northwest is best

Outfit: Grey knitted jumper

2012-03-28T16:18:00.000+01:00

Now that the clocks have sprung forward an hour and the sun is blazing everybody round my way is dressing like Nick Grimshaw on his way to throw a frisbee around the local park. But this is Manchester. Next week an Arctic weather front might roll in from the Urals and I'll be skating on the lake in Platt Fields. And that's when I'll be glad of this recently knitted grey jumper.

Instead, the design is an improvised homage to a jumper by Swedish label S'nob de Noblesse, because the 'real' thing isn't in my budget. 'Not in my budget', incidentally, is my polite way of saying that I'm feeling a bit price sensitive. Or, you know, monetarily inflexible. Or, let's be honest, cheap. Wool can be expensive, and time certainly is. Personally, however, the cost for raw materials and time invested in clicking the needles together is worthwhile. As Elizabeth Zimmermann writes in Knitting Without Tears: 'a well-made sweater, knitted with good will and good wool, is beyond price'.

Notes for the knitters: I used 12 balls of Drops Alaska from Purl City Yarns on 6mm needles.

Spice Girls collage

2012-02-27T09:00:00.000Z

Looking back at my first ever knitting project made me feel nostalgic for my craft achievements of yesteryear. So today I present a fabric collage, diligently stitched for a textiles project at school. Look at the attention to detail: the handpainted Union Jack, the belly button piercing on Scary, the stitched daisies on Baby's dress. Truly a modern masterpiece.

Teacher Mrs Jansen, a woman permanently dressed in a shin-length floral shirt dress, didn't agree. She examined it silently, turning it over to check the finishing at the back. 'Out of ten...' she sniffed, '...eight.'

I suppose my interpretation of the theme - water - was fairly lateral. Personally, I think it's obvious that the Spice Girls are on stage (probably at the Brits, judging by Geri's outfit) and the stage is flooding, causing them to exclaim in shock and dismay. I wasn't a Spice Girls fan and would have liked to see them fail in a spectacular and damp fashion. After all, this was 1997, the year when you couldn't go ten minutes without one of the Spicies trying to sell you a packet of crisps or roll of toilet paper.

Oxfam Originals photoshoot

2012-02-20T09:00:00.000Z

It's not every Sunday a girl gets to have her hair crimped in the chilly basement of a Northern Quarter, but this wasn't just any old Sunday. I spent all day dressed up, dressed down and directed in the downstairs of Soup Kitchen for an Oxfam Originals photoshoot.
The hard work was done by others, including outfit styling by Lauren Reyhani and makeup expertly applied by Katy Brody (even though I started twitching as soon as she sharpened her eyeliner pencil). The images above are just quick snaps, but Proper Photos taken by a Proper Photographer will follow at some point in the future.
My favourite look is the white suit at top right. Combined with the French plaits it's giving off a Liz-Lemon-dressed-as-Princess-Leia-vibe, don't you think?

My first knitting project

2012-01-26T09:25:00.000Z

These days I might seem like an Olympic-standard knitter (for example, consider these stockings, or this hot water bottle cover) but this scarf is the first thing I knitted on my own. YES THAT'S RIGHT, ALL ON MY OWN. Using my very own hands and fingers and brain powers. OK, my grandmother did the casting on and off. But the rest of it was my handiwork. Apart from when stitches multiplied on the needles without my bidding, and Gran had to take over. So about 80% solo. The neon, 1990s colour scheme was all my own design.

After weeks (months, even?) of accidental slipped stitches I presented it to my mother. If she'd said 'wow, this is really good, now let's store it away so it doesn't get damaged [and no other humans need to look at it]' I would have moved onto other childhood pursuits. Like painting or rollerblading or dancing to Spice Girls videos in front of The Chart Show. But she wore it to collect me for primary school, and the pride my seven-year-old self felt encouraged me to keep knitting. Parents, be warned: if you don't want to encourage your child to pursue a time-consuming and potentially costly hobby, don't praise them.

Reading material

2012-01-23T22:15:00.000Z

Books. I love 'em. For me, the glow of words on a screen are never as appealing as paper and ink.

Craft books are especially appealing because they can be annotated and introduce me to new ideas. And two craft related books have recently joined my bookshelf: The Illustrated Guide To Home Needlecrafts (a charity shop purchase) and Tomoko Nakamichi's Pattern Magic 2.

