Change of Weather Means Time to Clean

I don't know what it is but whenever the weather changes from either cold to hot or hot to cold, it feels like it's time to clean and organize to get ready for the coming seasons.  Temperatures have been dropping and leaves are changing color so I think it's time to go back to closet and wardrobe organization.  I'm going to be reaching for sweaters and long dresses rather than light blouses and short skirts.  It should be easy to find the things that I will want to wear.

And this is always a good time to get rid of clothes that aren't getting worn and probably won't show much show time in the future.  It can however be difficult to part with clothes, no matter how insignificant they are.  We, especially women, have a hard time parting with clothing.  Maybe it's because of memories of how we look in it, something that happened when we were wearing it, we love the color.  There are thousands of reasons that we trick ourselves into keeping things that we honestly aren't wearing and probably won't again.  We feel like if we toss out clothes from a certain decade or time that maybe we're losing a small part of who we are but really we're just hanging on to baggage.  We all do it.  I know I do.

In scouring the internet for suggestions on how to better deal with the closet clean up, there are several sites with recommendations, tips, tricks, etc.  Don't over complicate things, keep it simple and find what works for you.

This flow chart from Edge Magazine is a good, easy starting point to wardrobe editing.



If you were to follow this chart honestly, you should be able to make significant progress in cleaning your closet.  I think this will be my project for the weekend.

Good luck to anyone else that is going to do the same thing!

ASOS Anyone?

I am always looking for new, interesting fashion sites but it's often hard to know what sites are legitimate, and which ones are just looking to take your money, especially with so many sites being from over seas.  Every so often I like to test the waters and test my luck with a new site that seems somewhat questionable.

So, I recently ordered from ASOS (http://us.asos.com/?hrd=1).  I wan't too sure what to expect.  You can buy new or gently used clothes from the site.

I ordered this dress for around $22 from the site:

I was pleasantly surprised with the service and the quality of the garment when it arrived.  It delivered to me quickly.  The fabric wasn't super cheap like I was worried it could be given the price.

I haven't ordered anything from then since, but they are now in my approved stores list and they always have cute clothes at great prices.  I think they are definitely worth checking out.

Now I need a date night so I can wear this gorgeous, sexy dress out!

Project Tuesday

I decided several months ago that I wanted to recreate some of the things that I find on Pinterest and love but either can't afford, or are old seasons so can't find to buy anywhere.  I even bought fabric to start on some of the projects (back in April).  I finally got started on one of them.

I have been in love with the Boston Proper shirt since I first saw it on Pinterest:

Unfortunately, it must be an old season shirt because I couldn't find it anywhere on their site.  But I've been mildly obsessed with this shirt.  So, I decided I would make my own.

Finding a similar fabric was the hardest part of this project.  I love the cut out patterns and embroidery on this one.  I looked everywhere and even looked at curtains and table clothes (channeling Gone With The Wind), but still couldn't find anything that I loved.  I did eventually find an eyelet that I thought would work.

So, I pulled out my sewing and pattern making supplies and went to town making a pattern:

My favorite tool in the world!  My iron.  j/k BTW.  I've had this iron for two years and have only used it once for a craft project.  I hate ironing clothes, but an iron is essential when sewing.  It's so important to press seams as you go.

Drafting my pattern.  I forgot how much I really do enjoy pattern making.  I wanted to just make patterns all night long.

Fabric all cut out and ready to sew.  At this point in time though, I didn't have any white thread so things got put on hold until I went and bought some.

Then last night I got it all sewn together.  Unfortunately, I don't love the end result, so I have it on my dress form and am working on figuring out how to change it so I like it better.  I added a ribbon at the bust and I do like that but overall I'm not in love with the shirt.  I think I'm going to cut out some of the circles (that you can't really see in the pictures) in the eyelet pattern and see if that helps any.  But I think the big problem is the fabric choice.  The eyelet doesn't drape and is more stiff than the Boston Proper shirt.  I'll keep playing with it though and see what I can do to make it better.

