Outfit Of The Day

YAY!
I finally get to post one!!!
Haha, it's from last week, but oh well. Better late than never.
I went to go see Living With Lions at a pub nearby, and it was finally nice enough out to wear something kind of summer-y.

Don't mind the depressed look haha, taking pictures
 of myself makes me feel awkward

Love these boots <3 but they need to be completely resoled...

That dress/tunic/shift/thing is one of my favorite summer pieces; it made me feel like summer was closer since I got to wear it, haha.

Back To The Trunk, Winter!

Dug my summer clothes out

And hid my winter clothes away

Sadly, I also tried on some of my summer clothes... Hello, motivation to get back into working out.

Rain Rain Go Away

We've had something like 3 weeks of rain here. It's obscene! I couldn't handle it if this were our normal weather. To cope with it, I've been shopping and fantasizing about when the warmer weather appears, or when I ship outta here for the Czech Republic.

I got all my summer clothes shopping finished. I picked up three cute dresses, a new crop top, and a new black two-piece swim suit.

Here are two of the dresses; I'm fairly in love. I can't wait to wear them more!!!
(I managed to sneak in wearing them on two movie dates I had with friends where it wasn't totally raining)

I feel like both dresses look a little frumpy here, but they're so nice and flowy in person.

Dress Project: Finished Product!!

On Friday, we had our little "fashion show," to present our finished garments.

My creation!

I ended up changing some things last minute, like the sleeves. The sheer fabric I bought turn out to be delicate to the extreme, so I redrafted a sleeve I could do in cotton so that she'd actually be able to wash her dress like a normal piece of clothing.

This is my favorite picture from the day :)

I'm really pleased with how the dress I made turned out; it fits her really well AND she likes it. Also, I'm in LOVE with the one she made me! It's so adorable, with that floral skirt and the details on the bodice.

I can't wait for summer when we can wear theeese.

Dress Project: Part 1 (the mock-up)

WARNING: PICTURE HEAVY

Draftingdraftingdrafting

All cut out and traced!

My little buddy keeps me company

Top half done

Both halves done!

Rach and I are the same measurements so I tried it on

Skirt came out perfectly :)

Practicing with sheer fabric for the sleeves

Also known as "satan fabric" (this stuff at least)

On the actual model!

Sleeves came out TOO poofy, that'll be toned down

That's the first half done!
I just spent 11 hours in the studio today working on the dress in the real fabric. It's going to be niiiiice. It's due on Friday, so I'll post a final version soon after that!

((All photos taken by my craptastic camera phone))

Summer Projects

My new roomie this summer is also in Costume Studies at Dal, and we've made an agreement. We will actually do summer projects. I want to make myself things I like! I have a giant folder on my computer of images I've grabbed from everywhere for inspiration... so it's finally time to put them to good use.

I know I need to ease myself into it, get used to sewing in my room instead of the lovely studio, so I've picked two starter projects that I want to make before I leave for the Czech Republic in June.

Nice, big + flowy, but w/ fitted sleeves.
[forgotten where this is from]

Light + summer-y, also flowy.
[Modcloth]

That's pretty much the perfect skirt I envision with my new boots. Wear it with some sheer grey tights and slouchy cardigan or a leather bomber jacket, depending on the weather, and I'd be happy as a clam.

Only Schoolwork I Want To Do

Our final project for our pattern drafting class is finally coming up! It's really the only thing left in this school year that I want to do.
We picked partners at the start of term and drafted basic patterns to fit them. Now, we get to pick out a dress or jacket to make for them. It has to have certain things (just so we don't all make something really easy) but we basically just get to pick a picture of something we like from a magazine, then make it!

I picked this, found it on Karmaloop

My partner really likes wrap dresses, so this was a good choice for her. I think it looks a bit like a dressing gown, though, so i'm going to change some things when I make it. I'm going to make the skirt all one piece, without that rise at center front, and I'm not going to make it out of a silky fabric. I'm leaving it up to my partner whether she wants the sash.

We went out on Friday to pick out fabric for our projects, and actually having the fabric is making me so excited to get started.

Fabric for the dress!

The solid pink is cotton, and going to make up most of the dress. The pretty (so so so pretty) sheer pink fabric with the little gems is going to be for the sleeves. I'll also probably use it to cover the waistband and the cuffs. There'll be am invisible zipper on the side, so the back will still look clean and uninterrupted.

Ooooo, I just can't wait to start this!

