the garment thread

at play

2012-02-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

Since my last post was me all about work days (me at my most polished), I decided in the spirit of fairness, to celebrate my days off (me at my sloppiest). Many times I'll use these days to sort of "workshop" clothing combinations. I'll start the day with a simple jeans-and-T combo and then start adding tops, hats, bits of fabric. Sometimes I even come up with something I end up wearing out into the world at large.

The Professional Me

2011-11-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

Why do ladies take pictures of themselves and post them online? It's a question I've been pondering for a while now and I have not come up with any satisfactory answers. This is my main excuse for the lack of activity here at the garment thread in recent months (that and the fact that my photographic skills are not something I feel it is necessary to subject you all to). That said, for whatever mysterious reason I can't seem to bring myself to shut down this much neglected blog altogether, however ambivalent I feel about it at the moment.

Shall I tell you a bit about these pictures? Well, I have newly been employed by a certain clothing shop where putting together interesting outfits is not only encouraged, but somewhat mandatory. Will this inspire me to do some more blogging? Does the world really need another girl showing off her daily wardrobe choices? We'll see, but for the moment here are a few shots of me avant le travail.

I think all of this outfit was thrifted with the exception of the handbag which comes to me courtesy of my late maternal grandmother.

Striped shirt - Target; Floral dress - Celia Birtwell for Express (I bought it at either Marshall's or T.J. Maxx)

Got this dress at a clothing swap. The belt is part of a vintage ensemble, but I never like wearing dresses with matching belts, so I don't believe it's ever been seen with it's intended partner.

palm springs

2011-05-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

2011-04-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this hood. Just in time for the warmer weather.

fillet first attempt

2011-03-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

(Well, it did seem a logical progression from all the doily-work)

a bit of fancy dress

2011-03-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am, as ever, a bit late in posting this, but here I am all dolled up for the Oscar party of the mother of my dear friend T. Every year T's mother has an all out party to celebrate the Academy Awards, complete with red carpet and mandatory dress code. This year we were asked to dress as a nominated role. Three guesses who I am. Really, when it came down to it, there was no contest as to what I would wear. My closet is littered with 1930's pieces (or damned good imitations), so, as this did come as a bit of a last minute invite, I went with my only possible choice: Helena Bonham Carter as the Duchess of York.

In praise of doilies

2011-02-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

I would like to take a moment to muse on the humble doily. I have just spent the better part of last month crocheting doilies and, while not exactly difficult to make, they can be a wee bit tricky and require a bit of concentration of the part of the crocheter. In many ways, I found them more difficult to make than a sweater (which will usually have a "continue in pattern stitch for 10 inches"- brainless!!)

Why have I done this when only days before embarking on my project I came across a flea market vendor selling antique ones for $1 each. Looking at the vendor's giant overflowing box I couldn't help but think of how many hours of handwork were moldering away inside, though I would suspect that many of the people buying these items have never made a doily in their life and thus could not appreciate the effort involved. Anyway, I still can't come up with an adequate reason for making my own doilies other than I had a lot of size 30 thread laying about and . . . well . . . I just sort of got hooked (heh) on the process.

Ah! Doilies on denim. Lovely!

(this one would not lay flat and sort of reminded me of a beret, so I tried pining it to my head with questionable results)

my first doily!

2011-01-13T11:49:00.001-08:00

making breakfast

2011-01-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Sweater Challenge Update

2011-01-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

Well . . . I tried. Here is how far I got:

This one is probably going to be finished in the next couple of days. I have a small amount of sewing left to do, and cuffs still to knit.

This one is also very nearly finished. I just need to find some ribbon to weave into the picot edge and I need someone to help me adjust the straps. Given the temperature at this time of year, I have not been too keen on standing around in a camisole while someone fiddles about with the adjustments and thus . . . not finished in time.

I'm pretty sure all the knitting on this sweater is done, I just can't find the instructions, so I'm not entirely sure how it should be constructed (the sleeves seem reasonable enough, but looking at that collar baffles me).

Another one I cannot find the pattern for. This one is particularly sad because my lovely merino wool is now covered in tiny moth holes, so in addition to finding the pattern and sewing the collar and neck zipper, I now have to mend about 10 holes.

I do have the instructions for this one, but stupid me ran out of yarn and will now have to try to order something similar (you can clearly see where I had to switch yarns previously).

The Sweater Challenge

2010-12-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hello there reader, once again I have decided it is time to set myself a little creative challenge (and I must say that having a blog, no matter how neglected, is a wonderful way of keeping on track). This time I have taken it upon myself to complete 5 sweaters by the end of the year. Upon first hearing, this may sound a little too ambitious, I assure you reader it is not. Having recently uncovered the mother-load of unfinished knitting projects whilst unpacking some of my many boxes (sadly, just because everything is out of storage and in my house doesn't necessarily mean that it's out and contributing to the general quality of my life) I think this should be a challenging, yet doable task.

My new dress

2010-11-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

I found the idea for this dress over at Outsapop (probably my favorite blog on refashioned and upcycled clothing). It will probably not surprise you to learn that I have a rather large stash of old crappy band T-shirts rescued from the trash bin at work, and given that there is only one seam involved in making this dress, whipping this up was really a no brainer.

hood up

hood down

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well here you go - this year's Halloween costume. Because of my large amount of vintage clothing, it has become something of a standby for me to dress in a specific decade's costume, rather than as a definable character (incidentally, none of what I'm wearing here is vintage). Two years ago I was 60's (leaning towards mod) and the year before that late 20's/early 30's. This is certainly a godsend for a lazy person such as myself, the problem is that I usually end up in something I would wear on a normal night out (barring the star on the eye, this is the case here). This year I was shooting for 70's glam rocker, but I think I ended up looking more like a Kiss fan.

2010-10-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well here we are, two days before Halloween (and when it comes down to it, all the good parties are going to be tomorrow on Saturday night) and I still haven't decided on a costume. Since last year's was understated to say the least, and since this year's will probably be in the same vein, I thought I would share with you what was probably the most striking costume I've ever donned. I made the hat out of too many styrofoam cups and wore it to a club in Belfast where for the first few hours I was the belle of the ball. After that, as everyone became increasingly inebriated, I just got harassed by drunks who wanted to rip pieces of my costume off me (my gentleman friend almost got into several fights defending the hat's honour). I ended up tossing the damned thing into the centre of the dance floor and watching everyone cheer and smash it to pieces. I went home that night feeling very tiny.

2010-09-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

New Daswunderkammer hat design

2010-08-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Here I am attempting three of this season's makeup trends at once: green eyeshadow, orange lipstick and khaki nails. I must say, I don't look nearly as clownish in this picture as I felt when I was looking into that mirror. Still, I imagine I won't be sporting this look again anytime soon.

on the couch with cats

2010-08-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

8/20

2010-08-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

2010-06-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

Go Mexico!!!

a couple that didn't make the cut

2010-06-26T11:24:00.001-07:00

Because I've been so bad about posting here lately, I've decided that my penance will be dragging out a couple of rather unflattering pictures I've taken in the last few months.

I really liked this particular outfit. I really did not like any of the shots of it I took.

I like to think of this as my "severe ballet mistress" outfit. Turns out, it was a little too severe to be captured well in a photo.

