DIY - small alterations. Part 2.

Let us talk about a small touches that change the impression of the whole garment or accessory. 

Here is my jacket. I bought it and at home only I saw these disgusting tucks on the front pockets. The jacket fits me very good, it makes my waist, it's hue belongs to my colour group, and finally it is rather trendy. I didn't want to return it, so there is something to be done with the tucks.

DIY - school shoes for sensitive feet

Has anybody found it difficult to find plain black school shoes, textile and pretty open not to overheat small feet over summer? As for me I could not find a proper pair. There are lots of shoes but mostly they are made of thick and stiff leather. For sensitive or sore skin it can be a real trouble.

I failed to find soft textile shoes, plain black, with flexible sole,  size 11 (for some reason they start from size 12 or 13), so I did them myself.

I took these Emerson shoes you can find in every Target or BigW for $5 (sometimes even $3.5 on sale).  They are very soft, and sole is flexible, which is good. But they are really hard for five-year-old to put on due to wide elastic inserts.

Shoes as they were when I bought them. 

 First of all I took off the elastic inserts.

Insole is black and green on some photos - because I made two pairs of shoes, one with green and one with black insoles.  Some photos are of one pair, some of another.

How to wear tutu: rules or myths? Tulle skirts: part 3.

In the previous post tutus - part II we have talked about the history  and secret attraction of tutu skirts. They look gorgeous not only on ballerinas and little girls, high-end fashion designers show them every season.

But there is a danger hidden in tutu as well: one step from beauty and grace to awkward and silly look.

By the way  the word "tutu" came from France. It is a modified slang for "cucul" - so were called buttocks of the dancers streaking on the stage. This is one of the theories of etymology of this word, for more see Wikipedia.

How to wear tutu and look amazing?

Here I gathered really beautiful tutus from world-known masters.

There are five simple rules (or myths?) about tulle skirts.

1. What length to prefer?.. They say that mid-length, just below the knee is  always winning. Skirt looks  very airy, makes your waist thinner and hides hips and heavy bottom.
Well, this is true, but long tutu is fantastic on pretty big ladies, if there are not too many layers and tulle is not stiff. It looks romantic and dreamy, and hides everything you'd like to hide. Everybody knows that tulle skirts consists of layers that flow and ridge, but nobody knows how many layers exactly are in your skirt. This is optic illusion that tricks us: human eye sees full skirt, not full bottom and legs. 

Tutu and other tulle skirts. Part II.

I think that tulle skirts became a part of our everyday wardrobe, because every girl has been dreaming about being a ballerina, at least once. Even those who don't like ballet very much are charmed by magnificent costumes. Ballerina pretends that gravity power does not  apply on her. Well, we all know that it is a result of long and even torturing training, and we admire their grace, beauty of movement and strong character.

But tulle skirts, light and flying, multilayer, decorated with lace and feathers, they really are the symbol of that mysterious and unknown world of ballet, where unbelievable beauty comes from.

Today I am going to speak about Chopin-type ballet skirts, which are very common in contemporary girls and even ladies looks.

Pants Balance

Do you know what balance of the pants is? This is the key concept  and the main reason why custom-made trousers suit you better than bought in the shop ones. 

Balance is normal, actually it is very good!

Every figure has its own individual waistline or the ideal level for pants to rest. Usually it is not horizontal, and not on the real waist as the narrowest point. It can be actually very different on the back, on the sides and on the front.

Each and every figure has its own pelvic tilt. Everybody who tried to draw the human body knows that men have more horizontal, and women have more tilted pelvic.

Clothes designers make all garments including pants for typical shapes, to fit the widest range of consumers. This works well for tops, sleeveless dresses, loose blouses, t-shirts etc. But not for fitted pants.

I remember I shopped for trousers last time, couple of years ago. I spent four hours in the shopping centre! Finally I found a good pair. Well, fabric was not perfect, a bit thinner than I wanted. They fit me well but I felt too tight in the hips and crotch area was too short. Since that time I have always sewn my pants myself. It takes the same time, and I get what I want at the end of the day. And I am much happier.

I'll tell you more abut the advantages of custom-made pants in the further posts, today I was going to write about balance. I've made some photos of my pants with incorrect balance - by pulling them down and pushing up  - so you can easily see what happens.

The more I look the more I fall in love

The details are not the details. They make the design.

                                               Charles James

Charles James is one of the brilliant world-known fashion designer of the previous century. British born, he is known as "America's First Couturier".

He is a true master of cutting and making the details really important. 

  

This photo was published in WMagazine in 2011. 

Details are not the details.

The details are not the details. They make the design.  

                                                         Charles James

        

In this post I'd love to share ideas and thoughts I had working on this orange and daisy dress, which I made for my friend Inessa, beautiful lady and great singer. Russian folk with a modern twist was required according to Inessa's repertoire...

We bought fabrics in The Fabric Store (38 Wandoo Street, Fortitude Valley). We chose orange satin, silk mix, and daisy lace, polyester. We chose lace very carefully. 
                                     
                                                           How to choose lace fabric? 
                         There are few recommendations. 
                                       Lace should be:
                               -Pretty strong. You will see if threads are too thin and weak. Holes won't embellish your dress.
                               -Not clingy to your fingers when you touch it, otherwise it will lose smooth finish very soon. And won't last for long.

Pants Magic - my new logo

Let me introduce my new logo.

It took me a while to create it, but I like how it looks.

The main idea it reflects is as follows: perfect pants make you look like a diamond, sparkle with beauty and be always out of the row.  You'll see this leg in a diamond on photos of my works.

Creating of something like this is an extremely interesting process. Logo should be unique, and introduce the philosophy of your business in graphics.

No comments... just orange overalls and jazz. Thats enough.  Buttons used in the top part are very unusual. They are  rather old - I cut them from the waistcoat that my great-granny had made for my mother, when she was at school. Buttons are wooden and polished, and really amazing. 

Lovescape