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Showing posts with label wool dress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wool dress. Show all posts

Monday, 19 February 2018

Fabularsenic! And Turnip Head. And The Shelley.

Yeah, it's kind of like Janet Leigh in the shower scene in Psycho, that moment you look down and realize exactly what you've put on.

I wore them. I did, a couple of days ago. Under my maxi wool turtleneck dress, from Talize thrift store, which I bought a couple of years ago when Suzanne Carillo and Sue, A Colourful Canvas, and I met up. The leg garment was purchased a couple of years before that at a different thrift store. Sometimes I wear them around home but they felt really warm under this dress. Because of the pants, I would call this a fabularsenic look -

- except the magic loupe O made for me, which is always AWESOME. You can be my twin and get one at his Etsy shop HERE.

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE SHOCKING NEWS.

Saturday, 10 October 2015

The holeliness of the wool Alaia Paris dress

Mel Kobayashi in Alaia Paris vintage dress, Bag and a Beret

First stop. I seem to have stepped into this painting by Jeff Depner I found hanging at Nordstrom. My Alaia Paris navy and brown belted wool dress took me there. Too bad you can't hear the music in my head that accompanies this vintage vibe. 
Mel Kobayashi in Alaia Paris vintage dress, Bag and a Beret

The dress came from Anne of SpyGirl at the blogger meetup clothing swap in July and it's cool enough now to wear. Thank you, Anne! As a trash rescue, she pointed out the detailing made by moths, unsure what I would think. Well, that's what black underwear and coats are for! Greetje, No Fear of Fashion, has a great shot of this dress from the meetup here, scroll down. 

Next stop. I decided to take my party into the lobby of Hotel Georgia, which is also home to the speakeasy Prohibition. Dear me, looks like I was the only one who showed up! Passersby threw money into my toolbox handbag and afterwards I went and bought bread pudding.

Mel Kobayashi parties in Hotel Georgia lobby

I prefer this dress backwards because the belt creates two little scallop shapes below the waistline at the front which I find visually interesting. And the collar is higher in reverse. Having the snap closure on my back is tricky but nothing a little contortionism and mastery of curse words can't handle. The photo below shows how the dress was designed to look from the front.

Alaia Paris vintage brown and navy wool dress with belt

Detail of fabric wrapping, and moth holes on my shoulder. The brown swath of fabric is sewn onto the "front" of the dress, wraps around to criss-cross at the rear, and finally belts at the front. Ruching where the belt attaches to the fabric provides lovely structural detail. 

Final stop. Concrete studio for Zoolandering.

Zoolandering on Bag and a Beret

I always try to mend holes in my clothes because: 1) upkeep prevents further destruction, and 2) socially, holes are almost pathologically unacceptable, unless they are put there deliberately by a designer. Given this dress's fairly extensive damage and precise structural design, I decided to go with camouflage. 

Do any of you pro sewists have mending ideas for sprays of tiny moth holes in fine wool knits?

No matter what, you can't keep a good dress down! This dress may be frail but it still looks great, feels great, and fuels my imagination - WINNER. What about you? What do you do with your wrinkles holes? Trash, repair or camouflage?


Finally, this is a new ring O made for me. Steel and ruby. 
He doesn't use lost wax; he machines each piece.
To add visual interest he used a black finish and a brushed metal finish. 
The ruby is held in place with a tension mount. 
With so little surface contact, when the sun hits this ruby just right, 
it looks like an LED light. 
I'm not wearing the ring in these photos because it wasn't finished yet.

That's all. I guess it's Thanksgiving. Eat! EAT!! EEEAAT!!

I'll link this up on Sunday with Patti and her excellent Not Dead Yet Style party, Visible Monday


Monday, 12 November 2012

Vintage wool dress for mystery

Today I wore one of my favourite odd dresses, a heavy wool garment with little gold studlettes, graduated in size, on the sleeves and front pocket, and a flared skirt. The dress was three or four sizes too big when I thrifted it, so in standard slacker fashion I simply sewed up the side seams to fit and lowered the shoulder seams at the top. Although this is a frequent go-to item for evening music recitals, I also enjoy it for daytime wear as well. There is a mysterious air about this garment which brings to mind the classic holiday-season movie Bell, Book and Candle in which Kim Novak, a witch, falls for a mortal, James Stewart.


Walking down the sidewalk I felt so deliciously witchy in the rain shadows that I was sure that if I turned around quickly, boo!, I would catch a dozen black cats (named Pyewacket) frozen in stride, amber eyes blazing. I always liked Kim Novak far better as a witch than as a mortal. I wonder if the street lights flared and burned out in a trail behind me.


Details of this ensemble:
  • vintage dress, thrifted
  • black tights, retail
  • medium-heeled shoes (aka frump shoes), retail
  • magic loupe, O made it for me
  • magic pendant, O made it for me
  • fingerless gloves, upcycled from Canadian Tire automotive store
  • beret, thrifted
  • seafoam cotton skirt underneath as a petticoat, thrifted
Below is a closeup of the dress fabric with the studs, and this is the tool-box bag I carried today, which came with a tool O ordered. Isn't it divine? I shall customize it at some point but I was content with the plain exterior today.


Happy Visible Monday! This week I'm able to make it over to Patti's place at Not Dead Yet Style. I missed you all last week... Time to catch up. Do your clothes put you in a mood or does your mood put you in your clothes?

Also, regarding my last post for Vogoff magazine, I greatly dislike ageism, and yet I defined this faux magazine's audience as women +40. Big mistake! I know so many wonderful bloggers who are under 40 and the world would not be complete without you. So if any of you want to contribute to Vogoff, I heartily welcome your suggestions.

PS
AND - I am very excited and flattered to be featured in an interview (here) posted by 
Sylvia on her amazing blog, 40+ Style (TM). 
The piece is called: 
"How to be more creative with your outfits: Style lessons from Melanie." 
Thank you! 
Sylvia is the kind of woman who could put on a scratchy potato sack and make it look cool and breezy in Singapore heat. If you haven't see Sylvia's style yet, do go have a look!


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