Inspiration: 1940s Bathing Suits

This Vogue cover has got me thinking about the wonderful silhouettes of 1940s bathing suits... I love the elegance and color pallets of the pieces. Could you just imagine taking one of these as inspiration and translating it to the runway? I can! Scroll and enjoy.

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DIY Inspiration: Derek Lam FW 2013-2014 Capes

The Derek Lam FW 2013-2014 collection that just showed at New York Fashion Week featured a few interesting capes. They seemed more updated and modern with their square necklines and clean seam lines. I am especially fond of the short black cape. It really adds an element of clean to the whole look. Of course I am quite liking the texture as well. Here are some great patterns to get you started on this (so far) micro-trend: BurdaStyle, for those who do not mind adding seam allowance, and Simplicity. I have gone and gotten a bit more detailed shots of the images to help with any details you want to replicate, enjoy!

For more great details and the rundown on the collection check out style.com. Also be sure to get a glimpse backstage over at Fashion I Sing... the DIY sewing possibilities are endless for this collection and there really is no better time to start planning your fall DIY wardrobe than before spring hits!

Which cape is your favorite?

DIY Inspiration: Louis Vuitton SS 2013

I'm really getting back into sewing now that I've been grounded in one location long enough to even buy fabric! It's amazing and frustrating to start sewing again. It's a lot like riding a biek or skiing... you remember how... there is still the phase where you're boosting your confidence enough to really go for it. After being at work all day and being around so many different designs/fashion related things my mind goes crazy on the long commute home thinking up designs and DIY ideas... so many that I really can't keep track of them all and most certainly wont have time to do all of them.

I think I'm finally ready to take my training wheels off and start getting into some more complicated designs and DIY. Here is my latest inspiration!

The pattern I'm looking to use is Vogue Pattern V8804. Since I won't be able to match the fabric, I'm thinking of altering the pattern to create my own seam lines where the big checks would be. Instead of creating button holes, I'd cover snaps to create the same sort of effect as the runway piece. The unfortunate thing is that I couldn't find the pattern at my local fabric store... so I picked up a different pattern and have totally be distracted. I can't wait to do this DIY. It just means I will have to get churning on my current project!

Remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to see what projects I'm up to!

Sequins + Feathers

Florals + Curvy Color Blocking

Floral + Bright Prints

Sequin cardigan and floral top from Zara 2012
Ming Xi in (HK) Glass Magazine 2012 editorial
Floral dress from the streets of Paris

Color Blocking + Asian Inspiration

Outfit from Zara 2012
Ming Xi in (HK) Glass Magazine 2012 editorial

Clean + Floral

Jumpsuit from Zara 2012
Ming Xi in (HK) Glass Magazine 2012 editorial

Inspiration: Baroque Leopard + Bon Magazine

Inspiration: Vogue China + Tavi

Vogue China: Oriental Tales editorial

Inspiration: Interview Magazine Samurai + Katsuya Kamo

Inspiration: Interview Magazine Samurai + Chloe Nørgaard

Interview Magazine: Photographer - Fabien Baron, Model – Meghan Collison
Rainbow haired Chloe Nørgaard

Inspiration: Katsuya Kamo + Bon Magazine

Photography for Bon Magazine by Julia Hetta.

I will be posting a series of inspiration boards/sheets in the next coming days. They are just snips of things I've been finding inspiring lately. Enjoy.

Trend: Clean Collar Coat

I was flipping through some Fall 2012 collections this weekend and had to make my usual stops at Jil Sander and Balenciaga: two of my favorite designers. You can imagine my shock when I looked at the first two opening outfits for each show and saw the same coat staring back at me in different fabric. Jil Sander and Balenciaga are overlapping!? What is happening in this world??

I think I've found one of my new DIY projects...

... if I can get off my lazy butt and complete all the other DIYs I have in my head first.

Blaze Inspired

I was on the hunt for some fun patterns to get inspired by. I love torturing myself by having to add seam allowance to every pattern... ever... so I decided to start at Burda Style. Actually, the reality is that they have the most current styles because they release patterns monthly. I'm in love with Burda Style and once-upon-a-time subscribed to the magazine. This process lead me to Style.com and the whole thing spiraled out of control. It's almost like I've been time warped to last year when I would just sit around, get inspired, sew, and blog about it! Oh yeah, and do school work. The crazy thing is that was OVER a year ago. I can't believe it and frankly don't want to think about it. Here are the small bits and pieces of my mind that I took the time to put down. Yes, it's a fraction of the garbage that is floating around up in there. ;)

I can't wait to get started! I'm sure anything I produce will be nothing like what I posted as inspiration. Haha, so typical.

Forgotten Suburbia Part 4

The day I took this photo it was gorgeous out. This photo makes the day seem kind of sad to me. I'm not sure why...

Forgotten Suburbia Part 3

Back in January I published a couple of posts under "Forgotten Suburbia". Why forgotten suburbia? You know when you go to a new place and your senses go wild-- it's like they're on steroids and even the smallest details get magnified to the grandest proportions. When we're in an environment for too long we lose touch with the little pieces of our surroundings that we used to find magical. So, when I returned back to the suburbs that I had once found so familiar for the first time in months, I got my detailed eye back. Thus I discovered my forgotten suburbia.

Go out and look around a little. You might just discover something that you had long forgotten about.

Iconic

Yves Saint Laurent Homme F/W 2001: Such an iconic show and so relevant to today! I would wear it all.

What's Inside?

I joke that I don't actually live in Charlotte and that I just have a space to put my stuff. It's a funny feeling only spending at most three nights in an apartment you pay for and call home. It's especially strange when you feel at home in your hotel room and the only thing it really lacks is all your stuff. What is all that stuff for anyway if I can seemingly live without it more than 50% of my week? I'm still trying to figure that out!

You might be curious to see what is lying around an apartment that is never lived in, so here is a sneak peak into what my pad looks like... sort of.

 

The first photo is of some really delicious blood oranges in an awesome wire basket I procured at a local store called City Supply. I love it, and it was super affordable. :) Next, the super quick pig painting that I will never finish. I have this strange obsession with painting pigs after seeing a pig slaughter (wait, don't close the page yet, I promise I'm not serial!!) and learning how people in other countries use it as a social event. They make it an all day affair with lots of drinking and partying-- oh, and they use all of the pig. The third photo is of a very exhausted me. The real deal in the photo is the cowhide rug. I love my cowhide rug. Last is some scrap leather that I purchased over the weekend. I can't wait to have a weekend to work with it; alas, I will be in New York and not Charlotte for the next few weekends.

I'll leave you with that and probably the fear that I'm some twisted (pig slaughter obsessed) being... I swear I'm not!!!

Black & White is Timeless

Why is black and white so timeless in photos? It can be almost an subject that that camera captures, it doesn't matter, time stands still without color, without movement. It's so powerful.

Some photos are from Vogue, some photos are of lost Alaskan ski resorts from the mid 20th century.