We’re chasing stars to lose our shadow

A few days ago I posted a ’sneak peak of my next project on my twitter and got some lovely feed back in the form of @s. Little did I know I would finish that certain project, start AND finish another! I think I’m on a roll. Every week I finish 2 garments, if this continues I’ll need to know down my wardrobe and extend it into my parents’ room!

This is the silk and linen bow blouse. I actually made the bow part out of the dress I made for Spotlight’s formal dress design comp last year. Unfortunately I don’t really have the time or real motivation to enter it this year. I think this would be a great little top to wear in (dreaded) summer.

Either with a little skirt or a belt and some tux pants.

Ok, first let me just reveal that I haven’t hemmed this cape because I broke my last needle (I’ve bought a 5-pack since making my Hound’stooth cape)! But I was so excited I couldn’t help but snap some pics and show it to you all. I cannot wait to wear it. It totally beats spending $100+ on the American Apparel one. I’m sure I’ll find a way to wear this in summer.

XXASAB

Savouring last of the colder weather

I was so excited when I heard it was going to be 16 and raining for this weekend, I nearly pulled out a ski suit! Sadly it only rained for 20 minutes and it was probably actually about 18 degrees but I stil wore some of my favourite winter warmers.

Silk and lace blouse- Annachi Girl
Purple lace trimmed skirt- My own design
Black and white coat- Famous Flower
Tights- Coles!
Cashmere scarf- House of cashmere
Pasta bow necklace- My own design
Black patent leather booties- China
Black leather bag- Vintage

XXASAB

PS. Noticed the new banner?

Love, love, love!

Hello darling! I’d just like to say I much I love BryanBoy ! I’ve been reading BryanBoy’s blog for ages, ever since I saw the pictures of models backstage holding “I love BryanBoy” signs. And my love has just soared since he’s currently here in Melbourne for Spring Fashion Week and to open the Marc Jacobs films at ACMI.

 I’m naming this dress I made the ‘B.B.’ dress after the blogging master himself! 

 I’d also like to say a big thank you to NuffNang for sending me this lovely, little  welcome package!

 

Everyone, join Nuffnang because you can earn money for doing what you love doing, they always have exciting competitions going on, and the folks there treat you really well! So, be a nuffy and credit me as a referrals and help Nuffnang grow a bigger community and me to win the $500 prize voucher!

XXASAB

Challenge me if you dare!

On Saturday I took on the Nuffnang Coles challege.

Challenge 1:

Be the Nuffie that spends $10 in the most creative, interesting or fun way. It is totally up to you what you choose to do with it, you just have to impress the Nuffnang team here with your shopping skills.

Challenge 2:

Most frugal Nuffie award. How far can you stretch $10 and what can you make it do?

The winner of each challenge will win another Coles Group & and Myer Gift Card worth $100!

I think I took on both challenge 1 and 2. I used $9.50 to buy:

2 plastic bandeau headbands

1 packet of bow tie pasta

1 packet of soup pasta

and using my own:

glue

wire

chain

nail polish (substitute for paint)

I made:

Haha! I don’t think it actually showed off my shopping skills, more or less just my creativity. But then again I do like to put my spin on EVERYTHING! Now all I need are some cute little tweens who are willing to wear the headbands. People have already asked to buy the necklaces but sadly I really want to wear them myself. But freight not, I’ll be sure to make more! I’m now slightly obsessed with soup pasta, did you know they come in hearts, circles, stars,  hexagons and letters?!

Beaded V-neck: Belle Du Jour

Cashmere cardigan: Mum’s

Black crinoline/petticoat skirt: My own design

Houndstooth pattern tights: China

Bangles: Gifted

Black pumps: Wittner

Polka dot headband: My own design

XXASAB

Never, ever make absolute, unconditional statements.

