The Shower Curtain Coat

Hey guys! The scuba dress post seemed to be very popular! I was thinking Miu Miu myself, but I can also see the Preen and Michael Kors in it, as some readers suggested. Actually, maybe even a bit of PHI resort 2010. My mum said it looked like Thor Heyerdahl 1979. Who is he you ask? I was wondering the same thing. So I googled him:

Norwegian ethnologist and adventurer who organized and led the famous Kon-Tiki (1947) and Ra (1969–70) transoceanic scientific expeditions. Both expeditions were intended to prove the possibility of ancient transoceanic contacts between distant civilizations and cultures. For the most part, Heyerdahl’s theories have not been accepted by anthropologists.

-britannica.com

Haha mother, haha. Anyways, yesterday I went on yet another thrift excursion and picked up this very 80s wool coat. My boy said it looked like a shower curtain. Haha Kevin, haha. If I paired it with a bright orange body-con dress and geometric make-up I could pass for a Liquid Sky extra. What a strange but stylish movie. I'll see if I can screen cap it for the blog. Alas I have no such dress, but I am warming up to the idea of orange as a wardrobe color some more.





I've paired the coat with a blouse made by my grandmother, H&M skirt and booties from The Shoe Warehouse.

I also picked up another sheer dress and two purses. More on those when I get around to taking photos of them!

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The Scuba Dress

Finally, my DIY project is finished! Except this wasn't really DIY, since my grandmother helped me with it. I forgot to take the "before" pictures. Sorry guys! The original thrifted dress had sheer black panels where I placed the blue. It was lovely, but far too showy for my personal tastes, and I really did want to wear it out. I originally planned on replacing the sheer with a stretchy nude fabric, but couldn't find any that didn't wash out my skin. Then I came across this four-way stretch electric blue fabric, and fell in love. I instantly thought of the colors and fit of scuba diving costumes. And thus the scuba dress was born. Sewing stretch fabrics is a nightmare though, I tell ya. My grandmother says she just aged 10 years sewing and fitting and re-sewing and re-fitting, and so on. The blue fabric was stretch but much more stiff than the original thin mesh.

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Wrap Me Up

Images via Coutorture

As soon as I laid eyes on the Opening Ceremony for Pendleton collection I fell in love. The 100-year old heritage brand lent it's iconic Navajo prints for a celebratory capsule collection. This is probably my favourite brand collaboration as of yet. The pieces are extremely modern, with on-trend peplum and cape silhouettes, yet the stunning traditional prints are steeped in rich history. The colors are simply amazing. I can't stop staring. Below is an excerpt from the Pendleton website.

In 1863, traveling down the Atlantic seaboard, crossing the Isthmus of Panama on a burro, and sailing up the Pacific coast was a grueling four-month passage. Yet for Thomas Kay, a young English weaver, it was a dream come true. An old hand at sea voyages, he had already crossed the Atlantic years earlier to work at east coast textile mills. With skills honed, he was now headed to an area with ideal conditions for raising sheep and producing wool. A place with moderate weather and plentiful water - America's newest state, Oregon.

Kay helped organize Oregon's second woolen mill in Brownsville, where he oversaw the weaving operation. Soon he was made a superintendent of the company. In 1889, Thomas Kay opened his own mill in Salem, Oregon. From these humble beginnings rose a dyed-in-the-wool American success story...

...The production of Indian blankets resumed as the Bishops applied intuitive business concepts for quality products and distinctive styling. A study of the color and design preferences of local and Southwest Native Americans resulted in vivid colors and intricate patterns. Trade expanded from the Nez Perce nation near Pendleton to the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni nations. These Pendleton blankets were used as basic wearing apparel and as a standard of value for trading and credit among Native Americans. The blankets also became prized for ceremonial use. Under the direction of the Bishop family, Pendleton expanded into other areas of woolen manufacturing. In 1912, the addition of a weaving mill in Washougal, Washington, broadened its capability for fabric variety, including suitings.

As I was browsing the Coutorture website for the above collage, I noticed a commenter who claimed that Opening Ceremony was ripping off designer Lindsey Thornburg. Having never heard of her, I did a quick search and discovered more wonderfully cozy wool capes! For her most recent collection, Lindsey journeyed to Machu Picchu where she was very inspired by the Highlanders' boldly colored attire. I can relate to her love of their traditional costumes, as I have myself admired them (sadly only in books) many times. I'm not really bothered by who copied who, but I would like to snag a similar item myself. My only hope would be to a) miraculously discover something at a thrift store or b) wait for a highstreet store like Zara to pick up on the trend. Actually, I have seen similar blankets around, but they are far too rough and itchy to wear as clothing...




Images via LindseyThornburg.com

After having been inspired by these two amazing collections, I decided to wrap myself in a few cozy pieces of my own. Not quite the same, but it's a start. Luckily, we're having a very chilly and rainy 14 degree day today. I'm wearing a thrifted Ralph Lauren Polo cardigan, thrifted grey wool cape, Zara jeans, and a Romanian scarf handed down from my mum. I should have shown the scarf a bit more in the photo. It's much larger than it looks and the beautiful print is very much in the theme of today's post.

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What I'm Wearing 04.07.09

Wearing a thrifted sheer dress, bag and belt, sandals from Payless and black tank dress underneath from Winners.

Yesterday I went shopping before my shift at Value Village and purchased two dresses. The first is a sheer number that I'm wearing in the above photo on top of a black tank dress. It was absolutely beautiful outside today so I stopped by the beach to get some sun. The colors are dark but with a light breeze and sheer fabric it felt just right. The second dress I will post about later because it's a bit of a diy project. It has some very revealing sheer panels on the side which I would like to replace with stretchy nude fabric. The panels also had a few holes in them so leaving them in is out of the question. But why did I even by this dress? The form the cut outs make is just amazing. Look forward to it soon! I'm hoping to get it all done on my day off Monday.

PS: I played Rock Band tonight. I think my character looks like someone threw in a bit of Chanel, a touch of Givenchy, a sprinkle if the Sex Pistols and a science lab skull into a magical rock star blender. Nice, eh?

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June 29, 2009

I felt a bit claustrophobic looking at my own blog this morning. Hence the rapid layout change. The old theme was starting to look a little too haphazard. I hadn't even updated it to be compatible with blogger's new (now, old) features yet! So I redesigned everything and painstakingly added all of the links back in. Things are looking much more organized now, don't you think?



Yesterday I decided to go for a boyish 1950's look. I wore a thrifted blouse that very much reminds me of something Izzy from the Dandy Project would wear. I really dig his stylish self designed shirts. The sunglasses I'm sporting are also second hand. They are my absolute favorite pair and I wear them with everything. They have a bad habit of going missing for a few weeks during which I miss them immensely. But they've reappeared! The belt and bracelet are also thrifted and the jeans are from Zara.




Check out this awesome powder blue car! It matches my retro-themed outfit perfectly. It seems like all the vintage car collectors only pull their beauties out of hiding when summer comes along. I've never seen so many amazing cars in one week!

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