Expensive Safety Pins

Darling,
Another sketch from the pages of Vogue. I was surprised by the cost of the black top - $1,600 I kid you not.

It seems simple enough, artistically cut up a black t-shirt and fix the gaping holes with safety pins. I believe they have stolen this idea straight off the back of one of my friends. He loved safety pins, even wore them as earrings. You can also find this idea is all t-shirt modification books.
So unless the pins are made out of silver or platinum, leave it hanging.


Have a great weekend!
Cheers!

{Best of A Year of Shoes} Mary Poppins?

Darling,
It's been a while since I've posted a shoe from my calendar. Today's shoe stir-up quite a debate.

You see, this shoe makes me think of Mary Poppins and my husband thinks I'm crazy. Let me defend my case and you be the judge.

This beaded Victorian Barret leather boot from 1870 has a very particular heel. If you could look closely at the shoe visible on Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews 1964) in the following supporting evidence.

picture via mptvimages.com

Voilà! It's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The film is set in 1910 not too long after the shoe was made and clearly the heel and shape of the boot are very similar. I rest my case. It's up to the jury now.

Cheers!

Fendi

Darling,
I just received the Spring Edition of Vogue. It's HUGE! Not to mention loaded with colour. The next two sketches come straight from the magazine. 

I fell in love with this outfit, particularly the royal blue perfectly draped batwing top and the obi-like high-waisted tulip skirt. This outfit is by Fendi so unfortunately no where near my budget, one can dream though.

Have a nice thursday!
Cheers!

Vampire in New York City

Darling,
I took the S train for the first time during the big snowstorms and I've taken a liking to it. Fascinating people travel on the S train. It also brings to first complete Man to my NYC Street Fashion Sketches (there's an ebauche of a classy man here but it was never completed).

Have you seen Vampire in Brooklyn? It's an Eddie Murphy movie that came out in 1995. He plays the part of the sole surviving member of a Caribbean coven. He travels to Brooklyn to find a mate, the child of a vampire and a human. He's super classy and would wear what this man was wearing in a heart-beat.
The man in question was dressed in black from head to toe except for his blue shirt. He had a Pin Stripe (I know, only 1 "p" or it has a completely different meaning...oups) suit, black Wing Tip shoes and  a long black Peacoat. What really screamed vampire were the gold rings he wore on all 10 fingers. Why the vampire association? I don't know. He looked good but also very powerful - which might better explain the Vampire thing.

Cheers!

Felted Pixie Hat

Darling,

I'm posting thing mainly because of the audacity of this felted pixie hat. It definitely stood out in the crowd.

Thankfully my sketching does get better, just wait until tomorrow, our first Man.

Cheers!

Rags a Go-Go

Darling,
I must get back on track with my Resolution - to post a new sketch everyday of the week. I've got some good ones for this week, let me know what you think.

 

My take on Rags a Go-Go's owner's, Joshua Suzanne, outfit from February 17th. My sketch doesn't quite do it justice. She wasn't wearing any glasses, I just messed up her eyes so I had to cover them up. She was however wearing a cut out wolf t-shirt over a checkered shirt and camo pants.  It looked good on her.

Cheers!

New York Fashion Week 2011

Darling,
On Tuesday, February 15th 2011 at 15:30, yours truly was proudly watching the models she had dressed strut their stuff down the 7 on Seventh runway for the 2011 New York  Fashion Week. What a proud moment.

How did this happen?
I'm Twain Revell's (Twain's Twines) assistant. She is a Harlem based designer of knit wear and afro-centric garments who just happens to live in my building.

Did I ever tell you the story of how we met?
Hubby and I moved into a  pre-war walk-up in August. Living on the top floor, although exhausting, also allows us to meet all our neighbors. One day as we lugged ourselves up the flight of stairs, we saw a woman on crutches climbing the steps and dragging a huge bag with her.
My chivalrous husband quickly offered his assistance and started up a conversation. How it came to this, I am not sure, but Twain said she was a designer to which my husband answered : "So it my wife! She knits, sews, crochets and makes jewelry."
Can you imagine my embarrassment? Don't get me wrong, I love that my husband believes is me but I am by no means a Designer. I make stuff for friends, I have lots of ideas, I dabble in everything even remotely craft related and I've even sold a couple things on Etsy but Designer is a big title to wear. As I blushed and muttered a response. Twain said: "Well I might just have to put you to work. Show me what you got. Check out my website it's Twainstwines.com."

