Nadine 2.0

No-when?-mber

2011-11-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

Honestly, every time I cracked open the Mac in the past few weeks, I have wanted to take pause and blaaahg away about something on my mind. But life gets crazy. I know that we, the warm bodies of the world, have all gone through a time like this!

Without getting into too much uninteresting detail, I will simple say that work, health, Board of Director duties, and family and friends have all been meaningfully attended to. I'm caught up, un-cancered, newly appointed, loved ones are de-pneumonia'd, and I'm still Zen-ing from a fantastic wellness retreat (albeit a little flakey at times) with my close girlfriends a few weeks ago. Ohmmm. Life is great. Tibetan singing bowls, mmm, I may need to experience that again to get a better opinion.

If any long-lasting effects remain, it will likely be the fact that I have DITCHED COFFEE. Nuts, right? What am I thinking?!? The last time I went longer than 2 weeks without an IV of caffeine to my system (I wished!), was with our 2nd child. Yep. Tea it is...caffeinated of course. BABY STEPS, PEOPLE!

H and M ... we have a store here now. Our daughter is over the moon. She pulls off the Librarian Chic look very well and loves to combine pieces that she thinks no one else would. I hope she always has that fashion attitude.

Charlize Theron, speaking of beautiful blondes, covers the VOGUE for December 2011. She would be in the top 5 best-dressed, gorgeous women for me. The spread is shot in Pennsylvania, illustrating that a locale need not be exotic to allow pieces from designers: Alexander McQueen, Marchesa, and Christoper Kane to shine.

Here's a Runway to Realway from the shoot:

MARCHESA Spring RTW

And here's Charlize, sopping wet

in a waterfall...in Pennsylvania.

Aaaand, she pulls it off.

Gotta Go! Enjoy your week!

Eye-Catching Alberta F.

2011-10-26T10:40:00.000-04:00

Another soggy October day here. The wind and rain have managed to knock off all the gorgeous fall leaves and the cold weather is creeping in. Yuck.

More reason to gawk, ooh, and ahhh over the wonderful colours and beautiful pieces from the RTW shows for spring I say!

I don't often wear dresses. I rarely have occasion to and yes, I am always looking for reasons to change that. I'm on a mission to set things right when the warmer weather comes again. I WILL wear dresses downtown, to the grocery store, to see movie, to meet my mom for a chai latte, to a friends for wine and to school functions....because whenever I see someone in a dress at occasions like this, I always think: "Wow, she looks great." I never question, "Now, why would she be wearing a dress?".

I am always looking at dresses (irregardless of what I feel I lack in my own wardrobe) as the costume director for the dance school here, and when I saw what Alberta Ferretti had done with the simple tank dress silhouette, I was captivated. The ways in which she layered texture and appliques is stunning...and she achieved this while still keeping the dresses wearable, classic, and uber-feminine.

Here are 8 of my favourites....

It was in the 1920's when women realized that they could get their game on by showing some more leg, going sleeveless, and draw attention to their décolletage with various necklines as one type of cut didn't have to suit all. We can thank the "Flapper" for moving "The Dress" forward by leaps and bounds in fashion history. Ladies in the 20's were all about individuality.

This ad above is for Lanvin from the 20's.

Gotta Go...gotta sew.

(photos courtesy of style.com)

Bumblebees

2011-10-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

At first it was sorta cute...a lone bumblebee had found it's way trapped in beside a bolt of tulle in my sewing office the last week of August. I showed the children, we caught him/her and gently let him free out our front door. Sweet. I've never been freaked out over bugs. Especially fuzzy, slow-flying, rarely-biting ones. As fall was approaching, I chalked it up to a rebel bee without a care in the world, or he had been transported with some picnic things or camp gear into a strange land called a human home.

Then there was another one, and then another. It became clear that they were coming from my office through a heating vent or was it just outside the window where their nest was? Not sure, but time after time, I would be sewing and hear the telltale distressed buzzing at the back of my neck. Another one had gotten into one of my lamps and been mesmerized by the spotlight bulb, then another one was playing in my notion drawers. Reaching for more serge thread, I was surprised by one bumblebee sleeping inside the spool tucked away on the shelf.

Can't you, like me, just picture a cartoon illustration of this scene?? Awwww.

About 20 bumblebees later, and I have HAD IT! We've done catch and release with each single @#$%ing bee and I swear the next one's last image of it's life will be the bottom of my shoe. I know, harsh. I need to get a grip.

So, I was checking out the Paris shows yesterday, and found some lovely bumblebee colours to soothe my anxiety. The first four are from Elie Saab, and really the first time that I can appreciate this particular mustard/gold yellow. Beautiful.

The second group of lovelies in black are pieces from Valentino....

And the LAST photo is a QUEEN BEE herself, in a piece from

Sarah Burton's Alexander McQueen show...

Gotta go gotta sew!

My M Board and Armani's M Of Pearl

2011-09-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

I was made keenly aware of our attachment to my Mac yesterday morning, when without warning I received this visual reminder that machines can fail:

Faced with the decision to repair the Mother Board (so sexist!) for $900 or just get a new Mac, I chose the latter. For a few brief moments, I was struck with panic as it was suspected that all data might be lost forever. Ackkk! I gotta admit, I welled up a bit. Pathetic really. I am sure that this has happened to other people. We're Mac loyalists and so I sit here this morning on a brand new MacBook Pro. Bitter$weet.