The former is an indepth guide to knitting, crochet, dressmaking and homeware sewing. Published in the 80s, there's much more detail than contemporary craft books. If I ever have the urge to make an accordion-pleated lampshade this is the book I'll refer to.

The latter is where dressmaking crosses over into wearable art. A lot of the structural forms might not translate into everyday wear - could you imagine running for the bus while wearing an oval cocoon? - but I'm excited to discover my ability to transform a flat piece of a fabric into a 3D form. I first read about the Japanese version of these books on sewing blog Iro Iro, but they're now available in English translation from Laurence King Publishing.

Hopefully I'll soon have some completed projects, inspired by both books, to show you.

Outfit: Ethics

2011-11-23T17:00:00.000Z

Can fashion ever be ethical? It's a big question for a small blog post, and once you start asking questions about ethics you have to ask questions of the questions, with each interrogation spinning into a new interrogation. After all, people make entire academic careers out of that.

When Ceri of Style Eyes Ethical Fashion Blog invited me to submit an ethical outfit to her online competition I started asking myself a lot of questions. Some of the accessories I'm wearing above are handmade: the patchwork tote bag I sewed together with fabric scraps (there's a clearer image here), plus the handknitted scarf and socks (also seen here). And handmade is ethical, right? But what if the wool came from neglected sheep? And what if the dyes used had a negative environmental impact by getting into the reservoir and poisoning all the children in the village? It's just a theory, but it could happen.

The coat, and dress beneath it, came from charity shops. And secondhand clothes are ethical, right? But what if the coat - a 1995 Marks & Spencer dusky pink trench - was manufactured by people earning less than a living wage? Today, Marks & Spencer's ethical policy demonstrates their commitment to workers' rights, but what about 16 years ago? And is the trade in secondhand clothing really something to be proud of, or a wasteful element of our consumer society? And what if the previous owner was a murderer? Does that make me an accessory?

Returning to my opening question - can fashion be ethical? Probably, depending on your definition of ethics and the resources available to you. Despite my questions, this outfit is as ethical as I can afford to be. Buying secondhand clothing prevents unwanted textiles going to landfill, and gives money to charities. Making clothing and accessories gives me an understanding of the processes involved in garment manufacturing, and therefore a respect for well-made clothes. So, forgive me for the potential smugness, but I think this outfit could be applauded as, yes, ethical.

scarf - knitted by my mother // shades - st ann's hospice charity shop // pink trench - hope house charity shop // patchwork tote bag - handmade by me // socks - knitted by me // boots - oxfam originals manchester

Outfit: teal

2011-11-10T16:53:00.000Z

Just a standard day off outfit. A leisurely cycle into town kind of outfit. A maybe stop off somewhere for a cup of Earl Grey kind of outfit. A going to the Cornerhouse to see the Rashid Rana exhibition kind of outfit (the exhibition is worth a visit for the photomontages and mirrored cubes. Some of the pieces are stomach-churningly graphic but there are clear warnings so you don't have to look too closely). A standing outside the old fish market (now a car park), squinting into the sun and having my photograph taken kind of outfit.

teal overcoat - sue ryder charity shop // fake wayfarers - st ann's hospice charity shop // scarf - so old i've forgotten // black dress - rspca charity shop // teal tights - falke // flat lace-ups - office

Cabled cushion cover

2011-11-09T21:45:00.000Z

Another knitting project complete. This time it's a cushion cover, made using this pattern. Because I used chunky yarn and fat needles it was quick to make, plus it makes my sofa look much brighter. As you might have noticed from my previous knitting project - a hot water bottle cosy - I'm rather fond of cables. If I continue at this rate of production my house will end up looking like this.

Outfit: Silk

2011-10-14T09:30:00.000+01:00

Outfit photos are the bread and butter of personal fashion bloggers, but you'd have to go back to 7 September to see what I've been wearing. Gradually, I've become move fussy about the quality and quantity of clothing I own, and about the image I'm projecting. A lot of my clothes have been donated to charity shops, and I'm deciding on a simpler and more consistent way of dressing in the future.

