Dream Capsule Wardrobe

This past week I've been working on my CV and cover letters to send off to companies. I'm feeling motivated and keen to start working, and obviously very excited about all the pretty clothes I need to buy! I don't have ANY smart clothes (after throwing out all the old, depressing, black trousers and tops I wore in my old job a couple of years ago) and I'm desperate to start building a capsule wardrobe of perfect basics.

There are so many beautifully simple dresses out there at the moment. I've been quite out of touch with smart clothes, as I've lived in comfy jersey dresses and charity shop finds over the past two years whilst I've been back at university. I'm worried that if I don't buy these things now, they will sell out and I'll miss my chance! Oh dear; the shopaholic tendancies have returned. But these pieces will change my life!!

Blue Ponte Dress - Oasis
Claret Open Cardi - Topshop
Lucille Black Flats - Terra Plana
Grey Open Cardi - River Island
Navy Shift Dress - Topshop

Daily wear

My favourite kind of skirt is one that twirls as they always make me feel happy. I made this one from a much longer and larger linen skirt I found. I kept the pretty hemline intact and cut off the top half, gathered the top edge and attached an elastic waistband. It's really comfy and I'll wear it lots.

I picked up the cardigan from a charity shop this week. It was originally from LK Bennett (bargain!) and is more of a jacket as it's made from quite a heavy, tightly woven knit. I was worried the colour didn't suit my skin tone (as I've often been told that I shouldn't wear yellow) but I feel the colour is fine. In fact, I really like it!

Cardigan: Charity Shop

Skirt: Self made

T shirt: Marks & Spencer

Tights: Sainsburys

What I've been wearing

1st Row: Gap t-shirt, Charity Shop cardigan, Charity Shop necklaces
2nd Row: Charity Shop dress, Uniqlo Jeans, Dorothy Perkins scarf

I've always loved the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe: a collection of pieces that coordinate with each other. I'm not organised or minimalist enough to achieve a totally capsule wardrobe, but I do love to pieces that mix and match.

Over the last few weeks I've been wearing a lot of navy with coral and was so excited to find a scarf that incorporates both colours! I think this coat by APC is my ultimate dream, but at $560 it's likely that I'll stick with the navy blue one from UO that I bought a couple of years ago!

Finally, some shoes!

Since I stopped wearing leather 8 years ago, my shoes have been such an embarrassment. It's just been impossible to find decent vegan shoes. I've worn a combination of Crocs (very comfortable but not that pretty) and cheap high street shoes (a bit prettier but terribly uncomfortable).

This misery is now over!!!

Terra Plana make eco-friendly shoes, but until recently, they used recycled leather. It's great the leather is environmentally friendly, but it's still not that friendly to the animals. Well, now they have a vegan range! I came across the shoes this morning and promptly ordered a pair of the black sandals above (from Amazon UK as they were £7 cheaper).

I'm so looking forward to receiving them as I desperately need a pair of tidy sandals. There are certain occasions where flip flops aren't appropriate. (My flip flops are pretty though!). These look so comfortable and the sole is lined with memory foam! These will be my first pair of proper shoes that I've bought myself as an adult. My mum will be so proud.

I have such high hopes for these sandals that I really want to buy the other two styles. I must control myself! Finding these shoes has been such a breakthrough in the vegan shoe situation, that I feel they will change my life... (perhaps that statement is slightly OTT). Now I have to wait until they arrive... *sigh*

Daily Wear: The 10 Minute Dress

Dress: DIY (Top: Gap, Skirt: H&M)
Necklace: Charity Shop
Belt: Charity Shop
Shoes: TKMaxx
(Feet: Seem to be tanning faster than legs!!)

I got up on Sunday morning and for some reason decided I wanted to make a dress! Or rather, I made a dress from a top and skirt (which incidently used to be a dress a few years ago, but I cut the top off, but never wore it as a skirt). There's something liberating about wearing just one piece: you can just slip it on and not have to fuss about things untucking or twisting around.