I Love Me Some Trashy Diva

Trashy Diva is a brand that I discovered a few years ago and I love them!  They are retro inspired designs and their dresses are so fun and you don't have to be a Rockabilly to wear them.

The brand started in the 90s and at that time they were selling vintage finds (thus the "Trashy" in their name).  As time went on though, the brand broke away from that and began producing original designs.  One of the things that I love about Trashy Diva is that their dresses are all made of quality fabrics, ie. silks, rayons, etc.  and they are pretty reasonably priced for being boutique type clothing.  Most dresses costing in the low hundreds, or on sale for as low as about $40.

Their site offers clothing, undergarments, handbags, shoes, jewelry, etc.  But it is definitely the dresses that I look for when I visit.

Check out their dresses and you'll see why:

Trashy Diva Orlando Mini Dress.  Cotton Voile.  $159

Also available in a more dressy/sexy version.  Rayon/Acetate.  $163

I love their Courtney Coat Dress.  I've tried one on before and should've bought it then but didn't.  Very fun and flattering.  Cotton blend Satin.  $181

If you love Mad Men, you will love this dress.  I know that I do!  I love the peacock feather details.  Katherine Dress.  Heavy Weight Rayon.  $172

This Streetcar Dress is so cute in plaid and with the neck bow.  Light-Weight Cotton.  $165

***This dress is making me slightly crazy because it very strongly reminds me of a female fashion designer from the 1950s whose designs were inspired off of menswear.  She used mens shirting fabrics for dresses and rompers.  For the life of me I can't remember her name.  I've been "Googling" for half an hour and am not any closer to figuring out her name.  She was fantastic so I wish I could share more about her but I can't remember enough right now to share.  Anyone have a clue about who I'm thinking of?  I'll have to do some research and share about her at a later date.***

This is the last one I'll share today.  I think this dress is sexy and classic all at the same time.  Honey Dress.  Lightweight Cotton Stretch Poplin.  $108

Anyway, if you love vintage, or at least vintage inspired, you should check out Trashy Diva (www.TrashyDiva.com).  Their clothes are a modern take on 1940-60s fashion and the result is timeless, affordable, clothing.  I am a fan!

A Ted Baker Kind of Day

I've been slacking at posting the last week.  It's been record heat and that has sucked the motivation out of me.  I have lots of blogs in the works, in my head at least, but haven't gotten them all ironed out to perfection yet.  So, while sitting here, drained of energy and motivation, Ted Baker popped into my head and seemed like something worth talking about today.

When I go to Las Vegas, I love to go check out the Ted Baker shops.  The designs are very feminine, classic, and are the essence of English fashion.  I love pretty much everything I've seen of Ted Baker.  My only complaint with the clothes are that they are not of necessarily the nicest fabrics....  That doesn't mean they are cheap fabrics by any means, but if I am going to pay hundreds of dollars for a dress, I hope it is silk, rayon, wool, something along those lines, but Baker seems to use a lot of polyesters.  Polyester, when you break it down and think about it, really isn't that bad.  Care is generally easier.  The quality of polyester has improved significantly over the years and can be made to feel like silk or other natural fibers, but for some reason, I have a mental block about it and have a really hard time justifying paying the cost when the fabric is polyester.  Is that weird?  Anyone else have that?  And not all of his clothes are polyester.  It just seems that what I pick out when I am at his stores is.

One day I think I will break down and actually buy some Ted Baker clothes though because I think the designs are so fresh and fun.

What are some of his designs that I'm currently loving?

This floral embroidered dress.  Currently on sale for $367, down from $525.  I think this is a very sweet dress.  It would be great for weddings you might have to go to, dates, summer parties, etc.  Silk.  See embroidery pattern below:

As a general rule, I hate jumpsuits.  I don't think they are flattering.  I think maybe 2% of the population can pull them off, and that percentage is not usually the percentage that you see wearing them.  That being said, I think this is a cute jumpsuit, or playsuit as they are refering to this.  I think I like it because it doesn't look like a jumpsuit.  It looks like shorts and a top.  This is the Jordann dancing leaves print playsuit on sale for $173, down from $248.  Polyester.