The event simply reconfirmed with a sharp clarity that, with the exception of my family, our cats, some journals, photos....and our Mac (which contains a visual running account of our awesome lives)...all of our belongings could burn to ashes in a fire and all would be fine.

Mother Board Shmuther Board.

Giorgio Armani's Spring RTW collection from Milan featuring a different kind of mother....Mother Of Pearl. Silken, luster, and liquid brushed metals added to the organic flow and feel of his show.

As Tim Blanks reviews "his signature show shimmered with the translucent glow of the moon on the sea".

The fabric, the jewels, the accessories....including clutches that looked like giant clams.

What I found most interesting, were the slits up the sleek silk pants. Armani never fails to have a detail that initially stretches beyond logic, and then our brains catch up to realize how stunning it is.

Here are a few of my favourite pieces. If anything, the show made me want to sew some showy silk pieces!

Gotta go Gotta sew ... blackout lining on window treatments.

How dreary on an already grey and rainy day!

photos Style.com

Christopher Kane ... Extremely Lovely Lines

2011-09-20T07:54:00.000-04:00

Not too much to say about Mr. Kane's show except that he did his research. So far his designs are UNMATCHED when it comes to new "lines" for the spring.

Practical? Not sure. Who cares.

The characters he was thinking of were, he said, "the girls you hate at school," hanging out together, bullying boys as much as other girls. It's a curious vision of feminine strength, to say the least, but it's hardly the first time Kane has taken such a dark, tricky tack.

Tim Blanks, Style.com

Gotta Go!

Corde Du Roi

2011-09-16T00:19:00.000-04:00

Chances are, some of you think that my title here is the origin of one of my favourite fabrics for fall in winter in Canada: corduroy. In french "corde du roi" would mean "cloth/cord of the king" and that would make perfect sense as the etymologies of many of the names of fabrics find their roots in France.

BUT....Corduroy actually originates from the English for 'cord" (speaks for itself) plus 'duroy' which in the past referred to the wool from sheep produced for meat so their wool is more coarse.

The raised 'cord' is technically created in a kind of neat way (yah, probably only to me). In weaving terms, corduroy wefts span several warp, but the cut weft creates the familiar high raised lines or 'wale'.

More simply put, corduroy is made by weaving extra sets of fiber into the base fabric, jumping over several at a time, to form vertical ridges. Then the extra fibers are all cut to reveal a lovely soft pile / fuzzy feel. Genius! Velvet is made using the same kind of technique, and may have been invented in 700 a.d. in Baghdad, but who came up with this corduroy stuff? over 300 years ago? The British.

Corduroy today is made from cotton and is often mixed with Lycra to make the fabric easier to wear and retain shape. Found in several wale widths, it often has other names such as corded velveteen, elephant cord, pin cord, and even Manchester cloth as it was produced as a Manchester cotton textile from where the name suggests. Whatever you call it, corduroy is a classic: In clothes, accessories, and home decor.

My first pair of cords were rust ultra-flares in 1979 and were a hand-me-down from a beloved cousin. I remember this because I used to finger-pick mud and spilled paint from the ridges while Mrs. Geddes was teaching. Ugh.

In high school one year, I tapered several pairs of Levi cords myself so narrowly that I could hardly get my feet through. I laughed when I saw this ad today for GAP. I haven't bought in to the skinny jean look, and now skinny cords are in the stores...in rust no less...what to do, what to do. Perhaps it's best to hold off until I get further into my 10k running course next month with the hopes of acquiring a back end a little more like this girl's!

Gotta go

Sources: wikipedia, GAP.

Mulleavy Magnificent

2011-09-15T10:01:00.002-04:00

The Mulleavy sisters presented their spring collection for Rodarte a couple of days ago and it was a visual stunner .... with layered textures and fantastical colours and relatively new cuts for the season. Beautiful. And their designs and approach have a younger fresh feel and is hands-down a prime choice for Hollywood girls like the Fannings, and stars like Taylor Swift.

Now, I rarely give any weight in thought when it comes to the opinions of critics. Friends of ours swear by Rotten Tomatoes for their cinematic guidance, but for my husband and I, we go see films intrigues, amuses, moves us. I read books that grab my attention for various reason. I can't stand being told by others what to like or do. It's the youngest child in me.


Who looks like "the grown-up" in the front row?

So, when I read the last few lines of Nicole Phelps' (of Style.com) review of Rodarte... I naturally balked. " it's harder to imagine the grown-up woman willing to lay down four figures for one. It's a good thing for the over-21 set that there were color-blocked cable-knit sweaters and pretty jacquard pants."

Hold ON a minute. Nicole Phelps is a year younger than me and although I am, yes, a fan of sweaters (and maybe if I had the budget right now to spend on designer clothes I would $$$ slap it down for some sensible classics), I resent the implication that there is a cut-off for Rodarte's look and that I couldn't dazzle just as wonderfully as the wrinkle-free models in one of the pieces below. (Some of these models can't even pronounce 'Van Gogh', who's painting techniques were a spark from which the Mullheavy's designs grew). Hurrumphhh.