This outfit isn't perfect, but it's moving towards how I want to look. Although there's no label inside this light cream blouse I know it's high quality as it's silk and has French seams inside. There's room for two mes inside it, so I'm wearing it backwards. The olive green Cheap Monday jeans were indeed cheap - a fiver from TK Maxx - but fail my quality control. The waistband sits too low on my hip, and the fabric bunches at my knees (or is that due to my skinny legs?).

silk blouse - save the children charity shop // cheap monday jeans via tk maxx // black wedges - dune // socks - marks and spencer // necklace - a gift

Style over substance

2011-10-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

Can fashion ever be truly ethical? It's so transient and wasteful that it feels unlikely. But there are people shouting for positive change, from campaign groups like War On Want to individuals such as vegan fashion blogger jesse.anne.o.

And so to Style Over Substance, an investigation by Manchester-based Ethical Consumer magazine into the ethics of luxury fashion labels. My friend Bryony almost researched her brain for this report, and you can see the resulting Buying Guide on Ethical Consumer's website. The low, low prices of high street fashion chains such as Primark or anyone owned by Sir Philip Green imply that someone/something, somewhere is being exploited. Take this Topshop shearling handbag (just a random example from their website): how was the leather produced? And where was it produced? Who made the bag? Is the design plagiarised? And are the people working on the shop floor getting a good deal? The list of questions that we, as consumers, should be asking is long and complex.

But luxury labels charge a lot more for their products: a Louis Vuitton Sofia Coppola hanbag, for example, starts at £2,320. Therefore, it would be easy to assume they have solid ethical policies covering everything from fair wages to the use of toxins. Bryony's report makes clear that this isn't true, and that luxury brands should be held accountable for their dubious practises.

Company magazine

2011-10-10T17:00:00.000+01:00

Although we live in an increasingly digital age I still love the printed page. The indepth articles! The glam editorial photoshoots! (Tulisa needs to sit up straight though, or she's going to fall off that stool.) So I was excited to see my cheeky chops in monthly fash, slap and sauce glossy Company magazine, as part of a feature on young women who volunteer. Over the past six years I've volunteered on and off in four different Oxfam shops (not that I like to mention it, but I currently spend about four hours each week in Oxfam Originals), so it's nice to recieve a little bit of recognition for all the time and skills I've donated to the charity. Of course, I do so because willingly and don't the Queen to invite me round for tea and Victoria Sponge at Buckingham Palace, but it still feels like a warm and fuzzy little thank you.

My mouth also gave an excited 'squeeeee!' to see a quartet of beautiful British style bloggers in the magazine: llymlrs, The Magpie Girl, Wolf Whistle and Love From Lou Lou. Full disclosure: I did tell a little white lie, as I'm not an office temp. As I have more than one job I couldn't think of a convenient, lady mag-appropriate job title. All the lasses in these mags appear to be students, or have non-specific mediaaaaah roles.

Thanks to Catherine for interviewing me, and to Oxfam Lisa for putting my name forward.

Knitted hot water bottle cover

2011-10-04T15:07:00.001+01:00

The sun's been dazzling Manchester for a few days. Despite the melting ice creams, sticky tarmac and shirtless men everywhere in this city, winter is approaching. In preparation for the cold weather I've been knitting, and have completed this hot water bottle cover. As a fan of cable knitting I'm pleased with the final result and have given myself a pat on the back.
The tasty pattern is available for free on The Cake Plate. Om nom nom.
PS to the knitters - you can find me on Ravelry.

Decor

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

When I lived in Liverpool one of my favourite drinking spots was Bumper. Not just for the bands and beer, but also for the two storey wall of assorted paintings and artwork. I liked it so much that I'm gradually putting together a rival collection, or - more fancifully - a shrine to human endeavour. Tapestries, paintings, cross stitches... anything that someone has patiently made. My current favourite is the painting at the top right. According to a sticker on the back it was transported from Dubai to Manchester via Brussels. That's a lot of effort for an amateur painting featuring a decapitated bird.

Mrs and Mrs

2011-09-07T20:40:00.000+01:00

Recently, I attended the wedding of my friends Lauren and Sharif. I haven't known them for very long - just over a year - so I felt honoured to be included in their special day. I failed to take many photos because I was busy revelling, but here's one of the bride and groom. And doesn't Lauren look fabulous? She made the teal frock herself, worn with Vivienne Westwood shoes and her great-grandmother's lace collar (I think). Have a pat on the back if you recognise the socks, because they were knitted by me.

Although not the bride I also chose to wear something old (my great-grandmother's necklace) and something new (a pink shirt dress from Retro Rehab). Apologies for the can of generic lager, I usually drink cider. Preferably Westons.

