In Search of Style

If we confine ourselves to shopping in department stores, outlet malls and discount retailers we will always be able to find something to wear that is popular, perhaps even "trendy".  If we only buy our wardrobe online or from the dozens of catalogs stuffed in our mailboxes, we will probably find something at a bargain price that suits our fancy, but not without a modicum of  hassle and a lot of time. This is why I sew...I'd rather spend my precious time constructing a garment that fits me, fit's my style and doesn't always squeeze my pocketbook. And I am usually guaranteed of a good outcome, especially because my precious Stonemountain, my "muse", is just a freeway away...(can a fabric store BE a muse?)

To actually see an Alexander McQueen gown? Perfection!

Part of the joy of sewing for yourself comes with finding your own personal fashion sense, your "style". We get that by experience. When you have sewn garments for a while, you start to know what looks good on your body and what makes you feel good about the way you look. The other side of sewing for yourself is that you can get into a rut, always constructing the same looks, using the same fabrics. And this is why we "window shop": to get a sense for new designs, new uses for fabrics, etc.

Admittedly, you can still get into these ruts by limiting your window shopping experiences. If you go to the same department store over and over, you're likely to see the same thing over and over again. Department stores tend to overdo everything - if a dark printed polyester knit is popular, then everything in the store is made out of the same type of fabric and color pallet.(perhaps a gross exaggeration, but it seems that way sometimes).

Streetwear...black is STILL the go-to color, Zan

I like to window shop at smaller boutiques and the high-end boutiques within the high-end retailers. I want to see what the designers are offering up for the season. I'm no Project Runway candidate, but I like to watch it for inspiration (although I swear I can sew better than any of them). And despite their lack of sewing prowess (Kini being the exception this season) I have gotten a couple of design ideas.

The end all/beat all source of inspiration would be a trip to New York or Paris. Okay, we can't all do that, but I was blessed with a vacation this year which included 5 days in Paris. Just sitting at a cafe table for an hour will provide a person with enough inspiration to create a seasonal wardrobe. Strolling the streets of the Marais or fighting the crowds at the Galleria Lafayette provides one with ample opportunity for new ideas.

Tulle Streetwear.

Budding fashion sense...

Get out the credit cards...unless you SEW!

mmmmm..Vivienne Westwood... where would I ever wear it? BUT....

Too short for me, but cute!

Bet you can make this Chanel jacket...Hel-lo!

Digital prints.. STILL big this year.

DVF - does she ever go out of style???

In the end, I only actually "purchased" a pair of jeans at a high-end sidewalk sale in Avignon, Provence.  They have this sale once a year in September, and you could find the most amazing "bargains". I use the term loosely as everything in fashion is relative.

I am "SEW' ready to get back to sewing for me and The FabricLady. Our pile of fabric awaits!

Laurel. And sew on and sew on...

Laundry Crisis Averted...

I am not prone to "cheating" on Stonemountain And Daughter Fabrics by spending a lot of time shopping for ready to wear garments. I can make just about anything for my wardrobe, but let's be real, some things are just not worth the sewing hassle.  Jeans, simple t-shirts and sweaters are among those things that I regularly purchase in department stores.

"Lobster" jeans from Cabi

Recently, I purchased some linen crop pants (hel-lo! something that I could have made!) from Tommy Bahama for way more $$ than I care to say.  I also ordered a couple of classic knit polo shirts from Land's End, splurged on a pair of lobster colored skinny jeans from CAbi and nabbed a cute lace tank from White House/Black Market.

I love all these garments, but what are the chances that 1) all of them would be dirty at the same time and 2) that I would throw them all into the washer...together.  Yep, those pretty lobster red pants were hidden in my carelessly thrown together wash load.


Let me just admit that I stopped letting Dave touch my laundry years ago just because of this very thing. Imagine my horror upon transferring my load to the dryer...all those pretty white things now a glorious shade of baby pink.  (BTW, the CAbi jeans are still pretty!) Luckily, I did not dry them but quickly threw the white things in the washer again with some Oxy Clean, which is touted to be a non-chlorine stain remover.

After the Oxy Clean? That would be a No.

There was also a cheap white cotton t-shirt in the load that I decided to experiment on...

with Clorox.  Didn't even phase it.  

I really didn't care THAT much about the other white things, but those linen crop pants are among my favorites. You can search Pinterest and find all types of concoctions that promise to remove stains and whiten.  But one friend mentioned good old Rit Color Remover as a possible solution.