Here are a couple of my favourites ... I am starting to save up for the first dress, 3rd row!

In Egypt, purple represents virtue and faith.

In Japan, violet signifies wealth and power.

In Eastern philosophy, violet is associated with the Crown Chakra at the

top of the head which rules the brain and higher consciousness.

Thoughts?

Gotta go Gotta Sew!

Badgley Mischka ... nod to the 80's and spring metallics

2011-09-13T23:54:00.000-04:00

I will admit that my first impression of the (not-yet-reviewed on Style.com...should be interesting) show in NY today by Badgley Mischka for spring, made the hairs on my neck rise. It had pieces that brought to mind my rarely-played-with "Fashion Barbie". (No kidding here, I can't stand the entire Barbie empire for many reasons but mostly because she -my only Barbie- didn't DO anything productive except look pretty into her polyester gowns while my brother's Star Trek figures were left to fend off Gorn by themselves with their hinged limbs and cool weapons. I could curl her hair, I guess that was fun...)

Anyhow, then I took a closer look and realized that they are complete geniuses....phew....mastering new fabrics, modernized silhouettes, sharing FANTASTIC hues, all with a sweet throwback feel of Southern Belle travels back in time to the 80's, OTT front ruffle gown era, and a nod to big 80's hair everywhere. I absolutely love these pieces!

And I am filing some away for inspiration for this New Year's Eve (each year we have a them with our close friends and I am going to push for high school prom!) and of course for some dance costume ideas for the dance school I design/sew/pull my hair out for every spring :)

Hope you enjoy these pieces from today's show at Fashion Week in NY!

C'mon, doesn't that salmon number look Molly Ringwald worthy??? Ha!

Pretty In Pink

Gotta Go Gotta sew.

photos courtesy of Style.com

Diane von....Home Ec gone wrong?

2011-09-13T00:34:00.000-04:00

Harsh title, I know. But seriously Ms. Furstenburg. More about that disappointment in a second.

Fashion Week in NY. Sigh. I'd love to go back there during these fun days of peeking forward to the spring trends. I've checked out the shows so far on Style.com and there are many lovely creations being thrown onto the battle floors / runways.

In particular, there is Jenny Packham...who most recently was spotlighted for designing a gown worthy of royalty: Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.

Her spring collection for 2012 is delicate and fresh, and the palette is soft and ultra-feminine...and although I exude all the natural grace of a princess (ha!) I think I'll leave these looks to Oscar and Emmy winners. I CAN however see some inspiration for some airy dance costumes in the spring for the dance school.

Gorgeous, right?

Another gift to the runway show audience in New York, was the collection from Carolina Herrera. Just when you think that everything has been done already with techniques in molding and pressing fabric, and combining texture visually and physically in new, inspiring ways, here she is:

And here are some details of the show....check out the whole collection HERE.

And about Diane von Furstenberg's collection.

I'll just say it...

It looked like a collection of poorly executed home ec. class projects with a mash-up of patterns reminiscent of discount fabric deals found on the endcaps of fabric store shelving units. With the exception of the bacterial-growth-like patterns of her resort collection, I really liked her pieces in that show. But for me, this stuff was disappointing. AND I am fully aware that my opinion is a laughable blip in the regular workings of the collective conscience.

Gotta go!

Runway to Real Way....Really Keira? and reality.

2011-09-06T11:34:00.000-04:00

Firstly...Happy 'Back to School', End of Summer, September, Tuesday, and so on.

If you are not going back, or have loved ones is going back, you can surely remember this time of year. Maybe it's with that 'pit of the stomach ICK feeling' that a fellow parent described to me this morning, or perhaps it is with an absolutely great fondness, like myself, that you reflect on past memories of a new school year and the next season. September will always mean a fresh start to me.

I couldn't WAIT to get back to the classroom when I was a kid and teen. In my twenties it was a time to get back out of my parents house again and go to Toronto for another year of post-secondary. Now as an adult...well, it's mostly because of two things: it's time for sweaters again (yay) AND.... our home is once again quiet.

75% of our family is back to routine starting today as my husband is an educator and Fashionista and Guitar Dude are back in the classroom. No more footsteps above my head as I work at home here in my office. No urgent request to find a particular piece of clothing or play thing. No ridiculous fun noise to distract me from my work...that has piled up in the past weeks while I have enjoyed family cottaging, camping, canoeing (see Red Licorice break from class 2 rapid voyage with friends on the right). Hmmm. It's back to reality and routine. Now I have mixed emotions!

I'm going to weigh in quickly on something that has been stirring around the internet. It involves a dress in which Keira Knightley arrived at the 68th Venice Film Festival on Sept. 2nd. It was a Mary Katrantzou dress from her Fall RTW collection and it was chosen by her stylist Leith Clark...a Canadian, thank you...who is also a stylist for Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst. (Leith started her career interning for a Toronto magazine at 15, and discovered Sassy Magazine. She went to journalism school, quit journalism school, moved to New York and interned for Interview Magazine. Soon she switched jobs and started working at Bazaar and then British Vogue. She became a freelance stylist, worked with Erin Fetherston, Poltock and Walsh and then started Lula magazine.)