2010-06-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

I am still working out the best way to take a self portrait in my new place. Here is an early attempt. The top is Alice Temperly for Target. The trousers were given to me by my friend K. back in high school (I'm finding all sorts of things I haven't seen in years as I unpack). The belt is thrifted. The shoes and sweater are a couple of the usual suspects in my clothing artillery.

a virtual tour of the wunderkammer

2010-05-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

There has not been much posting here of late because there has not been much in the way of dressing up. As I mentioned earlier, garment thread HQ is soon to be moving and I think that has made me a bit reluctant to start any new projects (and at the moment putting on anything more elaborate than a pair of jeans and a shirt is considered a "project"). Anyway, I thought I'd take a moment here and share some pictures of the space where the magic has been made for the past few years in all it's shambolic glory!

an outfit for a visit to the auto mechanic

2010-05-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

The plaid and beat up Converse say "Yeah, I might know a thing or two about cars so don't even think about ripping me off", but the ruffles are a bit of a sartorial eyelash flutter.

2010-05-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

It's not so much that I haven't been taking pictures (well, okay . . . yes it is partially that), but I have been incredibly lazy about uploading them from my camera. Here's an outfit that looked much better in person than it does here. I love doing the jacket-as-cape thing.

In other news, garment thread HQ will be relocating at the end of the month. I hope this will provide some of the space and privacy needed to reinvigorate this much neglected blog. As always, stay tuned.

2010-05-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here I am proudly showing off one of my new tomato plants (which, incidentally, I did not plant while wearing this get up). This outfit is slightly problematic in that its still a bit too chilly to go bare legged, but introducing tights to the ensemble with it's polka dots and strong colours seemed too tricky. Once again I will freeze in the name of fashion. The top is from my great aunt and the skirt is from the Rodarte for Target collection.

guest blogger

2010-04-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Why do girls take pictures of themselves? I've been asking myself this a lot since ending the wardrobe project. Though I have been taking self portraits since jr. high, it has only been in the last year that I have started sharing them with the world at large . . . with mixed feelings. Yes, many many girls are posting their pictures online - just look at Wardrobe Remix for example - and yes, we do it because we love dressing up and want to show off our fabulous threads. This is what I keep telling myself, but I can't help feeling there is something more to it than that and got very interested in the figuring out what sort of girl takes pictures of herself and what her motivations are. To that end I decided to recruit my dear friend and one of my favorite underdiscovered writers, R.C. and put the question to her.

The Self-Portrait Blues

By R. C.

Miss G. asked me to write about why so many girls do that thing of taking tons of photos of ourselves. We remember having an interesting conversation about this subject years ago (I have a ton of photos I’ve taken of myself since I was little). I don’t recall coming to a conclusion about why so many of us are inclined to take so many self-portraits; if I did draw a conclusion, years ago, I can’t imagine what it was, because today the question stumps me. All I can do is come up with a list of observations about this phenomenon.

1. When I was a teenager, I took a picture of myself whenever I was in the middle of crying.

2. The girls I know who do a lot of self portraits are, across the board, a) beautiful, and b) insecure.

3. My instable and emotionally immature mother used to have really bad fits of anger. She’d either cut herself during these fits, or give herself a really fucked up haircut. In the midst of these tantrums, or maybe during the calm after the storm, she often (always?) took a photo of herself. She takes her photos on disposable cameras and always orders doubles. In many of the letters I’ve received from her throughout the years, she’s included one of these disturbing self-portraits.

(self portrait of the author 4/26/93)

4. Sometimes, girls’ self portraits feel like an empowering art project, an homage to Cindy Sherman. When I was a teenager I took 2 series’ of photos using the self-timer on my 35 millimeter camera, and I was really proud of both of these series, I felt like a real visual artist. Both series’ of photos required dressing up and creating a set that contributed to a narrative: one was of me kneeling to pray and then packing to run away, with the TV on in the background. The other series I took, in the really neat garage at one of the houses Miss G. and I lived in, was of me dressed up and dancing with a broom.

5. I’ve known many girls who take pictures of their injuries after cutting themselves. Sometimes I think they end up showing them to people at the time of their crisis, which makes these photos seem like a cry for help. But all the self-mutilation photos I’ve seen or taken were kept to the photographer for years, shown much later after the fact/phase of cutting.

So I don’t know what conclusion to draw from these observations. I think the most significant clue here is that, like I said, all the girls I’ve know who’ve taken lots of photos of themselves have been beautiful and insecure: I’m thinking of a lot of specific girls when I say this, like at lease twenty female friends are coming to mind off the top of my head. To take the pessimistic route, which is the only one I can figure here, maybe it’s because we feel we’ve survived this long, as wild as we are, by “depending on the kindness of strangers,” and we’re afraid of what’ll happen to us when we lose our looks, so we want lots of documentation of the salad days.

Please tell me I’m wrong.

Dress Week postponed due to weather

2010-04-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

I once read an article on Anthropologie and it's merchandising strategies in which they used the expression "happy clothing". Well, this is one damn happy dress! I put it on and felt so breezy and carefree that I decided the rest of the week would henceforth be dress week (specifically "happy sundress week"). Of course, this was at the start of the week when the weather was so lovely and Spring-like, and since then it has been cold and rainy (hail in some instances), so dress week has been put off until further notice.

first shorts of the season

2010-03-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

2010-03-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

As you know, I always like to get a bit of orange in on the 17th, but this is the first year in longer than I can remember that I actually decided to wear green as well. I used to like to tell people I had Irish immunity because I really believe that if you have lived long enough in Ireland (North or South) you should be allowed to a) listen to U2 without embarrassment and b) skip the green on St. Patrick's Day with impunity.

2010-03-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

I have been receiving some complaints recently from one of this blogs most loyal followers about the lack of outfit pictures these days. And while I don't really have the closet space at present to organize a return to the one-new-outfit-a-day format of last year (you'll have to trust me when I say that the logistics of that were a nightmare), from this point forth, I vow to post at least one outfit a week.

This week's look is from my recent trip north to attend my number one friend's wedding reception. The pose and the fruit are the result of a few glasses of wine and a tableful of friends directing the shoot. The blouse, by Vivienne Westwood, was a New Year's present to myself. The skirt is my much loved Alexander McQueen for Target one and man, that thing works wonders on the dance floor.

2010-02-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

This is why I will never be able to give up buying new clothing. Damn you Target!!!!

one for the foot fetishists

2010-02-23T13:58:00.001-08:00

Socks are fun! It's such a shame that they are so often overshadowed by the rest of an outfit. Over the years I've amassed quite a collection and it seemed time to take a moment to celebrate the humble sock.

stripes from my ex's mother

trompe l'oeil spats from Anthropologie

fancy Tabio socks

gold chains from Topshop

fashion icons for all occasions

2010-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

[I wrote this article about five or six years ago for a zine my dear friend Mrs. N was editing. She had asked a number of people to write about a subject dear to them and I naturally chose fashion. In the end, the zine never came out, and this article remained hidden on the desktop of my mom's computer. So here it is, my short and very subjective list of fashion icons. I would love to hear from some other people who their list of fashion icons would include.]

Perhaps with the world on the brink of crisis as it is today, it seems frivolous to write about fashion. Well, it is. But with so many horrible things going on from our foolish and arrogant foreign policy, to our frightening lack of reproductive freedom (and everything that lies in between), I thought I'd choose a feel good subject. And fashion should make you feel good. Unless, of course, you take it too seriously, because as we all know, being well dressed will never make you a better person. It will, however, lift your spirits and on occasion make you feel more confidant.