Thrilled by this opportunity, I started this blog to have something to show to Twain. It took a couple of weeks, but she got back to me came up to my flat checked out my latest projects (Love Garden Flower Cap, Jets Mittens and the soon the be completed Teal Rockefeller Sweater). She then handed me three skeins of Blue Mohair and size 10 circular needles and told me to knit her new design, a Mohair Coat. Since then, I have knitted 2 coats, 1 hood, beaded 2 mesh pieces, hemmed 3 dresses, worked with lace, brushed an Angora rabbit, manned the booth at the One of a kind Show and now helped with a runway show for Fashion Week in New York. Have I mentioned I love my job?

What do I do? 
I knit, I sew, I bead, I hunt for buttons, fabric, beads, elastic cord and whatever else Twain might need. I love working for Twain, I learn so much and she is hilarious. Did I mention she has done stand-up comedy as Miss Understood?


Runway Show 2011
This is not what you came for, on to the pictures!

I was hoping to post at least a link to the professional photographers that were there but none of them have updated their websites with new pictures. We'll just have to deal with my pictures.

  Three Mohair Coats went down the runway but I only managed to photograph two of them. The third you will see in a group shot lower down. (I knit the blue coat and chose the buttons for both the blue and the green coat!)

 Twain worked with a jewelry Designer. I loved the way the jewelry looked with the MudCloth Shift dresses.  (I hemmed the shifts!)

The Red Belt is TINY. Twain had it at the one of a kid show and no one could fit it. The model said it was the first belt to ever fit her right. I have no idea how she could breathe.

 The first piece is made from knitted silk ribbon from Japan. The top is knitted with beads. A lot of work went into this outfit (I made the left strap!). It was a funny material to work with.

All three white pieces are knit from Twain's Angora Rabbit. The rabbit is not harmed in the process, the fur is gathered during many brushing sessions and spun into yarn and Triple plied to reach the desired thickness.

The bridesmaid and the bride are both wearing angora; an angora shrug (one of my favorite pieces) and another angora skirt.

And here is the missing coat from the show. It has beautiful mother of pearl buttons. The hoods where a huge hit with the models, they loved playing with them.

Twain and all her creations.

If you are interested by any of the pieces you see here, either email me or visit Twain's website (Twainstwines.com) to get in contact with her directly. 

Cheers!

P.S. I will start uploading sketches again starting tomorrow.  I'm sorry for the delay, I've been a bit busy.

Jackie - That 70s Show

Darling,
With Vogue claiming that Spring will be taping into the 70s for inspiration, I thought I should do some research. I'm marathonning That 70s show thanks to Netflix.

I watched the Pilot episode tonight, everyone is so young. Jackie (Mila Kunis) was only 15 when the show first aired in August, 1998. I love the flowy skirt, I could work with that. The V-neck is a classic but I'm not a fan of the stripes on the sleeves and around the neckline.

Cheers!

Sitting is hard

Darling,
I can't believe New York fashion week has started. I can't even appreciate it because I'm so busy rounding up details for our show coming up on the 15th. We have the official fitting on Sunday and I know we still haven't finished all the pieces. Oh well.

 

Considering I spend a lot of time people watching in the subway, I need to start practicing seated people. It's hard to make them look good. I also have a hard time with collared shirts - case-in-point. 

On a happy note, look what my shoe calendar offered today. A gorgeous pump made from repurposed leather and vintage kimono fabric. Upcycling, I love it. It's called the "Kiki" pump and was designed by Hetty Rose in 2009.

 

What do you think?
If you have 350 British Pounds ($560 US) visit her web site hettyrose.co.uk, she will hand make the perfect shoe for you. If, like me, you enjoy browser shopping go see what amazing things you can make from vintage kimono fabric.

