Fabric Scrapes

I always have fabric scrapes and I think the fabric is either too cool, cute or nice to throw away but I think I have come up with a good solution...fabric bracelets. So easy to make and the pattern is just a few squares.


I made a bunch for the holidays and it didn't take long at all. Just cut out a 3" by 6" piece of fabric. This will be the top of the bracelet, so pick something flashy or fun. Then cut four 3"x 3" and one 2.5" x 10" for the contrast/lining. I picked a silky black polyester fabric with 5% spandex, so that it would be more comfortable to wear. Don't forget to cut out interfacing. I used a fusible, stretch interfacing.
1. Sew the 3x3 pieces to the main fabric on the width edges.
2. Sew the 2.5" x 10" to the main fabric/contrast fabric on the length side edges.
3. Flip the bracelet to the right side and finish the edges with bias tape.
4. Add a snap to the edge of the bracelet.
5. Place on wrist and tell all your friends you made it.

This is how mine turned out...

B-A-G-S

Most people know, but in case you don't, I'm a twin. Her name is Kathy & she recently started a blog! She's artsy and does artsy things like make funny silk-screened canvas bags, write children books and draw silly characters.

I was given one of her canvas bags last year and I loved it to death. I have toted that bag everywhere and it's still going strong, minus the stains and abuse.
Here is a picture I took of her bag. (yes, those are my favorite lace-up boots strategically placed.)

Doggie Outerwear

I love dog outfits...really, what's not to love?!

This is a photo of my twin sister and her bestie, Kiwi. Kiwi is wearing a Santa's outfit in anticipation for Christmas (she is a holiday fanatic!). The outfit came with a hat, which she hated.

Kiwi, in general, loves wearing clothes. She's little and is cold most of the time, so putting on her daily outfit is a treat and necessity. So what better gift to give her for Christmas than a doggie down jacket. Kiwi's lux outerwear jacket coming soon!

xo

Completed!

A few weeks back, I decided to pattern & sew a capecoat for my sister. Guess what?! I'm done. I actually finished it a few weeks ago, but just recently had time to take some photos of it. It's a little different from my initial sketch due to lack of fabric (no hood) and once I started sewing, I decided to change a few things around.


photo credit: Matt Dolge

Oh, Paradise...

Bare Bellies

A few posts ago, I commented that crop tops were coming back....take note, ladies!

Looklet.com

I remember when I was younger, I would dress my Barbies up in an array of outfits...tank top & shorts for a day at the beach or a mini skirt for the hot dates with Ken (now that I think back, Ken dated all my dolls!!). After growing out of Barbies, I still wanted to dress people up and it looks like I'm not the only one.

I recently visited Looklet. It's a website that feels a lot like dressing up your Barbies, except now you're dressing them in designer clothes. It just doesn't stop there either because when you are all done with the outfit, you can add a background, effects and accessories. I had some time to kill and obviously some outfits in mind that needed to be made, so I came up with this little number. Fun!

xoxo

Sea of Shoes

Jane Aldridge is a 17 year old blogger & I'm obsessed with her blog, Sea of Shoes. The styling is great and the photographs are perfect, both qualities that I feel make it stand out in an ocean of blogs. She's been mentioned in an array of magazines and Urban Outfitters recently asked her to design a line of shoes which hit stores this summer.

Keep an eye out for her and if you haven't been to her blog, I highly recommend it. No doubt, you will be envious of her wardrobe, shoes & accessories.

Capecoat

I love capecoats so much I made one similar to this one in my final line at school. This was my original sketch, but since I was also doing dresses for my final line, I was told I couldn't do this coat & needed to make it more like a jacket (I was confused too) but now I'm finally making it. The wool has been purchased and the pattern is almost done! I'll take pictures of it when I'm done...promise!

My current goal: I have boxes and boxes of amazing fabrics and I plan to make something with each one. A teacher I had told me that fabric is NOT like fine wine. It's doesn't get better with age. Got it & noted!

Rolled Pants & Braided Hairstyles

Rolled pant hems and braided hairstyles are everywhere...in a good way.

The Sartorialist's blog is filled with rolled pant hems. I personally like the look and it's a great solution for long pants. No more hemming!


I'm also a huge fan of braided hairstyles, they are easy to do and so feminine. Also, using the braid as a headband is a great touch.