There is a famous quote, which ironically, I can't remember, but the gist of it is that geniuses steal. To this end I present my list of fashion icons for all moods and occasions. Please steal from them at will.

For ruling the world: Diana Vreeland

Diana Vreeland controlled the fashion world for nearly five decades. She is the one who first coined all those obnoxious fashion phrases like "leopard is the new black" (or whatever happens to be the new whatever at the moment). [light is the new dark, Mr. K.?] Diana Vreeland has too many awesome fashion moments to recount here, but there are numerous books ranging from affordable to downright insanely expensive, which explore her in depth. I will however leave you with some typical Vreeland advice: "Why don't you have your cigarettes stamped with a personal insignia as a well known explorer did with a penguin". And really, when you think about it, if you are planning on ruling the world, why wouldn't you?

For being crazy: Little Edie Beale

Little Edie's wardrobe in the movie Grey Gardens is just fantastic. Watch that movie and it will forever change the way you view clothes. Why shouldn't you wear a hand towel as a head covering? And who says you need to fastenings the way they were intended? On those days when you find raccoons eating the walls of your house and semi-feral cats relieving themselves in your bedroom, just go with it and wear you nylons over your shorts.

If you happen to be independently wealthy, you could also go the route of the Marchessa Casati. Drop some belladonna in your eyes and buy yourself a cheetah and make like the Italian marchessa.

For clubbing: Diane von Furstenberg

Think 70's Andy Warhol & Studio 54. Diane von Furstenberg is my favorite version of the Cinderella story: after marrying the prince, she realizes that being a princess is boring and opts to become a fashion designer instead. Scoring a DVF dress will probably set you back considerably, but don't worry, just get yourself some fabulous slinky fabric with a bold print and knock off one of her wrap dresses. She even published a "health & beauty" book in the 70's for those of us plebs who aspire to fabulousness.

For making the scene: miscellaneous debutantes of the 20's & 30's

Any copy of Vogue from the 20's or 30's is full of fabulous and forgettable women. On their own they are hardly remarkable, but as a whole they are ripe for style plundering.

Here are a few to get you started:

Lady Lavery - posed for the banknotes of the Irish Free State

Marquise de Casa Maury - renown for her exotic looks and listless manner. She dressed like a nun on her wedding day and vaselined her eyes.

Baba d'Erlanger - wore jewels on her bathing suit and painted the tips of her fingers maroon

Countess Haugwitz-Reventlow nee Barbara Hutton - changed nail polish and husbands to match her dresses

For being a vindictive little bitch - Mrs Reginald Fellowes

Daisy Fellowes made a hobby out of seducing other women's husbands. She gave dinner parties composed entirely of people who couldn't stand one another. While staying aboard he yacht, she fed her guests tinned food while she ate caviar. Her style philosophy was this: wear whatever will make other women feel foolish. A favorite trick of Mrs. Fellowes - tell people the dress code is formal when it is, in fact, casual (This is not a very nice trick girls, and is only recommended for those of you who don't mind making enemies quickly).

For being adorable, but slightly unhinged - Amy Sedaris

I'm afraid I am more familiar with Amy Sedaris through her numerous interviews than any of her actual performances [this is no longer true - I relished every little morsel of the Strangers with Candy series a few years ago]. But whatever. She makes my list because she always has on the most wonderful little 50's dresses. I also love that her house is fill with taxidermy and surreal Todd Oldham pieces. I would consider dressing in this sugar-sweet manner if you are going to be engaging in bizarre behavior. It makes it that much more confusing for you victims and that much more fun for you.

2010-02-18T10:40:00.000-08:00

What do you think of my new background colour? The black was suddenly feeling too heavy and since it might as well be Spring out here, it seemed time to shed the dark Winter colours.

Recently, whilst organizing the old storage unit, it dawned on me the obscene amount of fabric I've been amassing for the past ten years or so, and I decided 2010 would be the year to turn some of that raw material into useful items. So, to go with today's Spring theme, I've pulled out a few of my floral fabrics. I would love to hear some suggestions on what I might do with them.

I thought maybe a 30's puffed sleeve blouse with this.

I'm really not sure what I had in mind with this one.

I only have a small amount of this and I had always figured on making patch pockets with it, but now I'm thinking perhaps a blouse yoke.

Ooh, this fabric is so delicious!!! I got it at Mandors and so far I've been too afraid to cut into it. Some day I hope it will become a dress.

I look at this fabric now and think "Why?". It really looks like horrible kitchen curtains, but at the time, I think I thought it looked like a Marimekko print and at one point I was going to make a skirt. I'm not so sure about that now.

I have so much of this fabric (A. and I bought a huge roll of it). Some day I'm going to design a whole collection around it just so I can get rid of all of it.

2010-02-16T16:47:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I didn't finish my fifth garment by Sunday. I'm a little disappointed, but naturally I have obligations such as going to work that took precedence over my little project. Nevertheless, I am quite pleased with how much I got done - I don't usually get this amount of sewing done unless there is a grade being given out at the end. Incidentally, here is the pattern and fabric for my fifth garment (the blouse) which I hope to finish sometime this week.

Here's garment number four, a Cynthia Rowley design for Simplicity patterns. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, though I accidentally melted a bit of the skirt with my iron (maybe if you view the enlarged photo you can see it - it's up in the gathering near the waistband). Even though I diligently measured the pattern before cutting, it still ended up being a bit more snug then I had anticipated. It's very comfortable while standing, but as soon as one sits down and consumes a bag of roasted nuts, it becomes necessary for one to unzip the zipper.

God Save McQueen!

2010-02-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else even remotely interested in the world of fashion, I am deeply saddened by Alexander McQueen's tragic death. Though I was not, nor probably ever will be, able to afford any of his more magical designs, the more down to earth diffusions pieces that I have been able to purchase are among the favorite and most beautifully crafted pieces in my wardrobe (the above dress and leggings being two examples). In a sort of tribute to him, I have decided to tackle the kimono jacket pattern of his from SHOWstudio, something that I have long contemplated, but never felt experienced enough to take on. Now seems to be the perfect time to rise to this challenge.

garment 3

2010-02-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

Oh man, this thing was a beast to sew!!! The garment itself is extremely simple and would have been quite breezy to do had I chosen a nice woven fabric like the pattern envelope suggested. Instead I used this tricot I've been hanging onto for years (I think it's probably from a yard sale) which made topstitching the arms and neck edges waaay more annoying than it needed to be. Sadly I didn't have enough fabric to do a nice job matching the border detail and had to piece the back. Oh well, the important thing is that the fabric is no longer sitting in a box and can now go about life as a productive member of my wardrobe. This tunic is based on Simplicity pattern 2472 with a few design overrides by me.

garment 2

2010-02-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

So this came out a bit different from the picture. Well . . . okay, not THAT different, but mine has more of a yoke thing going on, while the original has almost an empire waist that is clearly not happening on me. I'm not complaining though, I actually prefer how mine has a higher cut neckline.

here's the original from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2002

garment 1

2010-02-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

Garment number 1 is this cozy green sweater. The pattern is by Twinkle and it basically took me a week to knit up including having to rip it up and start over not once, but three times!! Thank god for chunky wools! As you can see here the buttons are popping out, because even though I used the size called for in the pattern, they are too small for the button holes - something I am going to remedy as soon as I can find some new buttons. These current buttons, by the way, are vintage ones I bought a few years ago at the PCC swapmeet.