This Tallar swoop neck dress.  Retro, classic, flirty.  On sale for $332, down from $475.  Silk :)

Liano Dancing Leaves dress.  $192 down from $275.  Polyester.  I think this is very cute, youthful, and looks like so much fun to wear.

So my picks for today didn't back up my polyester rant from above.  I totally failed there, well halfway anyway.  Oh well.  You should check out Ted Baker at www.TedBaker-London.com.

They have a sale going on now:

I also started a Facebook page where I post daily sales that I know about.  And some days, I post what I am wearing.  Picture quality is typical Myspace pictures usually, but it lets you see what my style is and what I wear.

Arts Festival and Accessories

Over the weekend I went to the Utah Arts Festival with my mom.  There were a lot of cool booths and I got inspiration of things to share with you.

I love when people have an idea, and can execute it well.  I love crafted, handmade, things, IF they are well made and don't look cheap or hand made.  Does that make sense?  If you are going to craft things and sell them, the quality should be good enough that others won't know that it's hand made.  No offense to kindergardners and their cute craft projects, but when I buy something, I don't want it to resemble those...

What are things that I loved from the festival?

The first booth that we went to was Mistura Designs (www.Mistura.com).

Eco watches.  Made of wood, leather, plant matter, recycled materials, etc.  These were very well crafted and very cool!  I would have loved to have bought one but they aren't exactly cheap (I believe they said they run from about $140 - $250) and I am broke.  They are very cool though.  The clasps and faces of the watches (except for the recycled ones) are carved wood. The watches are light, durable, and very comfortable.  You can see the different styles below.

Next on the list (and the list doesn't necessarily mean order of what I thought was best.  Just a list at random), You Got Mojo (www.yougotmojo.bigcartel.com).

They make jewelry out of metal from cars.  Above are necklaces and below are rings.  They also do mens accessories, bracelets, earrings, etc.  They are delicate and have a southwestern/modernness to them that is pretty cool.

Next up is Fat Cat Jewelry Studio (www.FatCatJewelryStudio.com).  Similar to the above, they make re-purposed jewelry but instead of from cars, their metal comes from vintage tins.  They had some cool things.  I was especially drawn to their bracelets.

This picture is one I took at the festival.  I love the bracelets.  I wish I had shown all of the one on the left.  It's a logo and I can't remember what it was for exactly.  Lemon Heads, Lemon cookies...., IDK, something.  I checked out their website and I don't feel like it was necessarliy the best website out there, which isn't bad but if I were going to buy from them, I would go to their Etsy store rather than their website to do so.  You can find that at: www.etsy.com/shop/fatcatjewelrystudio.  They had a cute business card too.  I'm loving it.  It's about 2" square (shown with another for size comparison):

Next is Bykali (www.bykali.etsy.com).  Up-cycled, unique belts and jewelry.  I believe I've seen these guys at the festival in past years and have always been impressed by their work.  Very creative and original and the quality seems to be great so that's even better.  Below is a picture of a belt and belt buckle that they sell. You can see that it's washers and nails.  Very fun.  Doesn't look how you wold expect if you were to just explain these to someone.

And the last one from the festival that I'm going to tell you about is, Octavia Bloom (www.octaviabloom.etsy.com).  Handmade jewelry.  Mostly bead-works from what I saw.  I am not normally too impressed with bead jewelry as most of what you find at craft fairs and things like that are not great quality and seem pretty elementary.  However, I did like these designs quite a bit.  They are delicate, simple, and have a soft, feminine feel.

I believe in supporting local artisans, craftspeople, small businesses, etc.  You can find more unique, one of a kind pieces when you shop that way.  Plus, it's just nice to support people that are trying to make it doing something they love.  I wish I had enough focus to come up with a plan for something like that.  My problem is that I have to broad of a range of interests so I can't seem to pick just one thing and stick with it.  Maybe one day....

