Chanel’s Fall Trends, DIY Style

Checking out the latest and greatest from the Fall runways show has been my favorite pastimes as of late. I am finding fashion inspiration in so many places and Chanel’s Fall 2011 RTW is no exceptiong. The collection is mostly grays, blacks and whites in the form of textured jackets, blazers and sweaters. I am totally loving this part of the collection and decided to try and create something as a take on Chanel’s fall line.

I picked up some blazers at a Goodwill while visiting my Mother. I thought this one had a little something although I knew it was a fixer upper, not a wear outta the store kind of look. It’s most definitely 80’s and the first thing I did was take out the shoulder pads (I don’t need any more bulk on my shoulders than what is naturally there). There were a couple of stains and the colors were all wrong, for me anyways. It was too Miami Vice and not enough Lacy Chic.

Started with my ol’ stand by RIT dye in Black. I knew that I planned to use lace in the reconstructing process, so I threw that in the dye bath as well. I wanted to go for a jet black but one never knows how a dye bath will turn out especially with a multi-colored garment to begin with.

Well, the end result? Eh, not exactly the BLACK that I wanted it to be. The blazer turned out to be a more purpley gray, which is of no surprise since it started with pinks and blues. The lace turned out to be a little darker gray… and together, I thought they looked pretty cool… although at this point, I am still thinking about doing another dye bath.

My plan was to adorn/garnish/embellish the blazer with the lace and maybe add a bit of black cording that I have had lying around. I did some major pinning so that everything was in it’s place.  I knew that once I started sewing, I could pull things tight if need be.

After a couple of hours of hand sewing, I decided to take the Husqvarna out for a couple of reasons. #1 This was becoming majorly time consuming and #2 I knew I would get the accuracy I was looking for with the sewing machine. The edges were difficult but I knew that I was more than likey giving it another dye back, which would hopefully be forgiving of any tiny mistakes.

In the end, I did decide to give the old girl another dye bath. I really wanted to try and achieve as close as I could to the Chanel look I was going for… I did a decent job. The second dye bath really worked to get a dark black. While I thought about adding some sequins and extras, I decided to edit and move on with my life. I rolled up the sleeves (a tip of the hat to Miami Vice) and am ready to pahty.

I am totally wearing this to a show this weekend to see what some friends will think…. what do you think? Cool or Not worth the work?

Tommy Hilfiger Has Me Looking for Silky Prints

I am in the midst of processing all the sights and sounds of NYC (and of course the aching feet and somewhat distracting headache) so am obviously going to do individual re-caps on things I found interesting but I am here to report on thing right now… I am on the hunt for some deep burgundy/ navy/ gold silky prints. I have been seeing ads for Tommy Hilfiger’s Fall line and of course, seeing the Clarin girls clad in it at the TH show makes me crush even harder… I want find a silky print and make, in the very least, a button down top… and at the very most a button down and pair of flowy pants (this is at the.very.most. people).

photo credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images Entertainment

Blast from the Past, Friendship Bracelets

Honestly, I don’t know when friendship bracelets came back into style but seriously I don’t care… do you know why I don’t care? Because I have been secretly making friendship bracelets all these years waiting for the resurgence to arrive and now that it has, I am basking in the glow, knowing that I rock and rock hard. Obvi, I have been making the simple braided version with embroidery floss since I learned how to braid. The more difficult bracelets, well they take some practice (check out this nifty DIY tutorial from Honestly WTF) and you don’t always want to give your friends the fugly bracelets you make. Whether you call them friendship bracelets or buddy bands, they are back!

 Friendship Bracelets #1, Friendship Bracelets #2, Friendship Bracelets #3, Friendship Bracelets #4

Want to know something that you probably didn’t know or want to know about friendship bracelets? “The knotcraft and hand weaving used to create traditional patterns stems from Native American handcrafts, particularly from Central American tradition. According to indigenous tradition, the recipient of a friendship bracelet must wear it until the cords wear out and fall off naturally. (I have actually done this!) The idea is that the friend paid for it with the hard work and love that made it, and the recipient repays the friend by honoring the work. Removing the bracelet before it naturally falls off is a sign that the friendship has gone sour (what if I accidentally lost it because I have unnaturally thin wrists?). Another variation of this tradition is that the recipient of a bracelet is entitled to a wish. After the bracelet wears out and falls off naturally, the wish will come true (I wish I had wished I wouldn’t lose my friendship bracelet).” (Thank you, Wikipedia)

 

Anyways, I am thinking of setting up camp and busting out some new bracelets.Who wants in on a crafting party where we make bracelets, watch Are You Afraid of the Dark? and eat Pizza Rolls?