Oxfam Originals photoshoot

2011-08-18T16:16:00.000+01:00

Back in March I had a fun day of dressing up in some fabulous vintage clothing from Oxfam Originals for a photoshoot. Fellow Oxfam volunteer Lauren worked hard organising hair, make up and styling for the shoot. And I'm sure you'll agree that the effort was worth it for these images. Doesn't André look amazing modelling those pink corduroy trousers? If only I could persuade my boyfriend to wear an outfit like that.

Not everybody can get to Manchester city centre to visit Oxfam Orignals. But you can visit the Oxfam fashion blog to read my tips on shopping for vintage clothing.

Manchester riots

2011-08-10T13:24:00.000+01:00

Last night there were riots and looting in Manchester. I couldn't sleep - worried about the city I call home, worried about friends who live or work in the city centre and worried about the independent shops and businesses in the Northern Quarter.

I don't want to dwell on the destruction. Manchester is a resilient city full of wonderful people, many of them willing to volunteer their time to clean up the streets. The Oxfam charity shop where I volunteer was undamaged (as you can see above) and open as usual at 10am, as were Nexus Art Cafe and Kro Piccadilly. And hundreds of other businesses in city centre.

Manchester, I love you.

Metallic stripes

2011-08-04T09:00:00.004+01:00

Fabric paints. I love 'em. All I did for this tee was paint between some strips of masking tape using some Dylon and left it to dry. Easy. Almost too easy... am I forgetting something? Oh yes. You need to iron the shirt under a cloth once it's dry to fix the paints.

Shibori

2011-08-03T09:00:00.000+01:00

For this bleached tee, I used a shibori technique - itajime to be exact - by accordion folding a black tee then sandwiching it between two pieces of wood. Honestly... WTF explains the process here.
Instead of dyeing, I used a solution of bleach and water. Dunking the shirt for five minutes was probably a couple of minutes too long, as the tiger stripe effect is lost in the bottom half. But I'll tell you a secret: my first attempt was with a green t-shirt, although after ten minutes of bleaching it turned completely white. Ooops. The version above is better.

Shredded

2011-08-02T09:00:00.008+01:00

Camille of Childhood Flames was shredding t-shirts about three years ago, and I'm only just catching up with her. For this tee I chopped off the hem and just used my fingers to unravel the knit row by row.
In the past I hated any rips or holes in my clothes, and would always carry a spare pair of tights in case of ladders. But as I get older I prefer clothes that are deconstructed and flawed -like this shredded t-shirt - because life is messy and imperfect. Is that pretentious enough for you, or should I quote a Gang of Four lyric?

Cut out

2011-08-01T09:00:00.028+01:00

This week I'll be showing you some t-shirts I've reworked, starting with this cut out t-shirt inspired by a picture of Dutch artist Roy Villevoye. I've been reading my way through all the fashion related books that the Manchester library system has to offer, and read about Roy's work in Global Fashion Local Tradition. He crossed over into anthropology by spending time with the Asmat people of Papua New Guinea, photographing them and trading t-shirts with them. Apparently, t-shirts are high status and high value among the Asmat people, who customise their tees with rips and cuts.
Here in the UK, t-shirts are mundane, cheap and disposable. What a contrast. And unsustainable. So I bought a selection of t-shirts from charity shops to customise. Some of them had stains and rips. Personally, I don't think that should mean a garment is ready for landfill. This orange tee had an oily stain on the collar which wouldn't wash out... so I chopped it off.

What I made Wednesday: coffee date dress

2011-07-27T09:00:00.059+01:00

Here's a closer look at the coffee date dress I made to wear at Latitude, annotated for anyone else thinking of using this free pattern. It's a good pattern for anyone with experience of sewing who wants to start making their own clothes. And when it comes to sewing clothes I usually prefer to take the scenic route instead of the short cut, because if I'm going to go to the effort of assembling everything I need, cutting the pattern, pinning, sewing, pressing and so on I want to know that I'll have a garment which will last for years.
Tips for sewers ready to make their own coffee date dress:

all in one facing. Every explanation of this binding method made my brain turn inside out. Until I looked at my trusted Reader's Digest Guide To Sewing, where it's called combined facing.
bodice darts. When sewing darts, make sure you press with a hot iron to get a clean finish. Threads Magazine have a video tutorial.
hand-sewn blind hem. A time-consuming hemming method, but it makes the curved hem drape better. Craftzine have a good how-to guide.
stripe matching. Look closely and you'll see the stripes don't quite match. When I sew I'm always rushing to finish, when I should be slowing down and checking everything twice.
invisible zip. Because I only have a simple sewing machine, I have to sew invisible zips by hand. Again, time-consuming but ultimately worth it for a cleaner finish.
pattern cutting errror. Oops. From the back it's obvious that I cut one of the skirt pieces on the bias instead of on the grain. Blame Alex Winston, as I was distracted by her wonderful Sister Wolf EP while pattern cutting. Because I was using an old valance bought in a charity shop I didn't have enough material to cut a new piece, so had to carry on. It looks interesting though... or perhaps I'm just searching for beauty in imperfection.

The total cost for the dress was about £5, as the material and thread were secondhand and only the zip was new. A fiver well spent as the cost per wear is already less than a quid.

Stitched Up clothing swap

2011-07-26T09:00:00.009+01:00

Last week I went to the Stitched Up clothing swap at The Creative Corner, Whalley Range, where I said goodbye to some clothes I never wear and said hello to this vintage tartan party frock. It's very tartan, very ruffled and very 80s. Exactly the sort of dress I'd wear to go clubbing.

Latitude

2011-07-25T09:39:00.001+01:00

They say that in London you're never more than 14 metres from a rat. Similarly, at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Suffolk you're never more than 14 metres than someone from London. Specifically the affluent areas like Stoke Newington or Hampstead. It's a very white, middle class festival, full of falafel wraps, pristine Portaloos and people saying things like 'these wellies are Hunters, you know'.

I had a delightful time, watching all sorts of bands/theatre/comedy, catching up with old friends and making new ones, dancing on a picnic table with a man dressed as Frank Sidebottom and - most importantly - volunteering in the Oxfam festival shop. Spending seven days and six nights in a cold, wet field could have been all the fun of a mid-winter residential geography field trip, but because I was with such a good team of Oxfam volunteers it was brilliant. We raised a lot of money for a worthy cause selling donated clothes, wellies and some tasty fairtrade snacks. Currently, whenever I look at the news I feel a bit helpess at some of the terrible things happening - especially the famine affecting millions in south Somalia - but volunteering for charity is my small contribution to making the world a better place.

The weather wasn't suitable for strutting around in my finery, but I did wear some of the clothes I'd made especially for the occasion. You can see my striped coffee date dress above, and the pink top. More details to follow.

Two thumbs up to all the other Oxfam volunteers who worked hard at the festival (including the campaigners and stewards), and thanks to Fran and Lisa for inviting me. And some more thanks to Megan, Cara and Jim for the photos of me (vain!). And even more thanks to Latitude and Festival Republic for supporting Oxfam. If you want to volunteer with Oxfam at a music festival, details appear on the website in the springtime. You can also donate to the DEC East Africa Appeal here.

Collector

2011-07-22T12:58:00.000+01:00

I'm not much of a collector. After moving house so many times owning things feels like a burden, plus it can become an expensive hobby - especially if you're interested in sports cars, Bauhaus furniture or first editions of Beatles records.

Fortunately, I have cheaper tastes. When I saw Casey's cherished collections on Elegant Musings I thought of the little coin collection that lives on my bedside table. I started collecting coins as a child, when abroad was a faraway place with mysterious money. They looked so exotic, with their strange monarchs and indecipherable words. Most of the coins were given to me by friends and relatives who had been on holiday, but I do remember once spending 50p to buy an Italian lira in an antique shop. It was worth it to hold that beautiful little metal disc and wonder about the land it came from.

Oxfam fashion blogger

2011-07-21T10:15:00.000+01:00

Good news, everybody. You can now find me over on the Oxfam fashion blog, where you can read about the above summer dress that I reworked to wear at music festivals. When sewing it I assumed the sun might shine, but it hasn't so I've worn it over a t-shirt and tights, with a cardigan. And possibly even a sleeping bag wrapped around my shoulders too.

After volunteering on and off in various Oxfam shops for the past six years it's exciting to get involved with the charity in a new way. So thank you to Ashleigh, Caroline and Belle. You can also follow the Oxfam fashion blog on Twitter, if you like such things.