Wiksten Made. The pieces have a really sweet nostalgic feel, almost like children's clothes in adult sizes. The Ellybeth Dress, which is my favorite, has already been placed on hold so lets hope there's more where that came from.

13 Years Ago This Week: CHANEL S/S 1995 Pret-a-Porter

In honor of the start of the Paris shows, here is a quick look back to what all this was like when Uncle Karl was slightly more curvaceous and the iron curtain floodgates had not yet opened. The Supers are looking super. Who knew that they were working turbans back in 95, wouldn't the Chanel turban be the ultimate eBay score?!