Cheers!

Post-Apocalyptic Sweater

Darling,

I've been watching way too many movies because of all the knitting I have to do for February 15th (our show for NYC Fashion Week). I'm really into post-apocalyptic movies from the 80s right now. The plot is usually very simple, it's fast paced for fast knitting and the men are usually buff and shirtless (the women too but that what keeps my husband from killing me).

In a particularly poor movie, Interzone 1987, I spotted two extras wearing the same sweater, in two different scenes mind you. It was a modified pink wool sweater. I'm guessing they felted it, cut it and restyled it. It had the thick solid look of felted wool. I smartened it up a bit trying to create something wearable before the apocalypse - not so sure of the result. What I liked about how it was worn in the movie was that both ladies wore a wide strapped maxi dress over which they wore the top - one was white the other was black. It's the first time I notice such an obvious wardrobe recycling in a movie. Each extra only got one scene, the white gal was dancing with what seems to be an exotic male dancer and the second is cheering on a barbaric game of who will drink the poisoned cup.
I never  finished the movie.

I love the 80s.
Cheers!

High Class in 1948

Darling,

Fashion Week is coming up fast. Will we make it? We don't really have a choice. Sorry again for the delay, I've been working hard.

I love this dress. It was worn by Googie Withers in her role as Clare the wife of mermaid smitten physician Paul Martin (Griffith Jones) in the 1948 British comedy Miranda. It was her breakfast gown. I look at my breakfast attire right now and I'm not impressed: boxers, t-shirt and pink dressing robe. The movies showcase past years as so glamorous but was it really the case?
Do you get dressed before going to breakfast? Or is it more a stumble to the coffee maker in whatever state the night has left you in?

Maybe I just need a nicer robe, just a thought.

Cheers!

Practice

Darling,

I got Fashion Design Portfolio  Edited by Marie Lafuente. I'm trying out some of the postures proposed in the model section. This is wear this came from - it's much too cold to see anybody dressed like this around NY these days.

Cheers!

French Teacher

Darling,

My husband started school this week, he had his first classes and met his new teachers.  He called me up after his French Class and described what his new French Teacher was wearing. Being slightly jealous of the attention this woman was getting from my hubby, I sketched her. Do you know what my hubby said when I showed him my sketch later on? "That's about right but she was a bit more curvaceous, a bit like Kim Kardashian." I swallowed my displeasure. "She's from la campagne outside Paris, she's in her late twenties and really organized. Maybe you could be friends?" Sigh, me, friends with his curvaceous French teacher? I doubt it, especially when someone is not to keen on bringing me to class. I digress. She was wearing a black cardigan over a red shirt, untucked, with a black pencil skirt, black tights and black pumps. Wonder what she's going to wear next week.

Cheers!

White Claws

Darling,

This fashionista was rocking her pointing white nails in the Subway last week. Alongside her white nails, she a sporting a white and pink do, a leather and fur jacket, boyfriend jeans shorts, black tights and thigh high black socks. And lest not forget her black wedge booties. I know she had a handbag but I forgot to jot it down. Got to work on my observation skills.

Cheers!

P.S. Sorry I posted this three days late, time just flew by.

Hats To Keep Your Head Warm

Darling,
Janurary is a cold wet snowy dreary month. Everybody is bundled up, head down and walking fast going from point A to B as fast as possible. I'm so thankful to see original hats.



This first hat I loved because of the lace and feather appliqué on the side of a plain black cap. I wondered if I was handmade. The girl said she bought it somewhere in NY, a big store...I can't remember.



The second hat took me a while to figure out, I kept pace with this poor woman for about a block until the traffic lights gave me a chance to observe quietly. At first I thought it was a wrap or turban like creation but it had to much bounce. It's an upgrade of a slouchy winter hat. The head band it made of fur, then their is a band of knitted yarn and the top is fur.

The last one is just lots of fun. Wearing a cat on your head can only make you smile.

Keep Warm!
Cheers!