The Capsule Wardrobe Project 2011

OMG Missoni at Miss Selfridge!!!

2011-04-04T16:09:00.000+01:00

Ok - so it's not exactly Missoni but if you look at the dress they've made its VERY similar to the dress I made a few months ago & you all liked (even now it is my most HIT page on my blog). It looks like its the same fabric (just diff colour tho)!

This is my dress compare it to the Miss Selfridge one...

The Miss Selfridge dress is only £42 & it looks amazing.

Blue Zig Zag Shift Dress - £42 - Item code 18P10GMUL (put the code into the box on the top right hand side of the Miss Selfridge webpage).

Click on the below link to go straight to the Miss Selfridge website...

I've been taking photos in Dubai & Abu Dhabi... back to sewing later on this week!..

2011-03-28T23:15:00.002+01:00

Its been ages since I've blogged because I've been off in Dubai & Abu Dhabi taking photos.

On the plane out/back I saw:
The Social Network - good movie... didn't know Justin Timberlake could act!
Black Swan - ballet movie... weird!
The King's Speach - great movie... how fab was the Queen mum :)

Day/night at the Faldo Course, Emirates Golf Club:

Dubai Creek:

Majlis Course, Emirates Golf Club:

Musical water fountains outside of The Dubai Mall, near to the Burj Khalifa:

The Burj Khalifa:

Arabian Ranches Golf Club:

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course:

Yas Links Golf Course, Abu Dhabi:

Ferrari World (next to Yas Links Golf Club):

Abu Dhabi GP Race Track (next to Yas Links Golf Club):

Back to sewing at the end of this week!

Mad Men, stripes & Jigsaw!

2011-03-18T11:11:00.001+00:00

I've had lots of lovely comments on the stripy t-shirt I've made this week, so below are a couple of stripy items from the highstreet... & a Mad Men comp to enter ;)

Jigsaw has a lovely long sleeved stripy top. They describe it as "Retro Stripe Long Sleeve Top - This nautical inspired top is a casual clothing favourite for the spring summer season. This crew neck version has a scoop neck style and can be worn on its own with jeans or layered under lightweight dresses. The super soft jersey and slim fit offer style and comfort to this design classic that you'll want to wear time and time again." at only £35 its a basic which you will keep wearing again & again.

They also have a stripy dress - which they describe as a "Linen Stripe A-line Dress - This nautical inspired A line jersey dress has a flattering cowl neckline and effortlessly cool vibe. The texture of the linen, mixed with the colour and white stripes, set a relaxed casual tone. Wear this perfect summer dress under a fitted denim jacket with flat shoes for daywear." I couldn't agree more its a timeless thing :)

WIN the Mad Men lifestyle, including a trip to New York and a new summer wardrobe from Jigsaw

Jigsaw has teamed up with Mad Men to celebrate the release of Season Four. One lucky customer will WIN the Mad Men Lifestyle, which includes a collection of fantastic prizes.

Up for grabs is a new summer wardrobe from Jigsaw, as well as a trip for two to New York, His and Hers Classic TIMEX Originals watches, a double decker manicure and pedicure from Nails Inc. and finally a PURE Evoke Retro Digital Radio.

WIN the Mad Man lifestyle with Jigsaw

Label, Lily Allen & that's about it.

2011-03-15T22:41:00.000+00:00

Its was a very weird weekend but very very productive. I’ve thrown away so many clothes & now my wardrobe, & subsequently my life seem so much more organised.

I’ve not done all that much sewing with one thing & another, but I’ve finished off one of the stripy t-shirts I’ve been working on & I’ve sewn on one of my labels which I love.

Not much more to add tonight. Watching Lily Allen setting up her clothes shop - Channel 4… I wish I could do what she is doing & got to say like both the sisters, normal celebs (there I was thinking they didn't exist)!

ps since 1st March I've worn something I've made every day :)

Modern dotty animal kinda print dress, perfect for a cold Spring day!

2011-03-10T23:50:00.000+00:00

Today I started making a dress out of the modern dotty animal kinda print I bought last weekend. It is a lovely soft stretch knit fabric & I’ve made a tunic type dress from it, I’ve just sewing up the shoulders & side seams. I still have the neckline, sleeves & hem to sew but you can see where I am with these as they are currently pinned & ready to sew in the photographs I’ve taken today. My plan is that this dress can be worn as is on the dressmakers dummy slightly dressed up with a big belt & perhaps flesh tights & brown boots or with leggings & heals (along with perhaps ankle warmers!).