Try finding Rit Dye/Color Remover. Target no longer carries it.  

The customer sales rep mentioned Michael's. That would be a No.

I remembered (or thought I had) in Winco.  After combing the aisles, I finally scored some color remover.  And just in case, I bought some more bleach, some whiteners and other products. My daughter read something about Peroxide and Baking soda??? Scary, but if I get desperate, maybe...

I went online to get some hints about how to use Rit's Color Remover. I remembered my Mom dying clothes on top of the stove...big pot of boiling water with constant stirring. And the process has not changed in 50 years.

I poured the boiling water into my kitchen sink and added the little magic packet.  The instructions day it takes from 10-20 minutes of constant stirring to remove the color.  Patience is a virtue and not one of my strong suits. But as I stirred the smelly ( perm solution??) brew, I could see the pink cast start to fade. on the t-shirt.  I bravely threw in the polo shirt with the navy polka dots, the lace tank, another printed top that had a tie dye pattern on the front and stirred for what seemed like an interminably long time.

Most of the "pink" fabrics were cotton and a couple had a little Lycra in the content, but all seemed to respond well to the Rit product...some just took longer. I think the polka dots suffered a little, but at least it's not pink.

It's working...

Use this BEFORE you try anything else

I made another batch of Color Remover for my precious linen crop pants. Miracle of all miracles, I may have saved my pants. I am working on getting the last tiny remnants of pink - it's barely there...perhaps if i hadn't used the laundry product first.  But they are wearable.

Untouched photo...LOL!

Yes there is a moral...several, actually.  I'm not blaming the manufacturer of the bleeding lobster jeans...consider it operator error. So take time to sort your laundry and save yourself some grief. And when in doubt, always be sure to check your labels for care instructions, whether you are buying ready to wear garments or fabric. FabricLady would probably say "That'll teach you not to buy linen pants when you can make them". And finally, don't be so hard on your husband...you too can make stupid mistakes!

Laurel. Pretty in Pink, but I'd rather have White!

"Just Shoot Me" Skirt

I'm wondering if there are little "Fringers" out there in third world countries that clothing manufacturers pay minuscule wages to make fringe on designer outfits. I ponder that question as there is probably no one in the overly-entitled free world who would actually chose to fringe the hem of a linen skirt. I'm beginning to thing that making fringe is God's way of punishing me for trying to copy a designer skirt. I should back up a minute...

I bought this delightful little white linen skirt almost 10 years ago from a well known designer line.  I wore it to my 40th high school reunion and I remember thinking I looked pretty cool for a 58 year old.  I loved that skirt, but as the years passed, my middle age spread demanded that the skirt be moved the back of the closet...for years it languished in between a beaded bodysuit that cost me $400 and a power red Neiman Marcus suit, neither of which I could get into. This year's weight loss from eating healthy enabled me to pull it from the back of the closet and wear it again.

I still love this skirt! It has a handkerchief hemline and it's fringed - very feminine! So I'm thinking "why not try to re-create this skirt, Laurel", since they have never made a black one (rationalization!).  Such a skirt would be a great addition to my Paris wardrobe this Fall.

I admit that I am a quasi-copier when it comes to sewing for myself, but I rationalize my behavior by making a few modifications to the design when I am creating my pattern, just so that it won't be a complete copy. (Let's be real - good design hangs around and is modified/copied/altered/imitated by everyone!) I kept the same lines of the skirt in theory, but adding the fringe at the bottom was a non-negotiable feature - it's what made the skirt so beautiful. I bought some fabulous black linen from Stonemountain and set out to make my version of the fringed skirt.

Putting it together was the easy part - linen is so easy to sew. It's when I started the fringe at the hemline that I began to seriously doubt that I would be able to finish it. Fringing wool and other loosely woven fabrics is relatively straightforward.  I made a Marci Tilton jacket that I fringed, and a shawl with long fringe.  Both were a breeze compared to the hell of fringing a tightly woven linen.

So very tedious, this hemline...my fingers ached from all the thread pulling and tugging. I tried several methods before I just gutted it up and started snipping, pulling, and separating. It took forever.

But the result was worth the agony. 

Wherever in the world they are paying people to fringe garments, I can assure you, they are not paying them enough. I teased Suzan/FabricLady than I loved her, but not enough to make her one of these skirts.