Runway....

 Realway...

Can you imagine having to decide what to wear for an occasion at which you will be photographed and judged for months?? I think I have blogged about this before. Anyhow, I liked it. Not sure what the fuss was for.

Back to routine, also means that our 2 sweeties are back to a couple of their passions: music and dance. Exciting times around here as our daughter begins her adventures En Pointe, "on the tip", ballet. (Note to self: do not google, for a 2nd time, any permanent damage that this form of dance will cause. Yikes.)

Oh, one last photo.

It's a personal favourite from our summer: our son having some fun with bubbles at a family wedding last week.

(photo by M.G.)

Gotta go, gotta sew!

How to dress for bears....

2011-08-07T11:47:00.000-04:00

Kidding...my readers know I don't give advice on my blog.

We just returned from a long camping trip with our close friends who are like family. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else while experiencing the delight of black bears roaming through our camp sites. Yep. Roaming like squirrels through the woods only a few...ok 30...feet from our site.

Kinda neat, right? Well, I haven't had the opportunity to mention on my blog that the preceding scenario is my 2nd greatest, and somewhat irrational fear. I realize that black bear encounters are part of outdoor life in many parts of our beautiful continent, and these ones were the size of large dogs, but the males CAN bulk up to 400 lbs.

All warranted/unreasonable fear aside, it's always fantastic to get outdoors with the family and seeing the bears during our week (while a little close for comfort) is an experience our children will cherish. Aaaannnd, we're alive to tell the tales. Cheers to the normalcy of clean clothes and my Jen Aniston scent and enjoying a death-defying-free walk into the next room of our home.

(if you look very closely, you might see me paralyzed with fear on the south side of the lake watching one of the bears strut by our 'yard' for the week)

And now for some cuter pics of members of the fashion world
posing with bears of the less threatening type:

Narciso Rodriguez and Marc Jacobs for a tots fund-raiser

Karl and his twin Steif bear

Coco Rocha

Kate in an ad for the Red Nose campaign

Gotta go and unpack.

Occasion, Attendees, or Setting...ahhh Resortwear!

2011-07-29T18:27:00.000-04:00

My paternal grandmother told me that one can never possibly be too overdressed. If you are wearing the best outfit in a room, then let... them... stare.

I loved this advice when I was a teen, but you see I haven't liked getting that type of attention since (with the exception of my wedding day). I'm not even sure if I want it now. I'm often puzzled, during my on-going efforts to step it up a bit with my attitude about personal style, by the issue of dressing appropriately to suit an event or 'outing'. It's been a process since I have become older, gotten married/mature, had less or more money at different times in my life, had 2 children, decided to have my studio in my home meaning I don't see people every day in the work environment.

An adventure in upgrading..as my Nadine 2.0 blog continues.

So here's what I have learned....

Three things that I have identified as key components to consider when reaching in my closet and dresser are:

1. The Occasion

2. Fellow Attendees

3. Setting

If one of these areas is in conflict with another, then I am left standing in front of the mirror wishing the clothes would choose me instead.

And it's not a decision about fitting in exactly, as much it is about feeling good about what I left the house wearing as my choice. My touch of OCD also makes it tricky not to be utterly distracted by the choices of others...I just don't get it sometimes. I know, get over it! I'm usually the first to defend anyone's choices of doing what they want to do, but lately it has bugged me.

Unless I am feeling super sassy and expressive, I leave my mood and artsy tendencies at the door and let's face it...there is nothing we can do about the weather. I make sure that any choice will render me a bit chilly if anything. The whole 'flushing in the face with stress or temp' is a gene I can thank my mother for and can be completely misunderstood as being a sign of discomfort or anger or a hot-flash which is a stage I'm not at yet.

There are some no-brainers. Business meeting? Easy. Work it and dress like you know what success means. Shopping? I learned a valuable lesson after moving FROM Toronto (where anonymity is almost guaranteed, at times welcome, at a grocery store) TO a smaller city (where you can't leave the house for 5 minutes without seeing someone you know) that it is always best to dress casual but together to schlepp around doing errands. School events? Fine. Brunch/Dinner? We know most the restaurants and can nail it.

Click here to see the rest of my rant....

Some examples of recent times that made me shake my head and wonder if I'm the one out of whack!

THANK GOODNESS for Resort Collections to illustrate how dressing up can be dressed down in a blink, or vice versa, when faced with the "what is appropriate to wear" issue. Honestly, the latest resort 2012 collections can inspire anyone to work it either way - even if it means taking off a scarf at the last minute, or casually adding some extra accessories in the lobby of a meeting place. Different shoes in your bag...done it! I can't be the only one who has had to make adjustments in a flash!!??

Here are a few of my favourite 'Could Go Either Way' dresses and other pieces from June's Resort 2012 shows:

Collette Dinnigan

Fendi

Christian Dior

Gotta Go - we're heading to camp in New Hampshire for nearly a week. No packing dilemmas here!

style.com for photos

Spangles, sequins, paillettes, oh my!

2011-07-16T00:50:00.002-04:00

Flat, cupped, square or round ... metal, plastic, the dreaded holographic ... and I've seen thinly sliced precious stones used to.