Some time 2 years ago I swore to myself “I will never go to Chapel St, ever again!” (I don’t really exactly knows what happened that made me say this) but today, under L.L.Lewis (aka Lisa)’s guidance I found myself on the dreaded Chapel St (for those of you who don’t know “Chapel Street is a shopping, dining and entertainment precinct in Melbourne, Australia. It has myriad shops ranging from exclusive upmarket fashion designers at the South Yarra end to old fashion pawnbrokers towards Windsor.”- Wiki). It’s very popular among 15-20 somethings but  I’ve always associated it with mediocrity. I thought “Oh, well it has been a while maybe it’s changed” and boy oh boy was I wrong. It was just as bad as before ad made worse by the windy weather. Other than the  boutique that stocked Herve Leger dresses all of the shops were boring and repetitive. We  walked on the right side from South Yarra to American Apparel (which also was a massive disappointment, but YAY! I got to see first hand how bad the quality of their garments are) and we just didn’t want to even bother coming back on the left side. Needless to say I am not going back unless it’s to try on the Herves, seriously, the highlight of my day was seeing Hany Lee (who plays the oh-so-annoying/possibly most hated Sunny Lee on Neighbours)!

It’s weird isn’t it? Someone like me hates shopping, honestly I don’t really see the point anymore. It’s the same chains of stores and the same things! Nothing appealed to me, maybe it’s because I go on net-a-porter too much or maybe it’s just another incentive for me to design more of my own clothes (I now can go a fortnight only wearing skirts I’ve designed&made)?

Now, on to another topic. Happy Birthday to the lovely Candice of Super Kwaii Mama! Here’s a portrait I did as a birthday present.

 

And here’s what I wore yesterday.

 

Here’s something you might not have known; I put a white zip on the back of my peplum skirt!

Grey and black T-shirt: Cotton On (from 4 years ago, I can’t believe I still wear something I bought when I was 11)
Peplum skirt: My own design
Opaque red tights: Voodoo
Silver mary janes: RMK
Black blazer: Lovelygirl
Mosaic bead bracelet: My own design
Heart bracelet: My own design
Pearls: Thrifted/vintage
Ring: Heirloom
Black bag: Mum’s

I ended up wearing a black, cropped wrap cardigan because I spilled ice cream all over my blazer and my Mosaic bracelet broke while me and L.L.Lewis were laughing at Sunny from Neighbours

XXASAB

Just a wee little update

Hello darling readers! Here’s just an update on some exciting (or not so) things.

1. Finally my bangs have ’settled’ a bit and are now wearable!

2. I only just discovered that you have to clean the insides of our sewing machine regularly and when I finally did I was quite scared there’s a minuscule civilisation of germs, lint and dust.

3. I received a lovely package from my lovely friend Lisa (not L.L.Lewis who’s my BFFL but who I met on an infamous australian blog and regularly comments here). It’s really so lovely and thoughtfully! It contained a teal/turquoise scarf, a little something on writing (Lisa’s an english teacher), a lovely letter and best of all; the Bergdorf Goodman fall shoe catalog! Thanks so much Lisa!

4. I’ve picked my final subjects for VCE. This probably seems really boring to you but right now, it’s probably the hardest decision I’ve made in my life. English Language, mathematical methods, visual communications and design, studio art, french and I’ll also finish my V.E.T. course.

XXASA

The little black skirt

We’ve all heard about the importance of a ’little black dress’ but for me the ‘little black skirt’ is just equally important. Think about the things you could pair it with; a plain white shirt for a sleek, streamlined look, a sheer, black blouse for a sexy, vampy look, or a sequined tank for a more of a fun look.  I’ve been playing with ’LBS’ designs for quite some time now and could never really settle for a silhouette or fabric. I finally settled on making two skirts!

This is a petticoat style skirt. It’s kinda fun, youthful for the dreaded summer.

This I’ve had in my head for ages! It’s a 80s/90s ‘double skirt’. I never thought I could pull the tighter style off but I look better than I imagined. It’s a little ’snug’  but I’m using it as ‘thinsipration’, so I can wear this and bend down without fear of the seam bursting or zipper coming undone (BTW the zipper’s actually white for contrast and a bit of fun)

So, have you got a ‘little black skirt’?

XXASAB

PS. Sorry about the quality of the first picture, I was trying to sharpen it up on photoshop because it was very blurry. If any of you know how to focus a picture while it’s on self timer, please, do share!