I’ve also been playing around with the fleece I started a few days ago, I’ve top stitched the neck & arm holes and will top stitch the hem line but I've just been trying to work out where I want to cut away some fabric. At the moment far the fleece is far too bulky & will add for even the slimmest person about a stone in weight & the additional fabric will provide no additional heat (as this is a "keep me warm" item in my Capsule Wardrobe). You can see how I’ve pinned the fleece with quite a bit of shape & I think this is far more flattering, I just have to move the pins around so all the tucks of fabric are exactly the same on equivalent sides & then I will just use my overlocker to take away the excess fabric, but this is now tomorrow’s job!

I love...

2011-03-08T23:21:00.000+00:00

Love these two new flowery items from Accessorize - they just shout "SPRING!"

And for those of you who don't want to get your legs out there is:

Free Delivery over £40 at Accessorize.com

Can you say no? (... I'm off to buy more flowery fabric!)

Also new from Beneft is finding mr. bright It contains all of the essentials for a luminous complexion. Complete with a step–by–step brightening lesson for a beautiful Spring face, the kit includes:

girl meets pearl – liquid pearl for face – 7.5 mL / 0.25 US fl. oz.
posietint – poppy-pink tinted lip & cheek stain – 4.0 mL / 0.13 US fl. oz.
high beam – luminescent complexion enhancer – 2.5 mL / 0.08 US fl. oz.
erase paste no. 2 – medium brightening camouflage for eyes & face – 3.2 g Net Wt. 0.11 oz.

FREE UK Delivery on any order over £50 at Benefit. Enter promo code FREEDELI at checkout.

I'm just ordering the above now! x

More fabric & lots of little bits for golf wear...

2011-03-06T10:58:00.001+00:00

I bought some more fabric yesterday, I’m thinking more t-shirts & some tunics. Will make something of these in the next week.

Over the last few days I’ve been working on lots of different things, for golf I’ve made a sleeveless tunic out of grey fleece, it needs a bit more shaping as you can see from the picture below but will be a welcome addition to my Capsule Wardrobe as the weather continues to be way too cold! (sorry it doesn’t look very exciting in the picture - sometimes they just look better on).

I’ve also been making a couple of t-shirts out of this black and white stripy fabric, these are for golf. I will also make a skort (skirt with shorts underneath) to go with these. These items will have to stay in the wardrobe until the warm weather arrives.

I’ve also made a pair of trousers out of track suit fabric, these are very comfy & will no doubt be worn on the golf course in the next few weeks when they are finished as they will keep me warm.

Little grey SS11 cardy which will go with everything...

2011-03-03T23:26:00.000+00:00

Tonight I’ve finished a little cardy which I’ve no doubt will become one of the most worn items in my capsule wardrobe, it is a simple short sleeved grey cardy. I’ve put it on my dressmakers dummy over a leopard skin patterned top I made last year & added a bit of jewellery!

I’ve also been sewing two stripy t-shirts tonight which will be great for holidays & golf, I’m thinking I might make a little skirt out of the same fabric as I have enough left.

I am leaving finishing the grey dress with the flowery fabric till the weekend, still not sure as to how I want to finish this off & as to how big I want the bow, flower that I want to decorate it with, I would like to go huge, just for fun, but the practical side of me is not agreeing! I will post again over the weekend…

My I love items for today are:

I love....

2011-03-02T23:35:00.000+00:00

SS11 dress with flowers & an experimental neck line

2011-02-28T23:12:00.000+00:00

I’ve worked on a little experiment over the weekend, I’ve produced a simple grey stretch jersey fabric dress & then added a little collar & on to this I’ve added poppers, with the poppers I’ve attached a flowery fabric to give the impression of a flowery scarf sitting just on the shoulders and along the neckline of the dress. The thinking behind this is that you can produce a dress with a fancy collar which can then be removed for ease of washing (I‘m not saying I‘ve invented the removable collar - but have just decided I would experiment with removable collars). I’ve not finished the decoration on the collar but knowing that I can remove it as it is attached by poppers means I have no restrictions on where I go with this flowery fabric.

I’ve also made a fleece jacket over the weekend, this is very simple & just sewen up on the overlocker, I’m going to make a lining perhaps out of jersey, not sure at the moment though. The sleeves look really long in these photos but really they are just down to finger length (so the are long but not as crazy long as they look!).

Tomorrow is my official start date of Spring, that means I’m to start wearing the clothes I've made for "The Capsule Wardrobe Project" as of tomorrow. I’ve decided that I will still continue to wear the clothes I’ve previously bought (after finding two pairs of trousers in my wardrobe over the weekend with price tags on… so totally unworn!!!). So over this year there will be a gradual move from wearing clothes which I’ve bought to only wearing clothes which I have made. Its still quite weird at the moment I’m ok with not buying clothes but am sure how I will feel when I see something I really want its going to be hard to hold back from buying.

Little flowery cardy for SS11 dress it up or down...