My Top 5 Favorite Things This Month

Here is a little list of my favorite things this month:
1. Pluots: When apricots and apples make babies, they make these delicious things. They are also known as dinosaur eggs...how cute is that?! 2. Boyfriend blazers: As I mentioned in my last post, I got one at my clothing swap & I love it. Two thumbs up, my friends! You can wear them with jeans, a dress, skirt or whatever else you dream up.
3. Coconut Ice Cream: This one is a love-hate relationship. I love eating it, but hate when it's gone. A pint doesn't last long in my freezer, so I would recommended stocking up & not sharing.4. Lace-up boots: Oh, I am dying for a pair & these might just be the ticket....
5. Sharpies: A few weeks ago, I accidentally put dish soap in the dishwasher & it only took minutes before soap suds were oozing from the machine. I thought that only happened in the movies (!!!), but apparently not. Thanks to a sharpie & my boyfriend it is unlikely to happen again, he nicely wrote on the top of the liquid detergent, "For dishwasher." Thanks!

Clothing Swap 2009

Why: Every few months, the frustration of not being able to close my drawers or closet hits. Although both are exploding with an array of items, the constant complaint of having nothing to wear it repeated a few times throughout the month, so I decided to do something about it....I hosted a clothing swap at my place. I got rid of things I didn't want and walked away with items I did, like an awesome boyfriend blazer (Thanks Diane!)

How: Invite a few friends, give them a week to go through their closet, get some shopping bags, & appetizers and drinks for hosting. Easy!

Tips: Tell invitees to bring stain-free or un-torn clothes, unless that's your sort of thing. & don't forget about shoes, purses, belts & jewelry (also great for swapping).

Outcome: Now, I can close my drawers with ease and picking out something to wear is fun again. No more riffling through ten shirts to get to the one I've been looking for! My one girlfriend had such a revelation with the swapping, so actually arrived in one outfit, decided she could do without and left in another. Now that's how you do it.

NYC shopping

When packing my suitcase for my month long trip to New York, I told myself to leave room because it is inevitable that I would go shopping in New York & I have done exactly that. This weekend, I went into Top Shop which was a mad house. The music was blaring and the crowds are insane, but I found a pair of shoes for $10 (and if you flash your student ID, you get an additional 10% off!). Not bad!

After leaving Top Shop, my roommate & I strolled along Broadway in Soho and saw some re-occurring trends. The first being cropped tees. The length of tees is always going up and down and now they're short, which is great is you have a toned belly, so start working on those sit-ups.

The second being lace...it's everywhere. Lace tops, tights, dresses, vest and shirts. It's definitely bringing me back to my youth when lace was all the rage.

Lastly, beaded jewelry. I actually bought a pair at H&M and it reminded me of a pair I looked at in Seattle which were amazing. I saw them at my friend, Perla's accessory and clothing sale. They are made in sayulita mexico by the Huichol Indians, a group of people with a strong history of beading and embroidery. I pretty much love them!
Earring photo credit: Perla Sitcov

Jenna say, "quoi."

Many of us know a few french phrases, but everyone should know, Jenna say, "quoi," a collection by Jenna Howard. A little play on words, but a whole lot of style. She recently attended the Apparel Design program at Seattle Central and focused her final line on coats for "a busy but chic urban woman." She got her inspiration from "the classic urban work-a-day look" and from women of the 60's & 70's like Audrey Hepburn and Jane Birken. While many of the students were during dress and skirts, Jenna choose coats because she gets overwhelmed by choice and "needed to give [her]self parameters." Also she is a "total coat fiend" and even though she has a closet full of coats, none of them are quite right. There's that saying, "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself."

Her coats were made from a brushed cotton khaki twill that is amazingly soft. Her lining, made from a silk charmeuse, "had a large black and white feather repeat" and was used "strategically in each coat to make every piece unique." One of your coats had a completely detachabe capelet with a cloak hood!

Although her apparel program was in Seattle, she flew to Los Angeles to get her fabric because as she said "everything was cheap and at my fingertips. All the fabric in the garment district is within a few blocks. It's a bunch of open front stores with fabric bursting out of them. I actually found everything I needed within two hours. That NEVER happens in Seattle. I couldn't even find a decent cotton sateen."