A word’s, just a word, ’til you mean what you say

I bet a lot of Melbournians are probably pretty excited about this sunny and warm weather but I’m annoyed and sad, it means that Summer’s near. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Summer for me means bad skin

2. Tans/tan lines/tan lines on feet!

3. Spending ages applying and re-applying sunscreen

4. You can no longer hide unshaven legs under opaques

5. There’s little opportunity for layering

6. Extra body odour on public transport 

7. School summer uniform=extremely unflattering ‘A-line’ dress

8. Flies, ants and mosquitoes

9. The scorching Australian sun and the possibility of more bush fires

10. The heat in general makes people ‘eeky’

Even though today was probably warm enough to wear just one layer and say ’so long’ to my tights I still decided to dress like it was 5 degrees colder.

Chiffon ruffle dress: My own design
Hound’s tooth cape: My own design
Tights: Coles
Necklace: china
Watch: Gucci
Suede booties: Ninewest
Quilted leather bag: mum’s

I got told my the S.A. in Cue that I look as if I’m straight off Gossip Girl. I was quite surprised as I didn’t even ‘go for a GG look’, I would have at least worn a bolder headband and a better bag!

On a completely unrelated note. I’m in love with this song, ’send it on’. Not (only) because it’s sung by ‘the Disney stars’ (Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez) but because it’s catchy and sends a great message.

BTW You’d know if you were following me on twitter but I got a hair cut, and now I have a mild case of ‘too short bangs’. And it got me thinking, what if I went in ‘for the chop’ and got a Selena Gomez style bob? I remember posting a picture (http://twitpic.com/9jztl) and I don’t actually mind it. Hmmm what do you think?

XXASAB

Crafty Sundays

Sunday is my favourite day to sit down and finish whatever sewing project I started during the week. This week I completed this purple skirt with lace trim and 2 headbands.

This was actually meant to be a princess-seamed dress with the lace as a waistband but because it was my first time draping for princess seam and it didn’t really work out so I decided not waste the remainder of the fabric (I’m not huge on purple but it has a subtle sheen and it just falls beautifully) and make a skirt out of it.

I detest silence while I work (it makes me nervous) so I re-watched season 1 and (some of) 2 of gossip girl in preparation for the 3rd season and was inspired to make more headbands. Now I believe a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes, too much underwear or too many headbands!

Sorry for the horrible quality of the pictures, they were taken on my phone, I actually dropped my camera and now it’s broken/won’t turn on I’m going to take it back to the shop and get it checked out.

XXASAB

Nearly Spring?

I’m so sick of the rainy weather, wet school shoes and wind tangled hair but I’m also not exactly looking forward to spring because I get severe hay-fever so it’s a real catch 22 situation. Strangely the weather was just perfect today; sunny, warm, and calm. And that’s how I felt, well until my mum locked her phone, keys, the shopping and her bag in the car! But luckily, with my lock picking, chair kicking and youtubing skills ,the problem was resolved within an hour. My reward was Japanese ice-cream and a trip to Westfield. To be honest I was actually not looking forward to it, parking at Westfield is a nightmare and mum’s too embarrassed to use the valet parking because of the current state of our car.

I’m not one of those people who say “Shopping is my life, I love shopping”, I actually much prefer a trip to the fabric store and a few hours in front of my sewing machine, because it’s much more rewarding. But, I do love a nice trip once in a while.  I fell in love with the Bally Lysia bag:

And this Ralph Lauren cricket jacket/blazer.

Like I said on twitter this morning “going for a ‘tough on top, feminine on the bottom tactic to dressing today”.

Unfortunatly  my clutch couldn’t fit all of my stuff, the shoes were not broken into and even with the lovely weather it was still too cold to not wear a jacket. So I ended up swapping the shoes for a nice pair of broken in Mary-Janes, the clutch for my mum’s Prada and adding a cashmere cardigan.

Top: Thermal
Skirt: My own design
Gloves: Ports 1961
Shoes: RMK
Tights: Coles
Clutch: My own design
Necklace: Funqi

XXASAB