Whether you choose to ever wear them or not, everyone knows what sequins are. Under an umbrella definition of a spangle: it is a small piece of shiny or sparkly material sewn to a garment as decoration. SIMPLE. Sequins are found everywhere from Wal-mart to the finest Haute Couture.

I used to call anything applied to a costume or piece of clothing in order to draw any kind of tasteful or trashy attention, a sequin. And then I went to post-secondary for design and met some students of fashion who SCHOOLED me:

Easily put, sequins have centered holes and are meant to be stationary on the body, only glitzing when a figure moves. Paillettes have an off-centered hole from which they dangle and move on their own while a body dances, walks, stands in a breeze.....

Evidence exists that gold coins were used to decorate clothing as early as 2500 BC, to show one's wealth inferring they were so rich that they could afford to wear their gold. Coins were also used in ceremony, just as shells in other cultures, to make sound during traditional or ritual dance performances.

But it wasn't until late in the 17th century that we adopted the word 'sequin'. Its etymological ancestor is the Arabic for metal die or coin, sikkah. Soon after, when Britain moved in to India, the Anglo-Indian term sicca was used to mean a newly minted rupee and referred to metallic round shapes used on clothing. The Italians then used the word zecchino, referring to a gold coin, and the french stuck with sequin. The word paillettes is derived from the French word for straw. If you have ever had straw or thick stemmed organic material stick to your sweater, hanging by one end, it's understandable I guess.

The irony of the outrageous look of a garment clad in sequins, is that it can other evoke a reaction of 'ick' or 'ahhh' when the original use of the look was so LUX and very exclusive. Tutankhamun had sequins hidden in between layers of wrapping so he could dress well in the afterlife. A French law of 1294 declared that only royal princes could wear spangled embroidery. Now we see sequins and paillette thrown on garments and costumes, home decor trims, and handbags everywhere and the exclusivity has been reduced to anyone wanting to reflect a bit of the ambient light off their body.

And here's the real reason for my post: There are spangles, and then there's Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier. We've all seen the drippy, sequinned dress in it's many colours and cuts. Try to tell call these designers that the decoration and construction on these pieces is using a simple technique of applying shiny objects to fabric.

From Jean Paul Gaultier's Couture show this past month in Paris (a breathtaking spectacle in my opinion), here are some sequins used like I haven't seen before....especially the dangly strips of sequinned fabric. Future costuming idea for our daughter's dance school?

CHECK OUT THESE PIECES AND MOVE THEM BY CLICKING HERE!

Then there is the work of Marc Jacobs for

Louis Vuitton RTW Fall 2011...showcasing a new idea of the 'paillette'

CRAZY? or CRAZY CREATIVE? Thoughts?

Gotta Go ...to sleep.

Talk about an anti-sequin day in my life as our family took

my 70 year-old mother on her premiere voyage on our boat.

Wait a second...can I make

sequins and sailing work? hmmm.

Photos courtesy of STYLE.COM

Can a star be re-born?

2011-07-08T10:43:00.000-04:00

The über-cool David, creator of one of my favourite blogs The Nyanzi Report asked what I thought about Giambattista Valli's latest contribution to the fashion world with his Fall 2011 Couture collection. Intentionally, I avoided any reviews as to not skew my opinion and simply re-absorbed the spectacle again this morning over my first coffee (and only as I am trying to cut down on my caffeine...we'll see how long I last this time!). Let me say up front here that I am so thrilled that he was a guest of the Chambre Syndicale and I hope his standing is official in years to come...gawd knows he meets the criteria. I always root for the newbie, the underdog etc. It's that whole 'youngest child chip on the shoulder thing' ha!

Anyhow, here goes.

The positives: This collection was everything that fine couture should be about: breathtaking masterpieces sculpted from materials that wow, crafting techniques that make you interested in the art, a fusion of the ages: a nod to the traditional with a punch forward to the desirable future of beauty in dramatic fashion. Bravo. He completely deserves to be in the company of the top couture designers. The accessories were stunning...check out the belts and the pearl heels.

A few of my favourites....Enjoy!

The ONLY negatives for me... Giambattista Valli is typically a guaranteed proponent of illuminating the female figure and all it's curves and delights. I found the silhouettes in general seemed like an afterthought on about 40% of the pieces, and felt like either the techniques got in the way of the shape, or the lines of divide in colour were misplaced. A couple of the strapless were weighed down the chest with the beautiful magnitude of the lower halves (see B and W # below) And honestly, I was disappointed to see the animal prints tossed in as part of his collection...I thought it was a stretch to please all. We all know you can't please everyone.

Anyhow, that my armchair take on this collection. Opinions? Thoughts? Favourites?

I'm off to read some reviews of this show and see if I am way off here!!

Sparkles in July

2011-07-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

Time flies....

That's the longest I've been away from this creative outlet since I started a year and a half ago. Missed it! Been on holidays, then lots of work, the histrionics of the end of the school year, more family time, and hours on the sailboat which has proved to be as much fun as expected.