I basically pinned the skirt to the top at a comfortable height, then stitched the two pieces together with a zig zag stitch, whilst stretching the fabric (to ensure the waist band is stretchy enough to get over my shoulders). This took about 10 minutes from start to finish.



I think it looks really pretty with the red belt, but as previously explained, I have issues with belts, especially in hot weather. I'd like to make a red jersey sash, or perhaps attach a band of red jersey to the waist band. It definitely needs a splash of red to bring it to life.

The print is really fun with all those goggly eyes! My husband thinks it's creepy...

Daily Wear: Summer Turquoise

Cardigan: Gap
Camisole: Marks & Spencer
Skirt: American Apparel (hand dyed and shortened)
Sandals: Peacocks
Bag: Charity Shop
Necklace: Charity Shop

This is what I wore yesterday. When I had my crazy fabric dying session on Thursday I rediscovered some white tops and this one almost went into the dye bath, but I'm so glad I left it white as it feels so fresh and summery as it is. (White always makes me feel sun-tanned, even though I am not!) The skirt is from a few years ago when I'd just discovered how comfortable jersey skirts were! I remember how excited I was about wearing it, but haven't actually worn it much since, due the unusually cool summers that followed. I've been told by people that my outfits would benefit from belts, and I'm sure a belt would look nice with this, but comfort is my top priority and I just can't bear a stiff belt around my waist - it's too hot in this weather!



Here I am demonstrating the twirl-ability of this skirt. Honey couldn't decide if she wanted to stay or leave.

Shades

I was on my own yesterday evening as my husband had to go for a meal with work, so I used it as an opportunity to make a big mess in the kitchen with fabric dye! It was so much fun! I really want to add more colour into my wardrobe as I think I'm at my happiest when I'm wearing pretty colours.

It all started with the top on the left which I found in a Charity Shop. It's a lovely thick jersey, so it makes a great jacket, and I love the little collar. It was originally cream, and this determined which colour I chose to dye it. I've tried to dye cream things cool colours in the past (grey and blue) and it does not work as the cream adds a yellow tinge and it ends up a murky green. So I thought I'd go with the warm tone and add pink over it. The dye I used was called Camellia, and I also mixed in half a pack of Rosewood Red (although I'm not sure if it had much of an effect on the final colour...).



I mixed up the dye bath and added the cardigan in and stirred it for about 15 minutes. Then I suddenly remembered that I had a box full of old clothes under the bed that I no longer wear. I started rummaging around and found the blouse with the cut out detailing. This was actually a dye-disaster from a few years ago. It was almost a fluorescent pink and totally unwearable. So I added this to the dye bath.

Then I found the little camisole top. This was a nasty semi see-through white, and didn't have much going for it really. So I added this into the bucket of dye!

Finally I found the top with the tie straps. This was light yellow jersey with a cotton trim and patch pockets from about 4 years ago. It was also quite sheer and something that I just didn't like anymore. In the dye bath it went!



This was probably totally the wrong way of going about it, but I love how the later pieces ended up paler. In fact I wish the first cardigan had ended up this shade. I find Dylon dyes a bit of a mystery as they don't reveal any information about mixing colours or achieving lighter shades: it's all guess work! For this reason, I will try Rit Dyes next time, as the website has a whole page of dye recipes. Since I last looked into buying Rit, they have become available to Amazon UK.

I made a horrible mess and my hands are stained pink (I gave up with the rubber gloves in the end as the dye had seeped inside!) but I'm happy with my shades of pink. I've tried on the cardigan with a navy blue top and the colour actually looks really beautiful - like a shade of raspberry. They look a bit sickly all together but I think they will add just the right amount of colour to an outfit when worn in smaller quantities!

I'm desperate to do some more dying (this time Turquoise) but I've run out of spare clothes!

Blouse Refashion

Last week I found a blouse in the prettiest fabric. It was too big but I could see it had potential. At first I tried to turn it into a loose-fitting sleeveless blouse like the one I made a few weeks ago, but it didn't hang right and was too puffy in the front. So I left it for a few days and had a rethink, and I decided to make it into a strappy camisole. It was definitely the right decision for the type of fabric and I really needed another non-jersey summer top -- about 90% of my wardrobe is jersey - need to break the addiction!