2010-02-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome back readers! I've missed you. I took the last month off from posting, partly because of a lingering illness that made me just want to wear sweatshirts, jeans and slippers for the past month and partly because by the end of 2009's wardrobe project my closet was not more organized (indeed quite the opposite) and the whole business had become a bit tiresome. Posting endless pictures of my daily outfits without some sort of formal structure behind it is not something I can feel good about doing. Please don't get me wrong, I love seeing all the blogs and flickr pictures of other girls in their finery, right now I just don't feel like doing it myself.

At the moment I have several fashion related projects up my sleeve, the first of which being that I have set myself the goal of completing five garments by Valentine's Day (with extra points being given for finishing items that have been languishing in the sewing room for who knows how long).

Why five and why Valentine's Day? Well, lets just say that it involves my personal guilt over buying new clothing and a sale going on at a certain store.

Let the countdown begin!

2009-12-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

Well here it is, Dec 31st, back where we started. This time last year I set out a lot of big goals for myself in regards to this blog, most of which I did not accomplish. My life has not taken a dramatic turn for the better (or worse thank god), there will be no forthcoming book or movie deal (not that I would ever want such a thing). I managed to part with a few garments (though not nearly as many as my friends and family would have liked) and got reacquainted with some old favorites. I did not end up wearing every item of clothing I own - I did not really end up coming anywhere close for a variety of reasons. But none of that really matters, because somehow I was able to stick with this thing for a whole year! This time last year I was borrowing my dad's laptop and my mom's camera and couldn't imagine that I would last through February, so as far as I'm concerned making it this far (with my own recently acquired laptop and camera) is pretty damned good. Nevertheless, I set myself the limit of a year to get my clothing affairs in order and carrying on any longer than that just sort of seems a bit vain. At some point I'll probably feel the need to start blogging some new clothing related enthusiasms, but for now I think I have earned myself a nice long break. Thank you to everyone who shared a bit of the year with me. It's going to feel very strange not worrying about whether I have already worn a particular sweater or not.

2009-12-30T21:51:00.000-08:00

Please allow me to take this moment to thank the following people for their support of me and this project for the past year:

R. (Mrs. N.)

C. (Miss B.)

My #1 friend A. (Miss C.)

S. & T. (Mr. M. & Mrs. T)

My gentleman friends (who were perhaps the biggest readers of the garment thread):

S. (Mr. C.)

E. (Mr. M.)

J. (Mr. B.)

A. (Mr. K.)

The woman who gave me half my wardrobe:

My great aunt J. (Miss Q.)

. . . and last but certainly not least, the girl who will always be better dressed than myself:

R. (Miss V.)

Thank you all for the past twelve months. Believe me when I say that none of this would have been possible without you.

2009-12-30T15:49:00.001-08:00

My penultimate day of posting. I had a couple of options in my suitcase, but I settled on this dress of my own design. It's a bit wrinkled, but my gentleman friend convinced me that it didn't really matter with this sort of dress.

2009-12-29T08:50:00.001-08:00

What's going on here is that I have brought one of the unpacked suitcases I took along on holiday back in September with me on my semi-annual housesitting excursion. This sweater is from Anthropologie. I have technically worn it already, but that was on said holiday and subsequently did not get photographed. At that time, it was quite a hit with one of the Reiss salesgirls. The pants are from Uth. They were my favorites of mine at one point around 2001, but hadn't made it back to the states til this last trip. The socks are Pringle. They make some nice knee socks that I like to stock up on when I'm in the UK. I'm also wearing a cute necklace from Poppy About, but I doubt it's visible here because it kept disappearing under my sweater all day. Everything else I have already worn this year.

2009-12-28T17:38:00.001-08:00

I almost didn't post this outfit because it is not very flattering, but since I spent the day on the couch watching an Ab Fab marathon, it didn't really matter. Believe it or not, I have actually not worn any of these rather nondescript items yet this year. The pants I bought at a yard sale and fit very well, though they have a sort of flared lower leg that I don't really care for (perhaps some altering is in order for these guys in 2010 - decent fitting pants are rather hard for me to come by without paying a fortune). I have no idea where I got the top though I think it probably belonged to my great aunt. It too doesn't fit as well as it could and I'll probably end up getting rid of it rather than taking it in. The socks were given to me by my mother.

2009-12-25T13:39:00.001-08:00

I thought this dirndl was the perfect thing to wear for Christmas. Throughout the year I kept passing it in my closet, but couldn't quite work up the nerve to wear it to work or any other everyday sort of place. I purchased it from a booth at an international fair and though it doesn't say so anywhere on the garment, I feel very sure it's from Austria (I think perhaps it said so on the price tag). The sweater I had to borrow from my mother because I just could not lay my hands on any of my own white sweaters (this one is by Ralph Lauren). The tights are from Old Navy, a store I've only shopped at twice in my lifetime.

2009-12-22T11:53:00.001-08:00

Please excuse my cat's rather shocking disregard for the camera, as this was the only picture I took that showed off the ornamentation at the back of my skirt. The skirt is from Topshop and the sweater from H&M. About an hour after taking this picture Mrs. T. convinced me that I should change into something warmer.

This black lace sweater is part of my haul from the new Rodarte for Target collection, which I must say left me a bit cold (the collection, not the sweater though I dare say if I were to wear it out on it's own as the salesgirl suggested, it would probably leave me a bit cold as well). Underneath we have a grey sweater from UO which I am sure will be familiar to most of you by now. And finally rounding out the top half is my Soft Cell T-shirt from Dumpster Values - probably my favorite of all the band T-shirts I've ever owned.

2009-12-19T15:17:00.001-08:00

It's very funny because I posted this dress on wardrobe remix to very little interest from the remix community. In the real world however, this dress was the hit of the party and received compliments from nearly everyone I spoke with that night (and was even mentioned 3 days later by a relative stranger who told me "you wore that great dress"). The dress in question is a Diesel dress that I purchased at T.K. Maxx.

I spent the day cooking and making a general mess in the kitchen, so I chose to wear this shirt which already has mysterious grease stains on it (mysterious because I'm not sure if I bought the shirt like that, yet can't remember staining it myself). I bought this shirt at Dumpster Values and I love it's colour and shaped patch pockets.

2009-12-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

Let's call a spade a spade, shall we? I am drunk in this picture. Here you see me post party and I had already taken off my treacherous shoes when I realized that I hadn't yet snapped a photo. A little background on this outfit - I had sort of resolved that I was going to stay in on this particular night, when Mr. K. came over and convinced me that what I needed was some good drunken holiday revelry. I had been saving this Libertine for Target blouse for a fancier look involving vintage skirts and corsetry, but I was both in a hurry, and disinclined to be very fussy on this occasion so I just stayed in the jeans I had been planning to couch surf in and hit the town.

2009-12-16T12:36:00.001-08:00

We are now entering into the thick of the holiday season, so you will have to excuse me if my posts are a bit delayed - lots of visiting friends and family, Christmas shopping and the inevitable last minute grading that comes with the end of the semester. I'm pretty sure this dress came from my great aunt. In fact, I'll wager that she actually made this one herself. The tights I bought on my last trip to the old country. They are House of Holland and I bought them at the new (since my last visit) House of Fraser at the Victoria Centre. I must say, I was most disappointed that there was no haberdashery department in that particular store because to my knowledge Belfast is lacking a good place to buy yarns and fabrics and I once visited a wonderful yarn department at the House of Fraser in Bristol.