One last thing before I call it a day on here:

There's a craft blog that I sometimes like to read called Stars for Streetlights.  You can read it at: www.StarsForStreetlights.com.  Some of her projects are really cool and some others I'm not very crazy about but I think that is just the nature of crafting in general.  Anyway, she posted Friday about something she's partnering with a start up craft company for.  It's for a magazine purse kit, see below (picture stolen from her blog):

I think that these are actually pretty cool.  You can buy the kit at: http://www.darbysmart.com/projects/magazine-clutch for $29, which I feel is pretty reasonable for the kit.  The kit comes with the current Vogue magazine.  I'm not in love with the cover so that doesn't excite me too much but it would be cool to do with a different cover.... not sure what exactly but I'm sure you could find something cool that matches your personality (and she talks about that on the site).  The site says that there are only 164 kits available left, so if you want one, you might need to jump on it.

That's it for today.  Support small businesses, crafters, local stores, etc. :)

Cleaning Out My Closets

So, my big theme for this year is to get organized.  I don't consider myself super messy but there is definitely room for improvement.  I haven't gotten my house organized as quickly as I intended but I've really been working on figuring out solutions and hope that in the next month or so, things will be clean and organized and beautiful at all times.  Part of my problem with de-cluttering and getting organized is that I have a small house with literally no storage.  I have a little linen closet with 3 drawers under it, and closets in the bedroom but that's it.  So, I have no room for food storage, camping gear, holiday stuff, etc.  But I've been buying cabinets to stick places so that will all change.  But all of that is irrelevant to this post, so pardon my rant.  What I am going to talk about is cleaning out my closet and sorting through clothes.  Super fun project!!

I wish my closet was organized and looked something like this:

(or even better - in my fantasies - something more like this:)

or:

But in reality, it is something more like this:

I was going to take before and after pictures of my actual closet but I didn't and am not currently at home so maybe another day.

The initial sweep through of my clothes was a piece of cake.  I just went through my wardrobe and pulled out the pieces I didn't wear anymore, knew I wouldn't wear, was too small, too big, etc.  I ended up with a decent sized pile, not as big as it probably should have been but still a decent sized pile.  Half of it I took to work for a girl that is smaller than me and could fit into my clothes that I've shrank in the wash or have grown out of, and the other half is in a pile for good will.

Now, there are other pieces that I wasn't so sure about.  I don't know why it is that we, or at least I, get attached to articles of clothing, but it happens.  So, I've decided that I am going to wear every item in my closet (season appropriate anyway) and if I am not excited about it, don't love it, it doesn't fit, etc, it's going out the door.  I'm only a couple days into it and have already gotten rid of a couple items of clothes so I think it's going to work.  And then I'll have to repeat the process in the winter to take care of the other half of my wardrobe that I'm not sure about.

I think this is a good challenge for anyone out there that reads this, take a week and clean out your closet, dresser, etc.  It helps to not feel cluttered, it's easier to find the pieces you actually do like and want to wear, and maybe you'll end up with enough space that you can buy more clothes ;)

Talk About Timing!

It was totally a fluke that I posted about Betsey Johnson last week.  Yes, she has her new show so that was relevant.  But man, her publicist must be working overtime.

Betsey was a host on this years Miss USA pageant that aired on Sunday.  I am not a big fan of beauty pageants with their big hair, sequins, and suspicious lack of brain cells (I know, that was mean and a major stereotype but have you heard these girls answer some of the questions they are asked?  Wow!).  But, I of course had to check out at least part of it to see the gown, see Betsey, and really that's pretty much it.

There were a lot of really stunning dresses this year.  And I was surprised by how short cocktail dresses were in trend this year rather than just the traditional ball gowns (at least when you are originally introduced to the girls).

I didn't watch the whole show but my favorite dress of the night that I did see was the dress Miss Texas wore at the beginning of the show:

This is the best picture I can find of it and it doesn't show off the whole thing.  I'm very disappointed that I couldn't find something better.  It was gorgeous.

I had to stop watching after the swimwear competition.  I just wanted to feed the girls crackers.  I'm pretty lean myself but a lot of those girls are way too thin.  Not hot.