These photos I took are from our adventure to see the fireworks downtown for Canada Day...which we could have been to in 2 minutes from our home but we decided to see them from the water since it was a calm night on the lake. So we walked PAST the waterfront from our fantastic end-of-school year dinner at Curry Original, and chose to sail in front of the blast-off point at the fort....which meant a drive to release our boat from it's slip, set sail on Lake Ontario, and precariously float between the ferry and cruise boats in the harbor all for TWELVE minutes of fireworks ...sparkly, colourful, loud, fireworks....and then a long and mostly dark voyage (a few wonderful stars to ooh at) to the dock. Crazy? A bit. Memorable? Patriotic? Absolutely.

Gotta go but will post tomorrow about the couture shows...summertime is when I sew for myself the most and I'm always inspired by the cuts and colours and feels for fall.
I'm fairly conservative, but I gotta say that after seeing the pieces from the latest collection of Elie Saab, I NEED to find an occasion to gush in some crystals and sequins. It happens all the time: the couture pieces always bring out the girlie-girl in me (it must be too soon after the dance costume season!) The next family wedding - wait, they are calling it a handfasting ceremony - is at a cottage. That just won't do! Someone needs to nominate me for an award of somesort. It's a bit much to ask for, I know.

Only over a month from now, the "September Vogue" will be on the shelves....which I look forward to acquiring as I've got September copies of running back to '87. Other than heart-shaped rocks (last our children counted I'm at 138) it's the only thing I collect. Hey, we all have our issues. No pun intended!

Have a good Friday!

Sew long... a long post, that is.

2011-06-15T10:17:00.000-04:00

Let me set the record straight on one point (before I blog this year about the final dance show of a school here for which I am Costuming and Year-End Performance Director):

I have never danced *

I was told by an instructor in a stinky Town Hall basement in the 70's at around 5 years-old that "maybe dance wasn't for me". It's funny what we remember as children. She had a gold chain for her glasses and hair like Dorothy Hamill. It was at the end of our first lesson, during which I can remember having to flap around like birds. I may have been a little sassy, a little clutzy, but I was pretty cute...and I can only assume that I mouthed off about how that didn't seem like ballet to me.

Anyhow, you can imagine my eager attitude about all activities dance-related went out the window. I never looked back on expressing any of my creative talents with any body parts other than my own two hands. I figured that any feminine activities throughout my school years just "weren't for me". Having two older brothers and gravitating towards any tomboy-ish things wasn't a stretch. Um, I feel like I be lying on a sofa right now telling more woes of my childhood?!! Ha!

* in a dance studio, in front of mirrors, on a stage. I won't bore you with details of dancing on tables under the influence in Hull, QC as a teen.

THEN something hilarious happened: my husband and I had our first child, a daughter. (That's not the funny part) Much to our amusement, we were gifted with a true GIRLY-GIRL. She danced before she walked. She gravitated towards all things pink, and craved sequins, feathers, ruffles and sparkles. She spun in delightful dizzying circles around my legs and had memorized the story of the Nutcracker before her 3rd birthday. And she wanted to be a ballerina. So we signed her up for a little class and got to prance around like a bird. She was hooked.

Fast forwarding to present day.....our daughter has been dancing for an entire decade now. She'll only be 13 in September. And believe me when I tell you that I am constantly checking if she is still passionate about her ballet / lyrical / jazz. The answer is always the same now (cue eye-roll...) "Oh, Mohhhmm".

So here we are mid-June and this year's season is over. Over 200 costume pieces (newly designed, sewn and some altered)...ages 3 to "wow, good for you" (latin and afro-cuban ladies)...4 sold-out shows...for the oldest and only remaining non-competitive, non-profit dance school in the city. It's a labor of love for the board and volunteers and I am always thrilled to be part of it in my spare time outside of my regular home decor sewing business. I, along with a very small handful of talented women, put some awesome leotards, tutus, dresses, etc. on stage this year.

Hope you enjoy these photos from the last rehearsal

that show off just some of costumes!

Our prima ballerina is the middle girl in the photo above, taken I believe also during rehearsals as she has her glasses on. These 100% silk Cheongsams were my favourite costumes that I made. I have a few scraps of the fabric...what to do...what to do. Our agreeable son was subjected to several try-ons with these feminine Chinese silk numbers as he is about the size of three of these students. I made sure he got credit in the program for "helping" with costuming.

Gotta go and sort through the mess I call my work space!

It's over...sniffs vs. sighs

2011-06-14T10:16:00.000-04:00

The dance season is over until September here in our household, and we are experiencing some withdrawal. We weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves yesterday, having been wrapped up, shlepping around, rehearsing, fitting, sweating, and eating on the fly for weeks, in prep for the Final Performance that signals the end of another successful year of dance.

Our daughter announced yesterday that she would happily perform every night if she could. A touring life in her future? Who knows. Not sure how that will work with her plans to be an author and pastry chef.....ahhhh to be 12 years old with so many options to help widen a path to the future. She spent the afternoon dancing at home instead.

If my machines could talk, I don't think they would share her sentiment. They have dealt with enough tulle and metallic stretch and sequins to last a couple of months. The fact that I am personifying the mechanical partners of my business, is a clear indication that I have some costuming hangover issues!

Sewing straight for 70 days with a combo of my real work and volunteer costume design and creation for the dance school is altogether exhausting ... but ultimately wonderful.