2009-12-13T13:59:00.001-08:00

At one point in my life, I decided I was going to start collecting belts. The only person who really took me seriously on this was my friend J. Because she was working at a thrift store at the time, she hooked me up with all kinds of interesting belts - most of which did not come anywhere close to fitting me. This one is no exception, in order to make it fit I have had to disregard the intended belt holes completely and use one of the decorative cut outs to cinch this belt on. The sweater is the same one I wore earlier this year. The skirt is vintage and I think it probably came from the PCC swapmeet. It's Evan Picone and has some very nice detailing at the waistline which is completely lost here since I am wearing a sweater over it.

2009-12-13T00:32:00.000-08:00

This Built by Wendy coat is the perfect thing for a walk in the rain. I picked it up last year around this time when her Los Angeles store was going out of business. It's a medium and I secretly think it might be a bit too big for me, though my friends assure me this isn't the case. At any rate, it has dropped shoulders, so I think I can get away with it. Let me again bring your attention to my lovely Automatic Sweetheart bag made by my friend the excellent Miss V. I think everyone should go to her shop and pick up a piece for themselves or the ladies in their life.

2009-12-10T15:48:00.001-08:00

Not a dress I know, but it has been cold and/or rainy around these parts, so I am unapologetic in my need for warmth. The sweater I found while looking for things to get rid of. The end of the year is fast approaching and since I haven't really gotten rid of quite as much of my wardrobe as I had hoped, I've been doing a bit of last minute deletions this month. I think this particular sweater belonged to my late maternal grandmother. It's 100% cashmere and has a nice WASPy blue colour, so I spared it the chop, but I do have plans to add a bit of ribbon trim around the neck. It is rather plain as is. The scarf is from H&M, but there is a bit more to it than that which you can read about below as it is one I wear quite a lot in cold weather. The hat I knit last week from some leftover chunky yarn I was trying to use up. The pattern for it is from one of the Twinkle knitting books.

Doesn't this scarf look nice with the intarsia sweater? It is one my favorites for Winter wear. It was given to me about 7 years ago by an ex-boyfriend after I had expressed a desire to go to Paris and go scarf shopping (the idea here is that the scarf says "Trés Cool" on it - French, get it). Upon presentation of this gift I, who like nothing better than a good opportunity to stick my foot in my mouth, said the first thing that popped into my head which was something to the effect of "Oh, isn't one of the members of Green Day called Tre Cool?" (??????!!!!!!!!!) thus making my ex feel rather stupid about what is easily one of the more charming and witty gifts I have ever received. It's sort of appalling how much of an ingrate I can sometimes come across as.

This is the last piece of my McQ for Target shopping spree from back in March, and just in time to go crazy at the bullseyed retailer next week when the Rodarte collection drops. Even though I basically threw my project rules out the window three months in, I'm actually pretty proud of myself for otherwise giving up Target designer collections. I passed up Tracy Feith (not really a difficult thing to do), didn't even look at what was on offer from Loomstate and most impressively I passed on Anna Sui even after trying on an absolutely gorgeous tunic blouse. This project and blog will be ending in a few short weeks, but I'm going to try even harder in 2010 to curb my shopping and enjoy the all the possibilities my current wardrobe contains (the upcoming Gaultier collection might be too much for me to help myself though). These paisley lace tights are from Dunnes which is probably one of the least fashionable stores I can think of. Still, I have picked up a small number of surprise pieces there over the years.

2009-12-08T12:06:00.001-08:00

So, I've been clearing out the back reaches of my closet the last few days and I came across this skirt which had fallen off it's hanger. The skirt was given to me by my old boss who at the time was a bit of a vintage clothing addict. I had arrived at work one day in a particularly despondent mood and when the boss returned from wherever she had been, she brought this to cheer me up. I suppose I should point out that I was the only employee at this particular business and I was pretty frequently being paid in goods rather than actual money. Nevertheless, it was a particularly sweet thing to do. The shirt is from Muji. I wish we a proper Muji store out here. I do so love their understated basics.

2009-12-06T13:56:00.001-08:00

Here I am showing off the incredibly strange hemline of this thrift store dress. It's basically two large rectangles of fabric attached to the side seams. When this dress is in motion, it swirls around in a manner that is a sight to behold. Of course as soon as I set foot outside the house, it became pretty apparent that my legs were going to freeze, so I ended up putting on some leggings for the purpose of running errands.

Another skirt and top combination and another pair of sparkly tights. This is my "Ice Princess" look. The skirt is from Benetton. I think I paid £4 for it. You may remember this coat from earlier in the year. Most people thought that the faux fur collar was attached, but it is actually a rather chintz looking bolero from UO that I'm wearing underneath.

2009-12-04T12:06:00.001-08:00

I know this is not technically a dress, but while digging through the back corners of my closet looking for long forgotten dresses, I came across this top. What it was doing on a hanger instead of folded in a dresser drawer I'm not entirely sure, but that will be remedied from here on out. I got this shirt back in high school at a rummage sale. The rest of the outfit has been worn previously this year.

2009-12-02T11:51:00.001-08:00

I don't generally wear long skirts these days and I think it's a bit disorienting for everyone I know, myself included, when I do put one on (my dad said "So what's this?" when he saw me). Even though this is not a particularly glamorous dress (it's a polyester tricot), I nevertheless felt incredibly statuesque and regal whilst out running errands in it. I can only attribute this to the length. My old band mate J. gave me this dress back in high school. I can't imagine her ever wearing it, as she was about 5'2 and had a sort Betty Page thing going on. In my teenage years, I used to wear this with Converse Allstars.

2009-12-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Well, it's now the last month of my year long experiment. Recently in conversation with R. I complained that I haven't really had the opportunity to wear any of my cocktail and formal wear, so we hit upon the idea of making December dress month. Back in college I used to get dressed up in ballgowns just to do the grocery shopping, a habit I have sadly fallen out of. So, to kick off the month, I have here a dress that is neither formal nor cocktail, but one that I love nonetheless. I bought it last year at a thrift store and only this week got around to sewing the necessary buttons back on (yes, I can be incredibly lazy about doing things like hemming skirts and sewing on buttons). The tights are Look from London tights that I bought off the Free People website. I love almost anything with a peacock feather on it, so naturally I had to have these. It's a bit of a shame that the skirt hem interferes with the top of the design.

2009-11-30T14:12:00.001-08:00

Sometimes in my mess of a bedroom, I'll find two garments laying on top of each other that I would never have thought to combine. That's how I came up with this outfit. The blouse is from Topshop and needs some bra strap holders sewn in as the front and the back are both cut very low and it has a tendency to slip off my shoulders. Because of this, I haven't worn this top as much as I would've like to. The dress is actually my 8th grade graduation dress bought for me by my mom at some mall department store (the label is Rampage). This dress has gotten a lot of wear over the years. In 10th grade I mistakenly used it as the basis of a 1940's look I was trying for a big holiday party. I had even interviewed my great aunt on hair and makeup of the day with no luck.

(Me: What sort of makeup did you guys wear in the 40's?

Aunt: I don't think you need to be wearing much makeup at your age)

I wish I had pictures available of that night, because my look is so not 40's it's laughable. The socks are from Hansel from Basel. I'm not entirely sure they work here, but it was a bit too cold to go without them, and I also just wasn't feeling the whole bare knee thing today. The necklace is Automatic Sweetheart (who by the way will be out selling her wares along with many other fine artisans at the Unique Los Angeles Holiday show this weekend).