If you want to watch the show yourself, you can check it out below:

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But back to Betsey....  I was checking out Groupon Goods last night and look what I found:

On Groupon for $28.99.  Can be bought here: http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-betsey-johnson-too-too-eau-de-parfum-spray

I considered buying it just because I love how punk rock the bottle is, but I don't wear perfume and I'm broke right now so I don't need to be spending money on things I won't use.

What else can I tell you about today....?

Piperlime is having their twice yearly sale.  That is worth checking out for sure!  www.PiperLime.com

Fathers Day & Bow Ties

So, it's Fathers Day.  If you are like me, you have a hard time figuring out what to get the dad that has everything.  I was racking my brain for weeks trying to figure out what to get, and what I could afford to get my dad.  Luckily, about a week before, my mom gave me the great idea to make my dad bow ties.  This seemed very manageable.

So, I pulled out my vintage Bernina (that I got at the DI for $15, complete with sewing table - not pictured).

Went to the fabric store and got WAY more fabric than I had intended but I was thrilled with all the fun prints they had in and couldn't decide.  This is after narrowing down the selection significantly.

And I went to town cutting, sewing, flipping, pressing, etc.

Almost done!  Pinning and pressing and hand sewing the flip hole shut.

Two of the finished products!

I was hoping to tie them up so they would be cute bows when I gave them to him but I apparently can't figure out how to tie a bow tie!  Luckily for me, there are sites such as the Social Primer (www.SocialPrimer.com - It's an interesting site, men especially should check it out.  It's like the guys version of Miss Manners)  that can educate people like me on how to tie a bow tie:

Now for some pictures of men in bow ties :)

Chuck from Gossip Girl.

Jay-Z.

Will Smith

Brad Pitt.

See, you just can't go wrong with a bow tie :)

Betsey Johnson

So, as I've said before, I am not super familiar with different designers and as a general rule, I can't tell you who designed what but there are a few exceptions to that rule.  Betsey Johnson is one of those exceptions and that may be just because of how unique, edgy, and rock and roll she is.  She is eccentric and is herself through and through.  I love that about her.  I love that in such a "serious" industry, she isn't afraid to be who she is.  She does cart wheels and splits down the runway at her fashion shows.  I don't know of any other designers that could get away with that.  I LOVE that about her.

Betsey Johnson isn't afraid of color, or print and while her designs aren't quite as edgy as she is (who else wears a tutu over boyfriend jeans and gets away with it?), they are edgy and classic in a sense not many could get away with.

Check out this lace inset dress on her website (www.BetseyJohnson.com)

It's a classic, fitted, sheath dress, but the turquoise in contrast with the black lace, really gives it a unique, young look to it.

This dress is super simple in the front with just a little ribbon and ruffle around the bottom, but then in the back, there's the heart cut out.  I think that is very fun and flirty.  Love it!  And honestly, who doesn't love polka dots?

Betsey also has fun jewelry, handbags, intimates, shoes, etc.  Definitely worth checking out her stuff from her site or at Nordstroms (it's the only place locally that I know of to get her things in SLC).  I've gotten cute earrings of hers at Nordstrom Rack and I love them.

Betsey has tons of personality.  Check out how awesome her perfume bottles are:

That's very punk rock.  I love it!  I haven't smelled it so I don't know how it smells but the bottle is awesome!

What else is awesome about Betsey?  She has a new reality show on the Style Network.  It started last month and is called XOX Betsey.  It's about life with her daughter Lulu, work, etc.  I don't have TV service so I have been watching online but so far I am really enjoying.  I just love that she is who she is (I know I said that already).

She has a couple of offers on her site right now:

• Free shipping on orders over $100 with keyword "LOVEBETSEY"
• Spend $125, get 20% off with keyword "BOLD20"

Check out her Spring/Summer 2013 runway show collection below:

Even her shows are rock and roll.  Her models are skipping, dancing, throwing things to the crowds.  So different from the usual predictable walk/stomp, straight faced models shows that you usually see.  Be warned that toward the end there are swim/underwear models, so young eyes may not want to watch as there are some scantily clad women.