romantic revival

Samantha Pleet's AW 2012 collection, Romantic Revival, is exactly that - a collection harking back to the golden age of Romanticism, an artistic response to the scientific realism of the Industrial Revolution. Can't you picture a halo-haired model in a camel and black wool cloak standing on the precipice in true romantic fashion?

The collection also has its Renaissance moments, as with the white painter blouse and the long, sleeveless revival dress shown in red. My favorite pieces - the blush hued long dress with asymmetrical hem, black mini dress with cut out detail at the neck, and the white painter blouse with velvet shorts. It seems this darkly romantic period is picking up speed, as seen in Dolce and Gabbana's latest as well.

Check out Samantha Pleet's interview with Stylelikeu (an oldie but a goodie) here.

best dressed

Hope your weekend was a success! I spent mine hunting flea markets and thrift stores with friends, then staying overnight at my parent's house with Neil for a much-needed visit. Neil made me take Sunday off from doing anything blog or shop-related, so you can blame him for the Sewing Saturday delay - but honestly, it felt great getting forced into relaxing for a whole day. My dress-lengthening project will be posted tomorrow.. tonight, I really wanted to share my favorite dresses from the 84th Oscars that aired yesterday evening.

Did you guys get a chance to watch the Oscars? Neil and I were pretty upset beforehand since our favorite films didn't get many nominations this year.. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Drive, and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo being the top three. AND GARY OLDMAN DID NOT WIN BEST ACTOR, which broke my heart. But still, the show was great - I was so glad Billy Crystal was back, and the interviews about film were perfect. Every year we bet on our ballots, and I won for the first time with 11 correct nomination guesses.. so that's a good year for me.

Christopher Plummer deserves to be in my best dressed collage with his super awesome velvet tux but I couldn't find a great picture. My top three ladies were Michelle Williams - I loved her coral dress with the peplum waist, Penelope Cruz - she was so beautiful in an old-Hollywood soft blue gown (it reminded me of something Edith Head would design for Grace Kelly), and all of the pale pink and nude hues that have taken over awards show-wear of late are still so lovely. As someone who struggles with how to wear jewelry, I appreciated how simple all of the earrings and necklaces were - letting the dresses themselves stand out and keeping it simple with cuffs or bracelets on just one wrist (like Gwyneth Paltrow or Kristen Wiig) or in some cases, just wearing a pair of drop diamond earrings. I wish that Natalie Portman had continued her Rodarte partnership, but she did wear a 1950s Christian Dior gown with polka dots and you can't complain about that. Angelina Jolie's leg should probably get a shout-out of some kind. And Rooney Mara was my favorite with her edgy hair and feminine fitted lace dress by Givenchy. I keep thinking about her as Rachael in a Blade Runner remake and it makes me super happy.

Which dresses did you like (and which wins did you predict)?

boy. by band of outsiders

More designer inspiration today, this time reblogged from Quincy at Q's Daydream. Michelle Williams + Band of Outsiders at Hitchcock's grave site means this shoot is obviously pretty awesome I love the far away shots the best, she looks so graceful by the lake and in front of the flowering tree.

Several of you asked to be included in the dress-lengthening process I wrote about last post, so I decided to conquer that for this Sewing Saturday and move the dip dye dress experiment to next week. We'll figure it out together. Happy Thursday!

belle meade plantation

Thrifted vintage black velvet dress, leather purse

American Apparel opaque tights in truffle, deadstock vintage watch

Vintage leather loafers, gift from my sister

More un-February-like weather today, which sadly kills Neil's hopes of a late season wintery storm (his heart is breaking over lack of snow). We took advantage of the afternoon by visiting Belle Meade Plantation and drinking some of their super sweet wine, and I wore this - a vintage black velvet mini dress I found while thrifting last week. It has the best contrast collar and cuffs made from sheer white chiffon. It also happens to be super short, though.. trying to think up creative ways to make it longer without changing its simple shape.

More photos here.

Now, we're celebrating Fat Tuesday on the couch with bananas foster and gumbo and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (what's more Mardi Gras than Swedish crime movies?).

red valentino

Sofia at Deer Lolita shared these photos over the weekend and I had to reblog them.. they're just too good. Red Valentino Fall Winter 2012/2013.

PS - I'm looking to change the look of my header.. which font do you like?

sewing saturday! a recycled dog sweater

I've been wanting to sew this for awhile because yes, I am one of those strange people that likes to dress their pets. And you should be too. A cheap, easy, and fast project - for beginners especially, I really recommend it! Here is how I sewed a sweater for little Bloom using a thrifted boy's sweater.

What you need for this project.. measuring tape, a recycled sweater that's large enough to fit your pet, a sewing machine with a zig zag stitch, and an animal.

To begin, I measured our terrier Bloom at a few spots using measuring tape - around her neck, around her front legs, her back from the base of her neck to right before her back legs, and around the fullest point of her ribs. Now you know these measurements, you can cut into your sweater. It's a good idea to try the sweater on your pet just to get an idea of how much you'll be trimming.

Laying the sweater down flat, I trimmed the side edges off (including the sleeves), leaving the fullest rib measurement in the middle plus a couple of inches for seam allowances and ease. If the sweater is too long, trim it now and finish the bottom edge by sewing the ribbed edge back on. Then, I sewed the edges back together from the bottom to about 3/4 of the way up (leaving room for armholes).

Now, time for sleeves. Measure the armhole, then cut the leftover sleeves at a diagonal (from arm pit to shoulder, increasing in length) using that measurement as the required length for the cut edge. Make sure to cut the sleeves short enough to allow movement for your pet. Once the sleeve has been cut, turn it so the arm pit seam is upright and in the center. This is how you'll sew the sleeve back on, so the shoulder of the sleeve is sticking upright when your pet is wearing the sweater. Right sides together, sew the sleeve onto the armhole of the sweater.

That's it! You have a cozy sweater for your pet to wear. I actually made Bloom's a bit too big, so I need to take it in now. Be sure to try the sweater on your pet periodically during the process so you know it'll be a good fit (aka don't make yours too big like I did).

For those who can't find a sweater small enough (although thrifted baby sweaters might do the trick), here is a great tutorial that's better suited for tiny dogs (and cats).

Next weekend.. it's dip dye time.