2009-11-29T20:29:00.001-08:00

Does anyone remember losing this blazer at the Jabberjaw in the Spring of 1997? If so, let me know and I will happily return it to you. Around that time, I was in a band that played there quite frequently and one night after a show we found this in the video game room. Since it fit me so well and since no one was around to claim it, I put it on and wore it home with the blessings of the Jabberjaw "staff". The truth is that I'm not all that crazy about this blazer. I think the lapels are waaaay too big for me and the colour is a bit too teenaged goth. The problem is that it fits so perfectly that every time I talk about getting rid of it someone talks me out of it. Today, for example, I horrified my mother by telling her I was going to donate it.

2009-11-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here I am forcibly removing my cat from the picture. If she wants to start her own blog, that's fine with me, but she'll have to take her own pictures. This dress was given to my mom by one of her fashion history students (she usually made them write a paper on an item of vintage clothing, and I guess the student didn't want to keep this particular piece). She passed it along to me this year when she was scaling down her collection. I posted a better picture of the outfit on the Wardrobe Remix Flickr pool which you can check out here.

2009-11-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

I always gravitate towards pants in the Wintertime, which is a bit of a shame because I own so many lovely dresses and warm tights. This dress I bought at Jet Rag (though not at their $1 parking lot sale). At the moment all the buttons are being held on by safety pins, so it looks like a bit of mending will be on the agenda for this weekend. I realized after putting together this outfit, that a belted dress might not be the most practical look for Thanksgiving dinner, but I fared alright.

I was so excited when I reached into the pockets of this jacket and found a money clip I had presumed stolen over ten years ago and a tube of lipstick gone MIA. This means that the last time I wore this coat was Halloween 1998 when I dressed as a sort of mod cat girl. The coat is from a Pomona thrift store and cost about $16 - a small fortune for me back in high school.

The contents of the pockets

2009-11-24T13:15:00.001-08:00

Okay, so rules are meant to be broken right? And here I am breaking one of my cardinal rules of fashion by wearing boot cut jeans with wedges . . . and denim wedges at that!!! I got these shoes at the liquidation sale of the Built By Wendy Los Angeles store and thought they would suit a denim on denim 70's flared sort of look. Please note: this is the closest to bell bottoms you will ever see me wearing. The jacket is vintage and I'm pretty sure I bought it at Dumpster Values during my college days.

2009-11-23T21:22:00.001-08:00

Okay, so these past two days I've been embracing the squalor of semi-unemployment and have worn the same sweater two days in a row (!!!!). I should probably just get rid of this sweater, and would have done so long before now if it were a hand-me-down or thrift store purchase. But sadly this is not the case - I actually spent something like $25 on this top back in high school (a fortune for the 16 year old me, and even now an amount I would have to seriously consider before dropping on an impulse buy). I have such an aversion to sending such clothes to the Goodwill, so I tried to give it to my mother who turned it down saying the colours made her look "like death warmed over". I guess I will be holding onto this for awhile longer til I can find someone who really loves it. Any takers?

This is Monday's incarnation of the sweater. Today I left it loose, rolled the sleeves up a bit and added a scarf (actually it's this sweater) and rain boots.

On Sunday, I pinned up the back to give it a tighter fit around the hips and paired it with my current favorite Free People boots and a necklace of my late grandmother's.

2009-11-21T11:44:00.001-08:00

This hooded sweater from a little shop in Askøy Norway where I spent Christmas 2000. I can't remember the name of the store, but I imagine it doesn't exist anymore. It was kind of cheap, slightly depressing and located in something akin to a strip mall.

These shoes from Urban Outfitters are a bit insane. I can't wear them for long stretches of time . . . yet, but I am practicing. The jacket is from Anthropologie.

As you can see, my cat T. is a bit of a diva and always wants in on a photo opportunity. The faux Chanel jacket is actually BCBG by way of Marshall's.

2009-11-18T17:08:00.001-08:00

This is the outfit I chose for a night out at the American Legion Hall. The shirt is from a Pomona thrift store. I love the slightly Art Nouveau flower pattern on it. You can get a better look at the shirt (and a not so great look at me) here.

2009-11-15T13:04:00.001-08:00

Here I am channelling Marty Mcfly. My mom bought this for me (second hand) years ago when I used to do a lot of backpacking. I kept seeing it peeking out of my closet and decided that today was the day to take it out and make a decision on whether to keep it or not. I must say that even though it is not the most fashionable thing I own, it is so incredibly cozy . . . and then "Back to the Future" came on TV and it seemed like a sign.

2009-11-14T14:44:00.001-08:00

I call this my "Beatles dress" because many years ago I wore it to a Beatles themed party my roommates and I threw. I got it at rummage sale back in high school and shortened it from knee length to this much more flattering hemline. (I think it could probably do with some adjusting to the side seams as well as it's a bit sack like).

2009-11-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

I love old 40's and 50's camp jackets. Sadly this one is missing half of it's buttons. I can't remember where I bought it, but I would venture to say that a proper vintage shop probably wouldn't sell an item quite as worn as this one is, so it was most likely found at a thrift store.

Isn't the label adorable?

2009-11-12T12:22:00.001-08:00

R. gave me this dress which she found at a thrift store. It's got a very 1940's look to it, but one look at the inside reveals overlocked seams, so I think it's actually from the 80's. The headband is from Urban Outfitters.

2009-11-11T13:10:00.001-08:00

I can't remember where I found this jacket, but I think it may have been at Dumpster Values. What I do remember is that at one time I was very into light green and blue plaids and this phase roughly corresponded to my time in Olympia. The hat is from Marimekko's H&M line. Truth be told, the only reason I bought this hat is because that particular day I had about a half mile trek through the blazing sun back to my car.

Apologies

2009-11-10T11:35:00.001-08:00

I have been shamefully remiss lately, not only about posting in a timely manner, but indeed taking pictures of my outfits or even bothering to get properly dressed in the first place. Given the amount of time I now have on my hands, I should really have nothing better to do than play dress up all day. There are really no excuses other than my own laziness. At any rate, I'm going to use this opportunity to get caught up with the outfits I have photographed and make a concerted effort to get back on track for the last month and a half of my experiment.

I was tempted to wear some lace tights with this outfit, but it really needed that bit of colour.

I love the colours on this shirt, so I've been hanging onto it with the idea of turning it into something fabulous. I ran some elastic through the hem here, but I don't think it's there yet - clearly it needs a bit more work.

new purse from my dad.

detail of a necklace I wore last Saturday

I've pretty much worn all of these things before, but I liked the combination of the blue and pink.

hiking chic

2009-11-04T16:39:00.001-08:00

The hat is from UO, the glasses are Michael Kors by way of T.J. Maxx (or maybe Marshalls), I have no idea where the sweatshirt came from, but I don't think I bought it, and I couldn't find a matching pair of heavy boot socks for the life of me. Clearly this outfit was put together with more function than style in mind, nevertheless, an elderly Japanese man complimented my hiking companion and I on how well turned out we were. After that I noticed that the look was very similar to the majority of other hikers that were out that day - mainly Asian women over the age of 60.

(oh yeah, and the shoes are from R.E.I).