Oh, and for all you Colette fans, I think she still needs more downsizing...though these skirts fit me, I couldn't get them zipped all the way on Colette. Of course she isn't squishy like me at the waist...she planks regularly.

Laurel. Made in the USA.

Leopard is the New Neutral

Leopard is the New Neutral by laurel-dismukes featuring Buccellati

Shopping is Cheaper than a Therapist

Shopping is Cheaper than a Therapist by laurel-dismukes featured in taylor swift fashion

Magical Impulse...

I entered a contest at Polyvore...to create a set using fashions from Macy's...the "Polyvores" are all so creative so I doubt I'll win, but hey, it was fun to take a stab at it!!

Meanwhile, I may have to go get this skirt.

Magical Impulse... by laurel-dismukes featuring long evening skirts

Denim Supply by Ralph Lauren evening top
macys.com

Denim Supply by Ralph Lauren long evening skirt
macys.com

Destroyed shorts
macys.com

Travel #9

Travel #9 by laurel-dismukes showing how to wear bracelet jewelry

Boat neck top
$82 - pret-a-beaute.com

Michael Kors woolen pants
stylebop.com

Jimmy choo pumps
net-a-porter.com

Relic mini crossbody handbag
jcpenney.com

Jamie Joseph 14 karat gold ring
twistonline.com

Tory Burch bracelet jewelry
toryburch.com

Tom Ford metal glasses
neimanmarcus.com

Charlotte Russe black headphone
charlotterusse.com

Let's End in Paris...

Half of the fun of traveling is in the planning. A trip to Europe requires a lot of research, unless you opt for a guided tour. Though Dave and I have done the whole tour bus thing, and though it was exciting and not too confining, we have decided to put together our own vacation to celebrate our 30th anniversary this year.

I was absolutely glued to the Le Tour de France this past year. Everyday I watched the superhuman bicyclists but I was more entranced by the videos of the French countryside - the quaint towns and picturesque mountains of the Pyrenees and the Alps were captivating. That whole Provincial area captured my interest and though we don't plan to retrace the Tour's routes, we hope to travel the region by car, ending up in Paris...sitting in a sidewalk cafe...sipping wine.

And so the preparation begins. Not withstanding the whole "planes, trains and automobiles"/hotel circus on the Internet, I want to learn some of the French language via Duo Lingo, a free app for your phone..more about that later. I'm also trying to get back to healthy eating, so that I can shed some unwanted pounds, but more about that later too. Which brings me to the fun part:

What do I take to wear?

Planning your travel wardrobe is easy as long as you don't care whether you are stylish or fashion conscious. But since I started sewing again for Suzan and myself and having Stonemountain and Daughter Fabric at my disposal, I care more about what I wear these days, especially for the end of our journey with a 4 or 5 day stay in Paris!  

My dilemma could also be an age thing: wanting to look the best I can without looking like I think I'm 20 again. Planning a travel wardrobe does present some inherent problems as I'm not willing to look like a tourist and I can't take my whole closet either.

Me in Croatia - I'm thinking flip flops might not work in Paris....

My travel fashion goal is to make some things that will be comfortable, easy to care for and yet be fashion forward and age appropriate.  Tall order, huh. I thought it might be useful to check out the Spring/Summer collections from Paris Fashion Week. Though I can't see myself trotting around the streets in 5 inch heels, I can consider some of the major trends from the Greats in fashion design when I start my fabric and accessory shopping.

1) All thing BLUE...lapis, cobalt, etc. Seems to be a trendy color along with

2) All things NEUTRAL...beige, off white, creamy stuff...and drapey...so knits must be in order?

3) Soft whimsical prints, in the colors of Provence...maybe a soft flowy skirt?

4) Choker necklaces...not the long bangle styles any more.  Big gobby necklaces and shorter, hug the neck styles - Hey, those I have!!

5) High waisted bottoms - pants, skirts, shorts (though these legs will never see the light of day in Paris)

6) Bold Hand painted prints - artsy prints??? 

7) Pleats...

8) Boyfriend shirts and zippered jackets...

I think most of the trends are doable...the trick is to get fabrics that pack easily, can be rinsed out, and travel iron friendly. I tend to pack too much, so this year I want to be smarter about what I take. 

And that whole handbag thing? It's is a dilemma all it's own. 

Are you ready to help me, Suzan?

Laurel

"Je suis une femme.." (my limited French..."like that isn't already apparent, lady?")