Whoda Thunkit

So apparently this kind of stuff is becoming fashionable (or so hints my internet exploring):

I actually quite like that necklace, but the trend strikes me as a bit funny. I remember in the old run-down mall in Dartmouth (which has since been sacrificed to the wrecking ball) there was a shop that had all kinds of Native American stuff like this printed on t-shirts, sweaters, and I'm sure they had jewelry in there too. If it were around today, I can only imagine the joy that a DIY-er or hipster would find in encountering such great raw material
             - back then, it'd look like your mom dressed you in your uncle's crappy Christmas presents.
Come to think of it, I think I had a cow skull t-shirt when I was younger... gift from my uncle.

Rainy Monday = Shopping Day

In the last week, I've ripped two pairs of my jeans, leaving me with just one decent pair to wear anywhere. So today when I realised one of my classes wasn't mandatory it meant MALL TRIP. I don't usually go unless I need something because I always end up buying more than I want to... today... I swear those boots seduced me!!

Drool!

They look so great with the flap undone and the laces all loose up top. I can't wait for the weather to get a bit warmer so I can throw them on with some tights and a light summer skirt, or my other favorite purchase today: skinny cargo pants! Definitely a style I'm glad came back around, I used to have a pair in junior high that I practically lived in. And now with the style update of a skinny leg? So great.

Floral patterns are finally reaching the stores in Halifax, so I'm excited for more of the spring clothes to come out! Wheeee, shopping for my summer trip!

High-Waisted Love

Oh my god I want pants like this!! And that shirt!!

I need to learn how to make pants patterns.

Trashy-Chic

Last night I went to my first "anything-but-clothes" party. It was super fun =) I had a ball planning what to wear and I was so proud when it was finished!! I took a garbage bag and some bondage tape (it only sticks to itself so I could use it on myself without pain afterwards) and I made a cocktail dress, complete with bubble skirt, ruffles on the chest, and a nice bow.

Only issue was that I taped up my chest a bit too tightly (I was paranoid there might be slippage) so I couldn't inhale too deeply. Overall, definitely a success though!!

((I wish I had a better picture =( hopefully one will surface soon))

Leather and Lace

During that hellish end of last term, I should have been writing an essay, then I found these.
I friggin love leather and lace! Even the song by Henley and Nicks.
There's something about the combination of delicate and tough that just really appeals to me :)
I did the same sort of thing in my final garment project first year; I took really nice light linen and made a dress with a really stark, rough metal zipper up the back.

This is one of my favorite shirt/jacket combinations to wear:

One of my ambitions for the future is to find a good looking leather skirt! And make sure I'm in good enough shape to pull it off, haha. I would definitely dip into my savings in order to get a wardrobe item like that.

New Bangs and New Purchases

I'm trying to grow my hair out as long as I can, but my bangs were starting to drive me crazy so I had to at least cut them. They still kind of shock me when I look in the mirror, but I'm getting used to them. They just seem so stark and kind of aggressive.

New bangs! And new plugs are peeking out from behind my hair. I got those jeweled ones (which are nice because they look like real earrings and I can now look socially acceptable with my 00 ears) and some zebra striped ones. They had wicked zombie plugs at Hot Topic but they were too flared for my stupid ear lobes to handle :( 

Other than Hot Topic, I got some stuff at Charlotte Russe (a corset and a cute lace tank top), and this dress at Express. I think I'll wear the dress to my staff Christmas party; I just got some wicked gold nail polish from China Glaze, and a black and gold outfit would be sweet for the party, I think.

Corset from Charlotte Russe

Thank god I can sew or I'd never be able to wear this top again. I wore it yesterday and the fact that it has no lining meant that I spent the day in agony. All the insides are serged and the metallic thread in the roses makes it super irritating on the skin. While I was wearing it, I thought "how can a business get away with selling something this poor quality, ie: unlined??" But then it hit me: because idiots like me will buy it. Silly consumer culture and its lowering of our standards... Blehhh.

First Day of School!

Being in Costume Studies makes me feel like I should represent my classmates well by dressing nicely. Not to mention, most of the people in it dress so nicely that I'd feel like a slob if I didn't, SO first day of school was a Must for a good outfit. Here's what I got together (eventually).

Slouchy off-white tank tucked into skinny jeans with a slight bit of high-waistedness, and a bandeau bra so I didn't feel like a skank

Lots of chunky, jangle-y bracelets, and my ever-present rings

My indie-cred glasses to top it off! I did a smokey eye (super basic) but you can't see it here :(

More Leather Love

Danier is one of my favorite stores to walk into at the mall. I loooove the smell of leather, not to mention all the gorgeous clothes in there! I've been wanting a new leather bomber jacket for a while (I've been wearing the same one since grade 8), so I hopped over to Micmac today. JACKPOT. I found an amazing one that was my favorite in the whole store, and it was on sale for the lowest price of all the jackets!!! Somebody up there likes me.