2009-11-03T13:11:00.001-08:00

This shirt is from Uth, a British line that I am pretty sure is no longer with us (I just spent several minutes trying to find some sign of them online to no avail). The top is a bit too cropped for my taste hence the use my trusty tube top cum waist cincher. The tube top is from mall punk superstars Hot Topic. Most people I know have a problem with Hot Topic, but I would be lying if I were to pretend I didn't go there to buy Joy Division shirts at age 13. Back then HT was not the mega chain it is today, but a single store based at my local mall where one could get black nail polish and Manic Panic (I found this interesting piece on the history of the company, if you're interested). I guess what I'm saying is that Hot Topic and I sort of grew up together, and though I never shop at it these days (or even pass by it without feeling very very old), I have to give it some sort of respect.

2009-11-02T15:53:00.001-08:00

I'm thinking of doing a collection called "Bugs and Bows" because recently I've been spending my time either embroidering insects onto things or knitting bows like this one.

2009-11-02T14:42:00.001-08:00

A big thank you to everyone who came out last night to support local craft and music.

Halloween

2009-10-31T22:02:00.001-07:00

I think this is really more of a "look" than a proper costume, but here I am as Snake Plissken. This year's costume was inspired by an article (treatise is perhaps a better word for it) my friend Mr. M. had written about Escape from New York (and yes, I am aware that the above still is from Escape from L.A.). I am one of the few people I know who has been forced to wear an eyepatch for legitimate medical reasons, and I must say they're not as much fun as they should be, but I managed to get by alright for a few hours with severely limited depth perception.

2009-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

If you are in the Echo Park area this Sunday night come out and see my band Auto Da Fe supporting the always awesome Rats on the last night of their Echo Curio residency. There will also be a local crafts open house featuring Automatic Sweetheart, Poppyabout and the debut of my new accessories line daswunderkammer.

2009-10-28T19:51:00.001-07:00

This is a new sweater from Target that my mom bought for me in order to bribe me into grading papers for her textile class (hey, I never put any restrictions on accepting gifts or bribes of new clothing).

2009-10-27T15:20:00.001-07:00

I've worn everything here before, but I like the way the combination of these two shirts turned out. It almost looks like a waistcoat.

I find it hard to believe I haven't really worn this Topshop T-shirt yet this year. I mean, I have technically worn it, but looking through the garment thread photo archives, I only ever see it peeking out at the hem of an outfit. Thus far, it has been used as an undershirt and never worn on it's own. So today is it's moment in the sun.

2009-10-24T21:34:00.001-07:00

Once again I have proved that if you hold onto something long enough it will eventually come back into fashion. I bought this shirt at a thrift store several years ago and though I've always absolutely loved it, it never seemed to be the right top for the occasion. Well, today I headed out to the Hello Kitty exhibition at Three Apples gallery and if there was ever an excuse to don this shirt, it was this event.

2009-10-24T00:22:00.001-07:00

I was feeling inspired by Automatic Sweetheart's forays into her mending pile and decided it might be time to tackle my own. I bought this skirt at a thrift store a couple of years ago even though it was a few sizes too big. Today I finally resized it which (as it is a wrap skirt) basically entailed moving the buttons over an inch. Actually, if you look closely, you can see that I've only moved two buttons (one on the inside and one on the outside) and still have 3 more to go. The shirt is from the Jovovich-Hawk Target line. I keep forgetting how comfortable these shoes are, so I don't always chose to wear them. They are from Office and I could probably spend all day on my feet in them. Later on in the evening I added a pair of blue tights to this outfit which I sadly neglected to document.

2009-10-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

My mom bought me this sweater from one of those mall-type department stores (J.C. Penney's I believe it was). It has an unusual trait of being very cozy, yet simultaneously not very warm since its made of cotton. Today I've dressed it up with two of my vintage copper bracelets and a pair of boots from Office.

2009-10-21T11:46:00.001-07:00

I was feeling very scruffy in this outfit and didn't even plan on photographing it until I received some very nice compliments from one of the patternmaking students about how great my style is and how I've got a very Euro casual thing going on. Perhaps he thought I have some say over his final grade (I don't). Ulterior motive or not, it boosted my spirits immensely.

2009-10-18T13:51:00.001-07:00

Of the two pictures I took of this outfit, I like this top one better. I think the skirt hangs nicer and, more importantly, I think I look better (though this is perhaps debatable). The only problem is the above picture cuts off my feet and todays shoes were an integral part of the look, so I am including my outtake photo so you can get a peek at them. Given that I have had a hard time accessing the unworn bits of my wardrobe lately (and trust me I am nowhere near finished wearing everything), this outfit is something of a triumph as none of it has been previously worn this year. The top is Diesel, I don't really remember where I bought it except to say that I only ever buy things from that brand when I'm in Britain. The dress is from American Apparel, and is intended to be worn as a strapless bubble dress. It looks pretty horrible on me when I've tried to do this. I've had much more success wearing it as a top and today I thought I'd try it out as a skirt. The shoes are from a little shop on Colorado Blvd. in Old Town Pasadena that Mr. C. took me to. I attempted to wear them earlier in the Summer, but found a black widow spider and her young living quite comfortably in them. Sadly, I had to displace the mother and abort her unborn spiderlings by means of the vacuum cleaner. Needless to say, I did not wear the shoes that particular day and it has taken me a few months to get up the nerve to put them on my feet.

2009-10-17T13:22:00.001-07:00

I've worn this H&M dress before, but I had a last minute job interview and needed something professional in a pinch. The belt is from Automatic Sweetheart and so, in a sense, are the sun glasses, but only because R. of that particular line gave them to me. The bracelet I bought at the Lotus Festival when we played there last Summer.

2009-10-16T13:46:00.001-07:00

I find that I have been wearing entirely too many pairs of jeans lately and came up with this outfit as a much needed antidote. I always refer to this as a bubble skirt, but I don't think that's necessarily an accurate description. I picked it up in Olympia, and though I'm not sure where I got it, I do recall that it figured heavily in a 80's themed outfit I wore once to a party. The green Eddie Bauer sweater is the first and only article of clothing I've ever owned from that company. I plan to add a bit of beading around the neckline, but for the moment I've gone with this bow tie instead. This is actually just a long thin piece of jersey that I found in my fabric pile and tied on. Those with sharp eyes will recognize it as the same fabric I used to make this dress. I guess subconsciously it might be inspired by the fact that American Apparel have been selling bags of their scrap fabric to the public, which I guess is a cool and eco thing to do, but you've got to be a real chump to pay $8 for a sack of jersey scraps.

2009-10-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

This shirt received it's share of compliments from my patternmaking students today. It reminds me quite a bit of another shirt I wore earlier in the year, also a hand-me-down from my great aunt. As you can see, the waist-length shirts of the 60's don't quite work with the low rise pants of today, so I had to bridge the gap with a tube top (worn here as a waist cincher) from Hot Topic.

Moments before this picture was snapped, I got heckled by a car of passing teenagers. I guess it is somewhat funny to see someone posing in front of a freeway on ramp. Though you can't see it too well, this coat is from H&M by way of the Oxfam shop on the Ormeau Road. I haven't been to that particular shop in many years, so I'm not sure if this is still the case, but one used to be able to buy all sorts of H&M seconds there. In fact, until a few years ago it was the only place in Belfast to buy H&M clothing (nowadays I question why that would be exciting, but back in 2003 it was a big deal). This coat is a bit of an anomaly, it's long and shaped like heavy Winter wear, but the material is actually quite lightweight. It did not serve me very well in the UK where they have proper seasons, but it has come into it's own in Southern California (where we like to dress up for the Winters, but don't actually need to).