2011-02-22T22:49:00.000+00:00

I’ve finally finished sewing the little grey flowery cardy, its taken forever as the embroidery wasn’t quite as quick & easy as I thought it would be, however I’ve no doubt it has been easier than struggling with this thin fabric on my sewing machine.

I’ve styled the cardy up with a sparkly dress I wore for New Year’s eve at the new (nearly new) Public on the King’s Road & a fun necklace which was from M&S!

This is a perfect cardy to be worn on a dressy night or as a casual item with a racer back t & a pair of jeans (which reminds me I need to make a few racer back t’s).

　
I’ve also been working on the dress I’ve made out of the same flowery fabric. I’m currently in two minds on this while I love the dress I also think I should make it into a top & a skirt, which would be more wearable & in keeping with my Capsule Wardrobe Project as it will allow for more “looks”. If I make the dress into a top & skirt I might even be able to make little undershorts so I can wear the outfit in mix & match sets for golf. The stretchy fabric would work well in a sporting environment, I‘m thinking over night on this one! (ps don't look too closely at this dress - still lots of work to be done on it!)

In the mean time I’ve found a similar kind of dress & a lovely leather jacket which if the dress remains a dress I would like to re-create… watch this space.

SS11 - Yellow tunic with bright pink netting & items from the high street

2011-02-20T00:07:00.002+00:00

I've found some items from the high street to wear with my yellow tunic with the bright pink netting...

Cropped jeans

Pink strappy sandals

Pink & silver charm bracelet

Yellow bow purse

Pink purse

Sun glasses

Yellow dress with bright pink netting - finished!

2011-02-19T10:35:00.000+00:00

Today I’ve finished off the yellow dress with the bright pink netting I went a bit OTT with ribbon, embroidery thread & the bright pink netting but its definitely a “Spring Capsule Wardrobe” statement piece.

The chain stitching round the neck line, sleeves & hem took ages but it adds so much I’m pleased I persevered.

After I finished the dress I tried it on, I’ve realised that is perhaps a bit short for a dress & should really be worn as a tunic with perhaps jeans (blue or grey) but I still think its awesome.

Lots of love went into this, & now the last thing I need to do is sew in my label!

SS11 - Blue flowery dress with pink net & items from the high street

2011-02-17T23:50:00.002+00:00

I've been looking at the high street's SS11 collections & found a few items that would go with my blue flowery dress...

The Lounge Jacket…. So stylish

2011-02-15T23:08:00.000+00:00

I’ve decided to finish a lounge suit which I started just before I began The Capsule Wardrobe Project. Making jackets is one of my favourite "sewing makes" & this jacket will be well worn when I get it finished.

The fabric is a lovely heavy stretch knit, it has a very tiny grey & lighter grey stripe in it. I have added beads to one of the collars, but only to see what I think, part of me thinks it’s a bit chintzy, but then the other half thinks “sparkle away”.

I’ve got to be a bit practical about the way I finish this off jacket, as I think I would be able to wear it with lots of the dresses I’ve made to make them a bit more me (that is a little LESS dressy) & therefore make my wardrobe work better... and as I am trying to make a “Capsule Wardrobe” then perhaps the no sparkle option is the one I should take.

I’m going to finish the top stitching (running stitch round the edge of the jacket) and then make a decision.

Ps this is another item which is a bit All Saints styleee… I so love them!

All Saints stylie cardys & dress!

2011-02-14T18:10:00.000+00:00

Everything I’m making at the moment is so brightly coloured I've decided this is going to be a grey week, so I’ve found some fabric which would be at home in any All Saints store.

I’m making a couple of cardys, one short sleeved & one long sleeves both with drapy bits on down the side seams (similar to the Yellow Dress) so they will work well when worn together.

　
I’m also making a dress out of the flowery fabric, this will need a petty coat (underdress) or a vest top & jeans under as the fabric is very see through!

The Yellow dress went a bit Pink!

2011-02-13T18:46:00.000+00:00

What do you think?.. (still with pins!)

The Yellow Dress - its going to be so bright (& a bit PINK maybe?)!

2011-02-13T08:52:00.002+00:00

The yellow dress is looking fun, I’ve added a few more panels to the front to give it a bit of shape, & its gone a bit drapy (if that is a word!) but that's cool.

I’m going to add a bit of pink netting, not 100% sure where, possibly some frills along the seams of the panels on the front of the dress, round the neck line & along the hem.

I need another night to sleep on this! Could this be "The Spring brights trend" overload?!?!

Yellow is an AWESOME colour!

2011-02-11T18:58:00.000+00:00

I’ve only had one yellow top in my whole life, I hardly wore it because I felt I had to have a suntan to look good in it, I have however changed my way of thinking... You don't need to have a suntan to wear yellow!