The fabric has the prettiest texture with raised polka dots and embroidery around the scalloped hem. This little girl thought I made it for her to sunbathe on...

Over the weekend

On Saturday I visited the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. It's in it's 242nd year! (Couldn't believe it when I read it!) It seemed better that the exhibition last year, for some reason. The rooms are packed from floor to ceiling with paintings - it's quite overwhelming! It's exciting to see how many orange stickers each of the paintings have, which indicates how many have been sold. One picture had a good few rows of stickers and when I looked it up in the book, I found it was by Tracey Emin - no surprise then! Some people buy a piece from the Summer Exhibition each year. Maybe one day, when I'm a proper grown up with some money, I'll do this... I think it would be a lovely way to collect art.

My favourite room was the architecture. It was quite incredible seeing all the models and sketches lined up. This pieces were arranged by David Chipperfield. Sadly photos weren't allowed, but I made notes in the book next to the pieces I liked and was able to Google the architects to find out more.



[Photos 1 & 2 from The Telegraph]

Then I hopped on a tube and visited the BA Summer Show at my college - Chelsea. My favourite section was the textiles. The students each had a printed postcard of their work and I collected my favourite ones, which can be seen below. I think I can relate to design more than art. A lot of the fine art on display was conceptual art/installation. I can appreciate this kind of work when it's done well, but to be honest it's just overload and I left feeling quite disappointed. It must be so hard for the fine art students, though, as there's the constant feeling that the work has to be original. It was interesting to see the BA Interior & Spatial Design work, although I didn't always understand what I was looking at. It would have been great if the students were there to talk about their projects.



I found this top in a Charity Shop for £1.49. I was immediately attracted to the colour, although the shape wasn't quite right. So I gathered the shoulders and I really like it now. I've used safety pins for now, but need to get round to adding some stitches.



On Sunday, I travelled to Brighton for the day with my husband. It was a lovely, relaxing day. I took all film photos and haven't finished the roll yet, so I don't have anything to show for Sunday. It's quite an odd feeling taking photos on film, as it's a gamble whether the pictures will come out. Fingers crossed!

Changes!

I started this blog about 6 months ago and it has been such a wonderful way for me to keep track of all the inspiring things that I see on the Internet each day.

But I feel ready for change.

A couple of days ago I opened a tumblr account, and I plan to update this image bank whenever I see something that I really love. I think tumblr is better suited to this than blogger. Sometimes I don't have much to say about an image other than, "Look at this. I like it", and on my tumblr there will be images and no words. It's a lot quicker to upload a single photo on tumblr than it is to write a post on blogger.

From now on, Cubic Dreams will be home to my own creations/photos/thoughts and as a result it probably won't be updated as frequently as it was in the beginning. I might do summaries of my favourite images or write about a project I particularly like, but most of the material will be original (I hope!).

In the meantime, above are some of my recent favourites, and feel free to take a look at what else has made it's way onto my tumblr so far, here :)

*images via Milk from a Thistle, Wunderlust and Colour + Sound.

Handmade Blouse

I made myself a blouse on Monday. I was very lucky to receive a sewing machine for my birthday and this was my first attempt at using it. It works like a dream - I'm not used to sewing being so quick. I really need to practice sewing in a straight line which seems to be my biggest problem so far!

I picked up this fabric in the form of a large ladies long-sleeved shirt in a Charity Shop a few weeks ago for a couple of pounds. The label stated "Elsie Whiteley" which I've since discovered produced clothes from the '30s - '70s. I was immediately drawn to the intricately printed fabric - it has so much detail and the colours are really vivid.