2009-10-13T15:44:00.001-07:00

Finally some colder weather!!! This jacket is from the Richard Chai Target collection. I honestly hadn't really heard of Chai before his collaboration with the bulls eyed giant, and I didn't really think I was going to be all that into the offerings. Surprisingly, I ended up buying several pieces. I just love these rain boots! I bought them from Dumpster Values many many years ago.

2009-10-12T16:41:00.001-07:00

I was worried this outfit was a bit too monochrome, but thankfully it doesn't seem to read that way in the picture. I have so many of these 70's polyester button up shirts, that I think a massive clear out is due. I'm not even sure where I got this one from. Underneath, you can see an H&M tank top that I bought in Glasgow (though why I bought it is something of a mystery to me). I was thinking of converting it into a dress, but more likely I'll just get rid of it.

2009-10-10T19:06:00.001-07:00

I had completely forgotten I owned this top, which is too bad, because I could have really used it during the Summer months. I have a real dearth of light weight yet long sleeved tops suitable for warm weather. This one, I'm pretty sure, comes from my great aunt.

There are several new things going on in this picture (new to this space at least). First is my coat, which was once my mother's coat and if I am to understand correctly, it was the one she used to wear when she was pregnant with yours truly. It's a lovely full 1950's swing coat, but it doesn't have any closures on it, so I spent the majority of the night pulling it tightly around myself. Our next newcomer is my bracelet which I bought on holiday last month. It was £4, and I simply can't resist peacock feathers in whatever form they may take, so it was added to my collection. Lastly we have the sweater, just barely peeking through here. It's from Banana Republic and is short sleeved and very very soft (5% bunny hair).

2009-10-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have been accused in the past of taking "moody" pictures for this blog and I think this one is perhaps the "moodiest" of them all. Please forgive me for the lack of detail shown here, I was in a bit of a rush and after 5 attempts, I just had to let it go. My blue sweater is from London, and I love it so much that last year I had to put it out of sight for awhile to give my other sweaters a chance to shine. It has only recently come out of exile. The shoes I have worn already this year, but they didn't manage to get photographed the first time around, so let's let them have their moment now. I'm not sure when it happened that I became the sort of girl who buys lots of shoes. I know that all girls are supposed to be crazy about them, but until recently I only ever bought around 2 new pair of shoes a year (okay, that might a low average, but the point is that I just didn't purchase shoes in the same quantity that most others girls I know did). This year I have purchased about 8 new pairs, including these patent leather wedges which are terribly uncomfortable, but awesome looking. I don't think I'm going to tell you where these are from, because if you are a regular reader you will already know that I buy almost all my shoes from one of two shops (Office in the UK and Urban Outfitters in The States).

2009-10-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Here I am hard at work on this blog with a flowered hair band from Anthropologie on my head.

2009-10-06T14:50:00.001-07:00

I love these new Free People boots. They are so cozy and comfortable that I think I shall wear them all through the Autumn. The shirt is one I bought at Topshop a few years back. It's a L, which is a size I don't normally wear, but at the time I was heavily influenced by an article I had read in UK Vogue where the author talked about how she always chose clothing several sizes larger than her in order to get a unique look to them. For myself, I usually find that wearing clothing several sizes too big makes me look even skinnier (it took me most of my teenage years to figure this out), but in this case, the shirt probably looks better for being a bit looser.

2009-10-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

More job hunting today. I have on an Anthropologie top, a Free People skirt, House of Holland tights and shoes from Miss Sixty.

Okay, so I may have had a few pints before deciding to climb the roof of this fast food establishment. As you can see I am clearly very enthused about being up there. The black sweater (the same one as below) I bought at a vintage clothing store in Buffalo NY when I was 16. I almost lost it my freshman year of college when, in a fit of drunken bravado, I lent it to my friend B. (I should probably explain that it was the middle of Winter in Olympia and neither of us were properly dressed for a night out). She then left it at a stranger's house. To her credit, I eventually got the sweater back several months later. These days it is missing all but two of its original buttons, but otherwise in good condition for the amount of wear it has gotten. It also has an odd old-fashioned shape to it. I think it wants to be worn over some serious 1950's corsetry because it is very tight at the waist and full on top. The brown shirt is another from my great aunt.

This is the sort of thing I wear when I don't leave the house all day.

2009-10-02T18:07:00.001-07:00

Today I was job hunting at some of the more fashionable stores in the area, so a bit more effort was put into this outfit. Actually, that's a bit of a lie - this was a pretty effortless combination. I found this See By Chloe dress at T.K. Maxx in Belfast (and can I again state how much better the selection is over there). The colours remind me of a creamsicle. I couldn't seem to properly capture the intensity of these blue tights. Of all the shots I took, this picture gives the best idea of it. This is another pair of tights that I don't actually remember acquiring, they just showed up in my tight drawer one day. I do rather love the idea that my tights might be multiplying while my back is turned.

2009-10-01T13:06:00.001-07:00

You can't really tell here, but this sparkly green sweater-shirt has irregular stripes - the kind you get when knitting with variegated yarn (you can sort of get an idea of what I'm talking about if you enlarge the picture). I usually hate that effect, but I really like this shirt. It once belonged to my great aunt and, truth be told, I had forgotten of it's existence, so this is a lovely little bit of buried treasure that I have unearthed here.

2009-09-29T16:56:00.001-07:00

I found this shirt buried deep in a suitcase. I know that it came into my life when I was living in Olympia, but I would be hard pressed to tell you whether it is something I bought for myself or whether it was a gift from a well meaning roommate. As you can see, it could do with a bit of taking in at the side seams, but I really love the pattern (it reminds me of wheat) so I think a little altering would be worth the effort. You would think after the last two weeks, I would never want to look at these boots again, but apparently not, as this picture proves.

2009-09-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

One of the advantages of not working as much anymore is that I can wear nice shoes without having to spend eight hours standing in them.

2009-09-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

I keep getting emails and messages from people who, based on my last post, are not sure if I'm back in The States or not. Well, I'm here and settling in to my new life of underemployment.

The shoes are new (they are from Office, my absolute favorite place to buy shoes), but everything else is not.

I put this T-shirt on because it was the only thing at hand that I was sure I had not worn already this year. At this point I either need to go into the deep storage and find some more Summer clothing, or the weather needs to cool down considerably. Actually, everything I'm wearing here (except possibly the socks) is new to the garment thread. But let's go back to the T-shirt shall we? I bought it at Disneyland during the 40th anniversary year of the Enchanted Tiki Room (the writing on the shirt pretty much gives this away). At one point in the day I was wondering why I ever purchased it, because I seem to remember it being a choice between the shirt and a limited edition Shag print. If I had to make that choice again today, I would own one less T-shirt. The jeans are new ones that I purchased on my recent trip from . . . yes, that's right, The Gap. For some reason the jeans from the U.K. Gap fit me much better than the ones from the U.S. Gap. I think this probably is due to the fact that they have different design teams for the U.S. and the European markets. The shoes are Miss Sixty which I picked up at T.K. Maxx.

This is a rather "barefoot and pregnant" dress (though I would like to make clear that I am neither in this picture). I bought it at for £4 at the Urban Outfitters in Belfast. Travel tip: don't bother with that particular shop. The UO in Belfast is by far the worst I have ever set foot in. I think the dress will look considerably better when I pair it with tights or leggings.