Its changed my mood just working with yellow fabric over the last few days while the weather outside has been so grim. I’ve made what is a very simple dress with the patterned yellow stretch jersey fabric. I’ve decided that I need to put some extra panels in the front of the dress to “dress it up” as I really can’t see me being able to add any extras to this dress, apart from maybe the bright pink netting (this is different netting to the pastel pink on the flowery blue dress), I’m going to sleep on what I do next & work further on the dress tomorrow.

I’ve also been working on a pair of checky shorts, these will be the short bit of a skort (skirt with shorts under) these will be for golf. The fabric is so soft it’s a pleasure to work with & will be lovely to wear - go out feel some brushed cotton - you will know what I mean J

It’s the weekend… bring on the sewing…

Vote for your fav dress so far...

2011-02-09T14:08:00.001+00:00

You can vote on your fav dress by clicking the box to the right...

1) Missoni Dresss

2) 60s Dress

3) Blue flowery dress with pink net

I now have a label! ....

2011-02-07T22:39:00.000+00:00

Blue flowery dress with pink netting... let me know what you think

2011-02-06T17:08:00.000+00:00

The dress got shorter, & I added pink netting to the neck line & pink netting & beads to the shoulders.

Let me know what you think...

Pink net & flower blue dress… & new fabric

2011-02-05T18:08:00.000+00:00

I bought a great blue flowery fabric today, so after lunch I started on another dress. I used the same pattern as the Missoni dress but my major mistake was not allowing enough extra fabric as this new fabric has no give or stretch in it. End result is a very tight dress!!! It sits on the dressmakers dummy ok but when I try the dress on there is simply so allowance for movement… so lesson learnt! I’m going to add a contrast pink netting to the sleeves & add an extra section of fabric to the front of the dress tomorrow.

There are photos of the other new fabrics I bought today below. Hopefully I won’t have to buy any more fabric this month.

For golf clothing I’m going to make lots of layers of tops (t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts etc) as I just can’t find the right fabric to allow for movement & warmth, the polo shirts work but really have not turned out as nicely as I would have liked.

Feeling guilty about going fabric shopping!

2011-02-04T22:58:00.000+00:00

My plans for the weekend are zero, I’ve cleared the decks for a weekend of sewing & not much more, my plan was a trip to my fabric shop & then just settle down & cut & sew & bead etc all weekend.

I’ve read my monthly edition of Red Magazine & LOVE all the bright colours & the flowery fabrics which scream SPRING.

But... I’ve suddenly been hit by guilt. My plan WAS to go fabric shopping, & I’ve realised that I have lots of fabric which “fits” the Spring Capsule Wardrobe brief! The fabrics I’ve been buying over the last few months have been sitting hiding in plastic bags.

I’ve photographed some of my buys, you can see them below along with a “bright” blue belt which I bought from M&S Summer 2011 for £5 which will go perfectly with my Missoni dress, I also have exactly the same belt in bright pink which will no doubt go with one of the other brightly coloured dresses I plan to make over this weekend.

ITS GOING TO BE A WEEKEND OF FLOWERS & BRIGHTNESS… WATCH THIS SPACE
XXX

PS - I am still going fabric shopping, just I’m not going to go as mad as I was prior to realising how much fabric I’ve been hording!!!

The 60s Party dress & The Missoni dress - both timeless classics!

2011-02-02T23:14:00.000+00:00

I’ve had a really great evening finishing off the two dresses that are currently my favourite makes so far in my project.

The 60s dress is for my friend Sarah, a few weeks ago she asked if I would help her with a dress for a 60s fancy dress party, we went off bought this crazy flowery fabric & below is the result. I have to admit I was a bit scared by the fabric as it is both shiny & rather thin so not the best fabric for my sometime temperamental sewing machine but I think the dress is a bit of a show stopper. The neck tie is actually a head band but I've tied it round the dressmakers dummy's neck just to show that I’ve made an accessory for the dress.

The Missoni dress is made of another fabric I was quite scared of, & if I’m honest I’m not 100% sure I liked when I walked out of my fabric shop. I do now love it, it is very grown up but will work with my Spring Capsule Wardrobe well, with either brown boots or high grey heals.

My plan (among a thousand other things) this weekend is to try to take a few photos of me wearing my clothes so you have an idea of what the look like on a real person & not my rather strangely coloured red dressmakers dummy, which while being invaluable when I’m actually making the clothes isn’t the best thing to show my clothes off on especially when the clothes clash with red!

I also plan to go fabric shopping, hopefully I will be able to bag some more Missoni fabric which was great to work with, & some other similar stretch/ knitted fabrics. Will take some photos to show you my buys over the weekend.