Gucci

The thing is, I still have DANCE on the brain. While catching up last night on the RESORT 2011 collections, ALL I can focus on is 'Oooh, how would that look on stage?' and 'What lighting would be best to show the fabric on THAT one?'

Wouldn't these pieces look FANTASTIC on stage?

Lanvin

Marc Jacobs

Naeem Khan

Nina Ricci

I will post some photos tomorrow like I did last year of the leotards, tutus, dresses etc. that I made for the show. Right now I need to putter in my workroom and blow the metallic fuzz out of my machines. Poor things.

Gotta go!

Style.com photos

Crunch Time

2011-06-03T09:19:00.001-04:00

SO out of the loop right now - buried up to my eyes in 4-way sequined stretch and tulle. 16 costumes left. The performace is a week a way at the dance school our daughter attends and for which I am director of costuming and the show in a VOLunteer capacity. I highlight that point because the temperature of the Artistic director and staff rises on an hourly basis with mini-crisis at every turn. It happens every year but as enrollment rises, so does the intricacies of a year-end show. More dancers, more drama.
I realized last night, that since I work for and by myself during regular work hours with my own sewing business for custom home decor, and don't regularly need to rely on / be disappointed in / bitch about fellow employees....I can't relate to the mayhem and usually just go about my own thing with whoever is directly connected to the current task (currently the main opening number). I do NOT miss an office full of people and their egos.

Have a great Friday. I'll be sewing costumes and like last year I'll make sure I post a few from the show.

Put it on your list.....

2011-05-20T09:40:00.001-04:00

OK....Alright....it's everything people say it is. I admit it. After living in Toronto for over a decade and visiting - within my lifetime - some of the major cities in Europe....I get it.

New York is fantastic.

Last weekend, I spent a whirlwind 48 hours with my closest friends and we fit in a large portion of the common 'things to see and do'...along with some of our own MUST sees. Luckily, D had a plan for us as she is VERY familiar with all the hot shopping areas and neighborhoods to see, when to see them, where to eat, what architecture to look at on the way, what train to take, store hours, etc. She rocks.

As a result, we ate at Nobu on Friday night. Unforgettable experience. AND the food was incredible. Had some dirty martinis at the SoHo Grand Bar and Lounge served by numerous runway models, er, waitresses, who flitted by us with their 5 foot high legs and how many handsome, well-dressed young men can be in one lounge? Ate at a charming restaurant in Little Italy, where the manager assembled a new table for us on the spot on the edge of the patio. They didn't need our business, it was packed! Saw a show at Le Poisson Rouge and spent A LOT of time shopping. Ventured through all but a couple of the neighborhoods and accomplished my personal goal of going to Mood Fabrics, home of project runway contestants and Parson's School designers. Yes, I bought some beautiful fabrics and was served by a gentleman, a veteran of the garment district, who told me that Tim Gunn is menacing...what?!! Hard to believe.

Here are a couple of photos, the last of which is one taken at about 2:30 a.m. from the roof of our hotel, the Affinia Shelbourne. Clearly, a very sober shot.

The lush greens of Central Park...stunning. And in 3 days, NO SMOKING or fines will ensue. Yay.

Brooklyn Bridge...I'm pretty sure it wasn't built for runners but you'd never know

$5 Coach knock-offs

"I'll take one of each please"....that didn't go over well...loved Mood Fabrics.

Empire State Building looking rather Alien Invasion-ish in the wee hours of Sunday morning

No comment...too many G and Ts

Gotta Go - 160 costumes to sew for the year-end performance.

At least I'm pretty sure I do...

2011-05-11T23:18:00.000-04:00

I have a fantastic weekend to look forward to....

My very close girlfriends and I are going to New York City for a couple of nights. It's about a 6 hour drive from here, but we're flying from Syracuse and I can't WAIT!

I have been spending oodles of time in my sewing workroom. More than my regular hours due to costume season for the dance school. My hub doesn't really see much of me in the evenings during May, but it happens every year so it's no surprise for him.We make up for it :)

We've all made our special requests to the 'planner' in our 4some who has been many times to The Big Apple.

I only had one (other than relaxing, seeing some sights, a few dirty martinis etc.)

I NEED to go to the garment district and by a piece of fabric from Mood Designer Fabrics - a 2nd home of Parson's design students and Project Runway contestants. That's it. I'm pretty easy to please.

Annnnddd, I am hoping to buy a new bag, some wedge sandals, and a new spring jacket. I will be dragged willingly to Anthropologie several other stores in SoHo. I just might try to find these things:

I'm a spiller. Under certain conditions, especially with staining elements like red wine and Indian food, I have problems finding my mouth. Different colour might be wise. Or a bib.

A bit dowdy, but our sailboat is The Swallow...c'mon!

As great as these look, I'm curious to see how bitchy my feet would feel in these! I am hoping they are more comfy than they look.

Isn't this cute?! As long as this bag has 3 pockets inside, it's mine.

What I really need to do, and I usually get around to it after the Year End dance show, is sew myself some things. What that expression....a cobbler's kids never have shoes? I need to be selfish in about a month with my talents. And the prices for simple maxi skirts and dresses, and peasant un-fitted blouses are ridiculous.