I simply drafted a pattern from a similar sleeveless blouse I already own and added on about an inch all over to make it slightly looser, then cut out the front and back. I added in bust darts and a couple of back darts which really helped give this loose top a feminine shape. I made my own bias binding out of some navy blue polycotton and sewed it around the neckline and arm holes. I used the original button holes and attached some mother of pearl buttons and a press snap right at the top. It has a few little problems, which were a result of altering the shape after I'd started sewing it together, but I'm actually really happy with the way it came out. It's incredibly comfortable and hangs nicely. It's the perfect thing to wear when it's t-shirt weather but it makes me feel a bit prettier than a standard t-shirt.



Wearing a piece of clothing made to my measurements is such a joy. I'm telling you, it's much better than the feeling I get after shopping! Now I want to make a whole pile of these tops in different prints for the summer. If only I had more time!!



This little person thought I made it especially for her. After steering her away from the blouse she settled on the bag. I don't usually mix patterns but the stripes look quite pretty with the floral.

A dress from a top + skirt

My mum gave me a jersey skirt yesterday as she didn't feel comfortable in the colour for herself. It was too big for me to wear as a skirt so I'd originally planned to reduce the waist and wear it as a skirt, but the fabric is quite thin and it just didn't hang very well on me. I found that it was a lot more flattering higher up on the waist, and decided to attach it to a jersey top and turn it into a dress. It now flows and twirls really nicely :)

It was very easy to do, and doesn't really warrant instructions, but I thought I'd share the type of stitches and basic steps that I used. There's probably a much better way of doing this with a sewing machine, but I don't have one, so this is how I did it by hand:

1. The skirt's waistband was orginally constructed from a length of elastic within a fabric tube. I unpicked the stitches that fixed the elastic in place. Then I made an incision along the inside of the waist band and pulled the elastic out slightly, and reduced the length of the elastic by a couple of inches to make the waistband smaller. This created some subtle gathering around the waist.

2. I then put on the t-shirt and pinned the skirt around me at a comfortable height. I took it off and used a tape measure to check that it was the same distance all around.

3. I stitched the very top edge of the waistband to the t-shirt by hand using a small overstitch. To do this, I pinched the two layers together (see above) and sewed in this position, and when the fabric is flattened out the stitches are along the inside of the seam and hardly show. The stitches allow for an amount of stretch needed for taking the dress on and off. (If I had a sewing machine I would have liked to use a zig zag stitch but these stiches would have been more visible than the overstitches.)

4. I turned the whole thing inside out, and sewed the t-shirt to the internal waistband seam using a loose running stitch (see above) so it stays flat and doesn't roll up when it's washed. Then I cut off the excess t-shirt fabric.

Bekväm Clothing

This evening I discovered Bekväm Clothing which is designed and handmade by Hannah Elsie. I'm in awe of her talent (she is self-taught!) and I've fallen in love with the scalloped edges and the soft, feminine shapes. Read an interview with Hannah over on Clever Nettle.

*Images from Bekväm Clothing. Found via Clever Nettle.

Dace

I've really fallen for these pieces by Dace... they are so simple and pretty. I think I've found my dream jacket - shame it's a tad out of my price range ($298 !). I love the loose shapes of the dresses and the light fabrics.

Looking at pretty dresses has given me such itchy fingers; I'm desperate to make something, but I must resist temptation and stay focused on my uni work! I submitted my critical essay yesterday so I can really concentrate on the practical side now (making the model of the building). If I'm a good girl and get lots done over the next couple of days, maybe I'll let myself make something pretty over the Bank Holiday weekend...

P.S. I just can't decide if to keep the Google Friend Connect gadget on my blog. I like to see it on other blogs as it's such an easy way to add to Google Reader, but it makes my sidebar look so cluttered! For now I think I'll remove it...

*Images: Dace. Found via: Down and Out Chic.

Beautiful necklaces

I *love* these necklaces by Kristina Klarin (found via The Design Files).

A skirt from a shirt

I made this skirt using a rainbow striped shirt -- I keep coming across such pretty men's shirts! It was too short to make a dress and I thought it would make a perfect summer skirt. The fabric is very light and crisp so it will be cool in the warmer weather.