From Danier's website

I've always been against hoods on leather jackets, but I've come to terms with this one. It looks great when it's on, and I'm a sucker for big floppy hoods that can engulf your face. Plus, with the drawstrings on this one, you can scrunch up the hood so it looks like a giant collar instead.
I also bought some leather, fingerless gloves. The sales girl was too cute and too convincing, and the gloves are wicked cool.

Honest to Goodness Leather

I love leather. It's a wonderful material.
Up in Cape Breton on the Cabot Trail there's a perfect little shop run by a man and his wife. The wife works in the front and the man makes the most wonderful leather objects (the shop smells amazing because his workshop is in back! You can go right in and see him working). He's studied old-fashioned leatherwork and you can feel it in what he makes. It pleases me as a lover of leather, and as a student of historical costume making.

This is the beautiful purse and belt I bought from them. I wore them out to my birthday supper with my parents:


(Thanks to Rachel for catching that silly look on my face)

The bracelet I have on was a birthday gift from my roommate, who was with me on my birthday trip around the trail (it's from the same shop).

[[ps:: I forgot to mention how legit the man is!! Check out his picture on the homepage of their website]]

The Perfect Jeans

Many years ago I found the perfect pair of jeans. They slouched casually on my hips and hugged my thighs. It was a wonderful love affair.
But I was hard on them, and they grew holes, and then skinny jeans came and knocked all the bell bottoms out of my closet.I kept my favorite jeans though, remembering their wonderful fit. They languished in the rear of my closet for a while, then were rescued momentarily last summer and cut up to become my new favorite jean shorts! But I got lazy and never got around to hemming them (cut offs sadly weren't an option due to the upper thigh holes I had worn into them).

This Saturday I'm headed to a show by one of my favorite bands. Like any good kid who's into the local scene, I need to rep and obscure and/or broken up band with my shirt, but I had no idea what to were for bottoms! The show was supposed to be outside but the venue can't afford it anymore and now it's going to be in a small concrete cube, which I know gets sweaty as balls. Quite literally. Sweaty as sweat-dripping balls.Answer? JEAN SHORTTSSSS. They'll match my Risky Business shirt well, since I was forced to buy a kid's size at their last show and I need a pair of jeans that won't give me a horrendous muffin top, but will also hold out to me moshing my little heart out.

My new shorts, all hemmed and more wonderful than I remembered.
(Also a new bracelet! Blog post to come about my love for it.)

Ode to my Parka

It is August, you are not in my life
Thank god.
I think of you sometimes
I am seized by a flash of memory
- enveloping, fluffy
You are comfy.


Haha, I had a moment the other day where I was thinking about tattoos, and when I went to get mine. I remembered the awkward position I had to lay in, and then spent a good five minutes trying to figure out what I used as a pillow. As I remembered it was my winter jacket, I had a surge of nostalgia for wearing it. Am I the only one who secretly relishes the days cold enough to wear a zip-up duvet outside?
This isn't a wish for winter! DO NOT HURRY YOURSELF, SIR.
But at least there will be that comfy joy awaiting me in the endless runny noses and numb toes.

IMU-Things

I took yesterday off because I was super wiped after being called in to work all weekend. I made it a recoup day and spent it with Northern Belle. It ended up being a day of getting back to things I've missed - including her.
Here are the four main things I'm glad I had back in my life yesterday.


Pretty Make-up
Since ordering my Lime Crime make-up the other day (which I'm still eagerly checking my mailbox for), I realised how long it had been since I put any effort into doing my eyeshadow. Working full time means I wear no make-up during the week, and on the weekend I rarely did more than black, or a smokey eye at most. I missed my colourful lids! I missed my MAC and my Lime Crime.



Proper Sushi Dates
Since school ended, I haven't had proper sushi dates like I used to. Having our sewing studio on Spring Garden led to lots of quick sushi dashes when sewing became too stressful. Since then, I've been getting my fix by eating Sobeys sushi at work, but it's not even close to Hamatchi House, where we went yesterday and had wonderful sushi on real plates, instead of in plastic boxes.



The Beach!!!
I can't believe how long I went without going to the beach! It's just obscene. The walk yesterday was superb, even though I did leave my swim suit in the car (it was pretty windy). Being at the beach yesterday has got me super pumped for my coming camping trips, all of which revolve around beaches. Successful summer, here I come!









Last But Not Least:
Indulging My Inner Goth
As I said before, I can't seem to kill it. So yesterday when it nearly exploded with black joy at these shoes, I decided to appease it. And it brought me great happiness. Really, just look at them. Fantastic. I can't wait to wear them downtown this Saturday for my birthday =]

(Iron Fist - Wolfbeater Platform Heels)