Gotta go to bed. Haven't neither packed, nor exchanged our mighty dollar to US, or gotten my sweet ducks in a row for my absence (house in order, phone #s provided etc.) I'm a little concerned about my passport in which I am still a blonde and have long curly hair. Cross your fingers.

Runway to Realway with Iman in Wu

2011-05-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

Enough about the royal wedding already! KIDDING.

Loved all of it, woke up at 5:00 am in my commonwealth province here in Canada. I had to. When I was 10, I watched Diana and Charles get hitched live. I watched the 'presentations' of each of her son's and I sadly stayed glued to the tv for Diana's funeral.

The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was lovely. My hub thinks I'm nuts for adoring the royals. It was nostalgic and created a global unity if at least for one day, as much of a parade and facade as some might think.

The fascinators, hats, and head pieces were a definite highlight. The press and tweeters need to back off of Princess Bea. Everyone's taste is different. My fave was the Countess of Windsor's (photo here at right). Catherine looked radiant. William could do no wrong in his uniform, sigh, and the Queen only has so many choices for colour. I thought it was completely appropriate.

Ummm, what else....Victoria Beckham looked like she was wearing a satin garbage bag...and I think Pipa's dress was absolutely stunning.

That's about it for what I'll say about The Wedding.

We had fun weekend. Our boat is in the water, though she hasn't gone for a sail under our ownership yet. The weather has scarcely been cooperative. BUT we did have a family sleepover on the boat, while hooked in our slip, listening to Adele and giggling into the night. Memories are made of these times. Hopefully we'll sail her in the next several days.

Wanted to share this photo of Iman at a Linked Against Leukemia benefit. She chose one of Jason Wu's RTW Spring 2011 pieces...with a little help from some lining in the front....

Thoughts?

Here were some other choices from that collection if she wanted to stick with Mr. Wu....

Gotta go....Gotta sew. Lots on my plate this week including more dance costumes (off business hours) blinds and custom bedding to finish up for a 41' yacht.

photos from style.com

Ever have those days....?

2011-04-19T09:26:00.001-04:00

Our next race is in few weeks - my husband and I are doing another 5K. I never thought I would enjoy running, but it's really quite mind clearing ... with a side benefit of fighting against some poor heart genes from my mother's DNA.

On the days I haven't been running, I have been tempted to go into one of my fabric units and pull out a few meters of something somewhat adequate and chuck it on my body and just let it fall where it may.

Ever have those days when that's all of the effort you feel like putting out there?

What do men wear on these kinds of days....?

Here are some design solutions that clearly were meant for

those kinds of moods, from SS 2011 rtw...

Alexis Mabille

Lanvin

Um, this next one might need some tights...

Jil Sander

Emilio Pucci

OK, this last one is pretty sexy. I am thinking you might be in

a different mood if you strutted out in this one....

Gotta go!

Skin...it's kindof necessary

2011-04-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

It's been a while! Birthday, work, dance costumes, work, and lovely time spent with family and friends. However, in the background of all the bliss, there's been a gloomy cloud overhead. At the risk of sounding like my mother-in-law, I'll announce the following out-of-the-blue: No worries. Non-malignant. And how have YOU been?

(I've been waiting for test results. If you have ever gone through a wait like mine, 3 weeks seem like a YEAR)

Two words of advice, which I rarely give un-solicited:

WEAR SUNSCREEN

So, today, in honour of our lovely skin in all it's beautiful shades, let me share a few of my favourite nude looks from the house of Valentino Spring Couture 2011 collection :

Gotta Go! Our son is in a play as the 'main human' character

and has 2 solos. Is there a star in the making here? Hmmm.

The Dress

2011-04-05T09:31:00.001-04:00

Wow. Such a ramp up and speculation over the royal wedding and chiefly Kate Middleton's dress on her wedding day....are you one of those who gives a hoot?

I'm interested...a little I guess. It the Commonwealth patriotism in me I guess. I'm curious as to what designer she is choosing. It will be the most photographed dress in all of history. That's some serious pressure. No wonder she is keeping it hush for another couple of weeks.

Recently, more than 50 previous contestants from Project Runway sketched their own designs for the bride-to-be. I was impressed and appalled at the same time with both the designs and the execution of the sketches. Some of the sketches are soooo hideous, but I'm not sure how much time they had to whip them up. That's the artist in me criticizing basic life drawing skills....what's with Seth's manga drawing? Anyhow, you MUST check out the Project Runway designer sketches here.... (scroll and you will see thumbnails of all the sketches to click on...)

My 3 favourites were from Simone LeBlanc and Irina Shabayeva and Shirin Askari...

Gotta go Gotta sew....

27...no, wait....40?! Aack!

2011-04-01T14:05:00.001-04:00

It's my birthday today...so this will bequick as I am
off for the weekend ... to an inn just north of Ottawa.

Spent a fabulous morning with all my sweeties and then had a lovely birthday breakfast out with our daughter and my mom...the 3 generations, ya know.

I've celebrated so many birthdays with my husband and he never ceases to make each one more special than the next. Super lucky girl here!

The number doesn't bother me, actually. I'm quite young at heart.

Gotta Go!

Have a fantastic weekend...and remember:

Age is an issue of mind over matter.

If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

~Mark Twain