It was really fun working out how to make it. I was aiming for a somewhat full shape which nips into a fitted waistband, to wear with a top tucked in. I'm generally pleased with how it came out - I asked myself whether I'd want to buy it if I saw it in a shop, and the answer was yes, so I'm happy - but there are a couple of things I will change next time:

1. I'll choose a long-sleeved shirt so there is some excess fabric in the sleeves to form a wider waistband. Here, I had to take fabric from either side of the shirt to form the waistband which was quite tricky. Next time I'd like a deeper waistband and a fuller skirt.

2. I might try gathering the skirt instead of using pleats. I started off gathering this one, but it felt too bunchy. Next time I'll persist with the gathering as it might look OK once it's sewn in place.

* How I made the skirt *

Other tutorials:
A dress from a shirt

Etsy Favourite: Tree & Kimball

[All images: Tree & Kimball]

I discovered these beautiful pieces of jewellery by Tree and Kimball today - they are hosting a giveaway on Calivintage. I've never seen anything like this before.. I love the combination of the different materials and I'm eager to make one myself! They are so delicate, yet striking.

A dress from a shirt

On a whim, I bought a men's shirt in a Charity Shop on Friday because the fabric was so pretty. I initially thought I would make a skirt out of it, but soon realised it was better suited to a dress so I could make a feature of the button placket. I really surprised myself with the finished dress, as I had no idea if this would work! I don't have a sewing machine so did everything by hand. I'm really happy with the way it hangs, and it works just as well with a long sleeved t-shirt underneath, as it does by itself. I can see myself wearing this a lot!

The shirt I bought was a size Large so it had the length I needed for a dress. I eye balled all the measurements and continually tried it on and adjusted the pins until I got what I wanted. The dress doesn't have a zip so it needs to pull over your head and shoulders, so I made it slightly loose. The hem of the shirt was already there which made the process quicker. I like the softness of the curved hem and the way the back is slightly longer than the front. Overall, it feels very comfy and casual.

I plan to make more dresses, and I think the shape of each one will come out slightly differently depending on the initial garment. Next time I'd like to use a shirt with buttons all the way up the front. There are so many variations on the simple form and I can't wait to play around!

* How I made the dress *

Other tutorials:
A skirt from a shirt

Daily Wear: Coral Cardi

T-shirt: Topshop, originally teal then hand dyed blue
Cardigan: Joseph A, Thrifted
Skirt: Uniqlo
Tights: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Crocs Lily Winter

I've literally been looking for something in this colour for years and was over the moon when I picked up this cardigan in a Charity Shop last week! Pink doesn't usually suit me, but this coral/blush colour is perfect. I know it'll be my favourite for Spring.

Daily Wear: Turquoise & Blue

T-shirt: Uniqlo
Jacket: Thrifted H&M
Skirt: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Lily Winter Crocs
Tights: Sainsburys

Necklace & Bracelet: Gifts

Three things...

1. Does Photobucket have a sensor that checks if photos are acceptable to upload?? The image above just would not upload, so I ended up taking a screen shot and pasting back into a blank Photoshop file and it worked fine. Crazy!

2. Still no developments on the moving-home front. Our flat will be remarketed with a new agent next Tuesday so hopefully things will start happening soon. We have kind of lost the flat we fell in love with, but no one else has bought it yet so if we find another buyer it could still be ours, but there is no guarantee. We'll have to let Destiny decide.

3. I booked tickets to see Boyzone on tour in March 2011! I wanted to buy tickets in the fan presale but there was a fiasco with the website not showing seat numbers. There is always some degree of ticket stress but this time was the worst. So this afternoon I prepared telephone numbers and seating plans for the mad ticket rush tomorrow morning. As crazy as it sounds I started dialing through the numbers so I could write down the options I needed to select to quickly get to the front of the telephone queue in the morning, and out of pure chance one venue had released tickets on the telephone the day before general sale! I managed to get 3rd row tickets at the centre of the stage! I have seat 33 in row 3. My favourite number is 3 so what is the chance of that? My ever-so-lucky husband will be sitting in seat 34. He just doesn't know it yet. Now I can relax and forget about buying tickets and get on with my uni project...