After finishing her student collection, she now has "no desire to design more coats," but is really getting into underwear and hope to start developing it soon. She have the same driving force and underlying mantra for the underwear as she did for her coats: "luxurious, beautiful, hip but FUNCTIONAL." So keep an eye out her!

Jenna's Tip of the Week:

"My driving force for life is to be happy and stress free. I think it's backwards to pick something you want to do, say a career, and assume that it will lead you to happiness. I'm trying things the other way around and am curious to see where it takes me.
Sewing tips: Don't forget to sew the label in before you sew the seam; I forget EVERY TIME. "

Belmont Manor

Belmont Manor is a student collection by Becky Sullivan. Her line included "fully lined jackets, silk blouses, tailored pants and feminine skirts" and was inspired by 18th century riding clothes and wealth, but with a modern twist that can be seen in her exaggerated hoods and collars on the jackets. The jackets were made from 100% wool; the blouses, 100% silk; and the pants from a wool/spandex blend. When she was done with her line and the buttons were tallied up, so had a whooping total of 84 buttons!

Not only did Becky have a great line, she was also the winner of the Seattle Fashion Week student competition this past year. She had to create 8 garments in 2 weeks which included sketching, patterning and sewing, and had to keep up with her normal school load which may seem daunting to many (like me), but she thought the thrill of seeing her "garments go down the runway was worth all the time and effort." Lucky for New York, she will be moving there in August to pursue her fashion career. Yay!

Still want to know more! Visit Becky at her website or read her blog.

Photographer: Celie Gruber
Model: Alana Osborne

Halter Dresses

This is Claire. She and I work for the same designer in Brooklyn. We were out running errands when we can across this great painting. She looked so cute, I snapped a quick picture!

She is wearing a white, tye-dye jean halter dress from Top Shop, purple keds from Urban Outfitters and a great navy blue knit blazer (location unknown).

Subletting

I just got into NY today and arrived at my sublet apartment in Greenpoint. The room is so cute & is decorated with amazing furniture. It also looks like it came with the kitty! It's been staring at a bug outside the window for like the last 15 minutes. It is so adorable, I almost couldn't take it.

This is my second time subletting an apartment in New York. I have been asked how to find a sublet and it's so easy! The first time, I found a place on Craigslist, contacted a few people and choose a place. This time around I went through a friend of a friend. I recommend it to anyone looking to get away for an extended period of time.

Wanderlust

It’s about that time of the year that people start taking vacations. Many experience the beautiful scenery, exotic foods, and unfortunately the wrinkled clothes and the lack of a laundry mat, but Monica Jackins, a frequent traveler, developed a line around this with Wanderlust. Her versatile dresses are made from Organic Bamboo, “a readily available renewable resource.” It’s a super soft fabric and has naturally occurring anti-microbial properties which are “great for keeping your clothes fresh when you can’t wash them on the road.” Did I also mention they were wrinkle-free?!

To go one step further she made each dress versatile. The dresses can be worn both in the day and night & be worn in many different ways. Monica remarked about all three dresses, “the Barcelona dress has an adjustable hemline, so you can show a little or a lot of leg, and the Roma dress has a shawl attached at the waist. You can use it to cover your shoulders, tie it around your waist as a sash, or make it one-shouldered for a cool asymmetrical look. The third dress, Praha, is totally reversible, two dresses in one!” The Roma dress was inspired by her personal travel experience. She explained, “When I was in Rome a couple years ago, it was so hot outside, but the minute you went inside a museum the air-con was freezing! Or when I visited a church I had to make sure my shoulders were covered.”

Monica is still developing her line and hopes to add “a couple skirts and tops.” When asked how she stays focused, she recommends listening to a good playlist to “keep the energy up.” Her personal favorites: "Poppin My Collar" by Three 6 Mafia, "Whatever You Like" by T.I., "We Be Clubbin'" by Ice Cube, the new Keri Hilson, and of course anything Sir Mix-a-Lot. Thanks, Monica!

Glamour Shots

Glamour Shots are the best.

A little lighting, some photoshopping & a great hat equals magic.

It's Up!

My website is up! http://www.margiebrzezinski.com/

It's the dress from the fashion show...check out the blog below. Same dress, different model.