Mad Men Inspired DIY Dress

One of my favorite shows as of late is Mad Men.  I joined this bandwagon a little late and am now in the middle of season 4.  Their style is so beautiful and every episode is filled with fashion eye candy.  I love the feminine shapes, cinched waists, and modest flared skirts.

I know it's a little early for something so spring-like but I am aching for warmer weather and all the magazines are now covering spring looks.  Call me impressionable, but it made me instantly crave florals.  This dress was supposed to be a halter but I prefer more of a full-coverage style (esp. since I want to wear this to work) so I mimicked the front for the back as well.  It also features a wide waistband and a full, below-the-knee length skirt.

What do you think?  Do you get a Mad Men vibe?

Floral Dress: DIY

Necklace: DIY Triple Strand Pearls, available here

Shoes: Gucci Embossed d'Orsay Pump, Camel

DIY "Lace" Skirt + OOTD

I actually made this skirt a while ago but never posted pics of it (so note the longer hem length LOL).  This was during the early days of the H&M lace skirt making its way through the blogger community - see it here on:

• Ping of All About Fashion Stuff, 
• Elle of Fast Food and Fast Fashion, 
• Elaine of Curls and Pearls, 
• Liane of PetiteXXS, 
• Annie of Really Petite, 
• Kileen of Cute and Little, 
• Vicky of Vicky's Daily Fashion, 
• and Kelly of Alterations Needed (am I missing someone?  Just comment below and I'll link you). 

I really loved how it looked on all of the above ladies but I was feeling rather cheap about actually going out and purchasing it.  On my regular craft stores round, I found a mock lace fabric at Joann's and decided to make a lace-esque pencil skirt.  The fabric is actually a black lace print with a cream background.

Top:  Eyelash Ruffled Satin Tank, XS

Cardigan:  LOFT, Black, XS

Necklace: F21 - I really love their dramatic and super inexpensive necklaces!

Skirt: DIY Mock Lace Pencil Skirt

Shoes:  Ann Taylor, Perfect Suede Pumps, Granite

Here's a close-up of the mock lace fabric:

What do you think about the mock lace?  A do or a don't?

Sweater to Cardigan Refashion Tutorial

Ha!  I just found an old post that I never published - so here we go, it's a little outdated but that's OK :)

I admit it - I sometimes stalk hubby's side of the closet for items that shrank in the washer.  Sometimes I cut them up for embellishments and sometimes I turn it into other garments.  This one was a red Banana Republic v-neck sweater that fell victim to the washer.  Even shrunken, it was still big on me, so this tutorial will go over slimming a sweater and turning it into a cardigan.

See tutorial after the jump...

Sewing Challenge: Paisley Sheath Dress

Ever since I saw Jean of Extra Petite in this J. Crew Paisley Dress, I've wanted my own version of a paisley sheath.  This one utilizes a gold/black paisley print brocade from Joann's and Butterick pattern B5314 - B.  You can't tell in the photo but I actually raised the hemline a teeny, tiny bit from my below the knee standard.  It is now mid-knee LOL.  Baby steps!

Dress: DIY

Obi Belt: The Limited (old)

Necklace: Gold Chain, Banana Republic (old)

Shoes: Gucci Embossed d'Orsay Pump, Camel

Now time for the question of the day - what is the best way to winterize this look?  What color cardi / tights / shoes?  Basic blacks or something different?

A close-up to show the gold/black paisley print

 

My new dress form is here!

On the left, we have my old dress form (rigid) and on the right is my new one (pinnable).

I love my new dress form so much!  She has much more realistic proportions (the old one is so Barbie!) with a longer torso like me, has a more stable base, can be shortened to my height (the height here is 5'2" but I've since raised her 2" to reflect me + heels), has a prettier neck block, and is pinnable.  I am so excited to try draping on her!

Night Sky: A Pearl Necklace DIY

Quickie posting - just wanted to drop in and show you my most recent necklace DIY.  This one features charcoal graduated glass pearls, navy satin ribbon, and some silver beads.  The total effect reminds me of the night sky even though that probably sounds a bit cheesy :)

A closer look:

You can see that I'm still on a pearl kick :)  What do you think?  Does it need more of something or less of something?

A Cardigan Makeover, Resolutions and Wish List

Happy New Year!  May 2011 bring happiness and many blessings to everyone!

You may remember that I purchased a raspberry cardigan from Ann Taylor the other day.  It was a final sale item ($12!) that I wasn't particularly in love with but knew it would be perfect for a DIY idea I had.  I had originally planned on adding chiffon cascading flowers but the color I had didn't match so I used this knit instead.  What do you think?

 Before and After

And what it looks like on.  Sorry about the lighting - it's really not this dark in color.

The necklace is a DIY with freshwater pearls to represent the members of my family.  One pearl each for hubby, me, and my dear son.  :)

Can't have a New Year posting without resolutions and wish list items!

Resolutions:

1. Spend more quality time with the family DOING something.  We have a tendency to be a relax in front of TV type of family and I'd really like us to bond over more activity type items.
2. Be more deliberate in my shopping.  Items purchased should either be super deals or something I REALLY want.  No more lukewarm purchases!
3. More DIY!  Elevate skills from novice to intermediate.
4. Related to #3, create a garment from draping rather than a pattern.  Just bought a new pinnable dress form to try this and am super excited for its arrival.
5. Shop in my own closet and try different combinations for new outfits.

Wish List:

Cole Haan Pumps, black

Tall brown boots with a 2"+ heel - these are Frye Sarah boots but I don't need this particular pair

Long black leather gloves, I want it to be long enough to cover 1/2 my forearm - is there a name for this?

Double wrap belt, black

Urban Decay Naked palette, come on Sephora.com and restock!  I'm a huge eyeshadow novice (as in I don't wear any except a nude for base) but I've heard so many good things about this that I really want to try it.

Any resolutions or wish list items for the new year?